Classification of Sauces  

One of the most used classification in the gastronomic world is "Mother sauces" and "derived sauces".

The most widespread belief is that mother sauces were born in French gastronomy, at least the main ones did. Antonine Carême was the first to classify sauces, he distinguished between hot and cold sauces; but he went further and distinguished 4 sauces as the mother sauces of the kitchen:

• German: beaten egg and lemon juice.

• Bechamel: flour, butter and milk

• Spanish: brown beef, beef, etc.

• Velouté: light fish, chicken and even venison broths

Those were the 4 mother sauces of the kitchen, until at the dawn of the 20th century, chef Auguste Escoffier replaced some sauces and added a new one to the list. Since then the list of the 5 mother sauces of Escoffier is the one that is taken as valid. You will notice that there are 6 in the list, it is that the hollandaise sauce and mayonnaise came to replace the German sauce, while the Pomodoro tomato sauce was incorporated. Some authors consider that mayonnaise cannot be included as a mother sauce since it is practically the same as hollandaise but butter is substituted for oil. 

And they are Mothers simply because almost 90% of the rest of the sauces come out of them, they are the basis for creating any other sauce. Later we will see that there are some cases in which the sauce does not come from any of these 5 mother sauces but the minimum ones.

By controlling these 5 Mother Sauces to perfection, we can create innumerable sauces for all our pasta dishes, meat, fish, poultry, ... and much more. It is a great subject since the sauce is what gives us life and resurrects our dishes. 

These mother sauces are the bases and can be cold or hot, within the cold ones they can be emulsified or not, and within the non-emulsified they can be cooked or not, and the emulsified ones can be blended.

Hot Sauces:

French cuisine divides hot cuisine into 5 mother sauces, but three of them are dark: Spanish, demi glace and tomato; and two are clear: the béchamel together with velouté.

Four of them start from a protein background.

The Spanish sauce: the spanish sauce it is a dark background (bone of animal origin) mixed with a roux and fortified with bacon, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.

This sauce takes its name since it first appeared at the wedding banquet of Luis XIII and Ana de Austria, a sauce with meat that lacked a name and that was made by some Spanish chefs who captivated the palates of the monarch who decided to baptize it with the name of Spanish Sauce in honor of those cooks who prepared it. 

The demi glace sauce: it is a Spanish sauce enhanced with red wine and boiled again until reduced.

Tomato sauce (Pomodoro):  tomato sauce is tomato puree, with bacon, butter, bay leaf, thyme, flour, white background (vegetable), garlic, salt, sugar and pepper

The velouté sauce: velouté sauce It is a light background (vegetable) mixed with a roux and seasoned with salt, white pepper and nutmeg, we must add that this same sauce, but with egg yolks it is better known as Parisian sauce or German sauce.

Velouté is a light sauce that is made up of a broth (called a light background, which can be poultry or veal, even a fish stock), all mixed with a roux (it can be white or blond). For example, a bird velouté would be made up of a bird background and a blond roux. It is a mother sauce, so it can be used as a base for other sauces in French cuisine. Fish velouté is called “lean velouté” and that made with veal is generically called “fat white sauce.” The generally dense appearance of this sauce means that it is sometimes referred to as a cream.


The word velouté means velvety and its name comes from the final texture that this sauce has between something light and silky on the palate. The most generic preparation starts from a roux (butter and flour in a sauce in equal parts) that is mixed with a broth. 

The bechamel sauce: This sauce is undoubtedly the most used in the gastronomic world, its base is milk and linked with a roux, seasoned with onion, cloves, salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

The bechamel is used to thicken the cooking juices of stews and roasts and thus turn them into creamy sauces. It also allows to give a bound and creamy finish to soups called "creams", such as cream of mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, etc.

The many possible variations of the bechamel sauce allow you to incorporate cheeses, as in the Mornay sauce. You can also incorporate finely chopped ingredients such as sautéed onion or all kinds of meat, vegetables or fish, as when preparing croquettes, stuffed with peppers or to make the famous French souffle. Some of the variations are famous, as in the case of the Villeroy sauce, which is used in the batters of some dishes such as Villeroy chicken. When mustard and white wine are added, you have the Thermidor sauce, used in the preparation of fish or seafood (Thermidor lobster).

Another possible variation is to make it, for example, with soy milk, being then suitable for vegans and lactose intolerant. It also lends itself to being flavored with all kinds of spices such as curry or nutmeg. Likewise, cornstarch can be used instead of wheat flour, then suitable for people intolerant to gluten (such as celiacs) . 

The similarity between velouté, béchamel sauce and Spanish sauce is that all three use a roux. The difference between velouté and béchamel is that the latter is based on the use of milk as a diluent for the final (in addition to a flour flavor reliever), while velouté uses broth and roux as a final emulsifier. . The difference between Velouté and Spanish sauce is that the latter is made with dark backgrounds (broths). The preparation of the velouté starts from having a clear broth and a roux. The roux is poured hot over the broth until its viscosity increases and the desired texture is achieved. An approximate proportion of 60 grams of roux sauce per liter of background is usually mentioned. If you want to add more or less thickness, simply increase or decrease the amount of roux.