Episode 4 - Making Sauces from Scratch

Cheryl Malik from the popular food blog 40Aprons shares her tips and tricks for making sauces from scratch. Learn what goes into a good sauce, what tools you need and how to store them.

Today's episode is all about making sauces from scratch!

I interview Cheryl Mailk from the immensely popular food blog 40Aprons, where Cheryl shares healthy and super flavorful recipes. She believes that eating healthy can be simple and that it should always be delicious.

I first came across Cheryl's blog when I did a round of the Whole30. The diet has a lot of restrictions and Cheryl had an immersion blender mayonnaise recipe that got me through that month.

Good sauces can transform a dish and boost flavour. When I first started cooking I didn't even realise making my own sauces was a thing. I always assumed it would be very difficult and I'd need a bunch of ingredients I didn't have.

The truth is, making your own sauces is very straight forward. Not only that, homemade sauces taste better and are better for you.

Cheryl shares her tips and tricks for easily making a whole host of sauces at home.

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Homemade VS Store Bought Sauces

You have more control over homemade sauces and can control it more to your taste.
You can make homemade sauces healthier than store bought sauces.
You are able to use fresh ingredients in homemade sauces.
You can customise homemade sauces to suit certain dietary restrictions.

Components of a Good Sauce

Great sauces are a combination of good quality ingredients and technique.
Buy good quality ingredients. Quality doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Just buy fresh seasonable ingredients.
Go as slowly as the recipe says and follow directions carefully, particularly for sauces that require emulsification.

What sauces should every cook master?

Béchamel - a base for so many recipes.
Mayonnaise - you can use mayonnaise as a base to build on and be creative.

Tools to have on hand for making your own sauces

Blender
Food Processor
Immersion Blender

You don't need to have all three of these, but they are helpful to have if you are someone who enjoys cooking. A good entry purchase is the immersion blender. It will allow you to make mayonnaise and you can usually pick up one for quite cheap.

How to store homemade sauces

Cheryl recommends storing sauces in glass jars in the fridge. Most sauces have different shelf lives so be sure to refer to the recipe you use for exact storing time, especially for those made with fresh eggs.