Finishing Techniques

Remember that the three basic elements of a finished sauce are a liquid, a thickening agent, and additional seasoning and flavoring ingredients. We have discussed in detail how liquids are combined with thickening agents to make the basic sauces. In the next section, we look at the way families of sauces are built on these bases by the addition of flavoring ingredients.

Sauces may be modified or added to in a great many ways. Among these methods are a number of basic techniques used over and over again for making sauces. Before we study the structure of the sauce families, it will be helpful to look at these basic finishing techniques.