sauces 6 min
Hollandaise Too Thin
Your hollandaise is thin because it lacked enough butter or heat. Whisk in warm butter to thicken.
Part of sauces cooking fixes .
runny sauce no body vegetarian gluten-free
Ingredients on hand
- thin hollandaise
- warm butter
- egg yolk
- lemon juice
- whisk
Why it happened
Hollandaise thickens as butter emulsifies into yolk. More butter and a fresh yolk strengthen the emulsion.
The fix
- 1 whisk 1 tablespoon warm butter in a steady stream
- 2 if still thin, whisk in a fresh egg yolk off heat
- 3 finish with lemon juice and salt
If it's still wrong
- use as a drizzle rather than a thick sauce
- serve with a thicker garnish like chopped herbs
Prevent next time
- keep the sauce warm, not hot
- add butter slowly while whisking
Notes
Why this works
An emulsion thickens when enough fat is dispersed into the yolk. Additional warm butter or a new yolk provides more emulsifier to build body.
Substitutions
- warm butter → clarified butter
- lemon juice → vinegar
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