Velouté

This light stock is usually made from the unroasted bones of chicken, veal, or fish, and is additionally thickened with roux, a mixture of flour fried in butter. Along with hollandaise, béchamel, espagnole, and tomato, it is one of the five "mother sauces" declared by Auguste Escoffier in the 19th century.

Velouté can be used to make different sauce varieties, such as allemande, aurore, supreme, and bercy sauce. The name of the sauce derives from the French word velour, meaning velvet - a reference to its velvety texture.

The first version of the sauce initially appeared in Francois Pierre de la Varenne’s influential 1651 cookbook Le Cuisinier françois. Today, this versatile sauce is still used in kitchens worldwide as a key ingredient in numerous vegetable, fish, veal, and chicken dishes.