What Is Pink Sauce?

Have you landed on a recipe that calls for pink sauce but are you not sure what it is, what it is made of, and what it tastes like? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Today, I’d like to walk you through the subtle nuances that you simply need to know.

So, what is pink sauce? Pink sauce can refer to several different sauces that are pink in color. Pink pasta sauce (also called Rose or Parma Rosa Sauce), cocktail sauce, or Marie Rose/Fry sauce are the main ones to be aware of. Each of which are made of different things and have somewhat different flavors.

For the most part, it depends on what you are cooking or where you are reading from.

Besides, different sauces are used in different cultures and in different dishes.

So instead of me trying to guess which one you mean, I thought I would walk you through the most common pink sauces so that you know for sure what one is applicable to you.

So without further ado, let’s look into them!

What Is Pink Sauce Made Of?

Below you can see the ingredients of the typical recipe of each pink sauce.

Of course, there are always variations but these are the typical recipes that you can expect with these sauces.

Parma Rosa Sauce

Parma rosa sauce is a blend of tomato, olive oil, and cream, among a number of other herbs and seasonings including garlic.

Here is an example recipe of a Parma Rosa sauce:

Butter, olive oil, red onion, garlic cloves, tomato passata, heavy cream, milk, basil, chilli flakes, salt, pepper

Cocktail Sauce

The average cocktail sauce recipe is a blend of tomato ketchup, horseradish, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.

Marie Rose/Fry Sauce

The average Marie Rose sauce, also known as Fry sauce, the recipe is made from mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and a hint of seasoning.

What Does Pink Sauce Taste Like?

Regardless of the variations, pink sauce is typically tangy and sweet (from the tomatoes), and creamy (from the mayonnaise, cream, or cheese).

From there you may have other flavors introduced depending on the sauce type.

For instance, parma rose sauce can taste somewhat herby depending on the seasonings used.

Cocktail sauce on the other hand can have a spicy kick due to the horseradish and hot sauce.

Marie sauce is much milder than cocktail sauce but does share similar creamy notes.

What To Eat Pink Sauce With

Let us now look at how to enjoy each variation of pink sauce, including the best foods to eat them with!

Parma Rosa Sauce

Parma Rosa sauce is best eaten, and stirred into pasta.

Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail sauce is very versatile, and is often eaten with a wide range of foods and dishes, including the following:

• Cold seafood, most commonly cold shrimp, oysters, clams and crab.
• Cheese omeletes.
• Deep-fried mushrooms.
• Crab cakes.
• Burgers/Hot dogs.
• Mozzarella sticks.

It is even sometimes mixed into alcoholic beverages, such as is the case with Bloody Marys/

Marie Rose/Fry Sauce

Marie rose or fry sauce is commonly eaten with burgers, french fries, wraps and sandwiches.

Finally

Parma Rosa, cocktail sauce, or Marie Rose/Fry sauce.

Those are the three most popular pink sauces, and each one of them could be what you are looking for.

And while there are subtle variations between them they are all based on one critical combination.

Tomatoes and a source of creaminess; whether that is cream itself, mayonnaise or horseradish.

And all such ingredients are potently white.

And where red = white, we get pink.