Five foundations, with practical versions you can cook in a home kitchen.
Bechamel. Veloute. Espagnole. Hollandaise. Tomato.
You learn these not because it's fancy - but because they teach control. Fat. Liquid. Thickening. Emulsification. Reduction. Once you understand the system, you stop memorizing recipes and start composing.
Respect the base. Then bend it to your will.
Milk thickened with roux. Simple. Brutal in its honesty. If it's lumpy, that's on you.
Stock + roux. Lighter than bechamel, more flexible than people give it credit for.
Brown stock, mirepoix, tomato, roux. Deep and layered. This is where demi-glace begins.
Warm emulsification under pressure. Egg yolks and butter in a fragile truce.
The most misunderstood mother. Properly built tomato sauce with balance and reduction.
| Base | How it gets body | Where it leads |
|---|---|---|
| Bechamel | Milk thickened with pale roux | Cheese sauce, gratins, lasagna |
| Veloute | Light stock thickened with blond roux | Chicken, fish, cream variations |
| Espagnole | Brown stock, brown roux, vegetables, tomato | Demi-glace and rich meat sauces |
| Hollandaise | Egg-yolk and butter emulsion | Eggs, vegetables, bearnaise |
| Tomato | Tomato solids concentrated by cooking | Pasta, braises, pizza; these pages use modern tomato bases |
Roux is flour cooked in fat. An emulsion holds tiny fat droplets in liquid. Reduction removes water. Pick the mechanism before turning up the burner; more heat is not a universal API.
Background: Escoffier’s mother-sauce overview.