A guide to understanding the nutritional value of sauce and gravy

Whatever the type of cuisine — French, Italian, Asian, Indian or Mexican — contemporary sauce style is continually evolving. Today's chefs can draw from an international medley of delicious and exciting sauces that can transform an ordinary dish into a culinary delight. Here is some nutritional information for six popular sauces and gravies and some simple tips to help you lower the fat without reducing the quality.

Fresh salsas are mixtures of fine-chopped vegetables or fruits, highly seasoned with garlic, scallions, citrus juice and fresh herbs, such as cilantro and basil.

• In contrast to the traditional sauces, salsa homemade from fresh fruits or ­vegetables is virtually fat-free if made without oil, high in fibre, very low in calories and rich in such antioxidants as vitamin C and beta carotene.
• Commercial salsas, however, are usually modified vinegar pickles cooked and thickened with starch.

• Pasta sauces, such as Alfredo, that are made with cream, butter, egg yolk and cheese, are very high in fat and cholesterol. They should be used only sparingly, and people with high cholesterol levels should avoid them altogether.
• The variety of low-fat pasta sauces is limited only by a cook's imagination and the ingredients available.
• Excellent sauces can be made with fresh tomatoes chopped with herbs and garlic and blended with other ingredients.
• All tomato-based sauces provide some fibre, beta carotene, vitamins C and E, lycopene and a small amount of unsaturated fat.

Gravies are variations on the roux. Flour is cooked in fat drippings from dry-cooked meat, then blended with a liquid to make a sauce. Canned gravies are also available.

• 30 millilitres (two tablespoons) of canned beef or mushroom gravy contain approximately 15 calories, compared to 25 in the same amount of canned chicken gravy.
• Individuals on low-sodium diets should avoid commercial gravies, which are extremely high in salt.
• Gravies have fairly substantial amounts of fat and, whether canned or homemade, they have only a negligible amount of nutrition.

Many of the sauces used in Asian cooking are extremely high in sodium.

• Those most familiar are soy, fish or oyster sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla), hoisin and other bean-based sauces and stir-fry sauce (a mixture of other sauces).
• Some of these may be thickened with wheat gluten and should be avoided by people with celiac disease.

Dessert sauces, such as hot fudge, elevate the fat and calorie content of an ice cream sundae to dizzying heights.

• Fat-free versions of many of the classic dessert sauces are available, but the calorie content is still high, and the nutritional value is low or non existent.
• More healthful alternatives include nonfat frozen yogurt topped with chopped fresh fruit and nuts, or frozen berries.

Nobody expects you to do without the gravy that glazes the Thanksgiving turkey. You can, however, reduce the fat and calorie content and improve the nutritional quality by using a stock-based method. Here's how:

• Brown the turkey giblets and trimmings in a hot oven or under the broiler, drain off the fat and simmer the browned scraps with vegetables and herbs (an unpeeled onion stuck with a clove, a celery stalk, carrot, leek and turnip; thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns and a bay leaf) to make a rich stock.
• Drain the stock, ­discard the vegetables, then chill the stock, which will make it easier to remove the congealed fat from the surface.
• Next, concentrate the skimmed stock by boiling it down to a half or third of its volume.
• When the turkey is done, drain the fat from the roasting pan and pour in the hot stock to dissolve the clinging browned bits of meat.
• Boil the liquid to blend the flavours together, season and serve hot with the turkey.

Overall, many sauces and gravies lack nutritional value. Keep these tips in mind avoid unhealthy sauces and gravies in favour of healthy alternatives.