Contemporary

Sauces
Contemporary sauces
 The broad category of contemporary sauces includes beurre
blanc, coulis, compound butters and a variety of
miscellaneous sauces, such as relishes, salsas and compotes.
Contemporary sauces means that these sauces compliment
the dish by enhancing the flavor and of the dish in total.
They are prepared by the chefs in the kitchen with a view
that there particular flavor matches best with the basic flavor
of the dish served. They are not considered as mother sauces
as they are not the base for other derivative sauces but
sometimes act as good as a mother sauce
What makes contemporary sauces different from classical:
 Less time to prepare.
 More likely to be specifically tailored to a given
food or technique.
 Lighter color, texture and flavor.
 More likely to be thickened and finished using
emulsions, modified starches or reduction and less
likely to contain roux.
Selecting the appropriate sauce:
 The sauce’s flavor should not overpower the food
 It should be compatible with main ingredients’
cooking technique.
e.g. If you are roasting or sautéing, make a sauce
with the drippings.
Examples
 One of the most popular sauces in this category
is Pesto Sauce, with an Italian origin, generally
made from pine kernels, basil, olive oil, garlic, sea
salt, black pepper and Parmesan. Originally all
these are pounded in a mortar and pestle and then
preserved in olive oil for future use. 
Examples
 Mint Sauce, the classical accompaniment of roast
lamb is made by making a gastric out of reduced
vinegar and sugar. Freshly chopped mint is added
in good quantity for the flavor and served
immediately.
Examples
 The authentic accompaniment of roast pork, Apple
Sauce, is made by cooking peeled apples with
cinnamon sticks along with sugar and then making
it to a paste. The lovely combination of cinnamon
with apples makes a gorgeous combination with
the pork.
Examples
 Similarly for roast chicken an acceptable
accompaniment is Bread Sauce, made by cooking
the fresh bread crumbs without crust in milk along
with cloves. Once strained to a smooth texture, a
dip of the roast chicken in this sauce can be a
mouthwatering experience. 
Examples of Compound / Hard
Butter Sauce
 Anchovy Butter:               Add anchovy essence /paste / pounded to butter.
 Garlic Butter:                   Chopped garlic, parsley, pinch of pepper combined with butter.
 Basil Butter:                      Add a fine puree of fresh basil leaves and a little lemon juice with
butter.
 Colbert Butter:                 Mix chopped tarragon and meat glaze in to Maître d’hôtel butter.
 Maître d’hôtel Butter:     Add chopped parsley, seasonings and lime juice to butter.
 Ravigote Butter:               Pound blanched herbs and shallots, pass through a sieve and add to
soften butter.
 Bercy Butter:                    Reduce chopped shallots in wine, add butter, bone marrow,
chopped  parsley and lemon juice.
 Cray fish Butter:              Pulverize crayfish, add butter and pass through a sieve.
 Red wine Butter:              Reduce shallots in red wine and add to butter with seasonings,
lemon juice and chopped parsley.
 Nutty Butter:                   Add finely chopped peanuts, the slices of butter may be dipped in
chopped nuts.