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In cooking, a 'sauce' is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not 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 with dishes such as pasta can contain more solid elements than liquid.
Sauces may be prepared sauces, such as soy sauce, which are usually bought, not made, by the cook; or cooked sauces, such as Béchamel sauce, which are generally made just before serving.
Sauces for salads are called salad dressing. Another variation is the pan sauce; this is made by adding an aromatic (such as chopped shallot) to a pan that has previously cooked meat, which has left hardened juices (called the fond) in the pan. After the aromatic has softened, a liquid (such as stock, wine, or water) is added to melt the fond in the bottom of the pan (a process called deglazing). Butter can than be added to this to make a quick sauce.
A person who specializes in making sauces is often referred to as a "saucier", a French term borrowed for its situational usefulness. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world. Some famous sauciers include Julia Child, Benjamin Christie, Bobby Flay, Yutake Ishinabe, and François Pierre La Varenne.

Contents

Sauces in French cuisine

Sauces in other cuisines

Sauce variations

Examples of sauces

See also

References

Sauces in French cuisine

Sauces in French cuisine date back to Medieval times. There were hundreds of sauces in the lore. In 'classic' French cooking (19th and 20th century until nouvelle cuisine), sauces were a major defining characteristic of French cuisine.
In the 19th century, the chef Antonin Carême classified sauces into four families, each of which was based on a 'mother sauce'. Carême's four mother sauces were:

★ Allemande, based on stock with egg yolk and lemon juice

★ Béchamel, based on flour and milk

★ Espagnole, based on brown stock (beef, ''etc.'')

★ Velouté, based on a light broth (fish, chicken, or veal)
In the early 20th century, the chef Auguste Escoffier updated the classification, replacing ''sauce Allemande'' with egg-based emulsions (''Hollandaise'' and ''mayonnaise''), and adding ''tomate''. Escoffier's schema is still taught to chefs today:

★ Béchamel

★ Espagnole

★ Hollandaise

★ Tomato sauce

★ Velouté
Most sauces commonly used in cooking are derivatives of one of the above mentioned mother sauces. Although these mother sauces are not commonly served in restaurants, many of their derivatives are.
ie. Aioli, Béarnaise, Remoulade.

Sauces in other cuisines

Sauces and condiments also play an important role in other cuisines:

★ British cooking: Gravy is a traditional sauce used on roast dinner, which (traditionally) comprises roast potatoes, roast meat, boiled vegetables and optional Yorkshire puddings. Apple sauce and mint sauce are also used on meat (pork and lamb respectively). Salad cream is sometimes used on salads. Ketchup and brown sauce are used on more fast-food type dishes. Strong English mustard (as well as French or American mustard) are also used on various foods, as is Worcestershire sauce. Custard is a popular dessert sauce. Some of these sauce traditions have been exported to ex-colonies such as the USA.

★ Italian sauces include white sauces such as alfredo and balsamella and red sauces such as siciliana, pescatore, napolitan, pizzaiola, ammatriciana, arrabiata, ragu, and pesto sauces mainly based on oil and garlic.

★ Salsas ("sauces" in Spanish) such as guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and salsa roja are a crucial part of Latino cuisines in the Americas and Europe. Typical ingredients include tomato, onion, and spices; thicker sauces often contain avocado.

★ Typical sauces used in Japanese cuisine are usually based on ''shōyu'' (soy sauce), ''miso'' or ''dashi''. ''Ponzu'', citrus-flavored soy sauce, and ''yakitori no tare'', sweetened rich soy sauce, are examples of shoyu-based sauces. Miso-based sauces include ''gomamiso'', miso with ground sesame, and ''amamiso'', sweetened miso. (Note: in colloquial Japanese, the word "sauce" sometimes refers to Worcestershire sauce introduced in 19th century and largely arranged to Japanese tastes. Tonkatsu and yakisoba are normally served with this sauce.)

★ Chinese cuisine is known for prepared sauces based on fermented soy beans (soy sauce, black bean sauce, hoisin sauce) as well as many others such as chili sauces and oyster sauce. One of the more unusual (and popular) Chinese sauces is sweet and sour sauce, which juxtaposes two fundamental flavors not often found together in most cuisines.

★ Korean cuisine uses sauces such as doenjang, gochujang, samjang, and soy sauce.

★ Southeast Asian cuisines, such as Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, often use fish sauce, made from fermented fish.
Asian prepared sauces are not thick as they do not contain thickening agents such as flour. The thickening occurs in the last minutes of cooking when thickeners like corn starch are added.

Sauce variations

There are also many sauces based on tomato (such as tomato ketchup and tomato sauce), other vegetables and various spices. Although the word 'ketchup' by itself usually refers to tomato ketchup, other vegetables or fruits may be used to prepare ketchups.
Sauces can also be sweet, and used either hot or cold to accompany and garnish a dessert.
Another kind of sauce is made from stewed fruit, usually strained to remove skin and fibers and often sweetened. Such sauces, including applesauce and cranberry sauce, are often eaten with specific other foods (apple sauce with pork, ham, or potato pancakes; cranberry sauce with poultry) or served as desserts.

Examples of sauces

White sauces

★ Mushroom sauce

★ Sauce Allemande

★ Sauce Américaine

★ Suprême sauce

★ Velouté
Brown sauces

★ Bordelaise sauce

★ Bourguignonne sauce

★ Chateaubriand sauce

★ Sauce Africaine

★ Sauce au Poivre

★ Sauce Robert
Béchamel family

★ Béchamel sauce

★ Mornay sauce
Emulsified sauces

★ Béarnaise sauce

★ Hollandaise sauce

★ Mayonnaise

★
★ Tartar sauce

★ Salad cream
Butter sauces

★ Beurre blanc

★ Café de Paris

★ Meuniere sauce
Sweet sauces

★ Butterscotch sauce

★ Chocolate or fudge sauce

★ Custard

★
★ Crème anglaise

★ Hard sauce -- not liquid, but called a sauce nonetheless

★ Fruit sauces

★
★ Applesauce

★
★ Cranberry sauce
Sauces made of chopped fresh ingredients

★ Latin American Salsa cruda of various kinds

★ Salsa verde
Hot sauces (Chile pepper-tinged sauces)

★ Datil Pepper Sauce

★ Chili sauce

★ Tabasco sauce
East Asian sauces

★ Prepared sauces

★
★ Black bean sauce

★
★ Duck sauce, or Plum sauce

★
★ Hoisin sauce

★
★ Oyster sauce

★
★ Soy sauce

★ Cooked sauces

★
★ Lobster sauce

★
★ Sweet and sour sauce

★
★ Teriyaki - a way of cooking in Japan, a branch of sauces in North America.
Southeast Asian sauces

★ Fish sauce

★ Sambal
Other sauces

★ Barbecue sauce

★ Mole

★ Tomato sauce

★ Tzatziki

See also

★ Chutney

★ Condiment

★ Coulis

★ Custard

★ Garum

★ Ketchup

★ Kochujang

★ Mustard

★ Salad dressing

★ Salsa

★ Toenjang

References

★ Sauces, Peterson, James, , , John Wiley & Sons, 1998, ISBN 0-471-29275-3

★ The Saucier's Apprentice, Sokolov, Raymond, , , Knopf, 1976, ISBN 0-394-48920-9

★ On Food and Cooking, McGee,Harold, , , Macmillan, 1984, ISBN 0-02-034621-2

★ The Curious Cook, McGee, Harold, , , Macmillan, 1990, ISBN 0865474524