Guest spot: Sauce Maker by Rodney Tibbs
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Kitchen equipment | 99 comments
I recently met Rodney at a dinner party. Like us he is a foodie. He has been a journalist for over 50 years and is still a motoring correspondent. We have just discovered that we live in the same village.
Sauce Maker
There are some things in the kitchen that are so useful you worry that they might break and leave you floundering. In my case that thing is so rare that I wonder how other people manage without it.
I am talking about the Tefal sauce maker or “Le Saucier”. I was reminded of this when I read of your efforts with Bechamel sauce, something Le Saucier takes in its stride.
Briefly it is a gadget which has its own specialised saucepan and its own heat source. You programme time and temperatures from a little window on the front, chuck in the ingredients and let it get on with it. It stirs and heats and generally produces a no fuss sauce or gravy. Now you can concentrate on that tricky recipe or culinary masterpiece without having to spend time stirring away on the top of the hob.
Mine came from Lakeland many years ago so I rang them to ask how much a replacement would cost when mine goes to the great kitchen in the sky. They just didn’t do it any more, they said. So I rang Tefal in the UK who were most helpful but said they did not import it any more.
So I pinned my faith in French cooks and went to the Internet where I found it, but apparently now being made by a different firm. There is no doubt it is the same item although now finished in white instead of a dark gravy brown but getting at it is not going to be quite so easy.
I can negotiate the French websites OK but most of their firms want you to register with a whole host of details before they will consider posting the item to you. I have decided that when I am on holiday in the French Alps this summer I will make a point of visiting the local electrical stores to see if I can track down Le Saucier.
Which leaves us with the mystery of why such an incredibly useful device which frees up so much kitchen time, should be so little known and so little used? To me it is a bit like discovering that when my potato peeler dies there will never be another one.
If any of your readers can shed any light on this I would be very grateful. And should I find the Holy Grail, and if anyone cares, I will bring you up to date with the details.
Update October 2009: Amazon now stocks Le Saucier
Leave a reply
hello
would love to know if you have found user manual plus recipes for a SEB L saucier as I have a second hand one with no paperwork and am desperate to try it
regards
Val
Sorry but I can’t help you. Try Googling for the manual.
I have had one for about 30 years. It is the most useful gadget I own by a long way. It is getting somewhat worn and I would love a new one. Devastated that they are no longer available.
I had one for years with the SEB name. Tefal are produced by Groupe SEB. I bought a newer model recently on Ebay. I gave my original one to my grandaughter who is at university. On Amazon you can get various automatic stirers . Not sure if they work though.
I Also have a salton saucr maker
Hoever I dont know how to usr the temperatures properly for diffrrent sauces. Can you help
My cousin sent me a saucier from France, but unfortunately they are in 220 volts. They do not make the dual 110/220 volts anymore. I had found no info concerning which transformer I should use. I am afraid to break it if I use one too stong. With my old one that got lost in the move, I could male the best sauces. It is a real great item to have in the kitchen. Can someone help me regarding which transformer to use. Thank you in advance..
Hi
Are you in the US? If so then you will need a step down (220v to 110v) transformer. Check the wattage and make sure the transformer can cope with the load.
That is the problem. There is no way to find the wattage. Not on the saucier and neither on the instructions coming with it. I even tried to find this on the web but no luck. Thank you for your reply.
Mine is an older model, bought in France, with a mechanical timer it says 660w underneath.
Some Google searching seems to imply they are indeed 660w.
EG
http://www.2ememain.be/electrom%C3%A9nager/equipement-de-cuisine/autre/saucier-%C3%A0-minuterie-seb-291341451.html
I would ike to place on record my thanks to Sandercruz for making available the recipe book from his OneDrive store – a most generous service.
There are a few on ebay, but they are becoming more difficult to find as no longer produced.
I just bought one on ebay.
where can i buy le saucier.
address?
how much?
No idea.
Try Google.