Identity card
Dating back to very ancient times, sauce bases were initially used to scent dishes or even to hide the strong taste of overripe meat in some cases. As gastronomy developed over the centuries, their flavours became more refined to enhance the dishes. These aromatic liquid preparations may be in the form of stocks, in which bones, carcasses, meat, fish bones, vegetables or herbs (depending on the type of sauce base) are cooked for a long time to make a tasty concentrate.
In traditional cooking, we distinguish between brown sauce bases (beef, veal, etc.) where various cuts are browned in the oven beforehand, and white sauce bases (chicken, veal, fish and shellfish bouquet, vegetable stock). Some are described as "glace" or "demi-glace" when they are particularly reduced and filtered, based on only one ingredient, with a syrupy or highly concentrated consistency.
Production and use
Since it takes many long hours of preparation to make a sauce base and its shelf life is limited, there are many variations of sauce bases, whether dried, concentrated or in cubes, combining practicality and speed. Used as the base for many sauces or directly enhancing some dishes (pasta, rice, vegetables, soups, etc.), they dissolve easily in water and can be adjusted to suit everyone's taste.
Anticipating culinary trends, the industry is constantly developing and expanding lines of base sauces for use by consumers and the catering trade. The market now proposes various forms (pastes, tablets, pots, semi-liquids, etc.) and flavours, from highly traditional "home-made" sauce bases to highly original exotic sauces. In 2010, sales of cooking stocks totalled about 14 000 tons on the French market.
At Rungis Market
"We supply caterers, butchers-delicatessens and restaurants with sauce bases. These products represent a marginal market but they are absolutely necessary because professionals are no longer allowed to make their own sauce bases because of the sanitary measures and conditions imposed on the profession," explains Laurent Rachon, General Manager of Morel et Richard Agral. "They are practical and easy to use, but it is better to personalize these sauce bases with meat juices by cooking them in a stock or aromatic base with spices."
