Village Squire, 1976-04, Page 31BY RON RUDD
Sauces are perhaps the most glorious of
French cooking. One author says the serving
of meat in France is a little meat and much
sauce; in England it is much meat and little
sauce There is a really enormous list of
sauces from all sources. Smooth, creamy
13echamel is a contrast to rosy, . tangy
Cumberlanif. Zesty tomato sauces vie with
spicy bread sauces. There are butter sauces,
oil and vinegar sauces, brown sauces and
eehite sauces, sauces vertes, bearnaise,
hollandaise, mayonnaise and just plain
gray\
The ordin„ry home cook need not have the
many name, of the sauces memorized. There
is little mystery to good sauce cookery. Here a
few hints and the recipes for basic sauces
which can be varied almost at will by the
addition of herbs, cheese, cream and a host of
other enrn hments or additives.
The saute pot is important. It must be
heavy bottomed; an enamelled cast iron pot of •
about two-qyart size is best. A wire whisk and
a wooden stirring spoon are also necessary.
They blender is a modern marvel but, while it
may help in some cases, it never produces
sauces to equal "handmade” sauces.
One of the most important basic sauces is
the white sauce. This sayce begins with a
mixture of flour and fat cooked slowly
together to form what is known as a roux. The
roux serves as the thickening agent for milk
or for a stock made from poultry, fish or
vegetables.
The thickness of the sauce is• in . direct
proportion to the amount of flour per cup of
liquid. The amount of tat should not exceed a
tablespoon for each tablespoon of flour. You
can enrich the sauce later if you wish. A
general rule for flour -liquid ratio is one
tablespoon flour per cup of liquid for a thin
sauce. This sauce will be like soup. One and a
half tablespoons of 'flour per cup of liquid will
give a good sauce that will cover a spoon,
while two to two and a half tablespoonls of
flour per cup will give a nice thick sauce.
The secret of these sauces is in the slow
cooking of the fat -flour mixture prior to the
addition of the liquid. The purpose is to make
sure that the flour is cooked. Nothing
destroys a cook's reputation quicker than a
sauce bearing the taste of raw flour.
Squire's Chef
Sauces are the spice of cooking
The liquid should always be warm if milk,
or boiling if other liquids. Vigorous beating
with a wire whip after the addition of the
liquid will properly blend the roux. Stir at the
boil for a few minutes with a wooden spoon.
Season this basic sauce with salt and white
pepper, since black pepper interferes with the
creamy appearance of the finished sauce.
Use butter for sauces with milk as the
liquid. I have used margarine when the
additives are of distinct flavour but it is much
better to stick with butter. If stock is used, the
fat may be; bacon dripping or beef dripping,
depending on theflavour desired, but always
use butter where flavours are delicate.
To make the sauce, melt the fat over
medium heat in the heavy pan. When the fat
bubbles, add the flour and stir briskly for
several minutes to cook until flour and fat
froth. Add the hot liquid all at once and beat
briskly with the whisk. Bring to a boil and stir
for one or two minutes. Season with salt and
white pepper.
Add two tablespoons butter to two cups of
medium sauce, a half tablespoon at a time.
Beat between each addition. This makes a
nice, fish sauce.
Add '/: cup of whipping cream to two cups
thick sauce, a spoonful at a time, beating well
with the whisk between additions. Use this
sauce on vegetables, eggs, fish or chicken.
Add grated sharp cheddar to a medium
sauce for a delightful cheese sauce. About V2
cup of cheese to two cups sauce will give -a
very decent result. Try different amounts to
suit your own taste. Use this sauce for cooked
pasta, eggs or vegetables. Some peopled use it
for fish or poultry but other sauces are better
for these foods.
Try 4 or 5 tablespoons of tomato paste with
a bit of fresh parsley, basil or tarragon.
A little curry powder (2 to 3 tablespoons to.
2 cups) will produce a magnificent sauce. Add
the curry powder with the flour since it needs
cooking. This is a light curry sauce.
Try anything your taste buds and
imagination dictate. Follow the directions for
the sauce given earlier and your reputation as
a cook will improve.
Brown sauce may be made the same way as
white sauce but the roux is cooked until it is a
nut brown colour. To avoid black specks, use
only clarified butter for delicate flavour or
rendered pork fat or cooking oil for the more
robust flavours. Cook the roux evenly and
slowly, burned flour will not thicken. Liquid
tram stewed, braised or roasted meat. with
coater added is best.
Another thickener for brown saute, is
cornstarch. Many cooks swear by arrowroot
since it gives a much 'clearer sauce. No fat is
needed for sauces thickened with cornstarch
or arrowroot. The ratio of starch to liquid. for
most uses is 1 tablespoon cornstarch to one
cup of liquid.
Since I favour the clear brown sauce, here
is a basic recipe to which your own additions
can be made. The liquid can be any liquid
made by simmering, stewing or roasting
meat. It is best to remove the fat by cooking
and skimming. Bouillon cubes or canned
bouillon may be used. Mix 1 tablespoon
cornstarch per cup of liquid with a little of the
liquid and cook until the sauce is clear. I'm
sure you have done this many times. It is just
gravy MI it?
Add Tots of freshly ground black pepper
and a dash of cayenne for a zesty change.
Add wine, prepared mustard, herbs or
anything else that strikes your fancy. Try
curry powder, mushrooms, onions or red
currant jelly. Let yourself go! Be imaginative!
Enjoy the results.
Any good cook book will give directions and
names for the different varieties of- sauce.
We can deal with other sauces again. The
egg thickened sauces like hollandaise and
mayonnaise deserve a whole column.
Here are two absolutely magnificent
sauces, Cumberland sauce for lamb or game
and bread sauce for poultry or game. For
Cumberland sauce you need the outer rind of
one orange and one lemon. Peel these
carefully with a vegetable peeler so that no
white clings to the peeling. Cut the peelings
into VERY fine shreds. Simmer the shreds in
the juice of the orange and lemon with one
very finely chopped small onion. After 10
minutes simmering, strain and add 4
-tablespoons of good port, 3 tablespoons red
currant jelly. 4 teaspoon ground ginger and
a pinch of caken'ne. Simmer gently a further
10 minutes.
The bread sauce is an English sauce ane? is
excellent as a change. Peel an onion stick
it a couple of cloves and bring to a boil m
cup of milk. Use your heal k sauce pot for this
Add three slices ot white bread It Is best to
use ,tale bread with the crusts remoted
Simmer gently tor 1;-.20 mint fes an.: stir
occasionally . Add •alt and white pepper to
taste renwse the e'ni'n ,ute:.-loce add two
tablespoons butter Serle hot with roast
poultr
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