Lovers of fine cuisine will agree that no matter how well seasoned a given dish is, there's nothing better than an aromatic sauce served with it. The secret is in choosing and combining ingredients with different tastes - sour, sweet, salty or bitter and transforming them into a unique composition.
Members of the nobility are typically considered the creators of sauces. In any case, legends credit the invention of Bechamel sauce, one of the major sauces, to Louis de Bechamel, marquis de Nointel, the son of the famous 17th century French diplomat and ethnographer Charles Marie François Olier. Even the modest onion sauce was invented by a princess of Soubise and wife of French general Charles de Rohan.
Tartar sauce is one of the most common and favored sauces a person can make at home. Even though the main ingredient is mayonnaise, which immediately implies heavy winter dishes and salads, tartar sauce is light and fresh, a supreme addition to all kinds of roasted meats and fish. As with most popular dishes, tartar sauce is also made according to a recipe with numerous variations.
The oldest, most universal and aromatic recipe includes mayonnaise, 1 onion head, 1 pickles, 1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp yoghurt, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and parsley.
Béarnaise sauce is another sauce quite worth mentioning. It comes from France and as with all things originating from there, it carries with it refinement, gentleness and a set of pure aromas. Warm Béarnaise sauce is deemed the most appropriate for roasted meat and fish. The ingredients of this tasty temptation include egg yolks beaten with butter on the stove, a little vinegar and lots of tarragon.
Russian dressing has a universal and balanced taste, resulting from mixing the right proportions of high quality mayonnaise, a light tomato base and the spiciness of mustard, with the addition of other ingredients.
Italian dressing is a sauce abundant in aromas with spices typical for Italian cuisine, such as basil, softened by mayo and a cream base. Of course, among the entire Italian assortment of sauces, the famous pesto is the one that shines brightest. It is made from basil, olive oil and walnuts or pine nuts but there are now hundreds of aromatic varieties.
Other popular sauces include: cream sauce, sofrito sauce, aioli sauce, carbonara sauce, milk sauce.
