A good sauce is key to an exceptional meal.

You just have to know where to start.

Avail yourself of the five basic sauces known as the mother sauces.

These baseline recipes allow you to riff indefinitely, and create well-matched sauces for any flavor profile.

Each sauce only requires a few ingredients, and the method is nearly the same every time.

Bechamel

The first time ate bechamel wasaftermaking a hundred ham and cheese croissants slathered in the stuff.

It looked so darn pasty, I wondered how it could possibly improve anything.

Then I sampled the breakfast sandwich and became utterly bewitched with bechamel.

Bechamelis a simple, creamy, white sauce with a light, savory flavor.

Four out of five of these mother sauces begin with a roux, and this is one of them.

(Read hereto refresh your roux technique.)

Whisk until smooth and thickened.

Veloute

Its possible Thanksgiving has already familiarized you with veloute.

This roux-based sauce starts out the same way as bechamelwith a roux.

For those who dont enjoy turkey gravy thickened with cornstarch, you might consider a turkey veloute in November.

For about two cups of veloute use the same measurements as bechamel and substitute stock for the milk measurement.

Add the flour and fat (gheeworks well) to a saucepan.

it’s possible for you to take the mixture a little darker this time, but not too dark.

Save that for later.

Cook it until its golden, or a tinge brown, then whisk in hot or warm stock.

Heating up the liquid first makes incorporation easier, as the fat doesnt seize up and form clumps.

Drizzle over meats, vegetables, or casseroles.

For extra credit, flavor your veloute with chopped herbs or spices.

Use ghee or clarified butter to avoid any bitter flavors from the milk solids possibly burning.

Add butter to a saucepan and add the mirepoix.

Sweat the vegetables until softened and translucent.

Add the flour and cook until the roux becomes deeply browned.

This will look like a clumpy mess, thats okay, it will sort out later.

Whisk in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste or 1 cup of pureed tomato.

Add 1/2 cup of white wine and slowly add 3 cups of warmed, brown stock and whisk.

Add the bouquet garni.

Simmer for 30-40 minutes to thicken slightly.

Drizzle over roasted meats, or serve alongside a hot sandwich as a dip.

Simply return the finished sauce to a pot to further intensify and thicken.

Tomato

Turns out theres more than one way to sauce a tomato.

Cook until the pork has shed its fat and has developed a golden brown color.

Add the mirepoix and cook until softened.

Add the flour and cook until you have a medium brown roux.

Add the brown stock, crushed tomatoes and bouquet garni of herbs.

Pull out the bouquet garni and blend the sauce until smooth.

Serve with pasta or meats.

This sauce can add a subtle twist to classic Italian dishes that use red sauce.

Tweak your sauce tomate with ingredients like garlic, bell peppers, or olive oil.

Hollandaise

Weve come to it.

The mother sauce that doesnt bother with a roux for thickening.

Hollandaise is the silky, rich, and tangy sauce that drapes lovingly over your eggs benedict.

Since roux has no business here, hollandaise is thickened with egg yolks.

Hollandaiseis tricky because its an emulsion, and the eggs must be cooked gently.

Place the bowl on the pot of water and whisk consistently with vigor.

Once the heat builds and the eggs begin cooking, youll notice the mixture thicken.

Season with a dash of salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Spoon over eggs, asparagus, chicken, or any blanched vegetable.

Riff on your hollandaise by adding chopped herbs, finely chopped shallots, or garlic.

These five mother sauces are a great baseline to start experimenting with the creamy component of your dishes.