Different Types of Italian Sauces (2024)

FAQs

What are the different types of Italian sauces? ›

In general, Pomodoro sauce is usually thicker because chefs use crushed tomatoes as the base. On the other hand, marinara usually includes oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic cloves, basil leaves, bay leaves, and tomatoes. Some variations use extra virgin olive oil and red wine, which can also make the sauce thinner.

Sauces considered mother sauces. In order (left to right, top to bottom): béchamel, espagnole, tomato, velouté, hollandaise, and mayonnaise.

Carbonara. This creamy-tasting pasta sauce is highly popular worldwide. Other parts of the world have included cream in the ingredients, but the authentic Italian version does not. Instead, Italians use eggs, pecorino cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and guanciale.

The five mother sauces are hollandaise, tomato (sauce tomat), bechamel, Espagnole, and veloute. French chef Auguste Escoffier identified the five mother sauces, forever associating them with French cuisine. However, mother sauces are relevant in all modern cooking practices.

The five French mother sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato.

Béchamel, the classic white sauce, was named after its inventor, Louis XIV's steward Louis de Béchamel. The king of all sauces, it is often referred to as a cream sauce because of its appearance and is probably used most frequently in all types of dishes.

To the original four sauces (Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole) enshrined by his predecessor, royal chef Marie-Antoine Carême a century earlier, Escoffier added Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate, and reclassified Allemande. (Mayonnaise, one of his essential cold sauces, is now considered the sixth mother.)

What are the 4 original sauces? ›

Careme's four original mother sauces were Allemande, Bechamel, Veloute and Espagnole.

Such a careful distinction especially applies to pomodoro and marinara. While they're both sauces made from tomato, garlic, and olive oil, there are some key differences. Sugo di pomodoro is about rich tomato flavor, a characteristic amplified by fewer aromatic additions and a smooth consistency.

For this reason, Italians were slow to adapt it into their cooking, instead using tomato plants for decoration. In 1548, a Tuscan steward described the tomato as a “pomi d'oro” or “golden fruit;” this led to the modern Italian word for the food, “pomodoro.”

The five French mother sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato.

The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.