Cooking Lessons Classic Sauce Making 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which classic sauce pairs a velouté base with mushroom trimmings and finishes with cream, historically served with poached chicken?
- Suprême (Correct answer)
- Bercy
- Allemande
- Aurore
Correct answer: Suprême
Sauce suprême is chicken velouté enriched with cream and mushroom essence.
Question 2: A cook wants a gluten-free alternative to roux for thickening a velouté-style sauce. Which option works best?
- A slurry of arrowroot or cornstarch (Correct answer)
- Toasted wheat flour
- Beurre manié
- Fresh breadcrumbs
Correct answer: A slurry of arrowroot or cornstarch
Arrowroot and cornstarch are gluten-free starches that thicken via slurry.
Question 3: What causes a cream reduction sauce to curdle when wine is added?
- Acid and heat destabilize the milk proteins; the wine should be reduced before adding cream (Correct answer)
- Alcohol freezes the fat
- Wine dilutes the sauce too much
- Cream cannot be heated above room temperature
Correct answer: Acid and heat destabilize the milk proteins; the wine should be reduced before adding cream
Reducing acidic wine first prevents it from curdling the dairy proteins.
Question 4: Which step is essential when preparing espagnole to develop its deep color and flavor?
- Caramelizing mirepoix and tomato paste with a brown roux and brown stock (Correct answer)
- Using only white stock and blond roux
- Whisking in raw egg yolks
- Finishing with lemon juice and cold butter
Correct answer: Caramelizing mirepoix and tomato paste with a brown roux and brown stock
Espagnole depends on browned roux, caramelized vegetables, tomato, and brown stock for depth.
Question 5: How should a finished hollandaise be held during a brunch service?
- Warm, around 120-140°F, and discarded after about two hours (Correct answer)
- Refrigerated and reheated to boiling per order
- In a freezer to keep the emulsion tight
- At a rolling simmer on the stove
Correct answer: Warm, around 120-140°F, and discarded after about two hours
Hollandaise must stay warm but below coagulation temperature and has a short safe holding window.
Question 6: What is the purpose of straining a finished sauce through a chinois?
- To remove solids and aromatics for a perfectly smooth texture (Correct answer)
- To add air and lighten the sauce
- To cool the sauce rapidly
- To increase the sauce's acidity
Correct answer: To remove solids and aromatics for a perfectly smooth texture
A fine chinois strains out aromatics and lumps, leaving a silky sauce.
Question 7: Sauce Aurore gets its blush color and name from which addition to béchamel or velouté?
- Tomato purée (Correct answer)
- Paprika butter
- Beet juice
- Saffron threads
Correct answer: Tomato purée
Aurore is tinted pink with tomato purée, evoking the colors of dawn.
Cooking Lessons Classic Sauce Making 5
Which classic sauce pairs a velouté base with mushroom trimmings and finishes with cream, historically served with poached chicken?