🥄 What Is a Sauce?
Larousse defines sauce as “a liquid seasoning for food.” Sauce = a liquid dressing made to add/enhance flavour, appearance, moistness, richness, nutritional value, and appetite appeal to dishes. The sauce should complement — never overpower — the food it accompanies. Poor meat or poultry cannot be disguised by a sauce.
5 qualities a sauce adds: Moistness · Flavour enhancement · Richness · Improved colour/shine (appearance) · Interest and appetite appeal
📦 3 Sauce Ingredients
Every sauce is built from three components: 1. A liquid (base) · 2. A thickening agent · 3. Seasoning and flavouring ingredients
🧈 3 Types of Roux (Thickening Agent)
Roux = equal parts by weight of fat + flour cooked together. The degree of cooking determines the type and the sauce it produces.
White Roux
Cooked 3 min, no colour. Sandy then crumbly texture. Used for: Béchamel sauce (milk base). Resembles white breadcrumbs when correct.
Blond Roux (Fawn)
Cooked longer to light fawn colour. Used for: Velouté sauce (white stock base). Gentle heat essential.
Brown Roux
5 parts flour + 4 parts dripping. High heat browns flour. Used for: Espagnole sauce (brown beef stock). Butter burns at these temps — use dripping.
🍅 5 Mother Sauces (French Classical)
1. Béchamel
Base: Milk + White Roux. Named after: Louis de Béchameil (17th century). Derivatives: Mornay (cheese), Soubise (onion), Cream sauce, Caper sauce, Parsley sauce
2. Velouté
Base: White stock (chicken/veal/fish) + Blond Roux. Derivatives: Suprême (cream added to chicken velouté), Allemande, Bercy, Normande (fish velouté)
3. Espagnole (Brown Sauce)
Base: Brown beef stock + Brown Roux + mirepoix + tomato purée. Derivatives: Demi-glace (reduced espagnole), Madeira, Bordelaise, Robert, Chasseur, Diable
4. Hollandaise
Base: Clarified butter + egg yolk (emulsion sauce — cold sauce category). Derivatives: Béarnaise (with tarragon), Mousseline (with whipped cream), Choron (with tomato), Maltaise
5. Tomato Sauce
Base: Tomatoes + stock. Derivatives: Provençale, Portugaise, Marinara
🌡️ Thickening Agents
Roux
Flour + fat cooked together. Most common thickening agent. White/Blond/Brown
Cornflour
Twice the thickening power of flour. Gives glossy semi-clear finish. Mix with cold water before adding to hot liquid. Don’t over-boil (starch breaks down).
Arrowroot
More expensive than cornflour. Produces clearest, most transparent sauce. Used sparingly.
Potato Flour
Similar to cornflour but stronger. Particularly used in Asian cookery.
Egg Yolks
For liaison (cream + egg yolk). Used in Hollandaise and Allemande. Careful temperature control needed.
Cream
Reduction thickening — cream reduces and concentrates. Used in Normande, Suprême.
❄️ Cold Sauces
Vinaigrette
Base: Vinegar + oil (simple emulsion). Used for salad dressings.
Mayonnaise
Base: Egg yolk + vinegar + oil (stable cold emulsion). Derivatives: Tartare, Thousand Island, Remoulade, Aioli
🎯 UGC NET Key Points — Part 4 Module 9
◆ Sauce = liquid dressing to add flavour, appearance, moistness, richness to dishes
◆ 3 sauce components: Liquid (base) + Thickening agent + Seasoning/flavouring
◆ Roux = equal parts by weight of fat + flour cooked together
◆ White roux → Béchamel · Blond roux → Velouté · Brown roux → Espagnole
◆ 5 Mother Sauces: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato
◆ Hollandaise base: clarified butter + egg yolk (hot emulsion sauce)
◆ Béchamel base: milk + white roux · Espagnole base: brown stock + brown roux
◆ Cornflour: twice the thickening power of flour · gives glossy semi-clear finish
◆ Arrowroot: most expensive · clearest result
◆ Demi-glace = reduced espagnole (most intense brown sauce)
