Healthy Hollandaise Sauce Recipe {Instant Pot | Microwave} - The Foodie and The Fix (2024)

FAQs

How do you make hollandaise sauce safe to eat? ›

Tips & Techniques > Food Safety of Hollandaise

If you are concerned about salmonella, use pasteurized eggs or cook the eggs to at least 165F to kill any bacteria; however, this can potentially cause the eggs to scramble.

Method. First make the hollandaise sauce. Using a large balloon whisk, beat the egg yolks with a squeeze of lemon juice and seasoning in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Beat vigorously for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.

Hollandaise sauces are best cooked at temperatures around 120-140 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything over this maximum puts this condiment at risk of splitting, which occurs when the creamy, smooth emulsion of the egg yolks, lemon juice, and melted butter breaks. The sauce will separate into pools of fat floating in liquid.

As in other egg emulsion sauces, like mayonnaise and Béarnaise, the egg does not coagulate as in a custard; rather, the lecithin in the eggs serves as an emulsifier, allowing the mixture of the normally immiscible butter and lemon juice to form a stable emulsion.

While there's risk in eating undercooked meat (rare burgers) and raw egg dishes (Caesar dressing), hollandaise is particularly vulnerable to foodborne illness because the egg yolks aren't fully cooked, and the sauce isn't served hot (eggs should be heated to at least 135 degrees).

High in Nutrients: Hollandaise sauce is made from egg yolks, which are a great source of nutrients such as vitamins A, D, and E, as well as minerals like iron and selenium. The butter used in the sauce is also a good source of vitamin A and other essential fatty acids.

"But there are a lot of ways things can go wrong. If you don't whisk fast enough or pour in your butter too fast it'll turn greasy and broken. Don't cook the eggs enough and it won't thicken properly. If you cook the eggs too much and you'll end up with clumpy, greasy, scrambled eggs.

It's what happens next that sets them apart: Hollandaise gets its acidity from lemon juice (sometimes vinegar) and is usually seasoned with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Béarnaise, meanwhile, builds upon hollandaise with white wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and other fresh herbs.

It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is only in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while hollandaise uses white pepper or a pinch of cayenne. The sauce's name derives from the province of Béarn, France.

Eggs and risk

Menu items commonly associated with food poisoning are sauces such as mayonnaise, aioli and hollandaise; spreads, such as 'egg butter'; desserts, such as mousse and tiramisu; and drinks, such as eggnog and high-protein smoothies.

Is hollandaise sauce high risk? ›

No one should eat foods containing raw eggs. This includes health food milk shakes made with raw eggs, Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce, and any other foods like homemade mayonnaise, ice cream, or eggnog made from recipes in which the egg ingredients are not cooked.

How do you fix a runny hollandaise? Blenders tend to make runny hollandaise - it's usually because the butter was too cold and hasn't cooked the eggs enough to thicken them. To thicken a runny hollandaise, tip the mixture into a heatproof bowl set over simmering water and whisk over the heat until thickened.

The second cause is either adding too much butter or adding it too quickly. When either of these occur, the sauce will look glossy like icing and pull away from the sides of the bowl, while the butter will float on top of the mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, cold water, salt and pepper. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into butter. Continue whisking over low heat for 8 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

Because of its water content, more whole butter is needed to thicken a hollandaise then just straight clarified butter. Make sure your acid reduction is cool before the egg yolks are added or they may curdle. The fresher your egg yolks, the easier it is for you to make your emulsion.

Do not eat or drink foods containing raw or undercooked eggs. Examples include homemade eggnog, hollandaise sauce, and undercooked French toast. Eggs should be cooked until they reach 145 degrees F or until the yoke is solid. Pasteurized eggs are available in some grocery stores.

According to the FDA, eggs qualify as “safe” to eat once they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, the heat will kill any Salmonella bacteria.

Some people worry about raw eggs in their hollandaise sauce. In this sauce, the eggs are cooked, they are just cooked very slowly to avoid curdling! Cooking the hollandaise allows for a thicker, yummy sauce for your Eggs Benedict.

You can't keep hollandaise “hot” without using xanthin gum, as it will break. As for keeping it warm, the most practical way of keeping an emulsified sauce warm without breaking it, is using either a steam table, hot water bath, or double boiler. Basically, keeping it suspended in warm water or water vapor.