What is South Western Sauce?
South Western sauce is a condiment and savory topping for proteins and vegetables. The sauce is savory, tangy, salty, and has a stong tomato flavor. It has a medium viscosity with a brownish-orange color and is best served hot.
What does South Western Sauce Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Sour is one of the five main tastes. It is tart and bright, sometimes with a mouth-puckering quality. Sour is a naturally occurring flavor found in many foods, including citrus, vinegar, various dairy products, and certain fruits. Sour is used to enhance a dish or drink and is used as both a main and complimentary flavor.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Chicken broth is commonly used in soups and stews as the liquid. It is made by simmering chicken bones with water, vegetables and seasonings. The thin broth is a golden color with a savory taste that has hints of chicken, vegetables and salt. Chicken broth can be used for many dishes aside from soup.
Maple syrup comes from the sap of the maple tree and is cooked down into a syrupy consistency. The color varies from a pale to dark amber. The darker the color is, the stronger the flavor will be. Maple syrup is broken down into four categories all under the name Grade A, with four levels of varying color and flavor. Darker syrup will be slightly thicker than light colored syrups. The flavor of a light maple is sweet and a warm. Darker syrups have a more robust flavor and a slightly caramel taste. Maple syrups is used to drizzle on pancakes, baked into desserts as a flavoring, and can be used in savory dishes from ham to vegetables. Like many sweeteners, it is a multi-use item.
Apple cider vinegar has been around for a long time and is used in marinades, sauces and as a food preservative. The vinegar is made from apples, sugar and yeast and has a pale, translucent golden brown color. The smell is extremely vinegary and the taste is strong and sour. When a small amount is added to food, such as a soup or salad dressing, the apple cider vinegar adds an earthy brightness and pleasant tartness that can help enhance the flavor of other ingredients.
Mustard is a yellow condiment and spread used for sandwiches, and as an ingredient for sauces and more. Mustard is made from the seeds of the mustard plant and either ground into powder or used whole. Mustard varies from bright yellow to a muted golden brown. The texture of yellow mustard, such as Dijon or American is smooth. Grainy mustard, made from the whole pinhead sized seed is brown. In general, mustard has a spicy, mildly hot and vinegary flavor. Some types are more tart and one dimensional, while other varieties have a range of tastes. Mustard is a refrigerated item and usually only a small amount is needed of this strongly flavored condiment.
Shallot are a type of onion with a milder flavor than the large bulb varieties. Shallots are small onions in a lumpy oblong shape. They have a papery dry, brown skin that protects the ringed layers of the onions flesh. These layers are white with hints of purple and are juicy and crunchy. The shallot has a sweet and gently sharp taste that once cooked lends a silky and savory sweetness to a dish.
Tomato paste is a made by cooking tomatoes down, straining them and then continuing to let them cook until they have been reduced to a thick, dark red paste. This paste is tart and sweet with very little moisture due to the reduction of juices which creates an intensified and rich tomato flavor. Tomato paste is used in sauces and many Italian dishes.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
Peppercorn blend is an assortment of four types of pepper: black, white, green and pink. The blend is often made of whole peppercorns that can be freshly ground. Black pepper has a cool, spicy heat. White pepper is spicier than black pepper. Green peppercorns have a very mild flavor. Pink pepper is sweet and sharp. Each peppercorn is shaped like a large pinhead sized ball. The assortment of peppercorns provide a complex assortment of spicy heat.
Cilantro is a leafy herb with a thin green stalk and small, partially fringed green leaves that look similar to a three leaf clover. It has a distinct smell that is similar to a lime and a flavor to match that. In addition, it smells and tastes the same and has a strong flavor with a hint of greens. Due to a genetic trait, some people find that cilantro tastes like soap. This herb is used in many cuisines, particularly from Asia and Central and South America.
