What is Hollandaise sauce and its derivative sauces?

Answer 1

Hollandaise sauce is a base sauce, an emulsion of melted butter and egg yolk. It is traditionally seasoned with lemon juice, but can be seasoned with just about any citrus or herb, although doing so really changes what type of sauce it is.

Its derivatives are:

• Bavaroise - Hollandaise with cream, thyme, and horseradish.
• Bearnaise - replace the acid reduction (vinegar or lemon juice) with a reduction of vinegar, shallots, chervil, tarragon, and crush peppercorns.
• Cafe de Paris - a variant of Bearnaise with the addition of curry powder.
• Choron - a variant of Bearnaise, it is prepared without chervil or tarragon and tomato puree is added.
• Colbert - a variant of Foyot with a reduction of white wine added.
• Creme Fleurette - Hollandaise with creme fariche.
• Divine - Mouselline with sherry folded into the whipped creme before that is folded into the Hollandaise.
• Foyot - a variant of Bearnaise with Glace de Viande (a meat glaze) added.
• Maltaise (Maltese) - Hollandaise with blanched orange zest and blood Orange Juice.
• Mousseline (Chantilly) - Hollandaise with whipped creme folded in.
• Moutard (Girondine) - Hollandaise with Dijon mustard.
• Noisette - Hollandaise with brown butter (buerre noisette)
• Paloise - a Bearnaise variation substituting tarragon with mint.
• Sauce au Vin Blanc - Hollandaise with a reduction of white wine and fish stock.

Hollandaise is very difficult to make well. Adding egg yolk to hot butter tends to break the sauce (cook or curdle the egg yolk) and the preparation takes practice to perfect. Traditionally it is whisked by hand, but the more modern preparation uses a food processor (although care must be used to avoid whipping too much air into the emulsion), and most chefs balk at the thought of anything other than traditional preparation.

Food Network's Alton Brown suggests heating one inch of water in a large saucepan to a simmer and whisking the egg yolks with a teaspoon of water in a bowl set over the pan of water over low heat (a "double boiler" preparation) to temper them before whisking with the melted butter. He also recommends holding the sauce in a warmed thermos until ready to serve to keep it at temperature and to prevent separation.