Cooking Lessons Classic Sauce Making 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the five French mother sauces is thickened with a blond roux and made from white stock such as chicken or veal?
- Velouté (Correct answer)
- Espagnole
- Hollandaise
- Béchamel
Correct answer: Velouté
Velouté is built on a light stock thickened with a blond roux.
Question 2: A cook's hollandaise sauce has broken and looks curdled. What is the most reliable way to rescue it?
- Whisk the broken sauce slowly into a fresh egg yolk with a little warm water (Correct answer)
- Boil the sauce rapidly to re-emulsify it
- Add cold butter all at once and stir
- Strain it and serve as is
Correct answer: Whisk the broken sauce slowly into a fresh egg yolk with a little warm water
Starting a new yolk base and slowly whisking in the broken sauce rebuilds the emulsion.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of adding a 'liaison' of egg yolks and cream to a velouté?
- To enrich and lightly thicken the sauce (Correct answer)
- To make the sauce more acidic
- To bleach the sauce white
- To prevent the sauce from boiling
Correct answer: To enrich and lightly thicken the sauce
A liaison adds richness and a final delicate thickening to the sauce.
Question 4: Which derivative sauce is made by adding grated Gruyère or Parmesan cheese to béchamel?
- Mornay (Correct answer)
- Soubise
- Nantua
- Choron
Correct answer: Mornay
Mornay is béchamel enriched with cheese, classically Gruyère and Parmesan.
Question 5: Why should a roux-thickened sauce simmer for at least 20-30 minutes after thickening?
- To cook out the raw starchy flour taste (Correct answer)
- To evaporate all the fat
- To turn the sauce brown
- To kill bacteria in the flour
Correct answer: To cook out the raw starchy flour taste
Extended simmering removes the raw, pasty flavor of uncooked flour.
Question 6: What temperature danger causes hollandaise to break when held too warm?
- The egg yolks scramble and the butter separates above about 150°F (Correct answer)
- The butter freezes into crystals
- The lemon juice evaporates
- The sauce ferments
Correct answer: The egg yolks scramble and the butter separates above about 150°F
Excess heat coagulates the yolks and destroys the emulsion, separating the butter.
Question 7: Which ingredient combination makes a classic beurre blanc?
- White wine and shallot reduction emulsified with cold butter (Correct answer)
- Brown stock reduced with tomato paste
- Egg yolks whisked with clarified butter
- Milk thickened with white roux
Correct answer: White wine and shallot reduction emulsified with cold butter
Beurre blanc is an acidic wine-shallot reduction mounted with cold whole butter.
Cooking Lessons Classic Sauce Making 2
Which of the five French mother sauces is thickened with a blond roux and made from white stock such as chicken or veal?