Beurre blanc

This thick, rich, creamy sauce is made from butter, white wine, shallots, and white wine vinegar. It has a slightly sweet, tangy flavor that goes especially well with poached fish, shellfish, and asparagus. This versatile sauce was popularized in the 1960s and 1970s by French chefs looking to brighten up their dishes with tart sauces instead of more traditional, roux-heavy sauces.

While there are many theories about its origin, the most popular one suggests that it was invented in the early 20th century by chef Clémence Lefeuvre in a small village near the city of Nantes in France, when she forgot to put eggs into the Béarnaise sauce she was making for fish.