I forget what combinations will split a sauce!!

[Digger]

Now, i can easily Google this but thought it better to keep within the PH foodie channel.

I quite often find myself wincing when a TV chef adds cream when creating a sauce and adds it to a boiling liquid/sauce. You cant do that as its going to split i find myself saying. Then he/she proves me wrong.

So i am about to create a sauce with some white whine, creme fraiche, and lemon juice. I am now confused as to whether to keep it below a boil when i add the ingredients together.

So which combo of . . .

Single/double cream
Creme fraiche
Sour cream
Milk
Other creams i have forgotten about
Lemon/lime juice
Red/white wine (this does not matter correct)
a boiling sauce

. . . will cause the sauce to split?


Ta.

PS please stop all that tutting and shaking of the head at such an amateur question!

[dazco]

It is not the ingredients that cause a sauce to split. The likelyhood of a sauce splitting is in direct proportion to the importance of the meal multiplied by the cost and added to the effort taken.

[Digger]

Bugger, have I posted this in the Lounge by mistake??!

[21TonyK]

Acid will split fats as will heat. It's more about proportion than anything. A little cream in a hot pan will evaporate leaving a mess, too much lemon will curdle milk or cream and start making cheese, too much oil in the pan without an emulsifier like flour will make it difficult to get a clean finish to a sauce. A clean pan, gentle heat and a whisk solves most problems.

[Mobile Chicane]

Never mind splitting - white wine, creme fraiche and lemon juice will be far too sour.

I generally add a dollop of creme fraiche to the pan juices of whatever I'm making, stir like fk, then try not to angst about it too much.

'Proper' sauces scare me.

[Roger645]

A splash of cold water and vigorous whisk can usually rescue most splitting issues.

[Digger]

Dont worry MC, those were the ingredients surrounding the issue. Plenty of seasoning, some chicken stock and some honey were also added.

[escargot]

You should be ok if you deglaze the pan with the wine & lemon juice, then once the alcohol has burnt off, whisk the creme fraiche into the reduced wine as quickly as you can (lowish heat).