aka mother sauce
Boris Mann 17th December 2023 at 6:01pm
In the culinary arts, the term "mother sauce" refers to any one of five basic sauces, which are the starting points for making various secondary sauces or "small sauces."
They're called mother sauces because each one is like the head of its own unique family.
Spruce Eats https://www.thespruceeats.com/mother-sauces-996119