Sassy, Saucy Food

The word "sauce" is a French word that means a relish to make our food more appetizing. Sauces are liquid or semi-liquid foods that make other foods look, smell and taste better. Because of the lack of refrigeration in days goneby, meat poultry, and seafood didn't last very long. Sauces were used to mask the flavor of questionable foods. With the advent of food preservation sauces are no longer used for that purpose.

They do however continue to play an important role in our daily fare - primarily for flavor and variety.

Fast forward to 21st century... the sauces we add to food can be collected into several categories. The differ in how they are made, basic ingredients and of course the nutritional contribution they provide.

• White, creamy sauces - made from butter, cream or both something to thicken (or not) and a distinctive seasoning. For example aioli is garlic flavored mayonaisse; hollandaise uses egg yolks with the butter and lemon juice as acid for distinctive flavor. These can either be more like a mayonaisse or cooked white sauce. They are very versatile in that many distinctive flavors can be achieved depending on the herbs and spices used


• Butter sauce - meat, vegetables and even grains are often accompanied by melted butter with some type of seasoning added. Could be dill, garlic, parsley or just about anything.


• Fruit sauce - a coulis made from pureed fruit can be served with sweetened foods as dessert such as custard with raspberry puree. Pancakes, toast, ice cream or yogurt parfaits might also incorporate a fruit puree. My personal favorite is a blueberry 'butter' on pancakes. I seldom use either butter or syrup on pancakes or waffles. Another idea is simply to use a fruit flavored yogurt. Previous generations have used apple butter as a mainstay at the breakfast table on toast. Try it!


• Marinara - tomato based sauces are traditional for pasta. Tomatos are also the starting point for many salsas and both types can be used on many different types of foods and combined with a wide variety of other foods. To illustrate this all we need to think about is pasta. In primavera we might find onions, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli; bolognaise is meat based

Sauces run the gamut on fat, calories, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. By following a couple simple guidelines a calorie, fat laden sauce can be transformed into one that actually contributes to the health in addition to the flavor of the food.

1. Thicken with a starch rather than fat. When liquid is added to starch it swells and thickens. So using flour, cornstarch, or pureed beans or even potato are great thickeners for sauces among other types of food. We'll deal with thickeners in our next posting so stay tuned.

2. Instead of butter, try using a broth base, add herbs and substitute butter flakes such as Molly McButter. Keep in mind that the goal is to add flavor and moisture. One of my friends does this with fish. She bakes, poaches or grills salmon and then stirs butter substitute into broth until she reaches the consistency of butter and adds dill for flavor. Another idea is to use non-stick pans, coat with cooking spray and moisten with significantly less oil than you would normally use

3. Go heavy on the fruit and light on the sweetener. My blueberry "butter" is simply fresh blueberries cooked over a low heat until they begin to pop, add a small amount of honey and cook until warm. It's easy, light and full of flavor.

4. Tomato based sauces can be excellent sources of vitamins and other phytonutrients. Go heavy on the vegetables and light on the meat and cheese based additions.

Just try a couple changes coupled with strong seasonings and you won't even miss the fat. Above all train your palate to enjoy these foods. It happens!

Happy, Healthy Eating!

Marcia