Remoulade or rémoulade, invented in France, is a popular condiment in many countries.
Very much like the tartar sauce of some English-speaking cultures, remoulade is often aioli- or mayonnaise-based.
Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish, often flavored with curry,
and sometimes contains chopped pickles or piccalilli. It can also contain horseradish,
paprika, anchovies, capers and a host of other items. While its original purpose was possibly
for serving with meats, it is now more often used as an accompaniment to seafood dishes,
especially pan-fried breaded fish fillets and seafood cakes.
Use Remoulade is very popular in France, Denmark,
Iceland, Faroe Islands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and in the United States, especially in Louisiana
Creole cuisine. It is used with french fries, on top of roast beef items, and as a hot dog
condiment, although there are a multitude of other applications:
In France Remoulade sauce is made from mayonnaise to which is added mustard and shallots, capers
and chopped pickles, and fresh herbs. It is commonly used in céleri rémoulade, which
consists of thinly cut pieces of celeriac with a mustard-flavored remoulade and also
to accompany red meats, fish and shellfish. In Belgium, it can be found as a condiment
for frites, often sold at takeaway stands. In Denmark, it is an essential ingredient
on the Danish open-face roast beef sandwiches, along with roasted onion. Remoulade is also
used for fish meatballs or breaded fillets of fish along with lemon slices. As a condiment
for french fries the Danes can usually order tomato ketchup, remoulade or both, although
in recent years mayonnaise has gained ground. In most regions it is used on Danish hot dogs
along with mustard, ketchup, roasted or raw onions and pickled cucumber slices. Marketed
as "Danish remoulade", it has become popular in Germany and Sweden, but there mostly for
fish with boiled potatoes, dill and perhaps creamed spinach. Many German and Swedish hot
dog stands serve an optional "Danish hot dog" as described above.
In Iceland, remoulade is a condiment commonly served on hot dogs, together with mustard,
ketchup, raw and fried onions. In Louisiana Creole cooking, remoulade often
contains paprika and tends to appear more reddish or pink, not yellowish as in other
areas. In the U.S., it is typically served as a condiment
with seafoods. Po-boy sandwiches and fried soft shell crab sandwiches often are served
with remoulade as the only sauce. In the Netherlands it is often served with
fried fish. In Germany its main use is with fried fish
and as an ingredient of potato salads. Varieties
Sauce rémoulade According to Larousse Gastronomique, rémoulade
is 250 ml of mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons mixed herbs, 1 tablespoon drained capers,
2 finely diced cornichons and a few drops of anchovy essence. Some recipes use chopped
anchovy fillets. The rémoulade used in céleri rémoulade is a simple mustard-flavoured mayonnaise
spiced with garlic and pepper. Rémoulade is classified in French cooking as a derivative
of the mayonnaise sauce. Danish remoulade
Danish remoulade has a mild, sweet-sour taste and a medium yellow color. The typical industrially-made
variety does not contain capers, but finely-chopped cabbage and pickled cucumber, fair amounts
of sugar and hints of mustard, cayenne pepper, coriander and onion, and turmeric for color.
The herbs are replaced by herbal essences, e.g. tarragon vinegar. Starch, gelatin or
milk protein may be added as thickeners. Homemade or gourmet varieties may use olive
oil, capers, pickles, carrots, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, chervil, parsley or other fresh
herbs, and possibly curry. Louisiana remoulade
Louisiana remoulade can vary from the elegant French-African Creole, the rustic Afro-Caribbean
Creole, or the Classic Cajun version, and like the local variants of roux and bordelaise
sauce, each version is quite different from the French original. Invariably, it is red
and is usually very piquant. Louisiana-style remoulades fall generally into one of two
categories—those with a mayonnaise base and those with an oil base. Each version may
have an abundance of finely chopped vegetables, usually green onions and celery, and parsley;
most are made with either Creole or stone-ground mustard. Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
are also standard ingredients. In the oil- and mayonnaise-based versions, the reddish
hue comes from the addition of paprika. Other popular additions include lemon juice, hardboiled
egg or raw egg yolks, minced garlic, hot sauce, vinegar, horseradish, capers, cornichons,
and Worcestershire sauce. While the classic white remoulade is a condiment
that can be offered in a variety of contexts, Creole remoulade is nearly always associated
with shrimp. Today, shrimp remoulade is a ubiquitous cold appetizer in New Orleans Creole
restaurants, although, historically, hard boiled eggs with remoulade was a less expensive
option on some menus. It is most often served as a stand-alone appetizer, but it can be
paired with other items such as fried green tomatoes or mirliton. Rarely, one might also
see crawfish remoulade, but remoulade sauce is very seldom offered in restaurants as an
accompaniment with fish; cocktail sauce and tartar sauce are generally the condiments
of choice. Food columnist and cookbook author Leon Soniat suggests to "Serve [remoulade]
over seafood or with sliced asparagus." Central Mississippi has Comeback sauce, a
condiment that is very similar to Louisiana remoulade.
See also
Cuisine of Denmark Cuisine of France
Notes ^ Prosper Montagné. Charlotte Snyder Turgeon
& Nina Froud, ed. Larousse gastronomique: the encyclopedia of food, wine & cookery.
Crown Publishers. p. 861. ISBN 0-517-50333-6. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
^ Soniat, Leon E. La Bouche Creole, p.61. Pelican Publishing.
References dictionary.reference.com
Tulane University Newcomb College Center for Research on Women Deep South Culinary Oral
History Project lib.k-state.edu, This page contains images
of what may be the first recipe of remoulade in print from the 1817 edition of Le Cuisinier
Royal.]