Sauces and Its Uses in Various Cuisines

In cooking, a sauce is liquid, cream, or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsa, meaning salted. Possibly the oldest sauce recorded is garum, the fish sauce used by the Ancient Greeks. Sauces need a liquid component, but some sauces may contain more solid components than liquid. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.

Sauces may be used for savoury dishes or for desserts. They can be prepared and served cold, like Mayonnaise, prepared cold but served lukewarm like pesto, or can be cooked like bechamel and served warm or again cooked and served cold like apple sauce. Some sauces are industrial inventions like Worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce, or nowadays mostly bought ready-made like soy sauce or ketchup, others still are freshly prepared by the cook. Sauces for salad are called salad dressing. Sauces made by deglazing a pan are called pan sauces. A cook who specializes in making sauces is called a saucier.

Sauces used in traditional Japanese cuisine are usually based on shōyu (soy sauce), miso or dashi. Ponzu, citrus-flavoured soy sauce, and yakitori no tare, sweetened rich soy sauce, are examples of shoyu-based sauces. Miso-based sauces include gomamiso, miso with ground sesame, and amamiso, sweetened miso. Tonkatsu, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba sauces are based on this sauce. Japanese horseradish or wasabi sauce is used on sushi and sashimi or mixed with soy sauce to make wasabi-joyu. Some sauces in Chinese cuisine are soy sauce, doubanjiang, hoisin sauce, sweet bean sauce, chili sauces, oyster sauce, and sweet and sour sauce. Korean cuisine uses sauces such as doenjang, gochujang, samjang, and soy sauce. Southeast Asian cuisines, such as Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, often use fish sauce, made from fermented fish.

Indian cuisines use sauces such as tomato-based curry sauces, tamarind sauce, coconut milk-paste-based sauces, and chutneys. There are substantial regional variations in Indian cuisine, but many sauces use a seasoned mix of onion, ginger and garlic paste as the base of various Graviesand Sauces. Various cooking oils, ghee and cream are also regular ingredients in Indian sauces.

Indonesian cuisine uses typical sauces such as kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), bumbu kacang (peanut sauce) and tauco, while popular hot and spicy sauces are sambal, dabu-dabu and rica-rica.

How to Make Best Mayonnaise

The vast majority of mayonnaise consumed these days comes from a jar off the supermarket shelves. Many people are extremely brand-loyal when it comes to prepared mayonnaise. There is a vast difference between prepared commercial mayonnaise and homemade mayonnaise. Even someone who hates eating mayonnaise can be turned in to a fan after trying some good home-made mayonnaise.

Electric mixers, blenders and food processors help in speeding up the process while making mayonnaise but a simple wire whip will also work. When using olive oil, extra-virgin is too strong in flavour and will not produce a good tasting Mayonnaise. To get a good flavour, regular olive oil or half extra-virgin and half vegetable oil should be used. Peanut, canola and corn oils are also good choices. Unrefined oils contain monoglycerides which will result in the mayonnaise separating quickly.

In general, the ratio for making mayonnaise is 1 egg yolk for 1/2 to 1 cup of oil, plus 1 tablespoon of acid per cup of sauce. If vinegar is used instead of lemon juice, then preferably white wine vinegar is a good choice. This will give a more delicate flavour to the Best Mayonnaise. Whipping cream, evaporated milk or hot water can be used to thin mayonnaise that is too thick. All the ingredients must be at room temperature so future planning is required. For a richer taste, only the egg yolks can be used rather than the entire egg.

The flavour of a store-bought mayonnaise can be made better by adding good wine vinegar, lemon or lime. Mayo should not be made during wet, humid weather. High humidity and heat weights it down and yields a greasy result. Unopened commercial mayonnaise can be stored on the shelf up to the expiration date. Once opened, it should be put in the refrigerator but will still last up to a year or six months from the date on the jar. Some cooks have successfully re-emulsified frozen mayo with a whirl of the blender.

When using salt in cooked mayonnaise, the salt should be added after the egg yolks have cooled to avoid curdling. Salt added to egg yolks in uncooked mayonnaise will result in a thicker base. Cayenne and mustard powder also help in separating the oil for proper emulsion. Nowadays there are reduced-fat, low-fat and Fat-FreeMayonnaise products readily available for those watching their diet, but do not expect them to taste like the real thing.