A rich, creamy sauce made from butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice, typically served on eggs or vegetables.
From French 'sauce hollandaise,' meaning 'Dutch sauce,' named after Holland because Dutch butter was famous for its quality. The sauce became popular in 17th-century French cuisine partly due to Holland's dairy reputation.
Hollandaise is notoriously difficult to make because the egg yolks can scramble if it's too hot—it's an emulsion, meaning tiny oil droplets suspended in water, similar to mayonnaise. French chefs consider it one of the five 'mother sauces' that all other sauces build from.
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