Use this rich béarnaise sauce from Bénédicta to improve just about any dish! In the words of Sam Sifton of the New York Times, béarnaise “tastes like the first sunny day after months of chill.”

Béarnaise sauce is a piquant child of hollandaise, one of the so-called mother sauces of French cuisine. It is simply an emulsification — egg yolks and butter cut through with vinegar flavored with tarragon and shallots, with a bite of black pepper. In this sense, it is a cousin of mayonnaise. It was accidentally invented by the chef Jean-Louis Françoise-Collinet and served at the 1836 opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV, a restaurant at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, not far from Paris. King Henry IV was born in the French town of Béarn, hence the name.

Béarnaise sauce is especially good paired with meats, in particular on steak. It’s great to pair with vegetables as well, asparagus for instance, or boiled potatoes. It elevates seafood, like salmon, haddock, or any roast fish. Try it spooned over an omelet or poached eggs! For an American-French hybrid feel, apply Bearnaise Sauce to the next burger you grill or serve it as a dip for French fries and wow your family and friends.

Bénédicta was originally founded in 1907 as an oil company. At the time, it was called “Bénédictin,” a Catholic reference indicating that the products were of good quality. Prosper Eeckman, Bénédicta’s founder, was the first to distribute oil in glass bottles, which were also called “bénédictins.” The first industrial mayonnaise was launched by Bénédicta in 1957, in a tube; four years later, the brand began producing emulsified sauces like the béarnaise!

Ingredients:

• canola oil
• water
• spirit vinegar
• egg yolk
• salt
• tarragon
• shallot
• chervil
• lemon juice
• hot pepper
• sugar
• natural flavor
• modified corn starch
• food coloring: beta-carotene

Weight: 260 g

Size: 9.2 oz

Add some pep to your dishes with Savora mustard’s 11 spices and herbs!

Amora’s Savora mustard features malt vinegar, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, mustard seeds, cinnamon, curcumin, garlic, tarragon, cloves, celery, and thousand-flower honey. It has existed in France since 1899 and has achieved near-cult status.

Amora was formally created in 1919 by Armand Bizouard, in Dijon. After tasting his condiment, Bizouard supposedly exclaimed, “It’s a love of mustard, it will be Amora!” The name is a composite of the words “amour” (love) and “moutarde” (mustard). A decade and a half later, when Raymond Sachot took over the business, he was glad to discover that the word is also the name of the Egyptian god of the rising Sun (Amon Râ). To this day, Amora continues to produce some of the ingredients for its mustard in Burgundy.

Dijon is the capital of mustard in France; Dijon mustard is pale yellow, rather than the bright yellow of American mustard, and has a slightly creamy consistency. It’s more intense and nose-tingling than its US counterpart. Burgundy is known for its wines, and the mustard is related: it is grown in vineyards as a cover crop beneath the rows of vines, providing nutrients to the vines when it is plowed under. By the 1200s, Dijon was recognized as a significant area for mustard making and is now regarded as the mustard capital of the world. King Philip VI first used the mustard in 1336 which became popular roughly 500 years later when Jean Naigeon created the formula that replaces vinegar with verjuice. Verjuice is a juice made from unripe grapes and adds flavor to the condiment. Savora mustard goes one step further with its 11 spices and herbs!

What to make with Savora? Thankfully, it’s a condiment that adapts remarkably well to any dish. Add it to a sauce, a burger, savory cakes or pies, or a club sandwich. Savora goes especially well with meats – chicken, pork, you name it!

Ingredients:

• malt vinegar
• water
• mustard seeds
• alcohol vinegar
• wheat flour
• sugar
• salt
• honey
• cayenne pepper
• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• curcumin
• garlic
• tarragon
• cloves
• celery
• acidifying agent: citric acid, preservative: E224 (potassium disulfite)
  

Weight:  385g

Size: 13.6 oz

Give your meat dishes the ultimate French touch with a bit of Bénédicta’s Pepper Sauce!

Pepper sauce, or “sauce au poivre,” is a classic French sauce that stands out in its own right. Made with crushed black peppercorns, a dash of Cognac and whipping cream, it heightens the taste of a perfect steak, rich magret de canard, or elegant pork loin.

Pepper has a long and intriguing history in Western Europe. The spice’s name comes from the Sanskrit "pippali," which became πέπερι (peperi) in Greek, then piper in Latin. Pepper originally grows on India’s West Coast, in Kerala, and its use in Greece began at the apogee of Alexander the Great’s reign. In the Middle Ages, spices like pepper were rare – so rare, in fact, that spices were used as currency. This is where the French expression for cash comes from: “espèces” is a distortion of “épices.” Attempts to monopolize the trade of pepper and other spices dominated the competition amongst seafaring European kingdoms for decades. Pepper did not become a mainstay in French kitchens until France became a colonial power. During the 18th century, the governor of Fort-de-France decided to plant pepper trees on Reunion Island; this allowed for a diversification of growing locations. A century later, in the late 1800s, Cambodia was integrated into French Indochina which allowed the French to trade the precious Kampot black peppercorn globally. Both of these stories are credited with making pepper much more accessible and driving its cost down; the truth is likely a combination of both.

Bénédicta was originally founded in 1907 as an oil company. At the time, it was called “Bénédictin,” a Catholic reference indicating that the products were of good quality. Prosper Eeckman, Bénédicta’s founder, was the first to distribute oil in glass bottles, which were also called “bénédictins.” The first industrial mayonnaise was launched by Bénédicta in 1957, in a tube; four years later, the brand began producing emulsified sauces like the béarnaise!

Ingredients:

• canola oil
• water
• spirit vinegar
• sugar
• salt
• egg yolk
• black pepper
• Armagnac
• Dijon mustard: water, mustard seeds, spirit vinegar, salt
• modified corn starch
• food coloring (beta-carotene)
• caramel coloring
• xanthan gum (thickener)
• flavoring
  
  

Weight: 240 g

Size: 8.46 oz

Give your dishes a Burgundian flair with Bénédicta’s Burgundy Sauce!

Burgundy sauce, or “sauce bourguignonne,” is a French sauce with a base of red wine with onions or shallots, a bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay leaf), reduced, strained, and mixed with some espagnole sauce (a mother sauce used as a base for other sauces). Just before serving, Burgundy sauce is mounted with butter and seasoned lightly with cayenne pepper. Like all red wine sauces, mushrooms may be added during cooking to enrich the flavor.

Burgundy is a region in the center of France, southeast of Paris, known especially for its red and white wines – Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the most commonly-grown grapes. Over time, the name “Burgundy” has signified numerous political entities, including kingdoms and duchies spanning territory from the Mediterranean to the Low Countries. Nowadays, Burgundy is one of France's main wine-producing areas. The reputation and quality of the top wines, together with the fact that they are often produced in small quantities, has led to high demand and high prices, with some Burgundies ranking among the most expensive wines in the world. Regarding tourism, interesting sites include the Rock of Solutré, the Hospices de Beaune, the Ducal Palace in Dijon, and many Renaissance and medieval castles. There are also plenty of notable religious monuments: the Cluny monastery, founded in 910, exerted a strong influence in Europe for centuries; the first Cistercian abbey was founded in 1098 in Cîteaux; and the Abbey of Fontenay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is today the best-preserved Cistercian abbey in Burgundy. The Abbey of Vezelay, also a UNESCO site, is still a starting point for pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela. While in Burgundy, one eats well: the region is famous for Dijon mustard, Charolais beef, Bresse chicken, the Burgundian dishes coq au vin and beef bourguignon, and époisses cheese. 

Usually, Burgundy sauce is used to accompany meat. In the case of sautéed meat or poultry, it is made directly in the sauté pan in which these items were cooked. The onions or shallots are sautéed in the pan and the red wine is added which is used to dissolve and incorporate the residue from the cooking of the meat. It’s delicious with filet mignon as well. Predictably, the sauce pairs very well with red wines from Burgundy: pick up a bottle of Savigny-lès-Beaune, for example.

Ingredients:

• canola oil
• tomato puree
• spirit vinegar
• water
• salt
• egg yolk
• red wine
• sugar
• modified corn starch
• natural flavoring

Weight: 240 g

Size: 8.8 oz

Give your dishes a Provençal flair with Bénédicta’s aioli sauce!

Bursting with garlic, this aioli is a classic of Southern France. Try putting some on fish, sandwiches, or meats to complete your dish.

A classic of Provencal cuisine, aioli is a rich garlicky mayonnaise that is served with cold fish, raw or steamed vegetables, and sometimes replaces rouille as an accompaniment to bouillabaisse (fish stew). The name in English comes from the French “aïoli", which itself comes from Occitan, and is a compound for the words “oil” and “garlic”. It is native to the Northwestern Mediterranean, namely Valencia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and eastern Andalusia in Spain; Provence in France; and Sicily and Calabria in Italy.

Aioli is an emulsion, like mayo. The process of emulsification happens when two substances that don’t want to mix are forced to mix. In cooking, this usually refers to oil being mixed into something water-based. Nowadays, in the U.S., the word “aioli” often refers to any flavored mayonnaise. In Spain, the original recipe is olive oil emulsified into mashed garlic with a pinch of salt – the absence of egg distinguishes it from mayonnaise. In France, aioli is somewhere between those two things: mayo-like, but always garlicky.

Because it’s a sauce, aioli is a flexible ingredient in your fridge. All the same, it’s especially tasty when combined with specific foods. You can use it instead of mayo, like in a sandwich, or instead of ketchup, like in a burger or as a dip for French fries or chicken tenders. It does a wonderful job of dressing up vegetables, such as boiled potatoes, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, roasted eggplant, or green beans. As a sauce for meats, it goes well with grilled chicken or roasts. Aioli is especially wonderful with seafood: think crab cakes, Spanish croquetas, shrimp, deep-fried mussels, or a dollop in fish soup.

Ingredients:

• canola oil
• water
• egg yolk
• spirit vinegar
• garlic
• Dijon mustard: water, mustard seeds, spirit vinegar, salt
• natural flavor
• garlic
• salt
• modified corn starch
• sugar
• Contains: eggs
  
  

Weight: 260 g

Originally from Tunisia, DEA Harissa piment paste is made from vegetables and chilies and is seasoned with coriander, caraway, and garlic.