Hollandaise sauce

[shoutsandmurmurs]

thank you so much for your input, everyone! i actually ended up making risotto with asparagus tonight because i just wasn't confident enough that i could do the hollandaise. i'm a hollandaise virgin, you see... not for long, though! i'm going to give it a go sometime next week. maybe i'll post the results here?

thanks again, qwerty, barbaray, and paulraphael, for your valuable information.

[Michaeltheonion]

i always add an "Au sec." Whch i think in french means "almost gone." I take a cup of white wine and a half cup of vinegar and reduce it in a sauce pot with shallots and pepper corns. When almost all the liquid is gone I strain and add this reduction to the hollondaise. I find Holondaise is pretty flat without this extra layer.

Also Ive ben trying with varrying degrees of success every brunch shift to sear medallions of Hollondaise.

[The Hersch]

i just wasn't confident enough that i could do the hollandaise.  i'm a hollandaise virgin, you see... not for long, though!  i'm going to give it a go sometime next week. 

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If you have a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child et al., her recipe is a real confidence-giver. Try following it. I don't think you can go wrong. If you don't have a copy, you should buy one.

[infernooo]

Am I the only one who can't make it "quickly"? Sure as hell isn't quick to make when I've tried making it!

Takes me like 20 minutes.... maybe I'm being too careful with the heat.

[paulraphael]

Takes me like 20 minutes.... maybe I'm being too careful with the heat.

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Yup. Not counting prep time it takes a couple of minutes. If it takes much longer the airiness of the sauce will probably be compromised.

If you don't have a decently responsive pan and heat source, this will be difficult to do without curdling the eggs. otherwise it's pretty straightforward. turn up the knob and whisk like crazy. when it starts to thicken it will pull together and the bottom of the pan will start showing. keep going for a few seconds, and then pull the pan off the fire, continuing to whisk for 15 seconds or so. then you can drop the heat down and incorporate the butter.

[tim]

Takes me like 20 minutes.... maybe I'm being too careful with the heat.

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Yup. Not counting prep time it takes a couple of minutes. If it takes much longer the airiness of the sauce will probably be compromised.

If you don't have a decently responsive pan and heat source, this will be difficult to do without curdling the eggs. otherwise it's pretty straightforward. turn up the knob and whisk like crazy. when it starts to thicken it will pull together and the bottom of the pan will start showing. keep going for a few seconds, and then pull the pan off the fire, continuing to whisk for 15 seconds or so. then you can drop the heat down and incorporate the butter.

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Hi,

James Peterson's book "Sauces" explains the technique of making hollandaise over high heat in less than two minutes. I have used the method for years with no failures.

It is also a great way to mightily impress your chef friends.

Tim

[Susan Caie]

Can you tell me what the best way to reheat hollandaise is? Or how do you keep it warm for a while?

[TheSwede]

The classic way is to store it in a thermos flask/container, although there are probably some food poisoning aspects if you store it too long.

Otherwise you can put your sauce pot over another pot containing boiling water and whisk. Note that you want the steam to heat your sauce pot, it shouldn't touch the boiling water. That will gently reheat the sauce and hopefully (no guarantees..) prevent it from splitting. Check the temperature frequently, you want body temperature, not much more.

Someone with experience from resturant kitchens will hopefully come in here and tell us how it is really done.

Edited November 6, 2007 by TheSwede (log)

[Susan Caie]

The classic way is to store it in a thermos flask/container, although there are probably some food poisoning aspects if you store it too long.

Otherwise you can put your sauce pot over another pot containing boiling water and whisk. Note that you want the steam to heat your sauce pot, it shouldn't touch the boiling water. That will gently reheat the sauce and hopefully (no guarantees..) prevent it from splitting. Check the temperature frequently, you want body temperature, not much more.

Someone with experience from resturant kitchens will hopefully come in here and tell us how it is really done. 

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Thanks for your suggestions. I have tried storing it in a flask, but like you I'm sure there is a way that resturant kitchens really do it.

[Malawry]

Hollandaise will curdle if it gets too hot, since the eggs will cook, and it will separate if it gets too cold, since the butter will harden. The zone in-between, where the temperature is just right, happens to be a happy zone for bacteria to breed--they love warm-but-not-hot temps. There is no way to hold hollandaise for a long time because of all these factors.

I was taught to never hold hollandaise for more than 2 hours at the outside, and if possible make it right before serving it. When I need to hold it, I do so in a covered styrofoam cup near the back of the stove, or sometimes in a metal bowl in the same spot with a piece of buttered parchment pushed onto the surface. I've never held it longer than a half hour at home.

[Marlene]

We were taught at ICE also, not to hold it too long, no longer than an hour, and over barely warm water in a stainless steel bowl.

This is why I use a blender to make Hollandaise. It takes 15 seconds, never breaks, and I can do it very last minute after everything else is done.

[rockhopper]

The last time I went to my dentist he took a look at my plate and

said "Ugh! what have you been eating?". I'd been overdosing on Hollandaise

so that tipped him off. He suggested I get a chrome plate instead. I asked "Why chrome?"

He replied "There's no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise"

[Smithy]

[Mikeb19]

Thanks for your suggestions.  I have tried storing it in a flask, but like you I'm sure there is a way that resturant kitchens really do it.

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How do restaurants do it? We make it right as the first order comes in, hold it at temperature for a few hours, then when service is over, we have it on our staff meal. You really can't store hollandaise for any extended amount of time...

[prasantrin]

How do restaurants do it?  We make it right as the first order comes in, hold it at temperature for a few hours, then when service is over, we have it on our staff meal.  You really can't store hollandaise for any extended amount of time...

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How do you hold it? Over a double boiler? I think that's the question--what's the best way to hold it at temperature for a few hours, not necessarily for any longer.

[reachej]

Anyone have any luck with different hollandaise techniques using the siphon? Like cooking the yolks sous vide, hydrocolloids, etc. I'm looking for a mousse that won't move (like whipped cream, shaving cream, et.) and won't break when warm (obviously). Thanks for any help.

[tim]

Hi,

I have always used James Petersons technique from "Sauces". Direct high heat with egg yolks and water to make a sabayon in under 2 minutes that is fully cooked and will not break. This also allows for rapid emulsion of hot (under 180 degree) clarified butter and seasoning. The texture and flavor may be easily controlled.

It never fails once you get past the first-time fear of scrambled eggs from all of that heat. It is impressively fast.

Tim

[GordonCooks]

Any traditional blender Hollandaise is pretty stiff when left to stand right after making. I usually have to thin it to make it pourable or spoonable for that matter.

[paulraphael]

Any traditional blender Hollandaise is pretty stiff when left to stand right after making. I usually have to thin it to make it pourable or spoonable for that matter.

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And if you make it with clarified butter, the hydration will be low, making it firmer. BUT, clarified butter hollandaise doesn't taste very good. My inclination would be to use whole butter, and seek out advice from a hydrocolloid guru, on how to build it on a foam that's thicker and more stable than sabayon. And please let us know if you come up with something cool.

[GordonCooks]

Any traditional blender Hollandaise is pretty stiff when left to stand right after making. I usually have to thin it to make it pourable or spoonable for that matter.

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And if you make it with clarified butter, the hydration will be low, making it firmer. BUT, clarified butter hollandaise doesn't taste very good. My inclination would be to use whole butter, and seek out advice from a hydrocolloid guru, on how to build it on a foam that's thicker and more stable than sabayon. And please let us know if you come up with something cool.

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I've had good luck using Kerry Gold and really, really fresh organic eggs. It's not something I do alot but people always comment on the great taste and texture of mine.

[TheSwede]

There is a recipe for hot mayonnaise foam in The Cook's Book, but it doesn't get super firm. Basically you make a mayo with some extra whole eggs added (you are probably after the egg white's foaming properties), load it into the whipper and heat the whipper in a 65 C waterbath.

Maybe you could get a firmer foam by mixing the eggs with some xanthan gum before making the mayo?

[Tri2Cook]

You can get a stable foam by thickening the base just a bit with xanthan, shearing in some methycellulose (I use SGA16) and whipping until you get a thick foam. I haven't actually tried this with a hollandaise but it wouldn't be difficult to test.

[reachej]

I've had OK, success by cooking the eggs 65 deg., hydrating the yolks in water then pureeing that with lemon juice and the yolks. Then I added the butter to emulsify in a blender, added to the siphon and kept warm. Like I said, OK, but the perfect one that doesn't move. How would the MC work concerning the emulsion?

[Anna N]

 Over in the breakfast thread we seemed to get very much off topic discussing how to make hollandaise. This seems a much better place to discuss that. @rotuts  suggested that I try to recover a broken holidays by adding another egg yolk. I knew that was one option but I was not sure it was going to work being inexperienced in this technique. So I opted for the tablespoon of water as a cheaper option.  It worked very well. Perhaps the next time I would use a yolk. 

[rotuts]

thanks

 

@Anna N