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Cooking Techniques7 min readUpdated March 4, 2026

By Proven Pantry Editorial Team

The Secret to Making Restaurant-Quality Sauces

Great sauces are what separate home cooking from restaurant cooking. Here's how to make them.

Sauces are the foundation of restaurant cooking. With a few techniques, you can make restaurant-quality sauces at home.

The five mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, Espagnole, sauce tomato, and hollandaise. From these, countless variations are possible.

For a simple pan sauce: after searing meat, add shallots and garlic, deglaze with wine, add stock, reduce by half, finish with butter. This technique works for any protein.

The All-Clad Saucepan is perfect for sauces—its even heat distribution prevents scorching.

The key to great sauces is reducing—cooking until flavors concentrate and the sauce coats a spoon. Patience is everything.

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Proven Pantry Editorial Team

Our editors research, test, and compare kitchen products so you don't have to. Every recommendation is based on hands-on evaluation, verified user reviews, and expert analysis. We update our guides regularly to reflect new products and price changes.

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