The
Scanpan mini sauce pot looks great in my kitchen and is handy for warming up small batches of sauces, toasting spices or pouring sauces onto dishes straight at the table. This
copper pot, it looks professional and conducts heat fast and evenly. I have seen these pots in every professional kitchen I have worked in. They are perfect for when you need to heat up sauces for individual portions right before serving.
If you want to be a great cook, sauces are a thing to master. I’ve noticed some of the best chefs work on the sauce section in top restaurants. Making sauces that turn out rich, thick and flavoursome takes a lot of practice and skill.
Tips for Successful Sauces
- Take your time: if making a rich meat sauce then you can expect it to take up to 2-3 days in total.
- Layer the flavour: Again in the example of meat sauces, rich stock is required to start. This can be achieved by browning bones in the oven, then adding water to these bones and some vegetables, then slowly reducing that stock over a long period of time to reduce at least half its volume. To start to achieve a meat sauce, This brown stock is added to slowly browned onions/vegetables in butter and flour to make a roux. This sauce can be then mixed with other flavourings of choice, such as red or white wine, Madeira, cream, mushrooms, etc. It is then reduced down by 1/2 - 2/3 in volume again. It is finally sieved to achieve a velvety smooth result.
- Do your sauce research: Be familiar with the names of classic base sauces such as Béchamel, Hollandaise, Veloute, Espagnole/Brown Sauce, Tomato Sauce and Demi-Glace. These sauces make up the foundation of French cookery. Many of these you may already make at home.
- Watch the heat. You must go slowly to avoid splitting sauces with fats like butter and cream. On the other hand, sometimes the heat must be cranked up to quickly reduce the liquid from a meat sauce: the thicker the sauce, the more flavourful and rich it will be.
- Season generously: add layers of flavour at the beginning, middle and end of cooking. Taste as you go at each step.
- Use sweetness: natural sweetness can be greatly boosted from sautéed vegetables. Or don’t be afraid to add a little sugar to help this along.
- Use good quality stock and wine: many people go wrong by using cheap ingredients for their gravy. Good quality ingredients will produce excellent results. To make a number of sauces at once which is great for when entertaining guests, I recommend the Scanpan Maitre D' Saucepot set of 4. Perfect for barbecues and roasts when you want to serve your own batch of chimichurri, barbecue, mint or chilli aioli sauces for example. They're also great for baking individual desserts too!
Simple Vanilla Sauce
- 500g cream
- 150g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
In a small
saucepan, add the sugar then pour the cream on the top. Do not stir: you want the sugar to create a barrier from the heat to protect the cream from splitting.
With a sharp knife, cut down the middle of the vanilla pod and scrape out as many of the tiny seeds as possible. Add both the seeds and the pod to the pan, then slowly bring up to a simmer. This must be kept at a slow simmer for several hours.
Do not let the sauce rapidly boil as the cream may split. Leave the pot on the stove untouched and uncovered for 3 -5 hours.
The cream and sugar will slowly thicken and incorporate together. Take off the heat when it looks thick and reduced by ½, then stir and sieve into a container.
Smash and push any lumps through with a spoon, and scrape the bottom of the sieve to get all the sauce into your container.
Allow to cool then store in the fridge.
Serve warm or cold. Delicious with crumbles, brownies, cake or simply over berries.
About the Author:
Becky Gilhespie is a food writer and former Masterchef semi-finalist. She is currently working part-time as a chef, having chosen to do on the job training instead of enrolling at culinary school. Becky is a recipe writer and product tester for many household name brands via Everten and her own food blog,
www.eatwhatweeat.com focuses on family-friendly meals with the wow factor that are healthy, fast and simple to prepare.
Becky is originally from the US but lived in London for 15 years and now resides in Sydney with her husband and two little boys. Her food is inspired a lot by her travels (and desire to travel more).
