In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted. Sauces need a liquid component, but some sauces (for example, pico de gallo salsa or chutney) may contain more solid elements than liquid. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.
Sauces may be ready made sauces, usually bought, such as soy sauce, or freshly prepared by the cook; such as Béchamel sauce, which is generally made just before serving. Sauces for salads are called salad dressing. Sauces made by deglazing a pan are called pan sauces. A cook who specializes in making sauces is a saucier.
There are many sauces based on tomato (such as tomato ketchup, tomato pancake sauce, and tomato sauce), other vegetables and various spices. Although the word ‘ketchup’ by itself usually refers to tomato ketchup, it may also be used to describe sauces from other vegetables or fruits.
Sauces can also be sweet, and used either hot or cold to accompany and garnish a dessert. Another kind of sauce is made from stewed fruit, usually strained to remove skin and fibers and often sweetened. Such sauces, including apple sauce and cranberry sauce, are often eaten with specific other foods or served as desserts.
You can find authentic Persian Sauce on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.
