Supplementary Information

  • What is a Cream Sauce?

  • The History of Cream Sauces

  • Examples of Cream Sauces

  • Differences in Types of Cream

  • Pans used in making Cream Sauce

    • Recipes

  • Bechamel Sauce

  • Cream Sauce

  • Creamy Alfredo Sauce

  • Mornay Sauce

  • Nantua Sauce

    • Cream Sauce

    All you wanted to know about Cream Sauce

    What is A Cream Sauce?

    White or cream sauce recipes are a variation of the five mother sauces. These are the four basic types of savory sauces that are the foundation for all others. Béchamel is one of the four and white or cream sauces are basically variations of this mother sauce. Béchamel (or white or cream) sauce is a smooth and white made from milk and thickened with a roux of flour and butter.

    Thus, any white sauce has its roots in this French Béchamel sauce. If you add herbs, cheese, or anything else to your white or cream sauce recipe, it's still a béchamel with a twist if you will. Béchamel is named after a French cook, but food historians aren't really sure if he invented it or not. At the time, only the wealthy could afford to indulge in this rich sauce because they were the only ones who could afford to purchase and store the milk or cream that is its foundation. So, although common today, white or cream sauce recipes were a status symbol.

    The thickness depends on the amount of butter and flour used in proportion to the milk. More milk makes it thinner, while less milk (or cream) makes it thicker and richer.

    A sauce is the crowning glory of any dish. From the basic "five mother" sauces, there are literally hundreds of variations of sauce that are used to dress, compliment, enhance and bring out the flavor of the food it is served with.

    According to the ultimate cooking reference book, The New Food Lover's Companion, by Sharon Tyler Herbst, the French are credited with refining the sophisticated art of sauce-making. The development of various sauces over the years stems from the 19th-century French chef Antonin Carême who evolved an intricate methodology by which hundreds of sauces were classified under one of five "mother sauces." Those basic sauces are the white sauce Béchamel, the light stock-based Velouté, the brown stock-based Espagnole; the two basic emulsified sauces, Hollandaise and Mayonnaise; and the oil and vinegar-based Vinaigrette.

    (Tomato is considered to be among the 5 mother sauces, however, it actually came about later...although it certainly has earned the title since it is the base for a large variety of sauces in today's cookery.)

    The method for preparing the various types of sauces incorporates some of the same techniques. For example, a roux is basic to many of the white and brown sauces. This cooked mixture of flour and fat (usually butter) is an important contribution to the sauce-making art. In addition, these classic sauces have been joined by a plethora of modern-day sauces such as sweet dessert sauces, tomato, pesto and barbecue sauces, as well as a wide variety of gravies.

    Always remember that when a sauce is used on a food, it is the first thing to touch the tongue. A sauce is only as good as the ingredients you put into it and the care you take while preparing it. On the other hand, a good sauce does little to make inferior food taste better. Always put a good sauce on good food. Thankfully, we no longer use sauce to mask "off-tasting food" as was once the practice in times before modern refrigeration!

     

    Béchamel, the classic white sauce, was named after its inventor, Louis XIV's steward Louis de Béchamel. The king of all sauces, it is often referred to as a cream sauce because of its appearance and is probably used most frequently in all types of dishes. Made by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux, the thickness of the sauce depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk. The proportions for a thin sauce would be 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour per 1 cup of milk; a medium sauce would use 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour; a thick sauce, 3 tablespoons each.

    Velouté is a stock-based white sauce. It can be made from chicken, veal or fish stock. Enrichments such as egg yolks or cream are sometimes also added.

    Constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce for a few seconds, set the pan off the heat during that time.

    If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain sauce with sieve to remove lumps.

    Cook egg-thickened sauces over low heat, or cook these sauces in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Always temper (warm) the egg yolks before adding them to the sauce by first stirring in a little of the hot sauce mixture into them. Then add to the remainder of the sauce mixture. Never let a sauce boil after the egg yolks are added as the sauce may curdle.

    Don't let water boil in the bottom of the double boiler if you use it to make egg-thickened sauces. Also, be sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the pan holding the sauce.

    Sauces play an important part of all cuisine. Sauces originally came about to mask the unpleasantness of food back when refrigeration was nonexistent. But today sauces have a much more "happy" place on our plate. A sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods.Sauces are not to be consumed alone, they are accompaniments to dishes. Sauces add flavor to dishes, add moisture to drier foods, and they add nutrients. The number of sauces in the world are endless. As long as chefs continue create amazing dishes, amazing sauces will be born. Although there is an endless aray of sauces, there are only five "Mother" sauces. Of these five sauces, any sauce can be created with a few modifications.

    The most common sauces are made from 3 types of ingredients:

    image of cream sauce

    See Also