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. |