Classic Mother Sauces

There are probably literally hundreds if not thousands of sauces out there in the world. Many of them are derivations of each other; some say derivations of only a few "Mother Sauces". The original classification of sauces began in the 19th century. Arguably, the very basic classic sauces are:
- Bechamel: milk based sauce thickened with white/blond roux
- Espagnole: brown stock/broth based sauce thickened with brown roux
- Veloute: clear/white stock/broth based sauced thickened with blond roux
- Tomato: tomatoes, herbs, seasoning, oil
- Emulsified/Hollandaise: oil and egg based with herbs and seasoning, with a touch of acid. Some examples are mayonaise, aioli, hollandaise
- Butter: butter based with herbs and seasoning, acid. Some examples are beurre blanc, browned butter/meuniere

Other basic sauces:
- Sugar: sugar based such as butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, creme anglais
- Fruit: Fruit based
- Vinaigrette: oil and acid based such as pesto, chimicurri
- Chunky: chunks of fruits and vegetable based such as salsas and chutneys

These sauces are called mother sauces because they can be augmented to make derivative sauces. Bechamel can easily be cheese sauce for mac and cheese or broccoli and cheese by adding cheddar. Espagnole can be made into a demi glace by thinning it with more stock; made into au poivre with the addition of cognac and cream (especially if the espagnole was made in the same pan as the steak). Gravies can be made from veloute or espagnole.

I will cover the sauces in depth and a few creative uses in future installments.