Sauces

What is sauce?

This is a thickened, flavoured liquid which can be added to a food or dish.

What are the uses of a sauce?

1. To enhance the flavour of the food which it accompanies.

2. To provide a contrasting flavour to an otherwise mildly flavoured food, e.g. cheese sauce with cauliflower.

3. To provide a contrasting texture to solid foods, e.g. poultry and fish.

4. To bind ingredients together for dishes such as fish cakes or croquettes.

5. To add colour to a dish, e.g. jam sauce with a steamed sponge pudding.

6. To contribute to the nutritional value of a dish.

7. To reduce the richness of some foods, e.g. orange sauce with roast duck, apple sauce with roast pork.

8. To add interest and variety to a meal.

What is a roux?

This is a mixture of melted fat and flour used to thicken liquids.

What is a purée?

This is food that has been blended or mashed into a smooth, thick creamy textured liquid, often made from fruits, vegetables, or legumes and used in dishes like soups, sauces, and baby food. e.g. thick soup, fruit purée.

What is panada sauce

This is a thick, milky white sauce which is usually added to bind the batter. It may be used as thickening agent in soups and bakes.

What is mornay sauce?

This is a classic béchamel sauce (one of the five French mother sauces) enriched with Gruyère cheese and sometimes Parmesan. It's an ideal accompaniment for eggs; a French classic, eggs Mornay, is simply a variation on Eggs Benedict made with Mornay sauce in place of the usual hollandaise.

What are the 3 main sauce consistencies?

1. Pouring: A pouring sauce, at boiling point, should just glaze the back of a wooden spoon or plastic spoon, and should flow freely when poured.

2. Coating: A coating sauce, at boiling point, should coat the back of a wooden or plastic spoon, and should be used as soon as it is ready, to ensure even coating over the food.

3. Binding (panada): A binding sauce or panada should be thick enough to bind dry ingredients, so that they can be handled easily to formed into rissoles, cakes, etc.

What are some ingredients used to thicken sauces?

1. Starch, in flour, corn flour, arrowroot, etc.

2. Protein, from eggs

3. Emulsification of oil and water

4. Puréed vegetables or fruits

What is an example of a sauce thickened by starch?

• The roux sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp fat

1 cup of liquid

What is the method used to prepare roux sauce?

1. Melt fat and stir in flour

2. Gradually add liquid, stirring constantly

3. Continue stirring while cooking on moderate heat until it thickens

4. Cook for an additional 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

What is the main ingredients used in sauces thickened by coagulation?

Eggs. Even though egg white coagulates at a lower pressure than the yolk, it is better to use the yolk alone to prevent spoiling the sauce by overcooking the white.

What is an example of a sauce thickened by the coagulation of protein?

• Cornflour custard sauce

Ingredients

3 tbsp. cornflour

2 cups of milk

¼ cup of sugar

1 egg

2 drops of vanilla

What is the method used to make the cornflour custard sauce?

1. Blend cornflour with a little milk

2. Heat milk and sugar. Add to cornflour mixture

3. Return to the saucepan and cook gently, stirring constantly until thickened.

4. Cool slightly, add beaten egg, and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

What is used to prevent the separation of oil and water in an emulsion?

An emulsifier

What is an example of a sauce made from the emulsification of oil and water?

• Tartar sauce

Ingredients

1. 1 tsp minced onions

2. 2 tsp chopped sweet pickles

3. Chopped olives

4. Chopped capers

5. Minced parsley

6. Mayonnaise

7. Vinegar

What is the method used to make tartar sauce?

1. Drain the first 5 ingredients

2. Mix them into the mayonnaise

3. Add vinegar and complete mixing.

How do you prepare sauces using purees?

Fruits or raw vegetables are pureed to produce a smooth sauce by running them through a nylon sieve or processing them in a liquidizer. Fruits that are subject to oxidation should be cooked first or mixed with an acid to inactivate the oxidase enzymes.

What is an example of a sauce thickened by puree?

• Apple sauce

Ingredients

1. 450g of cooking apples

2. 2 tbsp. of water

3. 25g of butter

4. Sugar to taste

What is the method used to prepare apple sauce?

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples

2. Stew the apples in the water and butter until soft

3. Puree and add sugar to taste

4. Serve with roast pork

What are the standards for finished products and their service?

1. Keep hot sauces hot - The temperature of the sauce, the food being sauces, and the plate should be checked. Ensure that hot sauces are extremely hot, warm emulsion sauces are as warm as possible without danger of breaking, and cold sauces remain cold until they come in contact with hot foods.

2. Add the sauce in a way that suits the texture of the food you are serving - Pool the sauce beneath the food, spreading it in a layer directly on the plate if the food has a crisp or otherwise interesting texture. Spoon or ladle the sauce evenly over the top of the food if it could benefit from a little cover or if the sauce has visual appeal. 

3. Serve an appropriate portion of sauce - There should be enough sauce for every bite of the sauced food but not so much that the dish looks swamped.