Chef Juliette
Ordinary or White Consommé
Beef shin, lean beef, and fowl begin in cold water and rise slowly toward a tremble. Skim before the boil, and you learn the quiet discipline that gives every clear French broth its backbone.
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Cleared Mayonnaise Sauce
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 127, Cleared Mayonnaise Sauce, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Mayonnaise collée is the cold-coating lesson: barely fluid aspic whisked into true mayonnaise, then poured at once so chilled fish or lobster wears a smooth ivory film that sets cleanly.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Make Ahead
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•45 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts
Mayonnaise collée (cleared mayonnaise sauce) teaches that two cold structures can be joined only while one of them is still moving. The aspic must be cool enough to spare the emulsion and just fluid enough to disappear into it. That is the one true thing to know before touching the pan.
The original formula assumed a saucier nearby, a stockpot never off the fire for aspic, and a garde-manger supplied with mayonnaise and jelly in service quantities. It needed no salamander, because this belonged entirely to the cold kitchen. At home, a bowl over warm water, a thermometer, and an ordinary refrigerator do the same work. The professional ratio becomes one measured two-quart batch for one cook, while the mayonnaise and aspic remain finished components rather than recipes hidden inside this one.
Clarifying stock and maintaining a sauce station were brigade scaffolding, so they stay outside this entry. The three-to-one proportion, gradual addition, and immediate coating are the dish and must remain. The decisive moment comes when the melted aspic is barely fluid: add it then, and the sauce flows into an even ivory film; wait too long, and it sets in the bowl before it reaches the fish.
Mayonnaise collée belongs to the classical Parisian garde-manger, where it coated cold entrées and relevés of fish, fillets, lobster, and other carefully shaped pieces. The English title can mislead: the sauce is not clarified, because collée means that aspic has given the mayonnaise enough body to set. Its handsome coating carried a weakness, since shrinking gelatine could squeeze oil from the emulsion, and kitchens therefore came to prefer Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (No. 76) when a firmer, longer-held finish mattered.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared plain Mayonnaise
Quantity
6 cups (1.42 L / 1.38 kg)
cool but not refrigerator-cold
cold, rather firm melting aspic jelly
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 480 g)
use Lenten white fish aspic for fish or shellfish, or ordinary aspic as appropriate
Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (optional)
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 L / approximately 1.9 kg) Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (No. 76)
use as a complete alternative, not an addition, when a longer-held coating is required
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared plain Mayonnaisecool but not refrigerator-cold | 6 cups (1.42 L / 1.38 kg) |
| cold, rather firm melting aspic jellyuse Lenten white fish aspic for fish or shellfish, or ordinary aspic as appropriate | 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) |
| Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (optional)use as a complete alternative, not an addition, when a longer-held coating is required | 8 cups (1.9 L / approximately 1.9 kg) Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (No. 76) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart nonreactive mixing bowl
- •Balloon whisk
- •Small saucepan and heatproof bowl for a bain-marie
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Chilled saucer for testing
- •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the coating station
Chill the cooked fish fillets, escalopes, or lobster pieces until firm, then blot every surface completely dry. Arrange them on a wire rack over a rimmed tray so excess sauce can fall away cleanly. A wet surface dilutes the first contact and makes the coating slide; cold and dry gives the Mayonnaise Collée something to hold.
- 2
Melt the aspic gently
Cut the firm aspic into pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water. Stir only until it becomes completely fluid, then remove it from the heat and cool it to 80 to 85°F (27 to 29°C). It should feel cool and pour in a narrow ribbon, with the first suggestion of thickening at the edge. Never boil it, because hard heat weakens gelatine and leaves you with a coating that refuses to set.
- 3
Temper the mayonnaise
Place 5½ cups of the measured Mayonnaise in a large nonreactive bowl and reserve the remaining ½ cup for the finish and any necessary rescue. The mayonnaise should be about 65 to 70°F (18 to 21°C), supple under the whisk but still cool. Refrigerator-cold mayonnaise makes the aspic seize into threads; warm mayonnaise loosens the emulsion before the jelly can support it.
- 4
Whisk in the aspic
Whisk the barely fluid aspic into the Mayonnaise one small ladleful at a time, incorporating each addition before the next. Once the first third is smooth, continue in a thin, steady stream, whisking calmly so you build no unnecessary bubbles. Fold in the reserved Mayonnaise at the end. If gelatine threads appear, the aspic has cooled too far; set the bowl over warm water for three seconds, whisk, and repeat only if needed. If beads of oil appear, stop. In a clean bowl, whisk two tablespoons of the reserved Mayonnaise smooth, then rebuild the broken sauce into it first by teaspoons and then by spoonfuls. Ça se rattrape.
- 5
Test the set
Spread a teaspoon of sauce across a chilled saucer and refrigerate it for two minutes. It should form an opaque, flexible film that stays in place without turning rubbery. If the sauce runs, rest the bowl over ice for a minute and whisk again; if it mounds instead of flowing, warm the bowl for a few seconds over the water bath. Temperature is the correction. Do not disturb the source's three-to-one ratio.
- 6
Coat and chill
Pour the Mayonnaise Collée over each chilled piece from the centre outward, letting it cover the top and sides in one smooth pass. Work at once, because the aspic is already close to setting. If the sauce begins to stiffen in the bowl, return it briefly to the warm water and whisk until barely fluid again. Chill the coated pieces for about twenty minutes, until the surface is set and satin-smooth. If the food must endure a long hold, reach instead for finished Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (No. 76), using it as a complete substitution rather than mixing it into this sauce. Trim any set drips from the base and serve cold. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Three parts Mayonnaise to one part melting aspic by volume. Keep that proportion exactly; the mayonnaise supplies the emulsion, while the aspic supplies only enough structure to make it cling and set.
- •Choose the aspic according to what it coats. A pale Lenten fish aspic belongs with fish and shellfish; an ordinary aspic may accompany a suitable meat preparation. A dark, strongly reduced jelly stains the ivory sauce and overwhelms its balance.
- •The food underneath must be thoroughly chilled and dry. Condensation, poaching liquid, or oil left on the surface creates bare patches no amount of ladling will disguise.
- •Mayonnaise Collée is handsome but not patient. As the gelatine contracts, it can press oil from the emulsion; for a long buffet hold, the source itself directs the cook toward Lent Chaud-Froid Sauce (No. 76), whose velouté foundation is more stable.
- •For dinner-party service, use Mayonnaise made with pasteurized egg and keep the total mixing and coating time at room temperature under one hour. Refrigerate the sauce and coated food promptly at 40°F (4°C) or colder.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Mayonnaise and aspic separately up to one day ahead and keep both refrigerated. Shortly before coating, let the Mayonnaise lose its refrigerator chill while you gently melt and cool the aspic.
- •Coated fish, lobster, or escalopes may be prepared up to six hours before serving. Chill them uncovered until the coating sets, then cover loosely without letting wrapping touch the surface.
- •Do not freeze the finished sauce or attempt to melt a fully set batch for another formal coating. Blend the components shortly before use, while their temperatures can still be controlled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 30g)
Calories
150 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
10 mg
Sodium
170 mg
Total Carbohydrates
0 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
0 g
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