What does it mean to be the mother of sauces? Being just, yet loving can be difficult, let’s see how Hollandaise sauce lives up to the role!
All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others. Or so the quote goes from George Orwell’s novel Animal farm. However, the book is about how communism was mismanaged by those who implemented it, it is in reality a mirror of human nature.
Did Hollandaise sauce help to create societies?
The flaw in the concept of equality lies in the fact that not all humans are created equal. Every one of us is different from the other not just in thinking, upbringing or the size of our wardrobe but in a more fundamental genetic level.
These differences allowed us to survive throughout the millennia as a species. A saddle change in the genetic code made the next generation able to digest milk, giving the necessary edge to survive while leaving those who couldn’t adopt behind.
The same evolutionary process allowed us to develop a thinking brain that could look further than munching fruits from trees or create more complex social activities than eating each other’s fleas.
Has Hollandaise sauce evolved with societies?
While getting rid of fleas took a surprisingly long-time, creating societies based on natures laws didn’t. Humans organized themselves into countless communities during the years, mostly based on fundamental principles of strength.
This was pretty straightforward in smaller groups as the strongest could protect the territory better. It didn’t hurt if it had some brain too, but it wasn’t a prerequisite until some figured out that thinkers should think and tell not thinkers what to do is actually more effective way of ensuring a tribe’s survival.
It was accepted as a working solution until someone thought of title inheritance which means giving someone the right for something without proving their abilities for the role. When people stopped rolling their eyes in disbelief of this stupidity and started roll heads, we invented something that never existed before on a large scale, a society where everybody is equal. Thanks to French!
Can Hollandaise sauce ease the tension in society?
As in theory, this may sound really logical and just in reality this causes constant tension between our true nature and what we think we should be.
Not everybody is created equal so not everybody should have the same rights and treatments in the society either. Giving the same rights to everyone is like having to eat in a buffet where those who were born short have to pay the same as those of who are tall.
Yet, here we are giving the same right to vote for those who barely grasps the concept of the justice system and barring the opportunity from those who can muster more talent than popularity.
Can Hollandaise sauce be a human?
But being a human is not about logic or justice. Afterall who could blame a mother for spending more time on her sick child than her healthy ones?
Being human is more than we are capable of. It’s about dreaming big and struggling until achieving it. This is how we strive forward dipping from our past and pouring our hopes in our future.
What is Hollandaise sauce?
Hollandaise sauce is one of the five French mother sauces that are the foundation of countless other sauces in French cuisine. Children sauces swap, add or change ingredients, creating slightly or remotely reminiscent variation of the original sauce.
As it is with children, some can make mama proud and bring honor to the house while others are the black sheep of the family no one wants to talk about. Luckily, the eternal love of motherhood is blind and sees all children as equals, even if some are more equal than others.
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs yolk (1 yolk should be enough per stick of butter)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 sticks / 250g Butter
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
How to make Hollandaise sauce
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
- Melt butter. Try not to make it hot, just melt it.
- Add lemon juice to the egg yolks.
- Pour water into a saucepan or double boiler and heat it up. Mind to add only as much water as it won’t reach the bottom of the bowl that holds the eggs otherwise the eggs will be cooked.
- Maintain very low heat and place the bowl with the eggs onto the saucepan with the simmering water then start to whisk.
- When the yolks become pale yellow and grow in size slowly start adding the melted butter. At this stage we may remove the saucepan from the cooktop to avoid overcooking the yolks but keep the yolks over the steaming water as the sauce can thicken up like a mayonnaise if it gets cold.
- Don’t forget to add salt and pepper to taste. We can also add a bit of water to the sauce if it turned out to be too thick.
- Whisk it a bit more and serve. Hollandaise sauce is only good when it’s warm so serve it immediately or keep it in a double layer thermostat until served.
Enjoy!
FitttZee
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Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs yolk 1 yolk should be enough per stick of butter
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 sticks / 250g Butter
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter. Try not to make it hot, just melt it.
- Add lemon juice to the egg yolks.
- Pour water into a saucepan or double boiler and heat it up. Mind to add only as much water as it won't reach the bottom of the bowl that holds the eggs otherwise the eggs will be cooked.
- Maintain very low heat and place the bowl with the eggs onto the saucepan with the simmering water then start to whisk.
- When the yolks become pale yellow and grow in size slowly start adding the melted butter. At this stage we may remove the saucepan from the cooktop to avoid overcooking the yolks but keep the yolks over the steaming water as the sauce can thicken up like a mayonnaise if it gets cold.
- Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste. We can also add a bit of water to the sauce if it turned out to be too thick.
- Whisk it a bit more and serve. Hollandaise sauce is only good when it's warm so serve it immediately or keep it in a double layer thermostat until served.
It looks easier than mayo. Is it really?
It’s more hassle as you need to melt butter and a double boiler but apart of that it’s less stressful. Mayo tends to be a nightmare until you get the hang of it. Hollandaise sauce leaves a bit more space to wiggle in terms of texture given that the yolks don’t get cooked ;D