Why would you reduce a wine to almost noting when making a sauce?!


Question:

Why would you reduce a wine to almost noting when making a sauce?

when making a bernaise sauce most receipes require you to reduce a sauce till its almost gone, why is this?


Answers:
A reduction intensifies the flavors. Flavor is preferred over quantity.

Bearnaise Sauce
David Herzog

? c. white wine
1 Tbs. tarragon
3 peppercorns (optional)
1 recipe of Hollandaise sauce

In a small pan, boil and reduce the wine, tarragon, and peppercorns (optional) to about 1 Tbs. of liquid. Mix 1 recipe of Hollandaise sauce together. Add the wine reduction to the sauce and stir until combined.
For a tomato Bearnaise; add 2 Tbs. catsup to the final sauce and mix well. This is a different variation of the classic sauce. Serve over fish, fillet mignon, etc.

Hollandaise Sauce
David Herzog

? butter
4 egg yolks, well beaten
2 to 2 ? Tbs. lemon juice
Pinch of white pepper
? tsp. salt

Melt the butter and remove from heat. The butter needs to be liquefied but not hot. Gradually pour the butter into the beaten egg yolks, warmed over hot water. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve warm

Notice both recipes I have included. When you want a thick sauce with lots of flavor you need to make adjustments to keep the sauce thick while enhancing the flavor but not ending up with way to much quantity or to many seasonings. Reducing liquids does several things, depending on what you, the cook, are making for your self or guests. In this case you are not reducing the sauce only one ingredient of the sauce. Here you are doing two things, cooking out the alcohol and intensifying the flavors of the wine. You need to cook out the alcohol to keep the smooth texture of the Holandaise sauce and to keep it from curdling or separating. Reducing down the wine in this case involves simmering the wine until it is almost all evaporated from the pan leaving the intense flavor behind and a far superior sauce. If you were to skip this step you would end up with a very runny sauce weak in flavors. After tasting your finished product you will understand. Especially if you wanted to make a recipe of the same without reducing the wine.
If you have any questions contact me and I'll be glad to help.

you always need to cook the alchol off,you want the tase of the wine,without the alchol...

It intensifies the flavors a ton!

YOU INTENSIFIED THE FLAVOR, O YOU DON'T NEED AS MUCH, NAMASTE




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