Ingredients

　　

Bitter

Step 1

A common cause of an unexpectedly bitter sauce is tomato seeds. This time, strain them out as best you can. (Then, if necessary, see Too Thin.) Next time, see tomatoes, Seedy.

　　

Bland

Step 2

Every herb, spice, seasoning, bottled flavoring, and kind of cooking alcohol in your house can be used in sauces. There is no excuse whatsoever for a flat or bland sauce. Consult your favorite cookbook and get to work. (If you are reducing a sauce, add seasonings at the end or you may overdo it, since the herbs don’t reduce.) If you absolutely can’t think of anything else to do, add a dollop of sherry to any sauce you’re preparing, and at least people will know you tried. See Hollandaise Sauce under First Aid Supplies for simple instructions for converting this store-bought, ready-to-use product into quick béarnaise, Choron, and Maltaise sauces.

　　

Catsup

Step 3

See Ketchup Won’t Pour.

　　

Curdled

Step 4

Remove the sauce from the heat at once. For delicate sauces like hollandaise, add an ice cube to retard further cooking. Beat hard with a hand beater or whisk (having removed the ice cube). If necessary, strain the sauce, too. For other sauces, try adding a little cream, then continue cooking. Next time, use a double boiler or lower heat, stir constantly, and add the fragile curdle-producing ingredients (usually eggs, cream, or sour cream) at room temperature just before serving.

　　

Fatty

Step 5

Chill, skim off the fat, and reheat. For fast skimming, remove as much fat as you can with a spoon (it’s easier if you tilt the pot). Then toss in a few ice cubes, wait until the fat congeals around them, and remove them. Blot the last bits up with paper towels laid on the surface of the sauce and reheat.

　　

Step 6

Consider a sauce boat or pitcher in which the spout goes to the bottom, so you are pouring the least fatty sauce directly from the bottom. Most gourmet or kitchen stores stock such things.

　　

Ketchup won’t pour

Step 7

Put a soda straw down to the bottom of the bottle. It will transmit enough air down to the bottom to permit the ketchup to pour readily.

　　

Lumpy

Step 8

If you can, push the sauce through a strainer. If you can’t, beat it with a whisk or hand beater. Use electric appliances (beater, blender, or food processor) only as a last resort.

　　

Not enough

Step 9

Whether your problem is too little liquid in a stew or not enough gravy for a roast, the solution is basically the same: Add more liquid to what you have (though don’t try to add more than an amount of liquid equal to what you started out with), reseason, decide if you can get away with a thinner sauce, and then thicken if you must. Consider using something more substantial than water for your thinning: consommé or bouillon (be careful with the salt when you reseason), liquid from a compatible cooked vegetable you’re serving with the meal, or even orange juice for something like ham or poultry-based dishes. To avoid slowing everything down, have your liquid hot before adding it.

　　

Step 10

Cream sauces can be extended by adding more white sauce (you’ll find white sauce recipes in most cookbooks) or even cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup if you’re really strapped for time.

　　

Step 11

Hollandaise-based sauces are best left in their original, rich, unadulterated state. Put food and sauce on plates in the kitchen yourself; no one will even think to question the volume of the sauce.

　　

Not rich enough

Step 12

Add heavy cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, after the sauce is cooked and removed from the heat. A lump of butter, applied in like manner, will also work.

　　

Not smooth enough

Step 13

A little butter stirred into a cream sauce before serving will produce a more satiny texture.

　　

Salty

Step 14

The only certain cure for saltiness is to increase the volume without adding more salt. Otherwise, you can add a couple of pinches of brown sugar. It tends to overcome saltiness without adding noticeable sweetness. You can also try adding a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the saltiness.

　　

Separated

Step 15

See Curdled.

　　

Too thin

Step 16

There are almost as many thickeners as there are sauces. The universal one is time. Keep cooking until some of the liquid evaporates and the sauce will inevitably thicken. (Some French recipes require sauce ingredients to be reduced by 90 percent or more. There is an account of a famous sauce whose secret recipe began “Reduce 1 ox to 1 cup.”)

　　

Step 17

Cornstarch is a good thickener when translucency of sauce is desirable, as in many dessert or Chinese sauces. Add 1 tablespoon per 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cooking liquid. To prevent lumps, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water before adding it to the hot sauce and bringing the sauce to a boil.

　　

Step 18

To use arrowroot, add 1 1/2 teaspoons per 1 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid, but only when the sauce will be served within 10 minutes. To prevent lumps, dissolve the arrowroot in cold water before adding it to the hot sauce and bringing the sauce to a boil.

　　

Step 19

One cup of milk or a milk-based sauce will be thickened by 2 tablespoons flour, 3 to 4 tablespoons tapioca, or 2 egg yolks beaten with 1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk. The latter should be done only in the top of a double boiler, stirring constantly. Bread crumbs can be used (as in the classic British bread sauce), but they will change the texture of the sauce somewhat. Start with 1/4 cup, though some recipes will use as much as an entire cup.

　　

Step 20

Other sauce thickeners that may be appropriate for your particular sauce are rice, barley, milk, cream, puréed vegetables, and mashed potato flakes.

　　How to Repair Food, Third Edition