Sauces add to the appearance and flavor of food, but they should never be overpowering. Sauces should be handled carefully to avoid contamination and food-borne illness. Store in a chill space and never hold them longer than 4 cumulative hours at temperatures between 40F and 140F.

CREAM OR WHITE SAUCE.- Cream or white sauces are made with butter or margarine, flour, and milk and have many variations. These sauces must be cooked over low heat. They require constant stirring to avoid scorching. The sauce is cooked until it coats the back of the spoon.

Thin and medium white sauces are used to bind ingredients together in scalloped meat, fish, egg, and vegetable dishes. Medium white sauce may also be served over food.

BUTTER SAUCES.- A white sauce with a high percentage of butter and little or no seasoning other than salt is considered a butter sauce. This sauce is used principally with green vegetables, such as asparagus and broccoli, and with fish and shellfish.

OTHER SAUCES.- Sauces served with meat, chicken, seafood, omelets, and spaghetti are prepared according to recipes in the AYRS. Also, commercially prepared sauce mixes are available. These include basic tomato, sweet and sour, cheese, barbecue, taco, and enchilada sauces. Directions for use are found on the containers. Some examples of sauces and their uses are as follows:

Gravies

Any gravy served should go with the food it is intended to compliment. The O section of the AFRS contains many recipes to be served with meat and poultry. Thickened gravies are made by adding flour to the pan drippings left after roasting and browning meats. This flour mixture forms a roux that is then added to stock. The gravy is stirred and simmered until the mixture thickens. There are numerous types of gravies. A good gravy should be as smooth as cream.

CREAM GRAVY.- Cream gravies are made by adding milk to the roux instead of stock or water. Cream gravy is usually served with chicken or ham.

NATURAL PAN GRAVY.- Natural pan gravy (au jus) is unthickened gravy that is usually served with roast beef. Water or stock is added to the meat drippings and the gravy is allowed to simmer until hot. BROWN GRAVY.- Brown gravy is prepared by cooking the flour and fat mixture (roux) until it is brown. Brown gravy is the basic gravy used to make giblet, mushroom, onion, and vegetable gravies. Brown gravy mix is a dry mix that requires only the addition of hot water.

Gravy Preparation

Thickeners, liquids, fats, and seasonings are combined to form gravies. Certain tips will assist you in preparing and serving gravies.

THICKENERS.- To make smooth gravy, a roux must be used for thickening. Flour or other starch will form lumps if added directly to hot liquid. To make brown gravy, the flour and fat mixture (roux) is cooked until it is a rich, brown color. The roux is added to the hot stock and the mixture is simmered until it is thickened. To make cream gravy, the roux is cooked, but not browned. The roux is added to milk or light stock and cooked until thickened and no taste of the starch remains.

LIQUIDS.- If a large amount of gravy is prepared, there should be enough stock to ensure a good flavored gravy. Tomato juice or the liquid saved from mild-flavored cooked or canned vegetables (beans, peas, carrots) can be substituted for part of the water. Reconstituted soup and gravy base can be substituted for all or part of the stock. Since salt is an ingredient in these bases, no additional salt is added until cooking is completed. The gravy should then be tasted and salt added only if necessary.

FATS.- Fat from the pan drippings provides flavor. If there is not enough fat remaining in the pan from the meat to make a sufficient quantity of gravy, melted shortening can be added.

SEASONINGS.- Seasoning the gravy is important. Avoid overseasoning. Add salt and pepper in moderate amounts and taste the gravy during preparation to see if more is needed.

PREPARATION AND SERVICE TIPS.- If lumps should occur when you are making gravy, strain the gravy or whip vigorously with a wire whip. If gravy is not to be served immediately, cover the pan and keep it hot; or it may be refrigerated and reheated when ready to use. Gravy should be handled carefully to avoid contamination and food-borne illness. Store it in a chill space and never hold gravy longer than 4 cumulative hours at temperatures between 40F and 140F.

Dressings

Dressings are usually served as the starch addition of a lunch or dinner meal when the entree consists of a poultry product such as turkey.

The terms dressing and stuffing are often used interchangeably, but they both actually refer to dressing. If the dressing is cooked inside the poultty, it is referred to as stuffing.

Excellent dressings can be prepared that are not cooked inside the birds. Pan-baked dressing requires more moisture and is less firm than stuffing, but is easier to prepare and easier to serve. Good dressing is light and moist, not heavy and pasty.

Poultry stuffed with dressing is not recommended for large-scale food operations such as GMs because it increases cooking time, imposes a larger workload on foodservice personnel, and it does not improve or enhance the flavor of the meat. Most importantly, stuffing paltry is a sanitation risk and increases the possibility of food-borne illness.

The AFRS includes the basic bread dressing recipe and its many variations that may be served with either chicken or turkey.