In classical French cooking, five basic sauces are called the mother sauces. Each can be varied into dozens of others. Learning them gives you the foundation for a huge range of dishes, from croque monsieur to moussaka.
1. Béchamel
Béchamel is milk thickened with a roux of butter and flour, and often seasoned with nutmeg. It is used in lasagna, moussaka, gratins and croque monsieur. Add cheese and it becomes sauce Mornay.
2. Velouté
Velouté follows the same method as béchamel, but uses a light stock, such as chicken, veal or fish, instead of milk. It is the base for many cream sauces served with poultry and fish.
3. Espagnole
Espagnole is a brown sauce made from brown stock, a well-cooked brown roux, browned vegetables and tomato. Reduced with more stock it becomes demi-glace, the base for many classic meat sauces.
4. Sauce tomate
The French tomato sauce is traditionally made with tomatoes, aromatic vegetables and stock, and sometimes thickened with roux. Today most cooks make a simpler reduced tomato sauce.
5. Hollandaise
Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolks and melted butter, sharpened with lemon juice. It is served with eggs Benedict, asparagus and fish. Add tarragon and shallot reduction and it becomes béarnaise.
How to make a smooth roux
Three of the five sauces start with roux. Melt equal weights of butter and flour, cook for 1–2 minutes, then add warm liquid gradually while whisking. Cook the sauce for a few minutes more to remove any floury taste.
- White roux: cooked 1–2 minutes, for béchamel
- Blond roux: cooked until pale golden, for velouté
- Brown roux: cooked slowly until nut-brown, for espagnole