The trick that fixed my broken hollandaise

Kept breaking my hollandaise during brunch rush. Tried cold butter, warm butter, everything. Then a sous chef told me to add a teaspoon of cold water before starting the emulsion. Worked perfectly. My eggs benedict sales went up 30% that week. Anyone else got a weird fix for a classic sauce?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicesingh8d ago

Honestly, have you tried adding a tiny splash of lemon juice at the very end when it looks like it's about to split? That's what saved me during a brunch shift when I was sweating over a broken sauce. It instantly brought it back together and made it silky smooth again. Tbh, I think the acid helps stabilize the emulsion when everything else fails. Ngl, that cold water trick is pretty genius too though.

ruby_rivera767d ago

The cold water trick is legit, I swear by it now. @alicesingh you're spot on about the lemon juice too, I've done that more times than I'd like to admit during a busy shift. One time my sauce was about to break completely and a splash of lemon juice brought it right back from the edge, it was like magic. Another thing that's saved me is starting with a little blob of ready made hollandaise if I have some left over from the day before, it acts like a safety net. But honestly, that cold water tip from your sous chef is gold, I'm surprised more people don't know about it.