When Escoffier began to catalog his culinary expertise into books in a sense he created many standards for recipes and methods to prepare food in the French tradition. By doing so he modernized the culinary arts and made it possible for the common man to prepare dishes like he could.

One of his many achievements was devising a list of base sauces, from which with the addition of certain ingredients and cooking methods one could create a totally unique sauce. By devising a list of Mother Sauces, he stated that those sauces are the starting point of a whole world of sauce derivations only limited by the Chefs imagination.

These are the 5 Mother Sauces Outlined by Escoffier

• Béchamel
• Espagnole
• Hollandaise
• Tomato Sauce
• Velouté

Basic Sauce Explanations

Béchamel - Scaled Milk Thickened with a Blond Roux

Espagnole - Veal Stock Thickened with Brown Roux with the Addition of Tomato

Hollandaise - Egg Yolk Emulsion with Clarified Butter

Tomato Sauce - Cooked Tomatoes with the Addition of Seasonings

Velouté - A Light Stock Thickened with a Blond Roux