French chefs, which can rightly be called The real culinary aesthetics claim to cook, in principle, any person can be taught, it would only be patience and desire. However, there is only one dish, or rather, even a certain addition to the dish, which only a cook can cook correctly, possessing an extraordinary mind and talents. And the dish is nothing but like a sauce. Even the word “sauce” itself has French roots, despite to the fact that now this term is in all countries of the world.
History of sauce
The first kind of sauce appeared in ancient times, in its basis there was only vinegar and fish. It was called Garum and was equally popular. both among the common population and among the rich. Used Garum when serving meat and fish dishes as a universal seasonings. In addition, in those days, sauce replaced scarce salt.
In order to get mackerel sauce or tuna passed the process of drying in fresh air and under scorching rays of the sun. After several months of languor under the sun rays of fish cooked. During the cooking process, she released a liquid, thick in composition. Just in this liquid and was added vinegar. The more affluent sections of the population also put salt in it, pepper, wine and olive oil.
The cooking process of garum was accompanied by a very pungent odor, that is why it was strictly forbidden to cook it in the city. The finished product was distinguished by a pleasant aroma and taste. Merchants they poured it into small amphoras and sold it in the market.
Subsequently, almost all sauces, one way or another, were associated with French names. Various types of sauces appeared in XVII – IXX centuries For example, the now popular bechamel sauce was invented by Louis de Bechamel. Several interesting sauce recipes are attributed to the name. the famous Dumas Sr.
Nowadays, the number of recipes for sauces is so great that often exceeds the number of recipes to which they in fact, they are intended.
The main purpose of sauces
The main purpose of any sauce is to give unusual, spicy taste of the dish. Sometimes the sauce is also capable hide some of the shortcomings that one or another has product. It is due to the outgoing from a dish seasoned with sauce, the fact, what will be the first impression of him.
Sometimes sauce is the main component of the dish. For example, when served with spaghetti, which belongs to the category neutral side dishes. Despite the fact that the sauce can be stewed, and bake, most often it serves as a salad dressing.
The main ingredients of sauces
The composition of any sauce includes a filler containing various to taste and aroma the ingredients, and, of course, a liquid base. Sometimes flour is also added to the filler to give sauces densities. Sauces with flour are available in different colors, from gray cream to red.
The basis for sauces can also be different:
- fish;
- meat;
- creamy;
- sour cream;
- milk;
- mushroom;
- vinegar.
A distinctive feature of Caucasian and Russian cuisine is that sauces prepared by representatives of these countries are basically contain berries. For this, the selected variety of berries, for example, red currants, carefully rub through a fine sieve and boil. Further, the resulting consistency is diluted with water, wine and vinegar. In addition, chopped nuts are added to the sauce. The most popular berries and fruits for the sauce are blackberries, plums, pomegranate and barberry.
These sauces are also called sweet and are used as As a rule, for desserts or decoration of main dishes.
Bechamel sauce
One of the most popular sauces among not only cooks, but also simple housewives is bechamel sauce. He appeared in far 1651. It is prepared quite easily. For this you need just fry flour in butter, and then just add to this mixture is salt and milk. To the traditional recipe now also add grated cheese. Cheeses most commonly used are cheddar or parmesan. It is served with crayfish or shrimp. complementing the taste of seafood.
Sauce is ordered
Another famous white sauce. For the first time, they even started talking about him. earlier than about bechamel around 1553. As a basis in it uses chicken broth. The filler is fat, pepper, salt and flour.
It is veluet that serves as the basis of the popular German, Venetian and Hungarian sauces. The difference is only in the fillers. So, put egg yolk, cream and a little lemon in German sauce juice. In Hungarian – wine, onions and paprika giving a special aroma. The composition of the Venetian sauce includes herbs: shallots, chervil and tarragon.
Spanish Espanyol Sauce
There is a legend that for the first time they learned about this sauce at a wedding Louis XIII. Then, in order to prepare holiday dishes a cook was discharged from Spain, who brought with him unusual recipe for brown sauce.
The cook intensively fried the flour in fat, due to which she took reddish or even closer to brown. Thereafter he simply mixed the resulting mixture with pre-prepared meat broth and cooked it until thick.
The traditional sauce recipe is used in modern society. Fresh beef is selected for the meat broth.
Dutch olandes sauce
Even the name of this sauce is somewhat consonant with the word “mayonnaise”. The scheme of its preparation also coincides with the cooking mayonnaise. This is a kind of emulsion of butter and yolks.
To do this, beat the yolks thoroughly, and the butter melt thoroughly in a pan. After that into the yolks melted butter is added in small portions literally 1–2 drops. An important point is compliance with the rule that a container with whipped yolks must be kept above the steam all the time. AT as a complement to the egg-oil mixture add a mixture of peppers (red, white and black), salt and some lemon juice. Like the sauce is ideal for fish dishes, vegetables or seafood.
What is the main difference between the Dutch sauce and mayonnaise sauce? Mayonnaise is made not in butter, but in olive.
And if you add mayonnaise sauce with Provencal butter and finely chopped garlic is already aioli also popular in Mediterranean countries sauce.
Spanish tomato sauces
The first preparation of tomato sauce is correlated with Mexican the Aztecs. It was they who, combining red pepper with tomatoes, invented the recipe for this sauce first.
In Europe, the recipe was supplemented with onions, garlic, olive oil and a mixture of herbs that give the sauce a special aroma. Especially for Europeans chopped basil, oregano and parsley.
However, all further variations in the preparation of this sauce are again connected with the Spaniards. They invented the sharp chilindron. At they didn’t stop inventing one recipe, no, depending on the excipients emit:
- ali-oli (garlic and olive oil);
- samfain (eggplant);
- picada (roasted almonds);
- spotlight (greens).
The basis of the chillindron is hot chili pepper, garlic, onion and, of course, tomatoes.
Ketchup sauce
Recently the name of this sauce has been very strong depreciated. Any store can offer a choice to the buyer a huge range of products of this type. It is unlikely Someone thinks that ketchup is a sauce in full of this word.
The history of ketchup sauce is very rich. The name is invented for him sailors, although it would be more correct to say that they borrowed it on one of their cruises to Asia from a local sauce from pepper and tomato.
The name was firmly entrenched behind this sauce, and already in the IXX century, hearing the word “ketchup”, everyone knew well what was being said. but freshly prepared ketchup of those times was very different from what sold in stores now.
Mushroom sauce
In order to cook a delicious mushroom sauce, it’s enough have mushrooms, sour cream or cream. By far the most fragrant sauce is obtained from wild mushrooms.
In order for the sauce to thicken, flour is added to it. She is gives the cook a guarantee that sour cream or cream is in the process heating will not curl. Europeans use their own foundation for mushroom sauce – Parisienne. Here, the yolks are the thickener. It is important to note that mushrooms for this sauce are prepared separately from sauce and added to it only at the very end.
