Food fix

Leave it to the French to invent the most silken sauces--bearnaise, hollandaise, beurre blanc--and yet make them so difficult to make. If you don't supply constant attention and just the right amount of heat, you end up with a "broken" sauce, one that has separated because you didn't stir properly or curdled because the heat was too high. The key is patience, a steady hand and a good whisk. So if our whisk list has you eager to scale new culinary heights, we wish you luck--and offer these quick tips.

* Prevention is the best cure Cook your fancy French sauce in a double boiler (with the bottom full of hot, but not boiling water) to control the heat better.

* Watch the line An oily line around the edge of a sauce means the fuse has been lit. To save it from separating at this point, take it off the heat and stir in 1 Tbs. of cold water.

* Separation salvation If the sauce completely separates, combine one egg yolk and 1 Tbs. cold water in a bowl. Slowly add the broken sauce, whisking constantly until it's combined again, then return it to the double boiler.

Source: ehow.com

COPYRIGHT 2006 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning