What is liaison and what do you use it for?
When I was recently picking apart a restaurant menu for fun, I saw the word ‘liaison’ next to one of the dishes. I’ll admit I had to look up what exactly it was. And now I’m thinking: aha. Of course. That’s liaison. I won’t be vague: in this article, I’ll explain exactly what liaison is and how to make it.
Liaison is the French word for connection. That is exactly what liaison does: it binds. You could also translate it as a ‘secret love affair’. Sounds a lot more exciting, don’t you think? Perhaps you could interpret liaison that way in the kitchen too. As your secret ingredient, which you serve to your guests with love. So romantic.
Velvety smooth and super creamy
Liaison is a mixture of egg yolk and cream. When you add this mixture to your soup or sauce, it creates a velvety smooth, super-creamy texture. Liaison makes your soup or sauce ‘opaque’. That means you can no longer see through it, unlike, for example, a clear vegetable soup. The best example of a soup to which you can add liaison is a creamy mushroom soup or asparagus soup. Just think about what such soups look like: not transparent. Unless you make them with a clear stock, but that’s not what we mean here.
How do you make liaison?
Making liaison is very simple. Add egg yolk and cream to a bowl, whisk them together and add the mixture to your soup or sauce. In principle, you can use the following ratios: for 1 litre of soup, use 1 egg yolk and 100 millilitres of cream; for 1 litre of sauce, use 2 to 4 egg yolks and 200 millilitres of cream. Anyone making liaison themselves should bear one important rule in mind. Never add the egg yolk and cream mixture to a boiling liquid. The egg yolks will then set and your soup or sauce will split. That’s why it’s best to add liaison only when you’re about to serve your soup or sauce. Want to save some for the next day? Store your soup or sauce separately in the fridge and make the liaison fresh the next day.
Also read:
- 10x ingredients that will make your delicious soup unbelievably tasty
- 8x tips for the most delicious chicken soup
- Recipe: how to make the most delicious peanut sauce ever
Sources: zelfmaakrecepten.nl, ohmydish.nl, lekkertafelen.nl
