18 Preparation of Sauce

R. Radha

1. INTRODUCTION

A sauce is a rich flavored, thickened stock or liquid used to give moistness or flavor or otherwise to complement some type of food. A sauce could be a liquid, cream or semi-solid food served or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed as such, instead they add flavor, moisture and visual appeal to another dish. Sauces need a liquid component, but some sauces may contain more solid components than liquid. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives are

• To learn the different types of sauces and uses.
• To learn the preparation methods.

3. FACTS ABOUT SAUCE

The word “sauce” is a French word that means “relish” i.e to make the food more appetizing. Sauces are liquid or semi-liquid foods. They are mixed or used as topping to make other foods look, smell and taste better and also be more easily digested. Sauces may also be used for savory dishes and even for desserts. They can also be prepared and served cold, like mayonnaise

4. IMPORTANCE OF SAUCES:

Sauces are fundamental to continental cooking and play a big role in the final dish presented. Some important points to learn about sauces are

• They are very nutritious, rich in fat, starch and protein.
• Some sauces help in digestion. e.g, Mint sauce.
• They add flavor to the food
• They moisten the food.eg; white sauce added to vegetables
• They give color to food
• They can be the foundation for a dish.eg: white sauce
• Lend a name to a dish
• Balance the taste
• Encourage interest and appetite in the eater
• Micronutrients can be fortified in to the sauces and can be served.

This slide shows the five mother sauces and their respective bases.

Thickening Agents

To understand sauce making, there are a few thickening agents to be understood. Sauces need to be thick to cling to the food. Otherwise thin liquid will simply run off the food. The thickening agents are necessary to give sauces the right consistency to serve the purpose.

5. ROUX

• Roux is a French word used for a mixture of one part cooking fat and one part of all-purpose flour. This mixture is fried for a short time on low heat.
• When this is added toa liquid and brought to a boil, it thickens the liquid immediately. Constant watching and stirring over a low fire is necessary.
• By adding basic roux to various garnishes and refinements, nearly all type of sauce suitable to several cuisine can be made. Only for a few special preparations roux is omitted and white sauce is used..
• The finished roux can be kept warm (close to the stove) and used all day or be kept under refrigeration for weeks without spoiling.
• Roux cannot be eaten by itself. It must always be mixed into a liquid and brought to boil so that starch gets gelatinized.

For this reason, roux is called a thickening agent.

• The best way of using roux is to add warm roux by eye measurement to nearly simmering liquid, stirring until smooth.
• Do not use sizzling hot roux or too cold; in either case, it may cause a lumpy sauce.

5.1. Roux Preparations

• Ingredients
• Clear fat
• All-purpose flour

Method of Preparation

•  Prepare all required ingredients
•  Put all fat into casserole on low heat
• When warm, add flour and keep stirring
• Depending on the type of sauce needed, roux is taken off when it is still white(4 to 5 minutes) or when it is in light golden brown (6 to 10 minutes)
• Take from the heat and cool to about 175 .
•  Now, little by little the roux is added to the liquid to be thickened, which should be about 185℉ to 195℉.
• Whisk liquid constantly while adding the roux. Stop adding it when the thickness has the desired look.
• Bring to a full boil. Beware of scorching, but keep boiling at least for10-20 minutes.
• Check texture of the sauce. Change if it is necessary by adding more roux or more liquid.
• Strain sauce into fresh container and keep uncovered in the steam table, or storage under refrigeration.
•  Serve when required.

White-roux

It is used for white sauce and soups. Equal quantities of margarine or butter and flour are cooked together without colouring for a few minutes to get a sandy structure. Alternatively, use polyunsaturated vegetable margarine or make a roux with vegetable oil, using equal quantities of oil to flour. This gives a slack roux but enables the liquid to be easily incorporated.

Blond Roux

It is used for veloutes and tomato sauces. Equal quantities of margarine or butter or vegetable oil and flour are cooked for a little longer than a white roux, but without colouring to a sandy structure

Brown Roux

It is used for brown (Espagnole) sauce and soups. Brown roux is to be cooked little longer than the blond roux. Overcooking of brown roux causes the starch to change chemically and loose some of the thickening property. This will cause the fat to separate from the roux and rise to the surface of the soup or sauce being made. It will also cause too much roux to be used to achieve the required thickness and will give an unpleasant flavor.

6. ROLE OF STARCH, EGG AND VEGETABLE PUREE IN SAUCE

6.1.   Starch

Starch is a complex carbohydrate found in all parts of a plant that stores plant food. It is important for human consumption as it reacts with body enzymes to produce sugar. There are many kinds of starch for cooking purposes. Corn starch, arrow-root and tapioca are commonly used starches. Starches are made into paste with a cold liquid and added to the boiling stock to form the final sauce. The starch gives the sauce viscosity and consistency.

6.2.   Yolks of Egg/Cream/Butter–

• Egg yolks are added as finishing agents to warm sauces or soups for thickening or binding.
• Egg yolks are first whipped with a wire whisk and cream is added, if desired.
• A cupful of hot liquid is gradually whisked into the yolks to temper them.
• This mixture is then stirred into a sauce. Cream can be used to thicken the sauce.
• Butter is used not only to thicken the sauce but also to enrich the nutritive value of the sauce. Butter is added to a warm sauce and stirred with a whisk gently to give the desired consistency.

6.3.   Vegetable Purees-

These are made by making diced cooked vegetables into a pulp and passing it through a sieve. Herbs are added to give variations to taste and add nutritive value. The puree is added to sauces or vegetable gravies as a thickening agent. This is a popular modern method for the health conscious people.

Finished sauce structure is shown here

7. GLAZES:

• Glazes are used to improve the flavor of a prepared sauce. Eg.. Fish glaze in white sauce.
• They are made by boiling white/brown beef stock or fish stock and allowing them to reduce to sticky or gelatinous consistency.
• They are then stored in jars and after cooling, kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• If they are to be deep frozen then place into small jars which have been sterilized.
• By deep-freezing, it can be stored for a month or little longer.

8.  SAUCE QUALITY

Sauce texture in itself is a value judgment differing from cuisine to cuisine and from chef to chef. It must be understood that two quarts of any sauce, simmering in a five-quart sauce pan for five minutes will have a different texture (thickness-thinness) than two quarts of the same sauce simmering for five minutes in a nine inch tapered sauce pan.

The quality of sauce depends on

1. The quality of a stock simmered slowly with proper ingredients.
2. The quality of the fat used for a roux.

The care extended to this roux

9. GUIDELINES FOR USE OF SAUCE

• All sauces can be blended with other sauces, cream, sour cream, wine, juices, purees, eggs, cheese, butter, condiments and so on.
• Sauces should be blended with the dish in small quantities at the same time of serving.
• Garnishes must be sauted in butter or heated before they are added.
• Garnishes must be edible and appealing.
• Sauces are reduced (concentrated) by simmering, sometimes diluted with stock, or taken off from the heat to prevent curdling.

10. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREPARING AND SERVING SAUCES.

• ¨ Keeping Sauces Fresh:

Most sauces can be held at a low temperature until ready-to-serve. However, resting for a long period will lead to formation of a “skin” or hardened layer on the sauce. Plastic wrap can be floated atop the sauce to prevent this or the sauce can be skimmed prior to serving.

• ¨ Advance Preparation:

Most sauces can be prepared and frozen for future use. If done so, it should be done in small batches (ice cube trays work well) and care should be taken when reheating. Some sauces, such as hollandaise, are hard to preserve, but if reheated gradually over a double boiler may render a palatable result.

• ¨ Ingredients:

Many of these sauces have very few components, and thus it is crucial to use only the finest and fresh ingredients. The difference between a good and a great Hollandaise, for example depends on the quality of the butter used.

• ¨ A Finishing Touch:

A final part of good quality butter stirred in at the last moment before serving adds an appealing gloss to the sauce.

11. TYPES OF SAUCES AND ITS PREPARATIONS

12.1. Preparation of White Sauce

When preparing the basic sauce it is important to use the correct proportion of butter and flour. As a thumb rule, always use the same number of tablespoons of butter as flour.

Ingredients: Sauce Butter Flour Fresh cream Egg yolk

Method of preparation:

• Melt the butter over a low heat, but do not allow it to turn brown.
• Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for few minutes. Do not allow it to turn brown.
• Remove the mixture called roux, from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Gradually beat in the warm stock with the whisk until smooth.
• Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly with a metal spoon, simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
• Add the cream and bring the mixture to boil. Season with salt, freshly ground white pepper and lemon juice.
• Beat together an egg yolk with double cream. Stir some of the hot sauce into the egg yolk and cream mixture.
• Pour the mixture into hot sauce and bring to the boil, stir in vigorously.
• This sauce is especially delicious if it is pressed through a fine sieve. Pasta prepared with white sauce taste better.

Method

•  Place butter in a large bowl, add onions and garlic and sauté well
• Blanch, peel, de-seed and chop tomatoes. Add basil, salt and pepper. Add water and make it to boil for 10 minutes. Stir twice during cooking.
•  Place spaghetti in a plate. Pour sauce.

Garnish with chopped greens of spring onions and serve with grated cheese.

•  Place butter in a large bowl and add onions and garlic to it.
•  Blanch, peel, de-seed and chop tomato puree, sugar and water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Leave to cool slightly, then puree in a blender. Pour the sauce in a bowl. Reheat for 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings

Serve with hot deep fried items like samosa, spring rolls, puffs etc.

Method

• Peel and roughly chop onion
• Peel and cut the carrots into stripes, deseed capsicum and cut into stripes
• Take out pineapple slice from syrup and cut into small pieces. Retain the syrup.
•  Stir in oil and the sesame oil into the bowl with carrots, capsicum and onion
•  Meanwhile, blend soya sauce, tomato ketchup and vinegar with corn flour andpour in the pineapple syrupStir the cooked vegetables and pineapple slices into the sauce.

Method

•  In a one liter bowl mix sugar, corn flour and grated orange rind
•  Pour orange juice gradually
•  Heat for 3 minutes

Add butter, cook further for 2 minutes

Method

• ¨ Put butter in a glass bowl
• ¨ Stir in flour, stir in milk and mix well. Add onion with cloves
• ¨ Keep at high flame for 5 minutes.\

Variations

For cheese, sauce add 50 gms of grated cheese and a pinch of mustard to the white sauce and keep in flame for one minute

Method

• Put custard powder and sugar into a mixing bowl. Mix with a little milk till smooth and creamy consistency is obtained.
• Pour the remaining milk in a glass bowl and heat for 2 minutes.
• Pour hot milk on to the blended custard powder and mix well. Heat for two minutes.

Whisk well and let it cool for 10 minutes. Add cream and mix thoroughly. Serve hot or cold.

Method

• Put the corn flour, cocoa powder and sugar in a bowl and blend together with 100 ml
• of the milk to make it a smooth paste
• Stir in the remaining milk and the butter.
• Heat for 4 minutes to thicken sauce, stirring every 1 minute.

Allow to set and serve.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays sauces are also widely used in Indian cuisines and all over the World. Few cuisines could not do without a variety of sauces. If sauces are planned and prepared with care it increases the acceptability of the product and its nutritional value too.