A Sauce Plan
Cooking Skills: Sauces 1
Chapter 9 · A Sauce Plan
Skill goal
Choose a sauce for each meal, rescue one that goes wrong, and store and reheat sauces safely.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
The last skill is not a recipe but a habit: plan, store, rescue. Plan which sauces your week needs, make a batch of one that freezes, and know how to fix a sauce that goes wrong. A good cook is not someone whose sauces never fail; it is someone who can fix them calmly.
Which sauce to freeze matters. Tomato, vegetable, gravy and fruit sauces freeze well. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen. Chill sauces quickly, and reheat them until steaming hot. This chapter ends the course by pulling its skills together; see Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapters 1 to 8 for each method.
The method
- Plan the week: pick one batch sauce and two quick sauces, and write them next to your meals.
- Cook once, use three ways: a batch of tomato sauce becomes pasta sauce, pizza sauce and a soup.
- Cool fast: pour sauce into a shallow container, chill within 1 to 2 hours, and label with the date.
- Reheat properly: bring to a simmer, stirring, until steaming hot all the way through.
- Rescue first, throw away last: most thin, thick, lumpy or split sauces can be fixed.
| Sauce type | Freezes? | Fridge life (approximate) | Reheat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato and vegetable | Yes, 3 months | 3 to 4 days | Simmer until hot |
| Gravy | Yes, 3 months | 2 days | Simmer, whisking |
| White sauce and cream sauces | Not well (can split) | 2 days | Gently, with a splash of milk |
| Fruit sauces | Yes, 6 months | 5 days or more | Warm through |
| Dressings | No | 3 to 5 days | Serve cold; shake or whisk |
Cooling, freezing and reheating
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.Freezing sauces: freeze sauces flat in labelled bags or in tubs for up to about 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, never on the worktop, and reheat until steaming hot. Freeze cream, milk and egg-based sauces with care, because they often split; whisk or blend to bring them back, or leave them out of the freezer.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
A batch tomato sauce for the freezer
A big pot of vegetable-packed tomato sauce that you portion and freeze. Use it as a pasta sauce, a pizza sauce (simmer it down) or a soup (add stock). The grated carrot adds sweetness and body.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, grated
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp flaked sea salt
- Cook the onion, carrot and celery in the oil over a medium-low heat for 12 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, purée, oregano and salt, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Blend if you like.
- Cool, divide into portions in freezer bags or tubs, label with the date, and freeze for up to about 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot.
Hot sauce, blending and freezing
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Blending hot liquids: hot liquid expands in a sealed blender and can blow the lid off and scald you. Let it cool for a few minutes, fill the jug no more than half, hold a folded cloth over the lid, and start on low. A stick blender in a deep pan avoids the problem.
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
Level 2 · Creamy
A creamy pepper sauce
A classic steak sauce made without brandy. Crush the peppercorns coarsely and toast them in the pan to release their flavour, then use stock and mustard for depth. Pan sauces are explained in Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapter 6.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 small shallot or ¼ onion, finely chopped
- 100 ml low-salt beef stock
- 100 ml double cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- After frying a steak and taking it out, melt the butter in the pan and cook the shallot with the peppercorns for 2 minutes.
- Add the stock and boil for 3 minutes until reduced by half. Add the cream and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the mustard and lemon juice. Taste and season.
Hot pan and allergens
Hot pan and cooked-on bits: the pan is very hot after frying and the crusty bits spit when liquid hits them. Take the pan off the heat for a moment, pour in the liquid slowly with your face back, and use a long spoon.Allergens: contains milk, mustard and celery in some stocks.
Level 2 · Sweet and sour
A sweet and sour sauce
A bright, glossy sauce that coats chicken, prawns or vegetables. Cornflour thickens it in seconds; always mix it with cold water first so it does not clump.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 100 ml pineapple juice
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 3 tbsp cold water
- 1 red pepper, diced (optional)
- Put the juice, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar and pepper in a pan and bring to a simmer.
- Mix the cornflour with the cold water until smooth. Pour it into the pan, stirring.
- Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until glossy and thick. Taste and adjust the sweetness and sharpness.
Hot sugar and allergens
Hot sugar: boiling sugar and fruit are much hotter than boiling water and stick to skin like glue. Use a deep pan, a long spoon and oven gloves, stand back when stirring, and never taste straight from the spoon until it has cooled.Allergens: contains soy. Ketchup and soy sauce may contain gluten or celery.
Level 3 · Fresh
A herb sauce (salsa verde style)
An uncooked, punchy green sauce: herbs, capers, lemon and oil. It lifts grilled fish, roast chicken, potatoes and eggs, and is a fast rescue for a plain meal. Chop by hand for the best texture.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 large handful of parsley (about 30 g)
- 1 small handful of basil or mint
- 1 tbsp capers, rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch flaked sea salt
- Chop the herbs and capers together until fine but not a paste.
- Stir in the garlic, mustard, lemon juice and oil.
- Taste and adjust with more lemon or salt. Use the same day, or keep in the fridge for 1 day.
Raw garlic and allergens
Allergens: contains mustard; capers may contain sulphites.Raw garlic: use garlic in oil the same day or the next day only, and keep it chilled.
Experiments
Experiment
A timed sauce session
Plan and time.
- Choose three sauces from this course, plan the order, and make all of them in one go, noting the time.
Look for: You will find that sauces that share a pan or an ingredient can be made together. Write down which order worked.
Experiment
Swap one sauce
Change the pairing.
- Serve your usual sauce with a different food, for example herb sauce with chicken or onion gravy over rice.
Look for: Some swaps are better than the original. Note the ones you want to repeat.
Experiment
Reheat a frozen sauce
Fresh and defrosted.
- Defrost a portion of the batch tomato sauce in the fridge, reheat it until steaming, and taste it beside a fresh batch.
Look for: Tomato sauce usually freezes with almost no loss. It may need a splash of water, salt or a fresh herb to wake it up.
Experiment
Your signature sauce
Make your own.
- Pick a base from the course (roux, reduction, emulsion, purée), choose a flavour you love and write the recipe as you cook it.
Look for: A signature sauce is a sauce you can make from memory, tweak by taste and be known for.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batch tomato sauce | ||||
| Creamy pepper sauce | ||||
| Sweet and sour sauce | ||||
| Herb sauce | ||||
| A timed sauce session | ||||
| Swap one sauce | ||||
| Reheat a frozen sauce | ||||
| Your signature sauce |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sauce too thin | Not enough thickener or reduction | Boil it down, or add cornflour mixed with cold water |
| Sauce too thick | Over-reduced or too much roux | Whisk in stock, milk or water a little at a time |
| Lumpy | Liquid added too fast | Whisk hard, or strain through a sieve |
| Split or greasy | Boiled after adding butter or cream | Off the heat, whisk in a splash of cold water |
| Too salty | Salty stock or over-reduced | Add water, cream, a pinch of sugar or lemon juice |
| Frozen sauce watery | Ice crystals when defrosted | Simmer for a few minutes to thicken, stirring |
Cooling, freezing and leftovers
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.Freezing sauces: freeze sauces flat in labelled bags or in tubs for up to about 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, never on the worktop, and reheat until steaming hot. Freeze cream, milk and egg-based sauces with care, because they often split; whisk or blend to bring them back, or leave them out of the freezer.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can plan a week of sauces.
- I can make a batch sauce and freeze it safely.
- I can reheat a sauce until steaming hot.
- I can rescue a thin, thick, lumpy or split sauce.
- I have my own signature sauce.
Next chapter
Congratulations: you have finished Cooking Skills: Sauces 1. Soups and Stocks 1 will cover making your own stock, the base of many sauces, and Cooking Skills: Eggs 2, chapters 7 and 8 cover mayonnaise and hollandaise.