They're in every classic French cookbook from Larousse to Julia Child and are often mentioned on the menus of high end restaurants, but how much do you really know about the five mother sauces? What are these essentials of French cuisine, and how did they come to be so important? "The five mother sauces are the foundation sauces from which other sauces are derived. They are the starting-point for many classic sauces," says Jerrod Zifchak, executive chef of Café Boulud in New York City. They were named by Auguste Escoffier, the famed chef who modernized classic French techniques and recipes in the early 1900s. They include velouté (blonde sauce), bechamel (white sauce), tomato (red sauce), hollandaise (butter sauce), and espagnole (brown sauce). We turned to Zifchak to learn how each of the five mother sauces are made and how we can use them when cooking at home.
A GUIDE TO REGIONAL BARBECUE SAUCES
Velouté
Velouté may sound like an intimidating sauce, but, surprisingly, it's the simplest of the five mother sauces to make (it's also considered to be the first mother sauce). In French cuisine, velouté is a key component in Coq au Vin Blanc. According to Zifchak, only three ingredients are needed for this light, delicate white sauce-white stock (veal, chicken, or fish), butter, and flour. "Melt the butter and flour to form a roux. Slowly pour the hot stock into the roux and whisk until smooth." Voila! From here, it can be used as the base for gravy, soup such as our Test Kitchen's Favorite Chicken and Dumplings, or as a simple sauce atop poultry and white fish.
Get the Veloute Sauce Recipe
Bechamel
"Bechamel was originally known as Salsa Cola or Colleta, meaning "glue sauce," due to its thick and sticky consistency," says Zifchak. The creamy sauce is made with butter, flour, hot milk, white pepper, and salt and is the base for comfort food dishes like Macaroni and Cheese and classic potato gratin. In addition to riffs on gratin, like our asparagus and potato version, bechamel is also a key ingredient in another French classic-a croque madame sandwich (which we Americans know as a ham and cheese sandwich). Make your own bechamel, then try it in this Turkey-Pastrami Croque-Madame Casserole.
Get the Bechamel Sauce Recipe
Tomato
Classic tomato sauce is probably the most well-known of the five mother sauces. Traditional French tomato sauce is made with canned whole peeled tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, and a bay leaf. Italian marinara may sub out the bay leaf for basil, though every Italian grandmother has her own version of a proper marinara sauce to serve with Grilled-Eggplant Parmesan or Creamy Baked Ziti. From pasta to North African shakshuka, tomato sauce is an everyday culinary staple. It's even a standard side served with kid-friendly Mozzarella Sticks.
Get the Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe
Hollandaise
It may be best known as part of the brunch classic eggs benedict, but hollandaise-a traditional butter sauce made with egg yolks, clarified butter, lemon juice, water, salt, and white pepper-shines when paired with more than just eggs. "This sauce adds richness and acidity to elevate simple ingredients such as asparagus and eggs," says Zifchak. You can serve it as a delicious, rich side sauce for a simple dish like Easy Skillet Poached Salmon. What's more, hollandaise is also the basis of Bearnaise sauce, a classic steakhouse sauce that also includes tarragon, shallots and vinegar; mousseline (whipped cream); Maltaise, which is a blood orange-infused hollandaise.
Get the Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Espagnole
"Although this translates into the French word for 'Spanish,' it is uncertain as to why this name was chosen. Many people believe that the Spanish cooks at Louis XIII's wedding improved the original French brown sauce with Spanish tomatoes," says Zifchak. Espagnole is a brown sauce that is traditionally made with veal stock, mirepoix, garlic, butter, flour, tomato paste, and herbs. The key to this sauce is simmering it for about two hours to develop flavor and achieve the desired consistency. It's the base of two classic sauces that are often paired with red meat-demi-glace, a brown sauce made with espagnole and veal stock, and bordelaise, which has a base of demi-glace and red-wine. These traditional French sauces are popular in bistros and steakhouses and are served with dishes such as Beef Bourguignon and Cassoulet.
FAQs
The five French Mother Sauces are: Béchamel SauceVelouté Sauce, Veloute Sauce, Espagnole Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce, and Classic Tomato Sauce. You can google all of them for the recipes.
What are the 5 basic sauces of French cuisine? ›
The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.
What are the 5 sauces every chef should know? ›
Here are the basic formulas of the five grand or mother sauces:
- Béchamel: Roux + dairy.
- Velouté: Roux + white stock.
- Espagnole: Roux + brown stock.
- Hollandaise: Egg yolks + clarified butter + acid (like lemon juice or white wine)
- Tomato: Roux + tomatoes.
The five mother sauces are hollandaise, tomato (sauce tomat), bechamel, Espagnole, and veloute. French chef Auguste Escoffier identified the five mother sauces, forever associating them with French cuisine. However, mother sauces are relevant in all modern cooking practices.
What are the 6 classic French sauces? ›
Sauces considered mother sauces. In order (left to right, top to bottom): béchamel, espagnole, tomato, velouté, hollandaise, and mayonnaise.
What are the 5 famous sauces? ›
At its very basic purpose, sauces should harmonize the flavors of the main ingredients on the plate, as well as their texture and cooking method.
- 5 Mother Sauces Formula. ...
- Béchamel. ...
- Velouté ...
- Espagnole. ...
- Sauce Tomate. ...
- Hollandaise.
Sauces were often used to cover up the flavor of less-than-perfect meats, poultry and seafood. The five mother sauces include béchamel sauce, veloute sauce, brown or Espagnole sauce, Hollandaise sauce and tomato sauce.
What are the 4 master sauces? ›
To the original four sauces (Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole) enshrined by his predecessor, royal chef Marie-Antoine Carême a century earlier, Escoffier added Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate, and reclassified Allemande. (Mayonnaise, one of his essential cold sauces, is now considered the sixth mother.)
What are the French chef sauces? ›
They were named by Auguste Escoffier, the famed chef who modernized classic French techniques and recipes in the early 1900s. They include velouté (blonde sauce), bechamel (white sauce), tomato (red sauce), hollandaise (butter sauce), and espagnole (brown sauce).
What sauces should every chef know? ›
Pan-searing fish and meat is an essential skill for just about any chef (regardless of where you end up working). And yet, searing fish is a skill that eludes some beginners. Pan-fried fish (from haddock to tuna steak and beyond) is practically ubiquitous in restaurants across both the East and West.
Bechamel – a milk based sauce that is thickened with a roux (clarified butter and flour). This sauce is named after its creator Louis XIV's steward, Louis de Béchamel. Considered the king of all sauces, and often called a cream sauce because of its consistency, this sauce is most often used in all types of dishes.
What are the daughter sauces? ›
Daughter Sauces from Hollandaise
Maltese sauce has orange zest and blood orange juice. Noisette sauce throws in browned butter to the hollandaise. Bearnaise sauce includes vinegar, shallots, tarragon and chervil. Choron sauce is Bearnaise minus tarragon and chervil, but with added pureed tomato.
Who is the father of French sauces? ›
There are two key father figures in the history of French sauces: Marie-Antoine Carême and Georges Auguste Escoffier.
What is the mother of all white sauces? ›
This White Sauce, also known as béchamel sauce, is one of France's four “mother sauces,” and it's a perfect complement to many dishes. Pair it with vegetables, turn it into a creamy casserole or ladle it over seafood or sliced chicken.
What is Escoffier sauce? ›
Escoffier's traditional 'sauce tomate' begins with salted pork belly, onion, bay leaves, thyme, puréed or fresh tomatoes, roux, garlic, salt, sugar, and pepper. If that looks too ambitious – or you're following specific dietary restrictions – you can leave out the pork belly and the roux and make a basic tomato sauce.
What is a French sauce that starts with B? ›
Bechamel is one of the 5 "mother sauces" from the French cuisine. It's essentially a white sauce and starts by making a roux. The whole process is similar to making white gravy (just without the sausage). By warming the milk before adding it to the roux, your mixture will come together more easily.
What are common sauces in France? ›
They include velouté (blonde sauce), bechamel (white sauce), tomato (red sauce), hollandaise (butter sauce), and espagnole (brown sauce). We turned to Zifchak to learn how each of the five mother sauces are made and how we can use them when cooking at home.
What are the most popular sauces in France? ›
They are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato sauce. Each sauce is made with a different base, but they all share some common techniques. Chances are, if the dish you're making requires a sauce, its base likely comes from one of these five sauce recipes. THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS.
What is the difference between a roux and a béchamel sauce? ›
Difference between a Roux and a Béchamel
A roux is a cooked paste of flour and fat (butter, oil, lard, shortening) used to thicken sauces and other liquid mixtures like stews and soups. A béchamel sauce is a special sauce that whisks a hot roux into milk.
