Liaison

A liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream that is used to finish some classical French sauces. Although a liaison will slightly thicken a sauce, its biggest contribution is richness and mouth feel.

How to Make and Use a Liaison? When using a liaison it is important to understand that pure egg yolks will curdle around 140-150ºF and about 60-70ºC. When you mix the egg yolks with cream, it raises the curdling temperature to around 180-185ºF and about 83ºC.

Standard Ratio for Liaison: The standard ratio for a liaison is 16 x 1 x 2. So for every 16 ounces (or one pint) of sauce, you will need 1 egg yolk and 2 ounces of cream.

Incorporating a Liaison into a Sauce: To incorporate a liaison into a sauce, first beat your egg yolks and heavy cream together in a separate bowl. Heat your sauce to about 180ºF or 80ºC, which is just below the simmering point. If you allow your sauce to simmer or boil, it will curdle your eggs.

Now slowly add some of your hot sauce to your cream and yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Once you have added about 1/3 of your total sauce to your liaison, and the entire mixture back into your original sauce.

Heat the sauce to about 180ºF (80ºC) and strain through a fine chinois before serving.