Hollandaise and béarnaise sauces have some of the same ingredients and have similar uses — but they're not the same. So what's the difference? Let's break it down:
Hollandaise vs. Béarnaise: What's the Difference?
Both hollandaise and béarnaise sauces are made by emulsifying two ingredients that don't typically blend well together: butter and water. They both contain egg yolks and an acid to balance out the richness. It's what happens next that sets them apart: Hollandaise gets its acidity from lemon juice (sometimes vinegar) and is usually seasoned with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Béarnaise, meanwhile, builds upon hollandaise with white wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and other fresh herbs.
Hollandaise, also known as Dutch sauce, isn't Dutch at all, no matter what its name suggests — it's actually about as French as a sauce can be. One of the five French mother sauces, the first documented recipe is from 1651 in François Pierre de la Varenne's Le Cuisinier François.
"Make a sauce with some good fresh butter, a little vinegar, salt, and nutmeg, and an egg yolk to bind the sauce; take care that it doesn't curdle," La Varenne instructs in the recipe for "asparagus with fragrant sauce."
Hollandaise is pale yellow, smooth, and creamy. It's often used to to eggs Benedict, asparagus, and fish.
Béarnaise is considered to be the "child" of hollandaise. Invented only 200 years ago, it's a relatively new French sauce. Chef Jules Collinet is credited with creating it in 1836 for the opening of Le Pavillon Henri IV, a restaurant just outside of Paris that was home to French royalty in the 17th century. Inspired by the restaurant's royal heritage, Collinet named his new sauce "béarnaise" after Henri IV. The popular king, who is believed to have been a lover of fine foods, was born in a region of France called Béarn.
Béarnaise is pale yellow, smooth and creamy, and flecked with green from the fresh herbs. It's often served with grilled meat.
How to Make Hollandaise Sauce and Béarnaise Sauce
To understand how the sauces are made, you have to first understand emulsification. An emulsion is a mixture of two liquids (oil and water, in this case) that would ordinarily not mix together. Certain substances act as emulsifiers, which means they force the liquids together. The egg yolks, which contain lecithin, act as an emulsifier in hollandaise and béarnaise. Lecithin is a fatty substance that is soluble in both fat and water.
Why are you getting a chemistry lesson? Well, it's important that your sauce emulsifies and does not coagulate. Coagulation, or thickening from a fluid to a solid, is what happens when you make custards and puddings.
If you've ever heard that hollandaise is tricky, this is why: It's very easy to cook it incorrectly and end up with a curdled mess. To make these sauces properly, you must gently heat your ingredients while whisking constantly.
Check out our best hollandaise sauce recipes here and our best béarnaise sauce here.
It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is only in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while hollandaise uses white pepper or a pinch of cayenne. The sauce's name derives from the province of Béarn, France.
Hollandaise has lemon as the acid and bearnaise has white wine vinegar reduced with tarragon and shallots. So now that we know the difference between the two sauces what best pairs them with? For Bearnaise, it is traditionally served with steak, especially filet mignon or chateabriand.
It's what happens next that sets them apart: Hollandaise gets its acidity from lemon juice (sometimes vinegar) and is usually seasoned with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Béarnaise, meanwhile, builds upon hollandaise with white wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and other fresh herbs.
Irresistibly creamy, buttery, and rich, Béarnaise combines an herby, slightly acidic reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, fresh tarragon, and lemon juice with hollandaise to make a luscious sauce for spooning over grilled steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.
Béarnaise sauce is commonly paired with grilled fish or steak, but it's just as delicious on roasted vegetables or eggs Benedict. Spoon this silky, herby sauce over roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or grilled mushrooms for a sophisticated dinner party side.
What is Hollandaise Sauce? If you've never experienced the magic of hollandaise sauce, let me attempt to describe it to you. It's a very simple savory sauce made with butter, egg yolk, lemon, and salt. It has a smooth, velvety texture with just the right amount of bright lemon flavor to keep it from being too heavy.
Hollandaise and béarnaise can often be used interchangeably, but for some dishes, one sauce works better than the other. Both are among the best sauces and condiments for eggs, with hollandaise being famous worldwide as a topping for a traditional eggs Benedict recipe.
Popular theory places its origin to a town in Normandy, France called "Isigny-Sur-Mer", known for its high-quality butter. According to history, France couldn't produce its own butter during the First World War and imported it from Holland – which led to it being known as Hollandaise.
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.
3 oz of bearnaise sauce (Timber Lodge Steakhouse) contains 270 Calories. The macronutrient breakdown is 14% carbs, 80% fat, and 6% protein. This has a relatively high calorie density, with 321 Calories per 100g.
Chimichurri sauce hails from Uruguay and Argentina. It's commonly made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, finely chopped parsley, and dried or fresh oregano.
Béarnaise Sauce is considered by many to be one of the finest sauces to serve with steaks. A variation of Hollandaise sauce, one of the 5 “mother sauces” in classical French cookery, it's notoriously difficult to make by hand.
Cod pairs wonderfully with the classic Béarnaise sauce. Most people associate this sauce with steak, but I feel it works better with the tender delicacy of poached white fish. Clarify 300g of cubed butter by melting it over a low heat.
Maltese sauce has orange zest and blood orange juice. Noisette sauce throws in browned butter to the hollandaise. Bearnaise sauce includes vinegar, shallots, tarragon and chervil. Choron sauce is Bearnaise minus tarragon and chervil, but with added pureed tomato.
Versatile: Hollandaise sauce is a versatile condiment that can be used in many dishes. It can be served over vegetables, fish, meat, and of course, Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce also pairs well with grilled chicken or fish, roasted vegetables, and steamed asparagus.
Hollandaise is best served warm or at room temperature, and is a pain to reheat (because you have to be so careful not to cook the eggs). Warmer yolks = warmer sauce.
Hollandaise sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days. To store hollandaise, place it in an airtight container and make sure that the hollandaise is cooled down before you put it away.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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