it's time i post about food
the idea of the 5 mother sauces really bugs me.
when i watch Food Network and I see somebody going on about the 5 mother sauces, I believe it is doing a horrible disservice to food. it's causing the number one problem i find people have when they head to the kitchen.
being a good cook has NOTHING to do with knowledge of a large number of recipes; it has everything to do with knowledge of technique. proper technique is what truly seperates a good cook from the dregs that pollute most kitchens today. technique is EVERYTHING. the Food Network is polluted with dozens of individuals with HORRIBLE technique that are doing nothing more than reciting recipes. learning technique is boring, repetitive work. it is not really something you wanna watch on TV. the concept of the 5 mother sauces is built on recipe. that is where they are flawed.
for those unfamiliar-
1)Béchamel
2)Velouté
3)Espagnole
4)Hollandaise and Mayonnaise
5)Vinaigrette
(i have also seen ppl write about 7 sauces where Hollandaise and Mayonnaise are seperate and they add Tomato)
that list is damn silly. the first three on the list are GRAVY. it might as well read
1)Sawmill Gravy
2)Chicken Gravy
3)Brown Gravy
and that is rediculous. they all essentially follow the same procedure of making a roux and using it to thicken a liquid base. AND (and this is a big one here) nobody is making Espagnole these days anyways in proper kitchens. Escoffier's method of making demi-glace involved making Espagnole, setting it half-on a full burner and skimming off the proteins and starch as they rose to the surface and moved to the cool side. uhhh... yeah... that's not done anymore.
all of the sauces that Espagnole was the base for have become natural reductions. in Escoffier's day, they idea of using 40 lbs. of veal bones to produce a few quarts of demi-glace would have been horrifying, but well... kitchen has become theater as they say... and well natural reduction demi-glace is just damn tasty.
the veloute is still around, but really has merely become nothing more than a way to use gravy as a sauce on your menu without having to use gravy as a word.
hollandaise and mayonaise being grouped together i kind of agree with for the concept the 2 involve of suspending a fat in egg yolk, but the method of setting your initial emulsion differs for the two.
and tomato sauce being on it's own... well that is "almost" right, but misses the big point in that there are several other sauces that can be made from this technique that don't involve tomatoes at all.
so i suggest the new mother sauces...
1)roux thickened - this covers your veloutes, bechamel, hell... even gumbo base.
2)slurry thickened - this is for your asian sauces... well the american versions at least.
3)natural reductions i. and ii. - the 2 sup-catagories being for simple redux like balsamic or port syrup and the other for fat mounted sauces like demi-glace and natural pan sauce.
4)fat emulsions - now i could be picky like the last one and split this up, but i don't feel that is required as truly mayonaise, hollandaise and vinagrette are all about tricking fat into hanging out where it doesn't belong... and if any of them are made clumsy they will break. if you don't set the emulsion before you add any fat you're screwed on all these. if you don't take your time on the first 5% of fat for any of these you're screwed. stable vinagrette can be made that will hold just as long as hollandiase if you know what you are doing and hold it properly.
5)vegetable matter thickened - this is for tomato sauce, coulis, bbq sauce, hot sauce blah. blah. blah.
now i could somewhat see an argument for infusions to be included as they have become quite trendy, but really infusion is nothing more than an early step in these five sauces. i don't believe they should be included in an of themselves.
i know i'm a food dork. i know most of you don't care. just on my mind.
when i watch Food Network and I see somebody going on about the 5 mother sauces, I believe it is doing a horrible disservice to food. it's causing the number one problem i find people have when they head to the kitchen.
being a good cook has NOTHING to do with knowledge of a large number of recipes; it has everything to do with knowledge of technique. proper technique is what truly seperates a good cook from the dregs that pollute most kitchens today. technique is EVERYTHING. the Food Network is polluted with dozens of individuals with HORRIBLE technique that are doing nothing more than reciting recipes. learning technique is boring, repetitive work. it is not really something you wanna watch on TV. the concept of the 5 mother sauces is built on recipe. that is where they are flawed.
for those unfamiliar-
1)Béchamel
2)Velouté
3)Espagnole
4)Hollandaise and Mayonnaise
5)Vinaigrette
(i have also seen ppl write about 7 sauces where Hollandaise and Mayonnaise are seperate and they add Tomato)
that list is damn silly. the first three on the list are GRAVY. it might as well read
1)Sawmill Gravy
2)Chicken Gravy
3)Brown Gravy
and that is rediculous. they all essentially follow the same procedure of making a roux and using it to thicken a liquid base. AND (and this is a big one here) nobody is making Espagnole these days anyways in proper kitchens. Escoffier's method of making demi-glace involved making Espagnole, setting it half-on a full burner and skimming off the proteins and starch as they rose to the surface and moved to the cool side. uhhh... yeah... that's not done anymore.
all of the sauces that Espagnole was the base for have become natural reductions. in Escoffier's day, they idea of using 40 lbs. of veal bones to produce a few quarts of demi-glace would have been horrifying, but well... kitchen has become theater as they say... and well natural reduction demi-glace is just damn tasty.
the veloute is still around, but really has merely become nothing more than a way to use gravy as a sauce on your menu without having to use gravy as a word.
hollandaise and mayonaise being grouped together i kind of agree with for the concept the 2 involve of suspending a fat in egg yolk, but the method of setting your initial emulsion differs for the two.
and tomato sauce being on it's own... well that is "almost" right, but misses the big point in that there are several other sauces that can be made from this technique that don't involve tomatoes at all.
so i suggest the new mother sauces...
1)roux thickened - this covers your veloutes, bechamel, hell... even gumbo base.
2)slurry thickened - this is for your asian sauces... well the american versions at least.
3)natural reductions i. and ii. - the 2 sup-catagories being for simple redux like balsamic or port syrup and the other for fat mounted sauces like demi-glace and natural pan sauce.
4)fat emulsions - now i could be picky like the last one and split this up, but i don't feel that is required as truly mayonaise, hollandaise and vinagrette are all about tricking fat into hanging out where it doesn't belong... and if any of them are made clumsy they will break. if you don't set the emulsion before you add any fat you're screwed on all these. if you don't take your time on the first 5% of fat for any of these you're screwed. stable vinagrette can be made that will hold just as long as hollandiase if you know what you are doing and hold it properly.
5)vegetable matter thickened - this is for tomato sauce, coulis, bbq sauce, hot sauce blah. blah. blah.
now i could somewhat see an argument for infusions to be included as they have become quite trendy, but really infusion is nothing more than an early step in these five sauces. i don't believe they should be included in an of themselves.
i know i'm a food dork. i know most of you don't care. just on my mind.