A Mornay sauce is a
béchamel sauce
Bechamel sauce ( ) is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux (butter and flour in a 1:1 mixture by weight) and milk. Bechamel may also be referred to as besciamella (Italy), besamel (Greece), or white sauce (U.S.). French, Italian and Greek ...
with shredded or grated
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
added. Some variations use different combinations of Gruyère,
Emmental cheese
Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.
Emmental was first mentioned in written reco ...
, white
cheddar
Cheddar most often refers to either:
*Cheddar cheese
*Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named
Cheddar may also refer to:
Places
* Cheddar, Ontario, Canada
* Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and th ...
or even
Parmesan cheese
Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months.
It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces
A province is almost always an administrat ...
.
A Mornay sauce made with cheddar is commonly used to make
macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United KingdomBBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce.
The ...
.
Etymology
The name origin of Mornay sauce is debated. It may be named after
Philippe, duc de Mornay (1549–1623),
Governor of Saumur and seigneur du Plessis-Marly, writer and diplomat, but a cheese sauce during this time would have to have been based on a
velouté sauce
A velouté sauce () is a savory sauce that is made from a roux and a light stock. It is one of the "mother sauces" of French cuisine listed by chef Auguste Escoffier in the early twentieth century, along with espagnole, tomato, béchamel, and m ...
because béchamel had not yet been developed.
[
''Sauce Mornay'' does not appear in '' Le cuisinier Royal'', 10th edition, 1820, perhaps because ''sauce Mornay'' is not older than the seminal Parisian restaurant ]Le Grand Véfour
Le Grand Véfour (), the first grand restaurant in Paris, France, was opened in the arcades of the Palais-Royal in 1784 by Antoine Aubertot, as the ''Café de Chartres'', and was purchased in 1820 by Jean Véfour, who was able to retire within t ...
, where ''sauce Mornay'' was introduced.Tout-Paris
Le Tout-Paris ("everyone in Paris") is a French expression referring to the fashionable and affluent elite of the city, who frequent fashionable events and places, and establish trends in upper-class culture. It is equivalent to the "jet set" else ...
'' of Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
, the Mornay name was represented by two stylish men, the marquis de Mornay and his brother, styled comte Charles. They figure in Lady Blessington
Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (née Power; 1 September 1789 – 4 June 1849), was an Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and ...
's memoir of a stay in Paris in 1828–29, ''The Idler in France''.eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
is sought for ''sauce Mornay''.
See also
* Cheese sauce
Cheese sauce is a sauce made with cheese or processed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese or cheese powder is used. Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses. Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also ...
* Croque-monsieur
A ''croque monsieur'' () is a hot sandwich made with ham and cheese. The name comes from the French words ''croque'' ("crunch") and ''monsieur'' ("mister").
History
The dish originated in French cafés and bars as a quick snack. In the ear ...
* French mother sauces
In French cuisine, the mother sauces (french: sauces mères), also known as in French, are a group of sauces upon which many other sauces"daughter sauces" or are based. Different sets and classifications of mother sauces have been proposed sinc ...
* Welsh rarebit
Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit ( or ) is a dish consisting of a hot Cheese sauce, cheese-based sauce served over slices of Toast (food), toasted bread. The original 18th-century name of the dish was the jocular "Welsh rabbit", which was later fo ...
* 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 ...
References
External links
*
{{White sauces
White sauces
Cheese dishes
French sauces