Tartar sauce

Tartar sauce is a classic cold sauce made from green onions, vegetable oil, and hard-boiled egg yolk. This is a traditional French dish. The history of the origin of the sauce is connected with King Louis IX, who, after a clash with the Tatars on a crusade, gave the order to get a recipe for cooking from milk and herbs, which, in his opinion, filled the soldiers with strength. The chef had no choice but to find out the secret ingredients and the principle of cooking. This is how cold French sauce was born. Currently, it is served with crustaceans and fish, meat, and poultry dishes.

Due to its composition, rich in vitamins A, B, E, PP, zinc, iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, tartar sauce strengthens the heart, blood vessels, muscles and immunity.

Useful Properties

To date, there are many modifications to the preparation of tartar sauce. It is made on the basis of sour cream and mayonnaise, tomatoes and mozzarella, salmon, turkey, and beef. At the same time, everyone can change the classic ingredient composition, add something of their own. The result is a new dish that serves as an addition to breakfast, lunch or dinner.

A small number of components, ease of preparation, excellent taste are the main advantages of tartar sauce. The product can be a great alternative to regular mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup. The consistency of the sauce depends on the dish to which it will be served and the individual preferences of the cook. Tartar can have a liquid or thick texture. Interestingly, the modern recipe for making cold sauce does not differ from the original.

Useful properties of a French dish depend on its ingredient composition. In the classic version, tartar sauce is made from chicken eggs, onions, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. The initial components are not subjected to heat, therefore, after cooking (cutting, whipping), they retain up to 90% of their useful properties.

Benefits of green onions:

• restores metabolism, covers the lack of vitamin C in the body;
• inhibits the growth of bacteria, in particular dysentery, tonsillitis, tuberculosis, diphtheria, improves immunity, disinfects the oral cavity;
• promotes the processes of hematopoiesis;
• stimulates the activity of the heart muscle;
• improves the reproductive function of women, the condition of teeth and gums;
• strengthens nails, resists excessive hair loss.

Green onions are a source of beta-carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic, ascorbic acids, tocopherol, chlorophyll, phytoncides, quercetin, potassium, phosphorus, and sulfur. These compounds support the normal functioning of the heart, genitourinary, immune systems, and prevent beriberi.

Useful properties of vegetable (olive) oil:

• promotes the healing of ulcers of the digestive tract, improves the functioning of the liver, stomach and intestines;
• supports the health of the heart, blood vessels, prevents deposition and destroys existing atherosclerotic plaques that lead to the development of heart attack, stroke, cancer;
• prevents calcium loss;
• normalizes blood pressure;
• maintains the youth of the body.

First of all, olive oil is a source of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic, linoleic), which help to reduce the level of “bad cholesterol”. In addition, the product owes its useful properties to polyphenols, tocopherols, squalene, sterol, vitamins A, D, E. Vegetable oil has a choleretic, immunostimulating, anti-inflammatory and mild laxative effect.

Benefits of chicken eggs:

• lower cholesterol;
• normalize the work of the liver;
• maintain visual acuity;
• improve the functioning of brain cells;
• prevent the occurrence of cataracts;
• participate in blood formation;
• strengthen bone tissue, promote muscle building.

A chicken egg is a supplier of a complete, easily digestible protein, leucine, vitamins A, B, E, D, phosphorus, iron, calcium, selenium, magnesium, and potassium to the human body. The product is well absorbed in the presence of greens.

Thus, tartar, which includes the above ingredients, is a symbiosis of nutrients necessary for the normal functioning of the body. The sauce has all the useful properties of the original products and retains its nutritional value for 2 days. However, with each passing hour, the dignity of the dish weakens, therefore, to saturate the body with nutrients, it is recommended to eat it immediately after cooking.

Harm and contraindications

The sauce poses a threat to health in the following cases: if there is an allergy to the constituent ingredient of the final product, diseases of the digestive tract (gastroduodenitis, esophagitis, gastritis, stomach ulcer, biliary dyskinesia, cholecystitis, colitis), hypertension, atherosclerosis, after the expiration date. In addition, it is not recommended to use a French cuisine dish for people suffering from obesity.

Remember, tartar sauce is a high-calorie product, 100 g of which contains from 230 to 460 kcal (depending on the ingredient composition), 0,9 g of protein, 7 g of carbohydrates, 48 ​​g of fat. Therefore, it is excluded from the diet when losing weight. Otherwise, it will stimulate weight gain.

Purchased sauce is a less safe product than homemade. In most cases, to increase the shelf life of the dressing, tartar manufacturers use tricks and include preservatives, acids, food additives that are harmful to the human body. Therefore, it is recommended to replace the purchased French sauce with a homemade one. In this case, you can be sure of the quality of the raw materials and the finished product, as well as experiment with taste. In addition to the main ingredients, it is permissible to introduce pickled cucumber, olives, blue cheese and capers into the product.

Cooking Variations

French sauce adds spice to main dishes, suitable for dressing fried fish, meat, steak, roast beef. Perfectly sets off the taste of seafood (lobster, shrimp, squid), and is also suitable for improving the gastronomic properties of fresh and baked vegetables.

Currently, tartar has entered the “elite” of the most famous sauces in the world, among which are French Aioli, American Thousand Islands, Italian Pesto, Mexican Guacomole.

Cooking options:

1. Classic tartar sauce. Ingredients: 500 g of mayonnaise and sour cream, 30 g of dill, 80 ml of semi-sweet white wine, 4 boiled egg yolks, 200 g of pickled cucumbers (gherkins), 80 g of capers. Greens and vegetables are washed, cut into small strips. Dip the boiled egg yolks, sour cream and mayonnaise into a blender bowl, beat until smooth, while gradually mixing the wine. Add chopped greens, cucumbers and capers to the resulting base. Mix the contents thoroughly. To improve the taste, boiled pork, shrimp or fish are put in the sauce.
2. Lean. Ingredients: 100 g grated cucumbers, 200 ml mayonnaise, 10 g chopped shallots, 5 g capers, 10 ml mustard, 10 ml lemon juice, 30 g green onions, tabasco, salt, pepper. Mix all the ingredients, leave the sauce to infuse in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.
3. From tomatoes and cheese. Ingredients: 8 olives, 30 g croutons, 2 basil stalks, 30 ml olive oil, 4 ripe tomatoes, 125 ml cream, 125 g mozzarella, salt, pepper. Cut tomatoes into quarters, remove seeds, chop finely. Remove the pit from the olives, divide into 2 parts. Remove leaves from basil branches and chop. Combine greens, tomatoes, olives, salt, pepper, sprinkle with olive oil (15 ml).

Whisk the cream and mozzarella cheese in a blender until smooth. Salt, pepper the resulting mass, put it in a cold place for infusion. After an hour, take the dressing out of the refrigerator. Divide the base of basil, olives and tomatoes among martini glasses. Add some croutons. Put the air cream of cream and mozzarella on top of the vegetable pillow, drizzle with olive oil.

4. From salmon (or other red fish). Ingredients: 8 basil leaves, 8 eggs, 50 g parsley, 120 g capers, 800 g salmon, 10 ml lemon juice, 2 red onions, 120 g sour cream, 25% fat, 30 ml olive oil, salt, pepper ground black. Cut the fish fillet into strips, 5 mm thick, then into cubes. Boil eggs, peel. Separate the yolks from the proteins, grate separately.

Red onion peeled, cut with basil, salt and pepper. Add fish, lemon juice, olive oil to the contents. Put the tartare on a plate using a culinary ring. Distribute grated yolks and whites around the perimeter, then a layer of parsley, onion, capers. Put sour cream on top of the sauce.

5. From turkey. Ingredients: 3 pickled cucumbers, 15 ml mustard, 2 green onion stalks, 10 g capers, 600 g turkey, parsley stalk, garlic clove, 80 ml olive oil, 10 g capers, 3 egg yolks, onion head, 1 pc. lemon, 12 pieces of toast, salt, pepper, paprika. Boil the meat until cooked, pass through a meat grinder, salt and pepper. Grind cucumbers, capers, anchovies, onions and garlic, add to minced meat. Stir paprika, parsley, yolks, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil into the resulting mass. Serve the sauce with toast.

Before presentation, the tartare is pre-cooled. It should not be heated, as this will spoil the taste of the dish.

Culinary recommendations

The shelf life of self-made sauce does not exceed 2 days. Tartar is stored in the refrigerator in a glass container, tightly closed with a lid. Store-bought sauces contain preservatives, so they retain their taste even at room temperature for 2-3 months. However, such a product does not benefit the body, but rather, on the contrary, it acts as a symbiosis of harmful chemical additives.

Suggestions for making the sauce:

1. Tartar can be given to children who have reached the age of 5, provided that it is made on the basis of low-fat sour cream.
2. In the case of using large-sized cucumbers, they are pre-cleaned from the tin skin. For the preparation of tartare, only the pulp is used, without peel, seeds.
3. Chicken eggs, like all ingredients, must be fresh. Otherwise, you can get poisoning and intoxication of the body.
4. For the preparation of tartare, only pickled cucumbers should be used. Homemade preparations in which vegetables are closed by means of fermentation can spoil the taste of the sauce, as they will add bitterness to it.
5. Tartare is salted at the end, as capers, cucumbers and olives are able to give some amount of salt.

A distinctive feature of French sauce is its heterogeneous consistency. In fact, tartare is a creamy tender base in which there are small pieces of vegetables. It is customary to serve it in a gravy boat or pour it over a dish.

Conclusion

Tartar is a classic French cuisine sauce that has gained wide popularity in the world, like Pesto, Guacomole, Ayole. In the classic version, it is prepared on the basis of green onions, yolk and olive oil. At the same time, there are many variations of creating a sauce: from red fish, turkey, tomatoes and cheese.

Interestingly, the liquid seasoning owes its name to the Tatars, who were known as the glory of a quick-tempered people. The piquant, burning taste of the sauce, as never before, sets off the strong-willed qualities of the people of the Turkic language group, who are ready to use sharply sharpened sabers every second.

In moderation (up to 50 g per day), homemade tartar has a beneficial effect on the human body: it strengthens bone tissue, improves hematopoiesis, increases protective potential, restores emotional background, stimulates the formation of new nerve cells, and is an antiviral agent. In addition, French sauce removes toxins, cholesterol, normalizes fat and protein metabolism, and speeds up metabolism. Piquant spicy gravy helps to overcome anemia, resists the development of cataracts, excites taste buds, and stimulates appetite. Due to the presence of green onions in the composition, tartar serves as a natural antiviral agent and is recommended for use in the autumn-spring period, the season of colds.

Due to the high fat content, the sauce contributes to the set of extra pounds. Therefore, obese people, as well as people with gastrointestinal diseases and an allergic orientation of the body to the original ingredients, should stop eating the dish.