A warm, buttery emulsion of egg yolks and clarified butter sharpened with lemon, one of the grand mother sauces of French cuisine.
Despite a name nodding to the Dutch, hollandaise is thoroughly French and was codified by chefs of the haute cuisine tradition; Auguste Escoffier later enshrined it among the foundational 'mother' sauces. Born in an era when emulsified butter sauces signalled refinement, it became the silky crown of asparagus, poached fish and the celebrated eggs Benedict.
It coats the tongue in warm, rich butter lifted by a bright lemony tang that keeps it from feeling heavy. The texture is impossibly silky, like liquid velvet, with a faint savoury warmth from the cooked yolks.
Whisking warm butter into gently cooked yolks creates a stable oil-in-water emulsion, the yolk's lecithin binding fat and liquid into a creamy sauce. Low, controlled heat is critical: too hot and the yolks scramble, breaking the emulsion.
Variations
Sauce Mousseline (with whipped cream), Sauce Maltaise (blood orange), Sauce Noisette (browned butter), Sauce Béarnaise as a derivative
On the Palate
Where Sauce Hollandaise sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 15 min
Gently melt the butter and skim off the foam to clarify it, keeping it warm.
- 22 min
Whisk egg yolks with a splash of water and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl.
- 31 min
Set the bowl over barely simmering water, not touching it.
Watch outKeep the bowl above the water, never touching it, over the faintest simmer — direct contact overheats the yolks and they scramble.
- 44 min
Whisk constantly until the yolks thicken into a pale, airy ribbon.
Watch outWhisk until the yolks thicken pale and leave a ribbon trail across the surface — that's the base cooked enough to hold the butter.
- 53 min
Remove from the heat and dribble in the warm clarified butter, whisking hard.
Watch outOff the heat, trickle the warm butter in a thin thread while whisking hard — pour it fast and the sauce breaks and turns oily.
- 62 min
Continue until the sauce is thick, glossy and emulsified.
- 71 min
Season with salt, a pinch of cayenne and extra lemon to taste.
- 81 min
Keep barely warm and use at once over fish, eggs or vegetables.
