To learn the foundation of modern cuisine, we will now delve into the classical mother sauces and other important basic sauces that are currently in use and which we consider essential. From all these mother sauces, which we will now study, there are also various “daughter sauces” that are derivatives of these mother sauces.

It is important to note that these mother sauces originate from French cuisine, yet they remain widespread in Western cuisine around the world today. Therefore, in the following chapter, we will also focus on some significant international sauces that come from other cultures and countries and have now brought their influences into our cuisine.

To learn the basics, we will first focus on the classical mother sauces in this chapter. The original classification was developed by the French chefs Marie Antoine Carême and Jules Gouffé in the 19th century and further refined and simplified by Auguste Escoffier in the 20th century.

According to Auguste Escoffier, the four classical mother sauces are: Espagnole (a brown sauce), Velouté (a stock thickened with roux), Béchamel (a milk-based sauce thickened with roux), and Tomato. Often, Hollandaise sauce is also listed as a mother sauce in many sources; however, according to Escoffier, it is just another subdivision (“daughter sauce”). Instead, Escoffier lists Mayonnaise as a cold mother sauce.

This all sounds a bit confusing, but it is not particularly significant for us and is merely a matter of classification. However, if a discussion about the classification of mother sauces ever arises in the kitchen, it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of specialized knowledge to impress.