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Veloute sauce

Velouté · Velouté · velvety sauce

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Veloute is a light stock sauce thickened with a blond roux, one of the French mother sauces, and the base for named sauces built on chicken, fish or veal stock.

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Photograph of Veloute sauce.

A velvety light sauce

Veloute is a French sauce made from a roux and a light stock. Its name means velvety, and the sauce is smooth, lightly coloured and mild. It is one of the French mother sauces and the base for many named sauces.

Escoffier listed it among the mother sauces in the early twentieth century. The sources read do not say who first made it or when, so its origin stays uncertain.

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Stock and roux

The stock must be a light one, made from bones that were not roasted first. Veal, chicken or fish stock is used, and the sauce is named after its stock, such as chicken or fish veloute. The article does not mention vegetable stock.

The stock is thickened with a blond roux, which is butter and flour cooked gently without browning. Le Cordon Bleu describes the same method: a roux and stock, giving a lightly coloured, smooth result. The sources read give no ratio of stock to roux and no cooking time.

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Derived sauces

Velouté is the base for a long list of named sauces. Allemande is finished with lemon juice, egg yolks and cream. Aurore has tomato puree. Bercy is a fish velouté with shallots, white wine, lemon juice and parsley. Normande adds cream, butter and egg yolk to a fish velouté. Poulette has mushrooms, parsley and lemon juice. Ravigote is finished with lemon or vinegar, onion and shallot.

Other derivatives include Albufera, which adds meat glaze, Hungarian, with onion, paprika and white wine, Polish-style, with horseradish and sour cream, vin blanc, with fish trim and egg yolk, suprême, a chicken velouté with mushroom reduction and cream, and Venetian, with tarragon, shallots and chervil.

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Uses and holding

Velouté is served with poultry or seafood dishes and is the base for other sauces. The sources read give no advice on storage, holding or cooling, so a batch that will be kept needs a tested method that this page does not supply.

Because derivatives add dairy and egg, they need the same care as other finished sauces.

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History

The name means velvety in French. The sauce is French, and the article does not say who created it or when, so its origin is uncertain.

Ingredients

Scaling: source batch only

ButterUsed for a blond roux.
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources read.
Plain flourCooked with the butter to a blond roux.
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources read.
Light stock (veal, chicken or fish)Made from bones that were not roasted first.
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources read.
Cream (optional)
Amount not stated
For derivatives such as allemande and suprême; optional.
Egg yolk (optional)
Amount not stated
For derivatives such as allemande and normande; optional.

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Stock-based sauce held warm or cooled slowly

A sauce built on meat, poultry or fish stock with dairy or egg finishes supports bacterial growth if it is held warm or cooled slowly.

Hazard source

Use a tested cooling and reheating method for any batch that will be stored

Control source

The sources give no holding, storage or reheating advice for velouté. Do not treat this page as a storage method.

  1. Make a blond roux by cooking butter and flour together without browning them.
  2. Thicken a light stock with a blond roux, whisking until smooth. The stock is veal, chicken or fish, and the sauce takes its name from the stock.
  3. Cook until the sauce is smooth and thickened. The sources read give no time or ratio.
  4. Finish for a named sauce, such as cream and egg yolk for allemande, or tomato purée for aurore.

Places

France

Documented preparation · Country evidence

The article gives France as the place of origin and does not date its creation.

See Franceon the mapLocation source 1 →

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