Rescuing a Split Sauce

Before you fix a sauce, work out what’s wrong with it. Oily streaks, or a greasy layer on top, mean it has split: the droplets have merged back together. A sauce that’s evenly mixed but runnier than it should be hasn’t split at all. It has been thinned, usually by water from another ingredient. The two need different fixes.

Check its history first, too. A sauce that has been left out warm, or kept past its time, goes in the bin. Whisking it smooth again changes how it looks, not what may have grown in it.