In french cuisine, the mother sauces (french: sauces mères), also known as grandes sauces in french or leading sauces, are a group of sauces upon which many other sauces – "daughter sauces" or "small sauces" (french: petites sauces) – are based. different sets and classifications of mother sauces have been proposed since at least the early 19th century.the most common list of mother sauces in current use is attributed to chef auguste escoffier and based on those presented in the 1907 english-language edition of his seminal cookery book le guide culinaire (a guide to modern cookery): béchamel sauce: white sauce, based on milk thickened with a white roux. espagnole sauce: brown sauce based ...

Source: Wikipedia