May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Many of the meats and fish people enjoy often start out fairly bland and have little taste of their own. Seasoning, spices, herbs and sauces are then added to enhance the flavor of the food. Sauces, especially, will enhance the flavor of an ingredient or dish by highlighting and intensifying flavor. A sauce can also be used to add a contrasting flavor to the food and create complexity in the meal. Of all sauces, a velvety and rich cheese sauce is quite popular with consumers.
It takes years of skill, repetition and confidence in ingredients, as well as an understanding of how the ingredients work together, to become proficient in the art of sauce making. Add the element of cheese into this equation, and the task is even more difficult. Yet, cheese is a perfect ingredient in a sauce as it pairs so well with many of the foods eaten every day. It also can act as a good bridging tool to introduce people to foods with which they are less familiar.