Hollandaise sauce From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollandaise_sauce Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice using egg yolks as the emulsifying agent, usually seasoned with salt and a little black pepper or cayenne pepper. It is a French sauce, so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce. Hollandaise sauce is well known as a key ingredient in Eggs Benedict. The sauce is one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. Hollandaise requires some skill and knowledge to prepare; care must also be taken to store it properly after preparation. Properly made, the sauce should be smooth and creamy. The flavor should be rich and buttery, with a mild tang added by the lemon juice and seasonings. It must be made and served warm, not hot. If the ingredients are emulsified improperly by over- or under-heating them they will separate, resulting in the sauce "breaking" from the emulsion and the yolks coagulating from excessive heat. One preparation method A wire whisk and a thin-bottomed bowl work fine. The egg yolks must be beaten thoroughly first, then the lemon juice beaten into them. Then the butter (preferably clarified butter; clarified, meaning it has been melted and the milk solids removed) is added very slowly, while the mixture is being continually beaten and held over a pot of simmering water. (Room temperature is too low; most stovetop burners and even double boilers are too hot, and will overcook the egg causing it to scramble, though skilled sauciers are able to prepare their mixtures over an open burner.) The mixing bowl should be over, but not in contact with, the simmering water. Eventually it will thicken palpably, enough to resist the wrist. The butter can then be added more quickly, the sauce is seasoned, and it can be "held" in this state by being kept warm for some time. A normal ratio of ingredients is 1 egg yolk : 1 teaspoon lemon juice : 4-6 Tbs. butter. The same method -- with no heat, replacing the butter with oil, and adding some ground mustard -- is used to make mayonnaise. Another preparation method This worked well for me on friday the first of may, 2009-05-01: 250 g butter 2 egg yolks 4 tablespoons white wine juice of half a lemon salt white pepper Melt butter, bring to a boil, simmer, and scoop off the foam. Beat the egg yolk and white wine in a bowl in a warm water bath. Drip in the clarified butter slowly, under continuous whisking. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.