Béarnaise sauce (; ) is a
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word ...
made of
clarified butter
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. w ...
emulsified in
egg yolks
Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...
and white wine vinegar and flavored with
herbs
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
. It is widely regarded as the "child" of the
Hollandaise sauce
Hollandaise sauce ( or ; ), also called Dutch sauce, is a mixture of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice (or a white wine or vinegar reduction). It is usually seasoned with salt, and either white pepper or cayenne pepper.
It is well kn ...
. The difference is only in the flavoring: Béarnaise uses
shallot,
chervil
Chervil (; ''Anthriscus cerefolium''), sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil (to distinguish it from similar plants also called chervil), is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It was formerly called myrhis due to its volati ...
,
peppercorns, and
tarragon
Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...
in a
reduction of vinegar and wine, while Hollandaise is made of a reduction of
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
juice or white wine vinegar, with white peppercorns and a pinch of cayenne instead of the above seasonings.
The sauce's name is related to the province of
Béarn
The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Ba ...
, France. It is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy, and a traditional sauce for
steak.
Escoffier
Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Ant ...
: 89
History
The sauce was accidentally invented by the chef
Jean-Louis Françoise-Collinet, the accidental inventor of
puffed potatoes (''pommes de terre soufflées''),
and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV, a restaurant at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This assumption is supported by the fact that the restaurant was in the former residence of
Henry IV of France, a gourmet himself, who was from
Béarn
The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Ba ...
,
[ a former province now in the ]department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atla ...
.
Preparation
As with Hollandaise sauce, there are several methods for preparing of Béarnaise sauce. The most common uses a ''bain-marie
A bain-marie (; also known as a water bath or double boiler), a type of heated bath, is a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. A bain-marie is also u ...
'' (whisking to a temperature of 150F (65.6C)), where a reduction of vinegar is used to acidulate the yolks. Escoffier
Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Ant ...
shallots
The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with ''Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the d ...
, fresh chervil
Chervil (; ''Anthriscus cerefolium''), sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil (to distinguish it from similar plants also called chervil), is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It was formerly called myrhis due to its volati ...
, fresh tarragon
Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...
and crushed peppercorns
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diam ...
(later strained out), with fresh tarragon and chervil to finish instead of lemon juice. Others are similar.
Alternatively, the flavorings may be added to a finished Hollandaise (without lemon juice). ''Joy of Cooking''Joy of Cooking
''Joy of Cooking'', often known as "''The Joy of Cooking''", is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks. It has been in print continuously since 1936 and has sold more than 20 million copies. It was published privately during 1931 b ...
p.359
Derivatives
* Sauce Choron or sauce béarnaise tomatée is a variation of béarnaise without tarragon or chervil, but with added tomato purée.meat glaze Meat glaze, French: ''glace de viande'', is a dark brown, gelatinous flavouring agent used in food preparation. It is obtained by reducing brown stock through evaporation by slow heating. Its high viscosity and salt content gives it an unusually lo ...
(glace de viande Meat glaze, French: ''glace de viande'', is a dark brown, gelatinous flavouring agent used in food preparation. It is obtained by reducing brown stock through evaporation by slow heating. Its high viscosity and salt content gives it an unusually lo ...
) added.mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...
substituted for tarragon.Escoffier
Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Ant ...
: 141
See also
* List of sauces
The following is a list of notable culinary and prepared sauces used in cooking and food service.
General
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* (salsa roja)
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* – a velouté sauce flavored ...
* Steak sauce
Steak sauce is a tangy sauce commonly served as a condiment for beef in the United States. Two of its major producers are British companies, and the sauce is similar to the "brown sauce" of British cuisine.
Overview
Steak sauce is normally br ...
References
;Sources
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External links
Béarnaise sauce
from the British Good Food
Good Food was a cookery channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, latterly as part of the Discovery, Inc. network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its final format on 22 June 2009. ...
TV channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bearnaise Sauce
French sauces
Occitan cuisine
Steak sauces
Foods featuring butter
Egg-based sauces