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"G" Is For GETTING SAUCY!
Sauce making is a cornerstone to successful cooking. A sauce can either make or break your dish. Ages ago, when food preservation techniques were in their infancy, sauces were used to mask the foul taste of spoiled food. This is because the sauce is the first taste sensation your mouth experiences prior to masticating the main item. And even then, the flavor of the sauce is intermingled with the food. Nowadays sauces are used primarily for flavor, moisture, texture and color.
Sauce making is a broad topic, deeply entrenched in French culinary history. Marie-Antoine Careme (1784-1833), a practical demigod of classic French cuisine, was the first to systematize the "mother sauces" and their derivatives. Mother sauces, otherwise known as the grand sauces, include demi-glace, (a reduced brown sauce), veloute, (a roux thickened white stock), béchamel, (a roux thickened milk sauce), tomato, and hollandaise, (a decadently rich butter and egg yolk sauce). From these fundamental sauces, countless secondary sauces are then made, such as bordelaise, sauce supreme, béarnaise, and Mornay to name a few. The advent of nouvelle cuisine sparked a movement away from rich, heavy, roux-thickened, time consuming sauces to lighter and simpler creations.
Competent sauce making requires significant dexterity in two key areas. The first is the acquisition of the requisite culinary skills. The second is the expertise in knowing suitable sauce/food pairings; much like marrying a food with a wine. Preparing sauces and properly uniting them with the appropriate foods are yardsticks by which chefs are judged.
In regard to matching sauces with food, there are some general guidelines. When a cooking technique produces drippings, (as in a roast), or a fond, (the caramelized residue on the bottom of a sauté pan), they should be employed to make a sauce. Countless pan sauces and gravies begin this way. Likewise, if a liquid is employed to cook the food, as in a braise, or a court bouillon for poaching fish, some or all of the liquid can be incorporated into a sauce.
However, sauces are also made independently of the food. Here the flavor profile of the sauce and the target food is even more critical. This includes secondary seasoning elements in both, particularly herbs. For example, a lemon and tarragon infused cream sauce would probably taste better on salmon than a porterhouse. One should also consider the flavor intensity of the sauce as well as the food. A sauce should not overwhelm the food and vice versa. Much like wine, a light and subtle sauce would not accompany a hearty roast, nor would a strong and overpowering sauce be mingled with a delicate piece of fish. Your own palate, experience, common sense and erudition will all expand your knowledge of prudent flavor pairings.
I cannot stress enough the role that stock plays in producing sauce. Stocks form the basis of innumerable sauces. Generally speaking, chicken stock is used with fowl, fish stock with seafood, and veal stock for red meat sauces. Vegetable stocks are also vital and are a delicious alternative for calorie counters and vegetarians seeking alternatives to meat based stocks.
Other fluids such as water, wine, cream, citrus juices or oil can also be the basis of a sauce. Hot pepper sauces can be made from simmering peppers and spices in water and vinegar and then pureeing them in a blender. One may forgo the stock and utilize only wine to deglaze a pan and produce a sauce. Alfredo sauce is made from cream, butter, and cheese. Citrus juices can be substituted for vinegar to make a brightly flavored and refreshing vinaigrette. And where would pesto be without the olive oil? Sauces can even be created from cooked vegetables, (tomato being the archetypal example), or vegetable purees.
Other concerns include how the sauce is to be presented and the appropriate quantity. Items with a crispy exterior, such as a breaded and pan-fried chicken breast, are often placed on top of a pool of the sauce to prevent the top from becoming soggy. Other sauces are drizzled on the food, around it, (often for aesthetic purposes), or purposely "on the side" as in dipping sauces.
And that brings us to the amount. Hmmmmm. I'm going to restrain my carnal passions and tell you the "correct" answer: The food should not be swimming in the sauce. Excessive sauce is considered a culinary faux pas. But between you and me, use as much sauce as you like.
We've barely scratched the surface of the world of sauce. Take the time to learn more sauces and sauce making techniques and you will add to your culinary repertoire immeasurably.
About the Author
Mark R. Vogel received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Yeshiva University and his culinary arts degree from the Institute of Culinary Education, both in New York City. Although he still practices psychology, his deepest passion remains cooking at an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant in NJ and writing about food and wine. His column "Food For Thought" is published in a number of NY, NJ and PA newspapers and food related websites.
Printable Version
Click here for Sauce Recipes!
Recommended Reading:
The Complete Book of Sauces
by Sallie Y. Williams
Williams takes readers through the basics of sauce-making and provides special tips on each kind of preparation,
with cross indexes that match the sauces according to their compatibility with meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, pasta, and desserts. Includes over
300 recipes for white and brown sauces, tomato-based sauces, mayonnaises, fruit and sweet sauces, and more.
(courtesy: Amazon)
Click here for purchase information
"G" RECIPES
"G" Is For...
Giving GARLIC a Second Chance
Garlic is one of my favorite herbs! If you haven't been a fan of garlic, give it a second chance.
It can be roasted, blanched or used raw for different levels of pungency..
Read more...
Bake Sale GOODIES
Whether it is for a school group to buy new playground equipment, an athletic group to buy new soccer goals or a church social group to take a weekend shopping trip, Bake Sales have long been a staple of fund raising.
Read more...
How to Make Fabulous GREEN Salads
A green salad can be one of those dishes that really sings on your plate, or it can be the ho-hum obligation that you eat because you think you should.
Read more...
GRANOLA Fruit Kabobs
Granola, fresh fruit, yogurt and toothpicks make up the ingredients to this simple and fun recipes that children can help prepare. Bring along to the picnic!
Read more...
The GADGET and Appliance Trap
I love my kitchen. We have a log house and extra tall ceilings and a completely wide-open floor plan throughout our abode. I love standing in my kitchen and watching the kids color at the table, enjoy conversation with my husband and never miss a moment of the life and times of our family while I am whipping up a delectable feast.
Read more...
"G" Is For ThanksGIVING!
GREAT Holiday Make-Ahead Breakfast Favorites
Tired of cold cereal or cheese toast for your holiday breakfast? Do you starve yourself on holiday mornings waiting on the "big" meal?
Read more...
GRILLING A Turkey
Grilling a turkey makes good sense for busy cooks, especially if you're dealing with a small space kitchen. With the turkey cooking merrily away on the grill, the oven is free for other chores such as cooking large pans of dressing, side dishes or even home baked pies.
Read more...
Leftover GUILT?
Don’t you just love Thanksgiving? It’s the most guilt free holiday of the year. You don’t have to worry about getting the right gifts or whether everything is decorated perfectly....
Read more...
ThanksGIVING Turkey Cake
The perfect ending to a wonderful Thanksgiving feast!
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 ThanksGIVING Tips
Turkey Safety Tips ~ Here are some tips for preparing holiday turkeys from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Read more...
ThanksGIVING Recipes
And still some more tasty Thanksgiving recipes! Traditional Brunswick Stew, Roasted Goose, Holiday Ham, Prime Rib au jus, and Thanksgiving Lasagna...who says you can only have turkey?
Read more...
ThanksGIVING Wines
From tangy cranberry jelly, to gooey-sweet yams, to spicy stuffing and meaty turkey, the traditional Thanksgiving lineup surely qualifies as the most schizo menu of the year.
Read more...
 Frugal ThanksGIVING
"Over the years I have had groups of 10 - 12 over to our house for Thanksgiving and served a nice dinner with all the extras without breaking my budget. It takes planning and watching the sales early instead of buying everything the week before..."
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"G" TIP
GRAVY Not Thick Enough?
If your gravy doesn't thicken properly, add some instant potato flakes until it's the right consistency.
Check out more COOKING tips in our Virtual Tipbook!
~*~
Family Memory GAME
Play family memory games with the kids.
What is Grandmas name? Who is married
to Uncle Scott?
Check out more CRAFT tips in the Family FunBook!
"F" Is For...
Garnish:
To add decorative color to a dish with parsley, fruit and other foods.
Giblets:
The heart, liver and gizzard of poultry.
Glaze:
The shiny coat given to foods: glazed ham has a sugar-and-fat glaze or one of aspic or gelatin; glazed carrots are coated with sugar and butter.
Grate:
To break or scrape foods into small pieces by rubbing them over a utensil known as a grater or on various small grating devices.
Gratinee:
A dish that is browned under a grill or in the oven, often topped with butter or bread crumbs. Also called au gratin.
Gravy:
Sauce made with the juices of meat, poultry or fish in the pan in which they cooked, with other added liquids and seasonings and possibly flour for thickening.
Grease:
To rub the inside surface of a dish with fat so that food put into the dish will not stick to the surface; to rub a baking pan or mold with oil or fat.
Grill:
To cook food on a wire or metal rack under or over heat.
"G" FAMILY IDEAS
 GETTING Kids To Stay In Bed
My daughter is 7 1/2 and in the last month has developed a problem at bedtime. She has always gone to bed with a story and most of the time asleep before 8:30. Recently we extended her bedtime to 9:00 PM for the summer. Since we have done this, I am lucky if she is asleep by 10:30. It is not only the problem of falling asleep, but she is up several times after I put her to bed.
Read more...
GUEST Of Honor Night
Our favorite family activity is one that we started about 4 months ago. It was intended to be a one-cycle activity, but turned into an ongoing ritual around the Fisher home.
Read more...
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Let's Get Cooking!
