I've been waiting awhile for this lesson. Thank you so much for making it so clear and detailed. This is one of those lessons that makes me go "whew -- am I really ready for this?" The unfortunate thing is that the final product has to be used up within an hour and a half. One and a half cups of hollandaise is a lot to make for an intimate breakfast for two. Cutting the recipe in half might be about right, but you claim that using only one egg yolk makes the whisking difficult.

This was my 2nd recipe from the rouxbe school. Yesteday I made the Cod Provencal, and had leftovers, so, thought the Hollandaise would make a lovely complement and follow up. My first try, did not work out. It was thin, and I couldnt get it to thicken up. I went back and looked at my notes, and suspected that I may not have beaten the eggs over the water bath long enough, before adding the butter. So, not derailed, I decided to try again. My 2nd try, I waited until the eggs riched a much thicker consistency (ribbon like) as you say...almost pudding like to me, before taking them off the water bath and adding the butter. And also made sure the butter was closer to the recommended temp (130-140). I used up all but about 1/4 cup of the butter, and it came out so lovely! Thick and rich! I added about 1/2 tsp of vinegar, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and a bit of cayenne and was in heaven! Sadly, while heating up my brussel sprouts and preparing a rice pilaf to go with my fish, I had my sauce over some simmering water, and it broke!! I tried to fix it with the egg/cream method, but it didnt work. So, I tried one more time, (the third time). Unfortunatelly, I was out of butter, but found some butter in the back of the fridge. Everything worked well (as the 2nd time), however the end result had a faint fridgerator taste....alas I have learned something. The quality and freshness of the butter is critical in this sauce. I still used it, but still have fonder memories of my 2nd try. My advice to anyone on this recipe is to try again if your first attempt doesnt work. Dont be afraid to whisk the sabayon as long as you need to get the required consistency before adding the butter! Lastly, be careful while trying to hold it...if you put it over too much heat (ie over simmering water), it will break! Good luck to everyone!

I've made hollandaise for years, but not like this. This is much nicer and easier to count on it turning out than what I've been doing previously. I used one egg yolk with success, but I think 2 yolks would be much easier to work with. As to storage, a couple of things: When I lived in Vancouver, there was a place on Granville Island that sold it in a little tub from a cooler. So, when I've made it before, I've always stored the left over and used it later (e.g., make it for supper one day and use it the next morning or dinner the next day). While it tastes best and looks nicest right away, the left-overs are still a treat for me. When I use the left-over portion, I put it in a little dish in the top part of my double-boiler steamer over hot water just to take the chill off. Hasn't killed me yet, but I suspect it's not particularly foodsafe.

Julia Child's blender Hollandaise is easier and it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. But it's best to clarify the butter. Jack Bythrow

While "easier" certainly has its place in a modern kitchen, I would hesitate to call it a better way. The satisfaction of creating a carefully crafted hollandaise while learning to address and overcome all the dangers and obstacles along the way is worth the effort. Lessons are learned from both the failures and the successes. It explains why mountain climbers seek to find the most difficult routes in their quest to conquer a mountain. I conquered something today, with little more than a whisk and a couple of egg yolks. It felt great! Leigh

I've made the other versions of hollandaise. They may be a little easier (although maybe not if you have to clarify the butter first). For the extra 5 minutes this takes and the effort of flailing away at the puddle in the bowl for a few minutes, I thought there was a really big difference in taste and appearance. I doubt I'll make it any other way again.

This recipe was easy to follow and came out beautifully!! I have made various types of hollandaise before but never with such a lovely texture. If you keep clarified butter on hand it really is fast and easy.

Do I have to use clarified butter? and what are something I can use the dis guarded part of the butter for?

Just read the drill down on using whole butter, so please ignore the first question, but I still want to know what I can do with the leftover part of the clarified butter. FYI on Facebook they have a new feature where you can edit your post after you have posted it. This would be handy on this site, I'm sure a lot of find the answer to our question after we post it. :)

All I can say is amazing! The end result was as good if not better than any hollandaise sauce I've ever had. The videos are very clear on what to do and what not to do. I used mine on brussels sprouts.

What is the best way to Store the hollandaise sauce amd how many days can be Store in the fridge?

Hi Leigh, Could not agree more. Many challenges of late, and sorting out 'failure' is coming out on the other side. Lessons are to work through. And sometimes you surprise yourself with you, and wonder and delicious and ....

What is Ribbon stage or Ribbon consistency?

Hi Gaurav, What "ribbon stage" or "ribbon consistency" refers to, is the look of the sauce as it falls off/through the whisk. It should look somewhat like ribbons. I hope that helps! Cheers, Sandy

for how many people is this recipe meant to be? So I can understand how many things I can make or how many people I can invite!

I tried to make it and it came out something, not so good, not so bad. My problems were essentially 2: the first one is how to maintain the cream warm. My cream was unfortunately cold and maybe this is the reason I couldn't get it less thick. I found out that a bit of water made it a little less thick. The second problem was the color. I got a light grey cream while I should have gotten a yellow color. What did I do wrong? Maybe the eggs weren't yellow enough? I just used eggs, water and lemon. Thanks for your help!

Hi Antonino, I am not sure what you are referring to when you mention cream. Being that there isn't any cream in this recipe. Are you talking about the sauce itself? If that is the case, when making the hollandaise, the bowl should be set over a pot of simmering water, allowing the steam to warm the bowl (don't let the bowl touch the water directly). For the color, the butter and the egg yolks (no whites) are the contributors to the nice yellow hue. Sometimes, however, if you use certain metal whisks in a metal bowl, the metal-on-metal rubbing can sometimes create a greying, I am not sure if this may be your issue or not. I hope this helps a bit. Cheers, Sandy

Hi Sandy! Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the sauce. I mistaken the terminology. I did what you told! I used a metal bowl over simmering water (without touching it) but only until I put the butter. In the video it's said to put the bowl over a cloth but without water underneath it. What I thought was that the butter was hot enough to make and keep the sauce warm, but it was not the case! What can I do to serve it warm? Thanks a lot for the help!

Hi Antonino, thanks for clearing things up! Depending on how long it takes to make the sauce, how hot the butter is, what the temperature is in your kitchen, your sauce can become too cool. What I do, is leave the pot at a simmer (the one you removed the bowl from) and, if the sauce is cooling and over thickening, briefly place the bowl over the pot again, and continue making the sauce. If it threatens to get too warm, remove it once again. This takes a bit of practice, but is worth it, believe me. Once done, serve. If you need to hold warm briefly, you can use the same pot, placing the bowl back over it. Just keep an eye on it and stir the sauce frequently so it stays evenly tempered, or it might break/split. Hope this helps! Cheers, Sandy