This rich garlic sauce is similar in texture to mayonnaise, and is commonly used in the cuisine of Provençe in France and Catalonia in Spain. Provençal aïoli consists of egg yolks, olive oil, and garlic, while the Catalan version consists only of garlic, salt, and olive oil.
Its name comes from ail, meaning garlic, and oli, the Provençal word for oil. Some historians claim that its origins lie in a Roman sauce called aleatum, which was also made with garlic and oil. A sauce similar to aïoli was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder, Roman procurator of Tarragona, in his first-century encyclopedia Naturalis Historia, in which he describes garlic and its powerful medicinal properties.
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This thick, rich, creamy sauce is made from butter, white wine, shallots, and white wine vinegar. It has a slightly sweet, tangy flavor that goes especially well with poached fish, shellfish, and asparagus. This versatile sauce was popularized in the 1960s and 1970s by French chefs looking to brighten up their dishes with tart sauces instead of more traditional, roux-heavy sauces.
While there are many theories about its origin, the most popular one suggests that it was invented in the early 20th century by chef Clémence Lefeuvre in a small village near the city of Nantes in France, when she forgot to put eggs into the Béarnaise sauce she was making for fish.
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This thick French sauce is usually used as a garnish for fish and fish soup dishes, most notably in the famous traditional Provençal fish stew known as bouillabaisse. It consists of garlic, saffron, chili peppers, olive oil, breadcrumbs, and sometimes egg yolks, because some recipes use mayonnaise as a base.
The name of the sauce translates as rust due to the intense, reddish-brown color of the sauce. Although the origins of rouille are difficult to pinpoint, since modern bouillabaisse is always served with rouille, it can be deduced that the sauce must have coexisted with the dish since the late 18th century, when the first recipe for bouillabaisse appeared in print.
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This classic French sauce is traditionally used as a garnish for grilled meat or fish dishes. Light yellow in color, smooth and creamy in texture, it consists of egg yolks, shallots, reduced vinegar, and butter, and is often flavored with tarragon and chervil.
It is believed that a chef named Collinet (the inventor of soufflé potatoes) first put Béarnaise on the menu of a restaurant called Le Pavillon Henri IV on the outskirts of Paris for its grand opening in 1836. It is assumed that the sauce was named after the Béarn region, the birthplace of Henri IV, as the restaurant was named after the ruler.
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This thick brown sauce is commonly used in French cuisine both as a standalone sauce and as a base for other sauces. It is a combination of brown stock and espagnole sauce simmered for a long time until its volume has reduced by half – thus the name demi-glace (French for “half glaze”).
The original recipe for demi-glace was recorded and codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier, a famous French chef and food writer, however it is unclear as to whether Escoffier can be credited as having invented the sauce. Today, this flavorful sauce is mainly used as an accompaniment for meat, but it can also be used as a flavoring for various soups and stews.
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There are many theories about the origin of name of this sauce, the most popular of which claims it was named after the Duke of Mornay in the late 16th century. The modern version of this sauce is made by combining classic bechamel sauce with grated and melted Gruyére and Parmesan cheeses.
However, the original Mornay sauce was invented before béchamel was, so the original cheese sauce that the Duke was served was certainly a bit different than todays version. Béchamel was likely added to the recipe later in order to improve the sauce’s consistency.
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Beurre noisette is a rich brown sauce with a slightly nutty flavor, often used for making desserts and pastries. It is usually a welcome addition to various main courses, especially those with seafood. The sauce is also known as brown butter or hazelnut butter, although it contains no hazelnuts.
It is made by melting and browning (ideally, unsalted) butter for a precise period of time, otherwise it would burn and become inedible. Beurre noisette is commonly poured over vegetables or pasta dishes, but it also imparts a toasty flavor to pastries and helps them bake and brown evenly.
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Poivrade sauce is a classic French pepper sauce that is an ideal accompaniment to marinated meat and game dishes. It consists of a mirepoix that is thickened with flour, along with wine, vinegar, and a hefty dose of pepper. There are two popular versions of the sauce: one is used for meat (especially beef), and the other specifically for game.
The sauce can be made as a compound sauce that is derived from a demi-glace or sauce espagnole. It should be noted that poivrade is not the same as sauce au poivre, which is a pan sauce.
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This butter and egg emulsion is one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, and one of the most famous sauces in western cuisine. It consists of an emulsion of egg yolks and melted or clarified butter with salt, pepper, and an acidic note added by either a splash of lemon juice or a combination of water and wine vinegar.
Although the inventor of the sauce remains unknown, some claim that hollandaise was originally invented in the Netherlands before being brought to France by the Huguenots. Other food historians claim that it was originally called Isigny, a sauce that was especially popular in Normandy, but that the name changed during World War I due to the fact that butter was scarce and had to be imported into France from the Netherlands.
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Sauce tartare is a mayonnaise-based sauce that most likely originated in France. The creamy base is traditionally made with mayonnaise, though some variations occasionally may opt for crème fraiche, while the optional additions usually include spices and mostly chopped parsley, chervil, tarragon, capers, and pickles.
Optionally, boiled egg yolks can also be added. Although the sauce was named after Tatars—the Turkic-speaking ethnic group from Central Asia—it is not related to the region or the people. The name probably appeared as a reference to the coarse texture of the sauce—since the Tatars were known for their barbarian behavior.
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