Sauces

Marie-Antoine (Antonin) Carême (1783–1833) is considered one of the founders of classic French cuisine. The author of a number of authoritative books, he classified its sauces, dividing the hot sauces into white and brown sauces. White sauces begin with a roux (see glossary, Thickening or Enriching); the béchamel takes milk while the velouté uses a white stock, whether poultry, veal, or fish. All other white sauces are derived from one of these two. A Mornay sauce is a béchamel to which cheese is added, and Aurore sauce is either a béchamel or velouté with a tomato flavoring. The three basic brown sauces that give rise to innumerable derivatives are the espagnole, tomato, and demi-glace. Sauces often bear the names of their place of origin: Périgueux sauce adds truffles to the demi-glace; bordelaise sauce is made with Bordeaux wine.