Help to make veloute sauce less rich

[ChilliLime]

Hi,

I made this sauce yesterday, just a basic veloute sauce with cream

sweat shallots and garlic in butter
add 600ml chicken stock and 600ml white wine and reduce by half
add 600ml double cream and again reduce by half

It tasted fantastic but it was very very rich, what could I do to make a lighter version, could I for example swap half the cream for milk?

Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Andy M.]

Hi, ChilliLime, welcome to DC.

A veloute is butter and flour to make a roux and chicken stock whisked in to make a sauce. That would be less rich than your recipe.

If you like, you could modify the basic recipe with wine and shallots.

 

[velochic]

Hi, ChilliLime, welcome to DC.

A veloute is butter and flour to make a roux and chicken stock whisked in to make a sauce. That would be less rich than your recipe.

If you like, you could modify the basic recipe with wine and shallots.

Welcome!!

I agree with Andy.

Your sauce sounds like the base is béchamel. In that case, as you use a less fatty milk product, the lighter it will be. I wouldn't suggest skim milk, but whole milk would make it much lighter without affecting the texture.

How do you use the sauce? It sounds yummy!

 

[ChilliLime]

Hi there,

A veloute is butter and flour to make a roux and chicken stock whisked in to make a sauce. That would be less rich than your recipe. If you like, you could modify the basic recipe with wine and shallots.

Thanks for that, thats the same way I make bechemel, with the roux etc, i'll give it a try

How do you use the sauce? It sounds yummy!

It was very nice

I was trying to reproduce a dish we get at my local italian - pollo a la creme

Really it was just that sauce with mushrooms added on top of a chicken breast (sealed in a pan and then in the oven for 20 mins)

 

[velochic]

I was trying to reproduce a dish we get at my local italian - pollo a la creme

Really it was just that sauce with mushrooms added on top of a chicken breast (sealed in a pan and then in the oven for 20 mins)

Oooh... that does sound great! Do you saute the mushrooms before adding on top? I might have to try this.

 

[rjx]

Bechamel is basically a white roux with milk added, reduced to a thick and creamy consistency. Seasoning to taste. You can add minced onions, nutmeg, or whatever else you want to flavor it with.

Veloute is basically a white roux + white stock (beef, chicken, fish, vegetable, etc.) Seasoning to taste. You can add flavors like a mirepoix, sachet d'epices, etc.

When you add cream and mushrooms to a veloute, it then becomes a supreme sauce ... a derivative of the veloute sauce.

Some sauces are intended to have a nice rich texture. If you want to reduce the richness, simply reduce the fat. While better for your health, it will alter the characteristics of the sauce. Enjoy the sauce, but eat less; or not as frequently.

Source: Click
Heavy cream is 36 to 38% butterfat
Light cream is 20% fat (range 18-30%)
Half and half is 12% fat (range 10.5-18%)

Good luck

 

[PieSusan]

I agree with rjx. There are certain classical sauces that are meant to be rich and are part of the language of cooking. If I went to a restaurant and the menu said such and such with a veloute sauce and it was made without the cream I would think to myself that this wasn't truly a veloute sauce. I might still enjoy it but it wouldn't truly be veloute.

I know, when it comes to cooking, I tend to be literal and fight against the misuse of food terms that are meant to be amusing. E.g.
tuna tartare (tartare is suppose to be raw beef or horsemeat)

It's the hummus argument all over again. I know it is a losing battle but I think since cooking is global, if we have a lexicon of terms that mean the same thing we will be able to communicate more clearly with each other.

It must stem from my ballet training. The language of ballet is French. A plie is a plie the world over. A Russian dancer and an American dancer will do a plie in the same way. They share a universal language of ballet.