A Spoonful of History

Throughout culinary history, sauces were created to make a variety of foods more pleasing to the palate and increase their natural flavors. With the advent of fire, sauces and seasonings became more widely used to flavor, moisten and mask the flavors of meat that became dry, burned, and chewy.

As new cooking methods and more sophisticated cooking vessels were being invented, seasoning, marinating and more creative ways of finishing food became increasingly more important. The reliance on natural and seasonal ingredients created regional differences in flavor and methods of cooking.

As trade among peoples of various regions began to take shape a variety of spices and seasonings became increasingly more important in the way food was eaten. Wars and pirating even took place, as some ingredients were rare and difficult to come by. Certain spices became prized possessions and gifts for the wealthy and the most powerful.

It Was the French

The French have been credited with refining the sauce making process into an art form. It was a nineteenth century French chef, Antonin Carème who was considered to be the most prolific food writer of his time. And it was he who developed a system into which hundreds of sauces were categorized into several major sauce groups.

This system, which remains today, has enabled chefs to invent derivative sauces using his foundation as a base for sauce making. The four basic groups that Crème used were:

Espagnole Sauce-A reduced brown stock made from browned meat, bones, and roux. Fresh tomatoes or tomato puree was a later addition by Escoffier.
Veloute - Made from blanched meat and bones to extract the flavor and then thickened with white roux for a light stock base.
Allemande - A basic sauce Veloute finished with egg yolks and mushroom cooking liquid.
Béchamel - A thickened milk with white roux made from butter and flour and cooked until there is no flour taste. Seasonings such as salt, pepper and nutmeg can be added to this classic sauce.

In the early 1900's a French sauce called demi-glace was created and literally means half sauce. It soon became a classic among sauce makers and chefs of the time and one of the most popular sauces used for meats like steak, chops, and roasts. Even today it remains one of the most sought after sauces on the market and extensively used by top chefs around the world.

It's a highly concentrated sauce form that combines brown stock (usually beef, veal, wine, Mirepoix, and seasonings) reduced to a glace and Espagnole sauce that has been thickened with roux and reduced to a light syrupy consistency. It is now considered a pantry staple by most chefs today.

Demi Glace and Stocks

Classic French demi glace and stock making is not an easy process. Read what James Petersen, author of the James Beard award-winning book Sauces says, ""After tasting the product (More Than Gourmet Demi-Glace Gold) I was instantly converted."

More Than Gourmet has developed a full line of wonderful, easy to prepare glaces, stocks and broths for the home cook and many fine restaurants. A common thread among home cooks and restaurant chefs is a lack of time. To make these sauces correctly it does take time, usually up to twenty-four to forty-eight hours of shopping, preparation and cooking to reach the desired results.

I invite you to try these quality demi glace and stocks and judge for yourself how simple they are to use and how superbly tasteful they can be. Be sure to see our classic and contemporary sauce recipes that will turn an ordinary meal into a feast.

Jules Silver
www.clubsauce.com
"Where sauce is the art and the essence of fine cooking."
888-560-3562 or 303-337-4445

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