Food Storage Simplified

When thumbing through cookbooks and recipes you may run across the term “mother sauces”. This unusual term dates back to the early 1800s when French chef Antonin Careme broke down sauces into five categories, which he called the five mother sauces. These sauces provide the foundation for literally hundreds of different sauces, most of which have caused many an amateur cook to scratch their heads in frustration. By learning the basics of each mother sauce you can be well on your way to mastering a better understanding of the building blocks of good cooking.

Mother sauces originated in the 18th century when lack of refrigeration caused foods to spoil much faster. Sauces were often used to cover up the less than perfect flavor of meats, poultry and seafood. The five mother sauces include

* Béchamel sauce – chicken stock thickened with roux
* Veloute sauce – milk thickened with roux
* Espagnole sauce or Brown sauce – roux, veal stock, roasted veal bones and mire poix.
* Hollandaise sauce – heated egg yolk and clarified butter
* Tomato sauce – tomatoes of course, often paired with olive oil and garlic or onions

These sauces are also collectively known as “sauce meres” or “ grandes sauces”. Each sauce has a distinct characteristic: Bechamel sauce is white, Veloute is blonde, Espagnole sauce is brown, Hollandaise sauce is buttery and tomato sauce is red. One look at a sauce and you can tell from which mother sauce it sprang. The reason that mother sauces have withstood the test of time is that they are incredibly versatile and provide the basic foundation on which you can build dozens of other sauces and create thousands of recipes.

The Shirley J Universal Cream Sauce Base is a simple and easy-to-use Bechamel sauce. Often referred to as a white sauce, this versatile creation is the building block for many of the recipes you remember coming from mom’s kitchen. Classic favorites like biscuits and gravy and a gratin potatoes; comfort foods such as tuna casserole or creamed peas and potatoes, or more contemporary fare such as creamy clam chowder, or a tasty sauce to top a French crepe. Hundreds of other dishes are prepared using a basic Bechamel or white sauce.

Our Universal Cream Sauce Base lets you create your own masterpieces without the frustration that often accompanies building a high-quality cream sauce from scratch. Our sauce will not break or curdle when kept at a simmer for long periods. It reheats and freezes beautifully. Shirley J Universal Cream Sauce Base will not lump, needs no seasoning and blends flawlessly with water to produce a perfect sauce or soup every time. Our unique formulation accepts and compliments the flavor of any added ingredient, making homemade creations virtually foolproof, and so simple that we can confidently say that if you can boil water you can create a perfect white sauce or cream soup, every time!

Michael Olsen, President of Shirley J Ventures Institutional Division, is a food professional with a career that spans more than thirty years of management in virtually all facets of institutional, and commercial food service. Michael is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and a Certified Food and Beverage Executive (CFBE).

His recent professional life has seen him create and operate an 11 unit international restaurant concept, direct the foodservice operations at high volume, business, education and industry locations, and manage commercial kitchens, bakery, vending and catering operations. In his current position with Shirley J Ventures he is responsible for the Institutional division of the company, providing Shirley J products to the commercial food service community. Michael also oversees the Shirley J product line including quality, applications, and product offerings.

Michael lives in Orem, Utah with his wife Debbie; they are the parents of 6 children and the grandparents of 14 grand children.

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