• Before starting this list of

the classic French sauce,

I would like to do a little
of brief about the three
men who set the
standard for all Chefs:
Marie Antoine Careme,
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-
Savarin and Georges
Auguste Escoffier.
• Marie Antoine Crème (1784-1833) was the founder and architect of
French haute cuisine. He was one of at least 25 children born to an
impoverished family who put him out on the street at the age of about 10
to make his own way in the world. One day, he knocked on the door of a
restaurant for a job. By the age of 21 he was chef de cuisine to Talleyrand.
He also served as head chef in the kitchens of the future George IV of
England, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Baron James de Rothschild.
He wrote several voluminous works on cookery, which included hundreds
of recipes, menus, history of French cookery, instructions for organizing
kitchens, and of course, instructions for monumental architectural
constructions of food for pieces montees.. He died at the age of 48, and is
remembered as the “chef of kings and the king of chefs .”
• Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) was a lawyer, magistrate, and
politician, and creator of the "Osmasome" this little part of the sauce flavor
that escape into the air allow the guest to know what is cooking in the
kitchen. He wrote one of the most celebrated works on food, "Physiologies
du gout" (The Physiology of Taste), which was published 2 years before his
death. It consists of 8 volumes and its full title is 'The Physiology of Taste,
or Meditation on Transcendent Gastronomy, a Work Theoretical, Historical,
and Programmed. His work does not relate of many recipes, but a lot of
them have left their name in French classics culinary terms (Savarin cake,
duck with orange sauce or duck Brillat-Savarin). His literary work is full of
anecdotes and observations covering all aspects of the pleasures of the
table. He was quite possibly the greatest food critic ever
• Georges Auguste
Escoffier (1846-1935) was
called "the emperor of
chefs" and “emperor of the
world’s kitchens” by
Emperor William II of
Germany. He modernized
and codified the elaborate
haute cuisine created by M.
Antoine Crème, and
developed the "brigade de
cuisine" system of kitchen
organization. Escoffier was
chef at the Carlton Hotel in
London, the Grande
National Hotel in Lucerne,
Switzerland, the Grand
Hotel in Monte Carlo, the
Savoy in London and the
Ritz hotels in Paris and New
York City. His books include
"Guide culinary" and "Ma
Cuisine".
WHAT IS A SAUCE ?
• In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food
served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not
normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture,
and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken
from the Latin salsus, meaning salted. Sauces need a liquid
component, but some sauces (for example, salsa or chutney )
may contain more solid elements than liquid. Sauces are an
essential element in cuisines all over the world.

• Sauces may be ready made sauces, usually bought, such as

soy sauce , or freshly prepared by the cook; such as
Béchamel sauce , which is generally made just before serving.
Sauces for salads are called salad dressing . Sauces made by
deglazing a pan are called pan sauces .

• A cook who specializes in making sauces is a saucier.

MOTHER SAUCES
Béchamel Sauce (white)
Veloute Sauce (blond)
Brown (demi-glace) or Espagnole Sauce
Hollandaise Sauce (butter)
Mayonnaise (cold sauce)
Tomato Sauce (red)
Béchamel Sauce (white)
• Base: Milk (Usually Whole Milk)
• Thickening Agent: White Roux
• Classical Flavorings: White Onion, Clove, Bay
Leaf, Salt, White Pepper, Nutmeg
• Common Secondary Sauces: Cream Sauce,
Mornay, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Mustard
Sauce.
• Classically Served With: Eggs, Fish, Steamed
Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Pastas, Veal
Veloute Sauce (blond)

• Base: White Stock (Classically Veal, but Chicken

and Fish Stock can also be used)
• Thickening Agent: Classically a Roux, but
sometimes also a Liason is used.
• Classical Flavorings: None, used specifically as a
base
• Common Secondary Sauces: Sauce Vin Blanc (White
Wine Sauce), Sauce Supreme, Sauce Allemande,
Sauce Poulette, Sauce Bercy, Sauce Normandy
• Classically Served With: Eggs, Fish, Steamed
Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Veal .
Brown (demi-glace) or Espagnole
Sauce
• Base: Roasted Veal Stock (Roasted Chicken Stock Is
Sometimes Used In Modern Variations).

• Thickening Agent: Brown Roux

• Classical Flavorings: Mirepoix, Sachet (Bay Leaf, Fresh

Thyme, Parsley), Tomato Puree

• Common Secondary Sauces: Demi-Glace, Bordelaise, Sauce

Robert, Layonnaise, Sauce Madeira, Sauce Bercy, Sauce
Chasseur

• Classically Served With: Roasted meats, especially beef,

duck, veal, lamb
Hollandaise Sauce (butter)
• Base: Egg Yolks and Butter (Classically Clarified Butter)

• Thickening Agent: Emulsification

• Classical Flavorings: Peppercorns (Black), White Wine

Vinegar, Salt, Lemon Juice, Cayenne Pepper

• Common Secondary Sauces: Béarnaise, Maltase, Mousse

line, Foyot, Choron .

• Classically Served With: Eggs (Eggs Benedict), Vegetables

(especially Asparagus), light poultry dishes, fish, Beef
(Béarnaise Sauce)
Mayonnaise (cold sauce)
• Base: Egg Yolks and Salad oil

• Thickening Agent: Emulsification

• Classical Flavorings: French Mustard ,Vinegar Lemon, Salt ,

White pepper powder .

• Common Secondary Sauces: Chantilly , Gribiche,

Cambridge, Remoulade.

• Classically Served With: Eggs (Eggs Benedict), Vegetables

(especially Asparagus), light poultry dishes, fish, Beef .
Tomato Sauce (red)
• Base: Tomatoes (Raw, Tomato Paste, Tomato Puree, Stewed Tomatoes)

• Thickening Agent: Classically a Roux, modern versions commonly use a

reduction or purees

• Classical Flavorings: Salt Pork, Mirepoix, Garlic, White Veal Stock, Salt &
Pepper, Sugar (Just enough to balance acidity, not enough to make the
sweetness perceptible).

• Common Secondary Sauces: Modern variations concentrate more on

seasonings giving rise to sauces such as Creole, Portuguese and Spanish
Sauce Tomat.

• Classically Served With: Pasta, Fish, Vegetables (Especially Grilled),

Polenta, Veal, Poultry (Especially Chicken), Breads and Dumplings such as
Gnocchi.
Roux

• Equal parts flour to fat (clarified butter is

traditional). There are three different
stages for roux's including white, blond
and brown. Full thickening power is not
realized until sauce or soup is brought up
to a simmer after the roux is incorporated.
Laison

• A mixture of heavy cream and eggs, added just

at the end of the cooking process to slightly
thicken, but mostly enrich, sauces and soups.
The standard ratio for a liaison is 16:1:2. So for
every 16 ounces (or one pint) of sauce, you will
need 1 egg yolk and 2 ounces of cream. The
laison will be tempered with up to 1/3 of the
warm sauce or soup before incorporated. This
helps to keep the eggs from coagulating.
Beurre Maine
• Also known as “The Lazy Chef’s Roux,” Beurre
Maine is equal parts of flour and whole butter
kneaded together until it forms something like a
dough. Pieces of this dough are then broken apart
and added to simmering sauces or soups to thicken
them. It is recommend that you simmer the sauce
for at least 20 minutes more to cook out any raw,
starchy flavor the flour introduces. Use the same
ratios of Beurre Maine that you would a Roux.
Corn Starch
• Has twice the thickening power of flour. Most
commonly added to a soup or sauce in a slurry
form, using a 1:1 mixture of water to Corn Starch.
To thicken a sauce or soup with the consistency of
water to a traditional nape stage (coats the back
of a spoon), you will need 2 oz of Corn Starch for
every 1 qt of sauce or soup. Full thickening power
will not be realized until your sauce begins to
simmer. Corn Starch has tendency to give sauces
a smooth and shinny appearance. It is used
extensively in Asian cooking, especially Chinese
Cuisine.
Arrow Root

• Very similar to Corn Starch with the same

thickening power. It is used exactly in the
same fashion as Corn Starch to thicken
sauces and soups. Has a much more neutral
taste than Corn Starch, but tends to be more
expensive. Most commonly added as a slurry,
and its full thickening power is not realized
until the sauce is brought to a simmer.
Farine

• Literally the French word for “flour”. As a

thickening technique it refers to dusting
your product (usually a protein) in flour.
The excess flour is then shaken off, and
the product is sautéed. The pan is then
usually deglazed, and a sauce is built on
top of this base. Also commonly used to
build a base for thick soups and stews.
Panade

• Most commonly used to stabilize and bind

meat balls and pates, it is usually a mixture
of day old bread and some sort of liquid;
stock, milk, water, etc. In the case of
thickening sauces or soups, the bread is
usually browned in butter and then
simmered into the base that you wish to
thicken. It can either be left as is, or blended
and strained for a more refined consitancy.
White Wash

• A mixture of water and flour is whisked

together into a “slurry” before being
incorporated into a sauce. The water helps
to hydrate the starch molecules in the
flour, preventing the flour from clumping
when it hits the hot sauce or soup. This is
an extremely poor technique to use.
Food Grade Gums
• Food grade gums are really emerging as the
thickening agent of choice in a lot of high end
kitchens. They’re gaining popularity because
they are extremely neutral in flavor and are
added in such low concentrations (usually les
than 0.5% by weight), that they have no
effect on color or flavor. One of the most
commonly used food grade gums for this
purpose is Xanthenes Gum, which can be
picked up at a lot of health foods stores.