| Type | Sauce |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Main ingredients | Béchamel sauce,Gruyère,Parmesan |
AMornay sauce is abéchamel sauce with gratedcheese added.[1][2] The usual cheeses inFrench cuisine areParmesan andGruyère, but other cheeses may also be used. In French cuisine, it is often used in fish dishes. InAmerican cuisine, a Mornay sauce made with cheddar is commonly used formacaroni and cheese.
The origin of the name is uncertain. It may be named afterPhilippe, duc de Mornay (1549–1623), the French diplomat and writer, but a cheese sauce during this time would have to have been based on avelouté sauce because béchamel had not yet been developed,[3] so the cheese sauce that the Duke would have known was different from the contemporary version.[4]
Sauce Mornay does not appear inLe cuisinier Royal, 10th edition, 1820, perhaps becausesauce Mornay is not older than the seminal Parisian restaurantLe Grand Véfour, wheresauce Mornay was introduced.[3]
Mornay sauce is a smooth sauce made frombéchamel sauce (butter, flour, milk), grated cheese, salt, and pepper, and often enriched with egg yolk.[5][6] When used for fish, the sauce is generally thinned with fish broth.[7][8] The cheese may be Parmesan and Gruyère,[6][9][8] Parmesan alone,[5] Gruyère alone,[10] or various other cheeses.
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