What is Bearnaise Sauce? What does it contain and what useful properties does it have? How is gravy eaten, what cooking recipe can you try in your kitchen yourself? Contraindications to the use of bearnaise sauce.
Béarnaise sauce (or simply béarnaise) is a tasty, versatile and quite fatty sauce that can be paired with almost any type of main course. It is customary to pour sauce on all types of meat (poultry, fish, etc.). It perfectly emphasizes the taste of vegetables and even scrambled eggs. Served hot and cold at the same time. Has a number of contraindications for use. By its taste characteristics béarnaise is very similar to hollandaise sauce, so in some dishes these two fillings can be substituted.
Composition and calorie content of Bearnaise sauce
The typical Béarnaise sauce contains the following ingredients:
- white wine vinegar;
- fatty and most natural butter;
- raw yolks (preferably from home eggs);
- shallot;
- a set of spices: tarragon, chervil (similar to parsley), black peppercorns, etc.
Modern chefs love to experiment with the spices that make up the sauce, and also complement it with various vegetables. The composition of the gravy directly depends on the dish with which it is served.
The calorie content of Bearnaise sauce per 100 g is 321 kcal, of which:
- Proteins - 3 g;
- Fat - 34.1 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0.6 g;
- Dietary fiber - 2.9 g;
- Ash - 0.4 g;
- Water - 37, 1 g.
The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is 3% / 95% / 0%, respectively.
Vitamins per 100 g of product:
- Choline - 132.2 mg;
- Vitamin H - 9.3 mcg;
- Vitamin E - 0.8 mg;
- Vitamin D - 1.3 mcg;
- Vitamin C - 2.6 mg;
- Vitamin B12 - 0.3 mcg;
- Vitamin B9 - 4.3 mcg;
- Vitamin B6 - 0.08 mg;
- Vitamin B5 - 0.7 mg;
- Vitamin B2 - 0.08 mg;
- Vitamin B1 - 0.04 mg;
- Vitamin A - 400 mcg;
- Vitamin PP - 0.03 mg;
- Vitamin A - 0.4 mg.
Minerals in 100 g of product:
- Cobalt (Co) - 4.2 μg;
- Boron (B) - 11.6 μg;
- Molybdenum (Mo) - 5.1 μg;
- Fluorine (F) - 0.7 μg;
- Chromium (Cr) - 1.2 μg;
- Manganese (Mn) - 0.0219 mg;
- Copper (Cu) - 47.3 mg;
- Iodine (I) - 5.5 mcg;
- Zinc (Zn) - 0.5764 mg;
- Iron (Fe) - 1.3 mg;
- Sulfur (S) - 33.8 mg;
- Chlorine (Cl) - 1684.5 mg;
- Phosphorus (P) - 98.3 mg;
- Potassium (K) - 37.2 mg;
- Sodium (Na) - 21.7 mg;
- Magnesium (Mg) - 3.5 mg;
- Calcium (Ca) - 40.6 mg
On a note! One teaspoon holds 10 g of sauce, and 20 g in a tablespoon.
You can not only make the gravy yourself or order at a restaurant, but also purchase it at the grocery store. Most modern manufacturers pack the sauce in 250 g jars.
Benefits of Bearnaise Sauce
In theory, the benefits of bearnaise sauce for the human body are obvious - to understand this, just look at the list of vitamins and minerals that make up the product. It is worth noting that in practice it is quite difficult to improve your health with this sauce, because it is served to the table in small quantities. To reap the maximum benefits, it should be eaten regularly.
The main beneficial properties of béarnaise sauce:
- Strengthens the body, tones, improves the condition of the skin and the functioning of internal organs - the gravy contains tarragon, rich in ascorbic acid, useful nutrients, resins and more.
- Protects against viral diseases - antimicrobial and immunomodulatory substances get into the sauce all from the same tarragon (tarragon).
- Forms a feeling of fullness quickly - the gravy contains a large amount of butter and is high in calories. Bearnaise will make even a vegetable salad hearty, because 95% of the sauce is fat.
On a note! If you buy a ready-made sauce in a store, take a close look at its appearance - the product should have a lush, thick consistency and a smooth surface. Also, there should be no lumps in it.
Contraindications and harm of bearnaise
Gastroenterologists and other medical specialists focus on the dangers of bearnaise sauce for some categories of consumers - bearnaise is strictly prohibited for humans, suffering from gastritis and ulcers … This ban is due to the large amount of tarragon that is part of the sauce. This seasoning increases the acidity level in the stomach.
Also, avoid the bearnaise sauce. pregnant womenotherwise, a large amount of this seasoning can provoke a miscarriage.
Be careful, the sauce quickly deteriorates - the use of a sour product can provoke indigestion and other problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
Bearnaise can be stored in a room with an average air temperature for no longer than 36 hours. To extend the shelf life of the sauce, place it in the refrigerator - here the seasoning will last up to 3 days.
If you decide to store the filling in the refrigerator, keep in mind that before serving it, you should definitely warm it up in a water bath, because due to the cold it hardens and becomes too thick.
How to make Bearnaise sauce?
Almost all cookbooks indicate that béarnaise has an average degree of difficulty in making. Absolutely every chef should know how to make Bearnaise sauce, because this filling is universal in use, it will come to the rescue when there is no time to make more complex sauces.
Step-by-step recipe for Bearnaise sauce:
- Mix 1 tsp. white wine vinegar with 1 tsp. of dried onions and a set of herbs that you like, be sure to include tarragon and chervil in this set.
- Beat 4 egg yolks in a separate bowl.
- Melt 250 g of butter and gradually add it to the yolks.
- Stir the yolk and oil mixture thoroughly, and then add the vinegar and spices to it.
- The sauce is almost done, season with salt and pepper to taste. After that, immediately pair with the main course. Bon appetis!
A few simple rules that every chef should remember before starting to prepare béarnaise:
- Use eggs from domestic hens, because their yolks have a richer and brighter color, thanks to which the sauce acquires an appetizing shade. They also need to be washed before use to avoid contaminating food with salmonellosis.
- The standard recipe uses shallots to make the sauce. If you do not have this ingredient, do not be upset and replace it with another type of onion, this will practically not affect the taste of the sauce.
- Do not replace white wine sauce with red - this will change the original color of the sauce. If you don't have the type of vinegar you want, use apple cider vinegar as a substitute.
- Do not substitute spread, margarine, or other similar products for butter. In this case, butter plays an important role and is considered one of the main ingredients in the sauce. Therefore, without butter, bearnaise will turn out to be tasteless.
- If you don't have chervil, feel free to replace it with parsley - both ingredients have a similar taste and aroma.
- Add the ingredients to the sauce gradually, rather than all at once. Otherwise, the consistency of the product will come out incorrect.
- If the gravy still does not work out, for example, it stratified, try to fix everything with ice cubes. Add them to the sauce and beat thoroughly with a blender. You can also add the yolk to the prepared gravy and strain it.
Interesting! It is worth adding only 1 tbsp to the bearnaise. l. strong broth on meat, and you get a completely different dressing - valoise sauce. This seasoning is served with chicken and eggs.
Béarn sauce recipes
Add sauce to meat and vegetable dishes to make them more delicious and as close to the restaurant as possible. We present a selection of the most simple dishes with the participation of béarnaise:
- Spicy pork with bearnaise … To prepare this dish, you will need 2 selected pork tenderloins, the total weight of which should be approximately 800 g. Remove fat and other unnecessary elements from the meat and cut into medallions. Each piece of pork should be no thicker than 2 cm. Season it with salt, sprinkle generously with pepper, then leave it alone for a few minutes. Fry the green beans (you can use fresh or frozen). To do this, use only butter. A few minutes before cooking, add 1 tbsp to it. l. butter and 2 grated garlic cloves. Warm up the resulting mass well. Fry the meat in a separate skillet (in butter). Control the frying carefully so that the pork is cooked through without getting too dry. Serve the bean medallions with plenty of béarnaise sauce.
- Beef with béarn sauce … Wash and dry 1 kg of beef tenderloin. Divide the meat into small pieces (make sure they are not too thick, otherwise they will not fry). When cutting, try to move the knife across the fibers. Beat off the received splints, season them with salt and pepper, send them to a preheated frying pan. Fry the meat in olive oil (a few minutes on each side). In the meantime, prepare the bearnaise. For this meat, a sauce should be prepared according to a special recipe. Boil in a shallow saucepan all the spices soaked in white wine (75 g) and 1 tbsp. l. water. To do this, use black peppercorns, nine percent vinegar (1 tablespoon) and be sure to 1 tsp. dry tarragon. Do not forget about chopped onions into small pieces. Cook the mixture until it is halved. When the solution is almost ready, pour 3 egg yolks, whipped into a foam, into it. At this stage of cooking, be especially careful, because the yolks can quickly curdle. To prevent this from happening, stir them all the time with a whisk. Then add 0.5 tbsp to the almost finished sauce. melted butter and cook mixture until thickened. Remove sauce from heat and strain. Add some green parsley and red pepper to it. Now pour the sauce over the already cooked meat and serve the dish to the table!
- Artichokes with béarnaise … To prepare this dish, you need a minimum amount of ingredients: just a ready-made bearnaise, a few artichokes (4-5 pcs.), Half a lemon and some water. So, clean the bottom petals of the artichokes. Take them off until petals appear with a light bottom. Make sure that there are no spiked petals on the head. Do not completely cut off the stem of the artichoke, but leave about 2 cm or more. Remove the top layer of the skin from the stem. Put a small amount of water to boil, add half a lemon to it. Immerse the artichokes in boiling water and cover with some kind of weight so that they do not float, but remain completely covered with water all the time. Cook the artichokes for about 40 minutes, remembering to skim the foam. Please note that artichokes are ready when their petals practically fall off the stem. Wait for the ingredients to cool slightly and serve with béarnaise sauce.
Please note that there is a certain technology for eating artichokes. Each petal must be dipped in the sauce and the soft part of it must be scraped off with your teeth, it is it that is edible. In this case, the petals themselves should not be eaten. When the petals run out, you should have the so-called skeleton in your hands, you can eat it whole, except for the part on which the fibers resembling hair are located. These fibers can be conveniently removed with a spoon.
On a note! If you need to reheat the Bearnaise sauce, under no circumstances use the microwave, or the gravy will flake and lose its fluffy, uniform shape. Professionals advise to heat the product in a water bath, but not too hot.
Interesting facts about bearnaise
For the first time, béarnaise was prepared by a French chef, but historians find it difficult to say in what year it happened. The name of the sauce is consonant with the name of the city of Béarn, in which one of the kings of France was born. Sauce is still as popular among modern chefs and gourmets as it was when it was invented.
How to make Bearnaise sauce - watch the video:
Bearnaise sauce is a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals that the human body needs to function healthy. People with high acidity of the stomach should refuse a spicy and fatty product. Bearnaise is able to make any dish a culinary masterpiece, while preparing it quickly and easily.
