Home Page.NutriBase Glossary: Sauces
Compare Articles History Versions Eval Copy Contact Upgrade Purchase On-Line Help More
Search the NutriBase Web Site.

Alfredo Sauce - A thick, creamy white sauce composed of butter, cream, and eggs used in Italian cuisine.

Barbecue Sauce - A sauce used to baste barbecued meat. Also used as an accompaniment to the meat after it is cooked. Traditionally made with tomatoes, onions, mustard, garlic, brown sugar, and vinegar. Beer or wine is also a popular ingredient.

Béarnaise Sauce - Classic French sauce made with a reduction of vinegar, wine, tarragon and shallots and finished with egg yolks and butter. Served with meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables.

Béchamel Sauce - A term for light white or blond sauces. In its simplest form, white sauce is cream or milk mixed into a white roux (a combination of butter and flour which isn't browned). Also called "white sauce."

Bolognaise - A term that applies to several dishes inspired by Italian cookery from the Bologna region. Bolognaise sauce is a thick sauce based on various vegetables and meats.

Catsup, Ketchup - A thick, spicy sauce with vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices. Catsup usually has a tomato foundation, but gourmet markets often carry condiments with a base of anything from walnuts to mangos. Also called "ketchup."

Chili Sauce - A spicy condiment composed of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, green peppers, vinegar, sugar, and spices.

Cocktail Sauce - A combination of catsup or chili sauce with prepared horseradish, lemon juice, and hot red pepper seasoning. Used with seafood and as a condiment for hors d'oeuvres.

Curry - This word refers to any number of hot, spicy, gravy-like dishes from East India. Comes from the Indian word "kari," which means "sauce." Curry powder is a primary ingredient in curry.

Diable Sauce - A meat and poultry sauce that is composed of a basic brown sauce with wine, vinegar, shallots, and red or black pepper.

Duck Sauce - A thick, sweet and sour condiment made from plums, apricots, sugar and seasonings. Often served with duck, pork, or spareribs.

Forestièra Sauce - A French sauce containing sliced sautéed mushrooms added to a base made from demiglace flavored with sherry.

Gravy - A sauce made from meat juices and combined with a liquid broth, wine, or milk, plus a thickening agent such as flour or cornstarch. Before refrigeration, sauces were used to help hide the taste of foods that were going rancid.

Hoisin Sauce - A thick, reddish-brown sauce widely used in Chinese cooking. This sauce, composed of soybeans, garlic, chili peppers and spices, has a sweet and spicy flavor. Also know as "Peking Sauce."

Hollandaise Sauce - A smooth, rich French cream sauce made from butter and egg yolks. Served over eggs ("Eggs Benedict"), vegetables, fish, and sometimes, meat.

Hummus - A thick sauce of mashed chickpeas (garbanzos) seasoned with garlic, lemon juice, and olive or sesame oil. Used both as a dip and as a sauce and often served on pita.

Marinade - A highly seasoned liquid in which foods are soaked. Marinating foods permits them to absorb the flavor of the marinade. Most marinades contain a acid of some sort (lemon juice, vinegar, wine) which aid in tenderizing meats.

Marinara - A highly seasoned Italian tomato sauce used with pasta and some meats. Marinara is made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and oregano.

Mornay Sauce - A Béchamel sauce to which cheese has been added. Parmesan and Swiss are two popular choices for the cheese.

Newburg Sauce - A very rich sauce of butter, cream egg yolks, sherry, and seasonings used over cooked shellfish such as lobster, crab or shrimp. It was created by a chef of the once famous Delmonico Restaurant in New York.

Pesto Sauce - An uncooked sauce of basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan or pecorino cheese. Often served with pasta.

Picante Sauce - A hot and spicy sauce, most often tomato-based. "Picante" means "pepper hot."

Robert Sauce - One of the oldest brown sauces, invented in the 17th century by Frenchman Robert Vinot. Made with butter, flour, onions, wine bullion, seasoning, and French mustard. Used with goose, pork, and venison.

Sabayon Sauce - The French word for "Zabaglione," an ethereal dessert made by whisking egg yolks, Marsala wine, and sugar over simmering water to convert the eggs into a foamy custard.

Salsa - The Mexican word for "sauce." There are many varieties: cooked and uncooked, chunky to smooth, green to red, hot to mild.

Sauce - A thickened and flavored liquid that is created to enhance the flavor of the food that it accompanies. In the days before refrigeration, sauces were used to disguise the taste of foods that were going bad.

Seafood Sauce - A combination of catsup or chili sauce with prepared horseradish, lemon juice, and hot red pepper seasoning. Used with seafood and as a condiment for hors d'oeuvres.

Shoyu - A dark, salty sauce made from fermenting boiled soybeans and roasted wheat or barley. Extremely popular in the Orient; used to flavor fish, meat, marinades, sauces, soups, and vegetables. Better known in U.S. as "soy sauce."

Soy Sauce - A dark, salty sauce made from fermenting boiled soybeans and roasted wheat or barley. Extremely popular in the Orient; used to flavor fish, meat, marinades, sauces, soups, and vegetables.

Sweet and Sour Sauce - A sauce that has a flavor intended to balance sweet with pungent. This is usually accomplished by using sugar and vinegar. This type of sauce is often served over meat, fish, or vegetables.

Szechuan Sauce - A sauce prepared with the Szechuan pepper. This pepper (and therefore the sauce) has a very distinctive mildly hot flavor and aroma.

Tamari - A dark, thicker form of soy sauce with a distinctive mellow flavor. Used as a dipping sauce, for basting, and as a table condiment.

Tartar Sauce - A creamy white sauce composed of mayonnaise, minced capers, dill pickles, onions or shallots, olives, and lemon juice or vinegar and other seasonings. Tartar sauce is often served as an accompaniment to fried fish.

Teriyaki Sauce - A Japanese sauce made of soy sauce, sake or sherry, sugar, ginger, and seasonings. Used as a marinade for chicken and beef. The sugar often gives the sauce a slight glazed appearance.

Tomato Sauce - A slightly thinner tomato puree, often mixed with seasonings to facilitate their use in other sauces and dishes.

White Sauce - A term for light white or blond sauces. In its simplest form, white sauce is cream or milk mixed into a white roux (a combination of butter and flour which isn't browned). This basic French sauce is called "béchamel."

Worcestershire Sauce - This thin, dark sauce is made from garlic, soy sauce, tamarind, onion, molasses, lime, anchovies, vinegar and seasonings. Used to season meats, gravies, soups, and vegetables. It was first bottled in Worcester, England.

Copyright 1986 - 2017 by CyberSoft, Inc., an Arizona Corporation. All rights reserved.