- Beurre blanc
In cooking, "beurre blanc"—literally translated from French as "white butter", also known as "Beurre nantais" [
Julia Child (1961), "Mastering the Art of French Cooking ", Alfred A. Knopf] —is a rich, hot buttersauce made with a reduction ofvinegar orwhite wine (normallyMuscadet ) and shallots into which cold, whole butter is blended off the heat to prevent separation. (Lemon juice is sometimes used in place of vinegar and stock can be added as well). This sauce originates in theLoire Valley cuisine.It is not uncommon to see recipes that include a beurre blanc sauce to which
heavy cream has been added as a "stabilizing agent". This is a point of contention amongst many culinary enthusiasts and can be heavily frowned upon. ChefAnthony Bourdain famously wrote in his novel "Bone in the Throat": "There is no, I repeat, no, cream in a real beurre blanc ... You see any mention of cream in there? No ... you put cream in there, it ain't a beurre blanc." [Anthony Bourdain (2000), "Bone in the Throat", Bloomsbury USA ISBN 978-1582341026]Origin
The cook Clémence Lefeuvre (née Clémence Prau) invented "beurre blanc", apparently by accident, some time around the beginning of the 20th century. She served this sauce at her restaurant "La Buvette de la Marine" in the hamlet of "La Chebuette" in the village of Saint-Julien-de-Concelles situated on the banks of the Loire River a few kilometers upstream from
Nantes . [ [http://www.st-julien-de-concelles.fr/rubrique.php3?r=commune&id_rubrique=17 St-Julien-de-Concelles Official Website] Retrieved 24 May 2008.] Legend holds that she intended to prepare abearnaise sauce to go with pike fish but forgot to add thetarragon and egg yolks. Some sources claim that this invention occurred while she worked as a cook for the Marquis de Goulaine atChateau de Goulaine . [ [http://www.linternaute.com/nantes/questionnaire/resultat/3/2466/1/d/f/ Nantes' Quiz] Retrieved 24 May 2008.]Aristide Briand , long-time Prime Minister of France andNobel Peace Prize laureate, said at her death in 1932 that her passing "was a bit like national mourning". [ [http://www.st-julien-de-concelles.fr/rubrique.php3?r=commune&id_rubrique=17 St-Julien-de-Concelles Official Website] Retrieved 24 May 2008.]References
ee also
*
Beurre noir
*Beurre noisette
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