To make a good sauce.
Start with freshest ingredients.
Make your own stock.
Thicken with starch.
Thicken without starch.
Master pan sauces.
Create an emulsion.
Taste as you go.
A good sauce is one which is thick and not runny, smooth, holds onto the dish when poured on top, and has a perfect blend of flavors.
So whether you are making your morning eggs, grilling a steak or tossing some veggies, you can team regular recipes with a variety of sauces to spruce it up.
Ingredients that can be used to thicken sauce include flour, cornstarch or vegetable gums, such as xanthan gum or guar gum, to thicken sauces.
To reduce sauce you boil or simmer the sauce and allow the liquid to boil off and evaporate which thickens the sauce.
The easiest way to thicken a sauce is by reducing the amount of liquid.
This can be done by simmering your sauce or bringing it to a full boil—do this uncovered, so the steam can escape.
You generally want to reduce at a simmer, which is around 200°F (93°C) for sauces that are close to water in consistency.
The exact temperature varies based on what's in it, but look for just a few bubbles rather than going for a full-on boil.
Reducing sauce means to boil the sauce liquid until its consistency thickens and the flavor is enhanced.
Stirring a delectable sauce until it reaches the pinnacle of palatable perfection may be satisfying.
To reduce sauce remove fully-cooked and tender meat from the pan and let it rest while the sauce cooks over medium heat.
Once the sauce has reached your desired consistency, add the meat back in and rewarm it over gentle heat, spooning the sauce over.
The more surface area your sauce has to do its thing, the quicker it'll reduce.
Generally, you can start your reduction with about 1.5 to 2 times your desired volume of liquid.
For instance, if you want 2 cups (473 milliliters) of a particular sauce, start your reduction with 3 or 4 cups (709 to 946 milliliters) of liquid.
Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid.
The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes—that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.
Reduction in cooking is performed by simmering or boiling a liquid such as a stock, fruit or vegetable juices, wine, vinegar, or a sauce until the desired concentration is reached by evaporation.
This is done without a lid, enabling the vapor to escape from the mixture.
You generally want to reduce at a simmer, which is around 200°F (93°C) for sauces that are close to water in consistency.
The exact temperature varies based on what's in it, but look for just a few bubbles rather than going for a full-on boil.
Don't try making a reduction sauce with regular canned stock: it's generally quite salty to begin with and when reduced will be too highly salted.
Homemade stock is best, if you have it, or try a low-sodium prepared stock.