sauce - Sauces in French cuisine, Sauces in other cuisines, Sauce variations, Examples of sauces

A seasoned liquid served with or over a food; it may be hot or cold, savoury or sweet. Cold sauces may be formed from a mixture (eg vinaigrette), an emulsification (eg mayonnaise), or a purée (eg any fruit sauce). For hot sauces the liquid used may be stock, milk, or water, and the thickening agent may be a blend of melted butter and flour (as in the classic béchamel and velouté sauces), egg yolks and cream, a starch thickener (eg cornflour, arrowroot), butter (eg hollandaise), or, in ‘new’ cookery, a purée of vegetables.

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 are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.

Sauces in French cuisine

Sauces in French cuisine date back to Medieval times.

In the 19th century, the chef Antonin Carême classified sauces into four families, each of which was based on a mother sauce. Escoffier's schema is still taught to chefs today:

Béchamel Espagnole Hollandaise Mayonnaise Tomato sauce Velouté

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). 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. (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. Korean cuisine uses sauces such as doenjang, gochujang, ssamjang, and soy sauce.

Sauce variations

There are also many sauces based on tomato (such as tomato ketchup and tomato sauce), other vegetables and various spices.

Sauces can also be sweet, and used either hot or cold to accompany and garnish a dessert. Such sauces, including applesauce and cranberry sauce, are often eaten with specific other foods (apple sauce with pork or ham;

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 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

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