Fruit Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 to 5-quart heavy saucepan
• •Immersion blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof bowl
• •Ladle or flexible spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare one fruit

   Choose one fruit for the batch so its character remains clear. Rinse it gently and drain it well. Pit and quarter apricots, greengages, or mirabelles; strip red currants from their stems, discarding leaves and any spoiled berries. Taste before adding sugar. Ripeness decides the final balance more honestly than a rigid spoonful can.

2. 2

   Start the syrup

   Put 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the water in a heavy saucepan. Add 1 cup (240 ml / 200 g) of the sugar for stone fruit, or 1½ cups (360 ml / 300 g) for red currants. Warm gently, stirring only until the crystals disappear, then bring the syrup to a quiet simmer. It should remain clear and fluid, without caramel color.

3. 3

   Poach the fruit

   Add the prepared fruit and stir once to coat it. Hold the pan at a gentle simmer until stone fruit collapses when pressed with a spoon, about 12 to 18 minutes, or until red currants burst and release their juice, about 8 to 10 minutes. Keep the cooking brief. A hard boil dulls the fresh edge and pushes the mixture toward jam; if it begins catching on the pan, lower the heat immediately and add a spoonful of the reserved water.

4. 4

   Pass it smooth

   For stone fruit, blend directly in the pan until smooth. For red currants, crush them with a spoon but don't blend, since broken seeds can make the sauce bitter. Pass the hot fruit through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing firmly with a ladle or flexible spatula. Stop when only dry skins, fibers, and seeds remain. The classical tamis was larger, not more magical; this sieve does the same work at a home scale.

   Scrape the thick fruit clinging to the underside of the sieve into the bowl. That smooth pulp carries much of the sauce's body.
5. 5

   Balance the consistency

   Return the strained sauce to the clean pan and bring it to the barest simmer. Taste, then add more sugar only if the fruit requires it, stirring until dissolved. Reduce briefly until the sauce coats a spoon yet pours from it in a broad, unbroken ribbon. If it is thin, simmer it a little longer. If it tightens or turns jammy, ça se rattrape: whisk in the reserved water a tablespoon at a time, then pass it once more if necessary. Stop slightly looser than the consistency you want, because cooling will give it more body.

6. 6

   Cool and store

   Divide the sauce between shallow, heatproof containers so it cools promptly. Once it is no longer hot, cover and refrigerate it within two hours. Serve cool, at room temperature, or warmed gently with charlottes, soufflés, riz au lait, gâteau de semoule, fromage blanc, or glace vanille. If chilling has made it too firm, loosen it with a spoonful of water before serving. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use one fruit per batch. Apricot gold, red-currant garnet, greengage green-gold, and mirabelle amber each deserve to taste of themselves; mixing them produces abundance but loses definition.
• •Out of season, unsweetened frozen fruit is the honest answer. Thaw it, keep every drop of juice, and begin with less water because freezing has already encouraged the fruit to release its liquid.
• •Peaches, Williams pears, and apples aren't inferior choices, but the classical treatment changes. Cook them with only enough syrup to soften them, pass them smooth, and thin rather than reduce; the result is a light purée or coulis.
• •Sugar gives balance and a little body, but this isn't jam. Begin modestly and adjust after sieving, when skins and stones no longer distort the taste. Sugar can be added. It cannot be wished back out.
• •Keep the sauce plain unless its destination demands otherwise. Vanilla, spice, and spirits can be pleasant, but this preparation is a lesson in fruit, and the fruit should speak first.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the sauce up to 5 days before serving. Keep it covered in the refrigerator and stir before use; loosen it with a little water if the cold has tightened it.
• •For batch storage, freeze the cooled sauce in small airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and whisk it smooth. This formula is not intended for room-temperature canning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 65g)