Sauces

Based on Marie-Antoine Carême's classification of sauces, this is a catalog of the various classic sauces of French cuisine. These were later codified by Auguste Escoffier into the sauces and their derivatives used today.

First are the four grande or "mother" sauces: Béchamel, Espagnole, Velouté and Allemande.

• Béchamel sauce was originally made with a fish stock and a little onion and parsley to which milk is added and thickened. It is now mostly made by thickening milk with a white roux and adding a pinch of ground nutmeg to enhance the flavor.
• Espagnole sauce in Carême's original version was made with ham, veal, and partridge braised in water, thickened with a roux and garnished with parsley, chives, bay leaves, thyme, sweet basil, cloves and parings of mushrooms. It is now a brown sauce made by thickening dark beef stock with a dark roux, then simmering with a classic mirepoix¹ and a bouquet garni² until greatly reduced. More recently pureed tomato or tomato paste is added.
• Velouté sauce is light in colour, made by reducing clear stock (made from un-roasted bones), usually veal, chicken or fish stock, thickened with a white or blond roux. Velouté is the French word for "velvety".
• Allemande sauce is based on a light-colored velouté sauce (typically veal, chicken, fish or shellfish), but thickened with egg yolks and heavy cream, and seasoned with lemon juice.

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And Carême added five petites sauces: Poivrade, Suprême, Tomate, Hollandaise and Mayonnaise.

• Poivrade sauce is made of a cooked mirepoix thickened with flour and moistened with wine and a little vinegar, then heavily seasoned with black pepper. More traditional versions in French haute cuisine use Sauce Espagnole as a thickener.
• Suprême sauce consists of Velouté thickened with cream and strained.
• Tomate sauce consists of tomato purée or fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt belly of pork, bay leaves, thyme, roux, salt, sugar, and pepper.
• Hollandaise sauce is a mixture of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice. It is usually seasoned with salt, and either white pepper or cayenne pepper.
• Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice.

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1. mirepoix - a mixture in equal proportions of onion, carrot and celery, all diced.
2. bouquet garni - a bundle of various herbs used to season sauces; in most French recipes it is made of thyme, bay leaf and parsley.