Make basic sauces at home

We often rely on getting the product from the jar or the bottle. Most of the condiments and food products are a blessing when they are used to flavour our plate of food which we feel is otherwise drab or unsavoury. That is way too often that we add our favourite condiment for flavouring. They include sauces and spreads.

If one asks any chef in the world or any person with a taste for great flavours, there is nothing better than the fresh, homemade version of the sauces and spreads which are used in daily life. The best part about making things at home is that you can adjust the seasoning and the flavouring of the recipe according to your own preferences.

Mayonnaise

When it comes to mayonnaise, we get it in a jar or a pouch. It has a bit of a tart like flavor due to the vinegar enlisted in the ingredients section. I personally like that flavor but I have also seen many people dislike it because of that flavor. For all of those people, there is a simple solution. Make your own mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
salt
pepper
vinegar or lemon (optional)

Method:

It is fairly easy to make in these times with the modern invention of stick blender or blenders in general. Just pour one egg with a cup of vegetable oil (preferably olive oil) and salt, take a blending stick and with gradual pulse movement, blend the mixture until it is foamy white. In this state, you can add any kind of flavor in it that you prefer. You can add vinegar or lemon to give it a tart taste, or a herb oil like rosemary oil or basil oil to give it a more earthy tone. If you are feeling a little to the extravagant side, add a teaspoon of mustard or a garlic paste to give it that extra kick. Your mayonnaise would be different, fresh and free of preservatives.

Tomato Sauce

Another favorite is perhaps that tomato sauce which goes into so many Italian, Chinese and French recipes. The beauty of a tomato sauce is that once made, anything can be added to it to make it more flavor-yielding.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes
Vegetable oil
Salt
Tomato ketchup

Method:

The simplest way that I have tried making this sauce is to cut the tomatoes in wide cubes. Your quantity may vary. Put them in a frying pan with some vegetable oil and let them heat for a while. Then add water till the tomatoes are barely soaked and a pinch of salt and cover the frying pan with a lid. Let them cook for 5 minutes before removing the lid, the water should have dried a little and the tomatoes become mushy. Mash the tomatoes into a pulp and add a generous splash of tomato ketchup. Give it a stir and let it cook for a while. Now with this base, you can add vegetables or put the sauce over spaghetti to make delicious meatballs spaghetti or just eat it on its own by adding some chicken stock and simmering it to a boil to make delicious tomato soup.

Bechamel Sauce

If you want something creamy and white in the sauce department, there is always the Béchamel sauce which is more widely known as the ‘white sauce’. The trick to a good white sauce is all in patience and wrist movement. Once the recipe is accomplished, you can impress every house guest with a variety of directions you can take a good béchamel.

Ingredients:

Butter
Flour
Milk 1 cup
Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Just melt some butter in a pan (1 tablespoon per 1 tablespoon of flour). When melted, pour the flour in it and with a whisk keep on whisking it. The flour will first form into a ball like state but with further whisking, it will become golden and start to impart the butter. At that stage, grab a cup of milk at room temperature (not warm or hot) and pour it gently into the mixture and whisk like made. Your goal is to not let the flour form into clumps. Once incorporated, gently whisk the sauce and take it to a boil until it is simmering. The boil will thicken the sauce and you need to keep whisking. Your final consistency for the sauce is white, thick and cloudy like a dream. You can now incorporate cheese to make it a cheese sauce or herbs to make it a herb sauce to go with your steak or with simple seasoning to mix into your pasta dish and enjoy a hearty bowl of pasta.

These three simple recipes will definitely get you some credit in the cooking department. These three could be modified in their making to put up delicious dishes and snacks.