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Sauce

Demi-glace Sauce

A rich sauce made by reducing veal gravy, Espagnole sauce, and Madeira or sherry wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Veal and meat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,890 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Demi-glace Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a stewpan, combine the roast veal gravy, Espagnole sauce, and Madeira or sherry wine.

  2. Let the mixture reduce to your desired consistency.

  3. Skim off any fat, then strain the sauce.

  4. Serve as required.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Veal + meattop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,890 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Sauce + meattop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,167 recipes
  3. Sherry + meattop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together505 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  4. Sauce + sherrytop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Veal + sherrytop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together572 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Roast veal gravy
Provides the concentrated meat flavour and body that the sauce is built on.
Espagnole sauce
Adds thickness and a rich, savoury base as the mixture reduces.
Madeira or sherry wine
Adds acidity and a sweet, aromatic depth that balances the rich meat flavour.

The step that matters

Let the mixture reduce to your desired consistency. As liquid evaporates, the flavours concentrate and the sauce thickens. Reducing too little leaves it thin and watery, while reducing too far makes it salty and overly intense, so check it often.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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