Help me understand glazes as in demi glace, deglazing ...

[mirth]

I'm not much part of the glazerati (fancy glazers), and rarely use alot of sauce in cooking -- aside from spaghetti sauce.  The idea of boiling off balsamic vinegar to reduce it down to some glaze makes me feel sick just thinking about the smell (I know you can buy balsamic glaze) but then the question is what would I use it on?  Is there anyone who never leaves a pan un-deglazed?  What are some your favorite foods that must be served with a glaze sauce or else not served at all? All you glazerati, please spill.

 

[LucyStoner]

I don't understand.  I like to eat pan sauces and gravy.  So I make them after I cook something that would allow me to do so.  And they are delicious and worth the time.  All a demi glace is is the thick sauce left from deglazing a pan where a nice bit of meat has been cooked.  It's basically just gravy.  I use broth and wine for it, sometime vinegar.  For gravy I use a flour roux, for pan sauce I skip it. A balsamic reduction is tasty on most anything savory.  

 

I also make an all day brown sauce during the winter months which is great for roasts and poultry.  

 

But if you don't like gravy or don't see the need, skip it.  Just please don't be one of those people who washes out a beautiful roasting pan fileed with glorious flavors and then pops open a can or pouch of store bought gravy like stuff.  That's weird.  ;)