Definition

Noun: * A rich, warm, emulsified sauce made from egg yolks, butter, and an infusion of white wine, vinegar, shallots, and tarragon. It is a classic French sauce and a variation of hollandaise sauce.

Usage

• Bearnaise is used exclusively as a noun to refer to the sauce itself.
• It is typically served warm over grilled or roasted meats, especially steak and fish.

Examples

• The filet mignon was served with a perfect bearnaise.
• For the asparagus, I prefer bearnaise to hollandaise.
• The key to a good bearnaise is a careful reduction of the wine, vinegar, and shallots.

Advanced Usage

• "To break": In cooking, a bearnaise can "break," meaning the emulsion of egg yolks and butter separates. It must then be carefully re-emulsified.
  • If you add the butter too quickly, the bearnaise will break.
• As a descriptor: While primarily a noun, it can function attributively to describe dishes.
  • He ordered the bearnaise steak.

Variants and Related Words

• Hollandaise (noun): The mother sauce from which bearnaise is derived, made with egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice.
• Choron sauce (noun): A variation of bearnaise sauce with tomato purée added.
• Foyot sauce (noun): A variation of bearnaise sauce with meat glaze (glace de viande) added.

Synonyms

• Sauce Béarnaise: The full, formal name.
• Tarragon sauce: A descriptive, non-technical synonym highlighting a key ingredient.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• To whip up a béarnaise: To make the sauce quickly and skillfully.
  • She can whip up a bearnaise in five minutes.
• As rich as béarnaise: A simile describing something as very rich or indulgent (often used humorously).
  • That dessert was as rich as bearnaise.

Noun

1. a sauce like hollandaise but made with white wine and tarragon and shallots instead of lemon juice