Problembeginnerdraft
Sauce splits
Also searched as: pools of fat, sauce breaks, butter separates, split sauce
In short: The fat droplets run back together. Usually it was too hot or the fat went in too fast.
Picture it
Like a party where everyone retreats to their old cliques: fat to fat, water to water.
What happened in your kitchen?
Question 1
Was the sauce on the heat when it split?
All causes, by frequency
- Got too hot
Heat makes butter melt and egg yolk curdle. The fat seeps out.
Next time: Take off the heat · Vigorously stir in a spoonful of cold water or cream
- Fat added too fast
The cannot keep up with coating the droplets.
Next time: Start again in a new bowl with a little water or egg yolk · Work in the split sauce drop by drop
- Too little go-between
Too much fat for too little egg yolk, mustard or starch.
Next time: Add mustard or a little pasta water · Use less fat
Sources
- America’s Test Kitchen: How to make mayonnaise
- Rouxbe: Troubleshooting Hollandaise
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Saucen, Eier