Which are the five French mother sauces in cooking?

There are several French sauces, but there are five basic ones from which the rest have evolved. These are Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Hollandaise and Tomato. Bechamel is made with flour, butter and whole milk.

Veloute is a roux made with butter and flour and stock is slowly stirred in.

Espagnole is a brown sauce and is similar to Veloute but uses brown stock with beef or veal.

Hollandaise is a tangy version made with butter, lemon juice and egg yolks.

Tomato sauce is tomato thickened with flour and butter roux and seasoned with herbs, vegetables and sometimes pork.