Mother Sauces
Ancient Mother Sauces
The basis of all sauces we enjoy today orginate from five mother sauces, which came into existence centuries ago. They are béchamel, veloute, espagnole, hollandaise and sauce tomate. Add these to make your food come alive.
Text: Team UpperCrust
Sauces are the stuff life is made of and we can thank the French for that. There are five established mother sauces, ones that go back to the 19th century, béchamel, veloute, espagnole, hollandaise and sauce tomate. These five mother sauces served as a foundation for many other subsidiary sauces which came to be known as 'daughter' sauces or small sauces.
So what denotes a sauce? Quite simply, it's a liquid, made firm with the addition of a thickening agent and made flavoursome using herbs and spices. So while a gravy is a sauce, a vinaigrette is not.
Making a great sauce involves developing a strong flavour and achieving the correct consistency. Which means using the right thickening agent. This could be flour, cornstarch, eggs or a roux.
Ah, roux! Et qu'est-ce que c'est? What is roux? A roux is made from equal parts of fat and flour. The fat usually clarified butter is heated until it is frothy and then the flour is stirred in slowly to create a thick paste. This is done on low heat because it can burn very easily. Notice as the roux cooks it darkens in colour. Some sauces call for a very light roux while others require a golden or even brown roux. One has to be extremely careful about stirring, removing the pan off the heat, putting it back on the fire. If the roux burns there is no saving it, you have to start afresh. Three of the five mother sauces start off with a roux as a base.
The five mother sauces are quite varied in their flavour, taste and complexity profiles. But they are all versatile and you can open up a whole new world of sauce recipes, adding to your repertoire as a saucier, using them to enhance multiple dishes.