What is a Reduction?

Reducing is a term that shows up in a lot of recipes, and just means to evaporate a portion of the liquid - wine, stock, sauce, etc. Often you'll see a direction to reduce a sauce by some fraction, perhaps a half, so using your best judgment, you evaporate and evaporate until only half the original volume is left.

At this point, it is referred to as "a reduction".

Pans, which are wider at the top, such as a saucier, provide lots of surface area for water molecules to evaporate, and so are useful for reducing the time it takes you to reduce your liquid. Using a high-quality (i.e. heavy-bottomed) pan will also allow you to turn up the heat with less risk of burning your food, which also reduces the reducing time.

Reducing a liquid makes it thicker and intensifies the flavour and is a process that is applied to...

• Consommes, reduced and clarified stocks
• Gravies
• Gastriques, sauces involving both acidic and sweet components
• Pan sauces
• Syrups

While reduction does concentrate the flavours left in the pan, extended cooking can drive away volatile flavour compounds, leaving behind less interesting tastes.