j.a.panese Wheat Noodles The standard thick j.a.panese noodles (24 mm in diameter), called The standard thick j.a.panese noodles (24 mm in diameter), called udon, udon, are descendents of the Chinese white salted noodle. They're white and soft and made from soft wheat flour, water, and salt. are descendents of the Chinese white salted noodle. They're white and soft and made from soft wheat flour, water, and salt. Ra-men Ra-men noodles are light yellow and somewhat stiff, and are made from hard wheat flour, water, and alkaline salts ( noodles are light yellow and somewhat stiff, and are made from hard wheat flour, water, and alkaline salts (kansui). Very thin noodles (around 1 mm) are called so-men. so-men. j.a.panese noodles are usually cooked in water of pH 5.56, which is often adjusted by adding some acid. After cooking, the noodles are drained and washed and cooled in running water, which causes the surface starch to set into a moist, slippery, nonsticky layer. j.a.panese noodles are usually cooked in water of pH 5.56, which is often adjusted by adding some acid. After cooking, the noodles are drained and washed and cooled in running water, which causes the surface starch to set into a moist, slippery, nonsticky layer.

TapiocaTapioca pearls, which are widely used to absorb moisture and flavor, thicken puddings and pie fillings, and nowadays to provide chewy "bubbles" in teas and other drinks, are translucent, glossy, and elastic, and based on the same principle as the starch noodle. They are spheres 16 mm across made up of tapioca starch granules held together by a matrix of gelatinized tapioca starch (about 17% amylose). A wet ma.s.s of the starch granules (4050% water by weight) is broken up into coa.r.s.e grains, and the grains then fed into rotating pans, where they roll around and gradually agglomerate into little b.a.l.l.s. They're then steamed until a little more than half the starch is gelated, mostly in the outer layer, and then are dried, so that a firm retrograded starch matrix forms. When cooked in liquid, they soak up water and the rest of their starch gelates while the retrograded matrix maintains their structure.

The j.a.panese instant version of Chinese-style noodles, ra-men, ra-men, was born in1958. They're manufactured by making thin, quickly rehydrated noodles, then steaming them, frying them at 280F/ 140C, and air-drying at 180F/80C. was born in1958. They're manufactured by making thin, quickly rehydrated noodles, then steaming them, frying them at 280F/ 140C, and air-drying at 180F/80C.

Asian Starch and Rice Noodles All the pastas we've looked at so far are held together by the gluten proteins of wheat flour. Starch and rice noodles contain no gluten whatsoever. Starch noodles in particular are a remarkable, even startling invention: unlike all other noodles, they're translucent. They're often called gla.s.s or cellophane noodles, and in j.a.pan are given the lovely name harusame, harusame, "spring rain" noodles. "spring rain" noodles.

Starch Noodles Dried noodles made out of pure starch - usually from mung beans (China), rice (j.a.pan), or sweet potato - are prized for several qualities: their clarity and glossy brilliance, their slippery, firm texture, and their readiness for eating after just a few minutes of soaking in hot liquid, whether plain hot water or a soup or braised dish. Dried noodles made out of pure starch - usually from mung beans (China), rice (j.a.pan), or sweet potato - are prized for several qualities: their clarity and glossy brilliance, their slippery, firm texture, and their readiness for eating after just a few minutes of soaking in hot liquid, whether plain hot water or a soup or braised dish.

The firmest noodles are made from starches high in the straight-chain amylose form (p. 457). Where ordinary long-grain rice is 2123% amylose, special noodle rices are 3036%, and mung-bean starch is 3540% amylose. Starch noodles are made by first cooking a small amount of dry starch with water to make a sticky paste that will bind the rest of the starch into a cohesive dough. The paste is mixed with the rest of the dry starch and more water to make a dough with 3545% moisture, and the dough is then extruded through small holes in a metal plate to form noodles. The noodles are immediately boiled to gelate all the starch and form a continuous network of starch molecules throughout, and then are drained and held at the ambient temperature or chilled for 1248 hours before being air-dried. During the holding period, the gelated starch molecules fall into a more orderly arrangement, or retrograde (p. 458). The smaller amylose molecules cl.u.s.ter together to form junctions in the network, crystalline regions that resist disruption even by boiling temperatures. The dried noodles are thus firm and strong, but the less orderly parts of the network readily absorb hot liquid and swell to become tender without the need for active cooking.

Starch noodles are translucent because they're a uniform mixture of starch and water, with no particles of insoluble protein or intact starch granules to scatter light rays.

Rice Noodles and Wrappers Like starch noodles, rice noodles are held together by amylose, not gluten; but because they contain protein and cell-wall particles that scatter light, they're opaque rather than translucent. Rice noodles are made by soaking high-amylose rice in water, grinding it into a paste, cooking the paste so that much but not all of the starch is gelated, kneading the paste into a dough and extruding it to form noodles, steaming the noodles to finish the gelation process, cooling and holding for 12 hours or more, and drying with hot air or by frying them in oil. Again, the holding and drying cause starch retrogradation and the formation of a structure that stands up to rehydration in hot water. Fresh rice noodles, Like starch noodles, rice noodles are held together by amylose, not gluten; but because they contain protein and cell-wall particles that scatter light, they're opaque rather than translucent. Rice noodles are made by soaking high-amylose rice in water, grinding it into a paste, cooking the paste so that much but not all of the starch is gelated, kneading the paste into a dough and extruding it to form noodles, steaming the noodles to finish the gelation process, cooling and holding for 12 hours or more, and drying with hot air or by frying them in oil. Again, the holding and drying cause starch retrogradation and the formation of a structure that stands up to rehydration in hot water. Fresh rice noodles, chow fun, chow fun, need no rehydration before being stir-fried. need no rehydration before being stir-fried.

Rice papers, banh trang banh trang in Vietnamese, are thin, parchment-like discs that are used as wrappers for southeast Asian versions of the spring roll. They're made by soaking and grinding rice, soaking it again, pounding it into a paste and spreading it into a thin layer, steaming it and then drying it. Rice papers are rehydrated briefly in lukewarm water, then used immediately as wrappers that can be eaten fresh or fried. in Vietnamese, are thin, parchment-like discs that are used as wrappers for southeast Asian versions of the spring roll. They're made by soaking and grinding rice, soaking it again, pounding it into a paste and spreading it into a thin layer, steaming it and then drying it. Rice papers are rehydrated briefly in lukewarm water, then used immediately as wrappers that can be eaten fresh or fried.

Chapter 11.

Sauces

The History of Sauces in Europe Ancient TimesThe Middle Ages: Refinement and ConcentrationEarly Modern Sauces: Meat Essences, EmulsionsThe Cla.s.sic French System: Careme and EscoffierSauces in Italy and EnglandModern Sauces: Nouvelle and Post-Nouvelle The Science of Sauces: Flavor and Consistency Flavor in Sauces: Taste and SmellSauce ConsistencyThe Influence of Consistency on Flavor Sauces Thickened with Gelatin and Other Proteins The Uniqueness of GelatinExtracting Gelatin and Flavor from MeatsMeat Stocks and SaucesCommercial Meat Extracts and Sauce BasesFish and Sh.e.l.lfish Stocks and SaucesOther Protein Thickeners Solid Sauces: Gelatin Jellies and Carbohydrate Jellies Jelly ConsistencyJellies from Meat and Fish: AspicsOther Jellies and Gelees; Manufactured GelatinsCarbohydrate Gelling Agents: Agar, Carrageenan, Alginates Sauces Thickened with Flour and Starch The Nature of StarchDifferent Starches and Their QualitiesThe Influence of Other Ingredients on Starch SaucesIncorporating Starch into SaucesStarch in Cla.s.sic French SaucesGravy Sauces Thickened with Plant Particles: Purees Plant Particles: Coa.r.s.e and Inefficient ThickenersFruit and Vegetable PureesNuts and Spices as ThickenersComplex Mixtures: Indian Curries, Mexican Moles Sauces Thickened with Droplets of Oil or Water: Emulsions The Nature of EmulsionsGuidelines for Successful Emulsified SaucesCream and b.u.t.ter SaucesEggs as EmulsifiersCold Egg Sauces: MayonnaiseHot Egg Sauces: Hollandaise and BearnaiseVinaigrettes Sauces Thickened with Bubbles: Foams Making and Stabilizing Foams Salt Salt ProductionKinds of SaltSalt and the Body Sauces are liquids that accompany the primary ingredient in a dish. Their purpose is to enhance the flavor of that ingredient - a portion of meat or fish or grain or vegetable - either by deepening and broadening its own intrinsic flavor, or by providing a contrast or complement to it. While the meat or grain or vegetable is always more or less itself, a sauce can be anything the cook wants it to be, and makes the dish a richer, more various, more satisfying composition. Sauces help the cook feed our perpetual hunger for stimulating sensations, for the pleasures of taste and smell, touch and sight. Sauces are distillations of desire.

The word sauce sauce comes from an ancient root word meaning "salt," which is the original concentrated flavoring, pure mineral crystals from the sea (p. 639). Our primary foods - animal flesh, grains and breads and pastas, starchy vegetables - are pretty bland, and cooks have found or invented a vast range of ingredients with which to make them more flavorful. The simplest are comes from an ancient root word meaning "salt," which is the original concentrated flavoring, pure mineral crystals from the sea (p. 639). Our primary foods - animal flesh, grains and breads and pastas, starchy vegetables - are pretty bland, and cooks have found or invented a vast range of ingredients with which to make them more flavorful. The simplest are seasonings seasonings provided by nature: salt, pungent black pepper and chillis, sour juices of unripe fruits, sweet honey and sugar, distinctively aromatic herbs and spices. More complex are prepared provided by nature: salt, pungent black pepper and chillis, sour juices of unripe fruits, sweet honey and sugar, distinctively aromatic herbs and spices. More complex are prepared condiments, condiments, many of them foods preserved and transformed by fermentation: sour and aromatic vinegar, salty and savory soy sauce and fish sauce, salty and sour pickles, pungent and sour mustard, sweet and sour and fruity ketchup. And then there are s many of them foods preserved and transformed by fermentation: sour and aromatic vinegar, salty and savory soy sauce and fish sauce, salty and sour pickles, pungent and sour mustard, sweet and sour and fruity ketchup. And then there are s auces, auces, the ultimate composed flavorings. The cook conceives and prepares sauces for particular dishes, and can give them any flavor. They always include seasonings, sometimes condiments, and sometimes artfully intensified flavors of the primary foods themselves, or of other foods, or of the cooking process. the ultimate composed flavorings. The cook conceives and prepares sauces for particular dishes, and can give them any flavor. They always include seasonings, sometimes condiments, and sometimes artfully intensified flavors of the primary foods themselves, or of other foods, or of the cooking process.

In addition to their heightened flavor, sauces give tactile pleasure by the way they move in the mouth. Cooks construct sauces to have a consistency somewhere between the resistant solidity of animal or plant tissues and the elusive thinness of water. This is the consistency of luscious ripe fruit that melts in the mouth and seems to feed us willingly, and of the fats that give a persistent, moist fullness to animal flesh and to cream and b.u.t.ter. The fluidity of a sauce allows it to coat the solid food evenly and lend it a pleasing moistness, while the substantial, lingering quality helps the sauce cling to the food and to our tongue and palate as well, prolonging the experience of its flavor and providing a sensation of richness.

A last pleasure that a sauce can provide is an attractive appearance. Many sauces are nondescript, but others have the vibrant color of their parent fruit or vegetable, or the depth of tone that comes with roasting and long cooking. Some have an attractive sheen, and some are intriguingly transparent. The visual beauty of a sauce is a sign of the care with which it was made, a suggestion of intensity and clarity of flavor and of presence on the tongue: an antic.i.p.ation of pleasures to come.

There are several basic ways of making sauces. Many of them involve disrupting organized plant and animal tissues and freeing the juices that carry their flavor. Once extracted from their source, the juices can be combined with other flavorful materials, and then often benefit from thickening to help them linger on the food and in the mouth. The cook thickens juices by filling them with a variety of large molecules or particles that obstruct the flow of the water molecules. Most of this chapter deals with different thickening methods and their applications.

Sauces are closely related to two other basic preparations. Soups Soups are also liquid foods of various consistencies, and may differ from sauces only in being somewhat less concentrated in flavor, so that they can be eaten as a food in themselves, not an accent. And are also liquid foods of various consistencies, and may differ from sauces only in being somewhat less concentrated in flavor, so that they can be eaten as a food in themselves, not an accent. And jellies jellies are thickened liquids with enough gelatin in them to set at room temperature, thus becoming a temporarily solid food that melts into a sauce in the mouth. are thickened liquids with enough gelatin in them to set at room temperature, thus becoming a temporarily solid food that melts into a sauce in the mouth.

The History of Sauces In europe Europe is just one of several regions in the world that have evolved sauces with broad appeal in modern times. Many sauces are now popular far from their birthplaces, among them Chinese soy-based sauces, Indian sauces thickened and flavored with spices, and Mexican salsas and chillithickened moles. But it was in Europe, more precisely in France, that generations of cooks developed sauce making into a systematic art, and made it the heart of a national cuisine that became an international standard.

Ancient Times Our first real knowledge of sauce-like preparations in Europe comes from Roman times. A Latin poem from around 25 CE CE describes a peasant farmer making a spread of pounded herbs, cheese, oil, and vinegar - an ancestor of describes a peasant farmer making a spread of pounded herbs, cheese, oil, and vinegar - an ancestor of pesto genovese pesto genovese - that gave a pungent, salty, aromatic savor to his flatbread (see box, p. 583). - that gave a pungent, salty, aromatic savor to his flatbread (see box, p. 583).

A few centuries later, the Latin recipe book attributed to Apicius makes it clear that sauces played an essential part in the dining of the Roman elite. More than a quarter of the nearly 500 recipes are for sauces, the term for which was ius, ius, the ancestor of our "juice." Most contained at least a half dozen herbs and spices, as well as vinegar and/or honey, and some form of the fermented fish sauce the ancestor of our "juice." Most contained at least a half dozen herbs and spices, as well as vinegar and/or honey, and some form of the fermented fish sauce garum garum (p. 235), which provided saltiness, savoriness, and a distinctive aroma (much as anchovies do today). And they were thickened in a variety of ways: with the pounded flavorings themselves; with pounded nuts or rice; with pounded liver or sea urchins; with pounded bread, pieces of pastry, and with pure wheat starch itself; with egg yolks, both raw and cooked. The sauce maker's most important tool was clearly the mortar, but the sea urchins, eggs, and starch are early versions of more refined thickening methods. (p. 235), which provided saltiness, savoriness, and a distinctive aroma (much as anchovies do today). And they were thickened in a variety of ways: with the pounded flavorings themselves; with pounded nuts or rice; with pounded liver or sea urchins; with pounded bread, pieces of pastry, and with pure wheat starch itself; with egg yolks, both raw and cooked. The sauce maker's most important tool was clearly the mortar, but the sea urchins, eggs, and starch are early versions of more refined thickening methods.

Harmonizing Flavors in Ancient ChinaThe addition, intensification, and blending of flavors that characterize good sauce making are central to the art of cooking, and have been considered such for at least 2,000 years. Here is an ancient Chinese description of the process that centers on the making of a stew or soup, a preparation in which the solid food both provides part of the sauce and cooks in the sauce.In the business of harmonious blending, one must make use of the sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty. Whether things are to be added earlier or later and in what amounts - their balancing is very subtle and each thing has its own characteristic. The transformation which occurs in the cauldron is quintessential and wondrous, subtle and delicate. The mouth cannot express it in words; the mind cannot fix upon an a.n.a.logy. It is like the subtlety of archery and horsemanship, the transformation of Yin and Yang, or the revolution of the four seasons. Thus [the food] is long-lasting yet does not spoil; thoroughly cooked yet not mushy; sweet yet not cloying; sour yet not corrosive; salty yet not deadening; pungent yet not acrid; mild yet not insipid; oily-smooth yet not greasy.- attributed to the chef I Yin in the Lu Shih Chhun Chhiu Lu Shih Chhun Chhiu ( (Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals), 239 BCE BCE, transl. Donald Harper and H. T. Huang The Middle Ages: Refinement and Concentration We don't know much about cooking in Europe between the time of Apicius and the 14th century, the period from which a number of ma.n.u.script recipe collections survive. In some respects, sauce making hadn't changed much. Medieval sauces often contained many spices, the mortar and pestle still pounded ingredients - now including meats and vegetables - and most of the Roman thickeners were still used. Bread was most common, toasted to provide additional color and flavor, while pure starch was no longer used, and cream and b.u.t.ter still weren't.

Sauce Recipes from Ancient Rome...the bulb [of garlic] with the leaves he kept and dipped in water, then dropped into the round hollow stone. On it he sprinkled some grains of salt, and as the salt dissolved added hard cheese, then heaped on the herbs he had gathered [parsley, rue, coriander], and with his left hand wedged the mortar into his s.h.a.ggy groin; his right hand first mashed the pungent garlic with the pestle, then pounded everything so as to mix the juices evenly. Round and round went his hand; gradually the original ingredients lost their own properties and one color emerged from several, not wholly green, since the milky fragments held out, nor shining milky white, being variegated by all the herbs.... he poured in some drops of olive oil and on top added a tiny drop of pungent vinegar, and once again mixed and thoroughly remixed the ma.s.s. Finally with two fingers he wiped round the whole mortar and brought together the parts into a single ball so as to produce a moretum, moretum, perfect in appearance as in name. perfect in appearance as in name.- Moretum, Moretum, transl. E.J. Kenney transl. E.J. KenneyWhite Sauce for Boiled FoodsPepper, liquamen liquamen [fish sauce], wine, rue, onion, pine nuts, spiced wine, a few pieces of bread cut up to thicken, oil. [fish sauce], wine, rue, onion, pine nuts, spiced wine, a few pieces of bread cut up to thicken, oil.For Stuffed SquidPepper, lovage, coriander, celery-seed, egg yolk, honey, vinegar, liquamen, liquamen, wine, and oil. You will thicken it [by heating]. wine, and oil. You will thicken it [by heating].Pastry-Milk ChickenCook the chicken in liquamen, liquamen, oil, and wine, to which you add a bundle of coriander and onion. Then when it is done, lift it from its sauce and put into a new pan some milk, a little salt and honey, and very little water. Set it by a slow fire to warm, crumble some pastry, and add it gradually, stirring carefully so that it doesn't burn. Add the chicken, whole or cut up, turn out on a dish, and pour over the following sauce: pepper, lovage, oregano, honey, a little grape syrup, and cooking liquid. Mix. Bring it to the boil in a pan. When it boils, thicken with starch, and serve. oil, and wine, to which you add a bundle of coriander and onion. Then when it is done, lift it from its sauce and put into a new pan some milk, a little salt and honey, and very little water. Set it by a slow fire to warm, crumble some pastry, and add it gradually, stirring carefully so that it doesn't burn. Add the chicken, whole or cut up, turn out on a dish, and pour over the following sauce: pepper, lovage, oregano, honey, a little grape syrup, and cooking liquid. Mix. Bring it to the boil in a pan. When it boils, thicken with starch, and serve.- Apicius New Flavors, New Clarity, and Jellies But there were some important differences, and genuine progress. Fish sauce had disappeared, its place taken by vinegar and unripe grape juice, or But there were some important differences, and genuine progress. Fish sauce had disappeared, its place taken by vinegar and unripe grape juice, or verjus. verjus. Thanks in part to the Crusades, which brought Europeans to the Middle East and into contact with Arab trade and traditions, many local Mediterranean flavorings had been displaced by exotic imports from Asia, especially cinnamon, ginger, and grains of paradise; and the nut of choice for thickening was now the almond. The mortar was joined by a second indispensable utensil: the cloth sieve or strainer (French Thanks in part to the Crusades, which brought Europeans to the Middle East and into contact with Arab trade and traditions, many local Mediterranean flavorings had been displaced by exotic imports from Asia, especially cinnamon, ginger, and grains of paradise; and the nut of choice for thickening was now the almond. The mortar was joined by a second indispensable utensil: the cloth sieve or strainer (French etamine etamine or or tamis tamis) through which sauces were pa.s.sed to remove coa.r.s.e particles of spice and thickener and produce a finer consistency. Cooks had discovered the principle of thickening meat broths by concentration - by boiling off unwanted water - and so developed both the consomme and the solid jelly, part of whose value was the way it could coat cooked meat or fish and protect it from the air and spoilage. The transparency of clear jellies in turn led by the 15th century to an improved strainer for removing the tiniest particles from them: a protein "fabric" of whipped egg whites that clarified the liquid from within.

Refinements in Medieval Sauce MakingThese recipes from more than 500 years ago show the great care with which medieval cooks made sauces and jellies. The broth recipe is remarkable for its exact descriptions of consistency and stirring time off the heat to prevent curdling.Fish or Meat JellyCook [the fish or meat] in wine, verjuice, and vinegar...then grind ginger, cinnamon, cloves, grains of paradise, long pepper, and infuse this in your bouillon, strain it, and put it to boil with your meat; then take bay leaves, spikenard, galingale, and mace, and tie them in your bolting [flour-sieving] cloth, without washing it, along with the residue of the other spices, and put this to boil with your meat; keep the pot covered while it is on the fire, and when it is off the fire keep skimming it until the preparation is served up; and when it is cooked, strain your bouillon into a clean wooden vessel and let it sit. Set your meat on a clean cloth; if it is fish, skin and clean it and throw your skins into your bouillon until it has been strained for the last time. Make certain that your bouillon is clear and clean and do not wait for it to cool before straining it. Set out your meat in bowls, and afterwards put your bouillon back on the fire in a bright clean vessel and boil it constantly skimming, and pour it boiling over your meat; and on your plates or bowls in which you have put your meat and broth sprinkle ground ca.s.sia buds and mace, and put your plates in a cool place to set. Anyone making jelly cannot let himself fall asleep....- Taillevent, Le Viandier, Le Viandier, ca. 1375, transl. Terence Scully ca. 1375, transl. Terence ScullyA Fine Thick BrothFor ten servings, get three egg yolks per serving, good verjuice, good meat broth, a little saffron and fine spices; mix everything together, strain it and put it into a pot on the coals, stirring constantly until it coats the spoon; and so take it off the fire, stirring constantly for the length of two Our Father Our Father s; then dish it out, putting mild spices on top.... s; then dish it out, putting mild spices on top....- The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, ca. 1475, transl. Terence Scully ca. 1475, transl. Terence Scully Sauce Terminology Another important development during the Middle Ages was the elaboration of a new vocabulary for sauces and other flavorful fluids, and a more systematic approach to them. The Roman term Another important development during the Middle Ages was the elaboration of a new vocabulary for sauces and other flavorful fluids, and a more systematic approach to them. The Roman term ius ius was replaced by derivatives of the Latin was replaced by derivatives of the Latin salsus, salsus, meaning "salted": meaning "salted": sauce sauce in France, in France, salsa salsa in Italy and Spain. In French, in Italy and Spain. In French, jus jus came to mean meat juices; came to mean meat juices; bouillon bouillon was a stock produced by simmering meat in water; was a stock produced by simmering meat in water; coulis coulis was a thickened meat preparation that gave flavor and body to sauces, to was a thickened meat preparation that gave flavor and body to sauces, to potages potages - substantial soups - and other prepared dishes. The French - substantial soups - and other prepared dishes. The French soupe soupe was the equivalent of the English was the equivalent of the English sop, sop, a flavorful liquid imbuing a piece or pieces of bread. A number of ma.n.u.scripts divide their recipes into categories: there are uncooked sauces, cooked sauces, sauces in which to cook meat, and others with which to serve meats, thin and thick potages, and so on. And the English word a flavorful liquid imbuing a piece or pieces of bread. A number of ma.n.u.scripts divide their recipes into categories: there are uncooked sauces, cooked sauces, sauces in which to cook meat, and others with which to serve meats, thin and thick potages, and so on. And the English word gravy gravy appears, derived apparently but mysteriously from the French appears, derived apparently but mysteriously from the French grane. grane. The latter, whose name derives from the Latin The latter, whose name derives from the Latin granatus, granatus, "made with grains, grainy," was a kind of stew made with meat and meat juices, and not a separate mixture of spices and liquid. "made with grains, grainy," was a kind of stew made with meat and meat juices, and not a separate mixture of spices and liquid.

French Sauces from the 17th CenturyIn the recipe books of La Varenne and Pierre de Lune, we can find a hollandaise-like "fragrant sauce," the cream-like emulsion still called beurre blanc beurre blanc or "white b.u.t.ter," and the thin or "white b.u.t.ter," and the thin court bouillon court bouillon ("short-cooked bouillon") traditionally used for poaching and serving fish. Notice the simplicity of flavoring compared to the medieval dishes. ("short-cooked bouillon") traditionally used for poaching and serving fish. Notice the simplicity of flavoring compared to the medieval dishes.Asparagus in Fragrant SauceChoose the largest, sc.r.a.pe the bottoms and wash, then cook in water, salt well, and don't let them cook too much. When cooked, put them to drain, make a sauce with good fresh b.u.t.ter, a little vinegar, salt, and nutmeg, and an egg yolk to bind the sauce; take care that it doesn't curdle; and serve the asparagus garnished as you like.- La Varenne, Le Cuisinier francois, Le Cuisinier francois, 1651 1651Trout in Court BouillonCook your trout with water, vinegar, a packet [of chive, thyme, cloves, chervil, parsley, sometimes a piece of lard, all tied with a string], parsley, salt, bay, pepper, lemon, and serve the same way.Perches in Beurre BlancCook them with wine, verjus, water, salt, cloves, bay; remove the scales and serve with a thickened sauce that you make with b.u.t.ter, vinegar, nutmeg, slices of lemon; it should be well thickened.- Pierre de Lune, Le Cuisinier, Le Cuisinier, 1656 1656 Early Modern Sauces: Meat essences, Emulsions It's in the three centuries between 1400 and 1700 that the sauces of our own time have their roots. Recipes call for fewer spices and a lighter hand with them; vinegar and verjus begin to give way to lemon juice; coa.r.s.e bread and almond thickeners are replaced by flour and by b.u.t.ter and egg emulsions (see box, p. 585). And in France, meat broths become the central element of fine cooking. This is the era in which experimental science began to flourish, and some influential French cooks conceived of themselves as the chemists - or alchemists - of meat. Around 1750, Francois Marin echoed the Chinese description of flavor harmony from 2,000 years before, but with some telling twists (see box below).

Both Marin and I Yin speak of harmony and balance. But the Chinese cauldron brings together sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent ingredients, while the French pot contains only meat juices, and generates complexity and harmony by concentrating them. Marin said that "Good taste has forbidden the burning juices and caustic ragouts of the ancienne cuisine, ancienne cuisine," with their Asian spices and abundant vinegar and verjus. Meat bouillon was now "the soul of cooking." The meat's juices are its essence, and the cook extracts them, concentrates them, and then uses them to imbue other foods with their flavor and nourishment. The purpose of a sauce is not to add new flavors to a food, but to deepen its flavor and integrate it with the underlying flavor of the other dishes.

Many of these preparations required prodigious amounts of flesh, the solid part of which did not appear in the final dish. A small amount of consomme, for example, was made with 2 lb/1 kg each of beef and veal, two partridges, a hen, and some ham. This meat was first cooked with some bouillon - itself already a meat extract - until the liquid bouillon and meat juices evaporated, and the meat began to stick to the pan and caramelize. Then yet more bouillon was added along with some vegetables, the mixture cooked for four hours, and strained to produce a liquid "yellow like gold, mild, smooth, and cordial."

The Flowering of French Sauces Marin called his collection of Marin called his collection of bouillons, potages, jus, consommes, restaurants bouillons, potages, jus, consommes, restaurants ("restoring" soups), ("restoring" soups), coulis, coulis, and and sauces sauces "the foundation of cooking," and said that by adopting a systematic approach to them, even a bourgeois family with limited resources would be "able to imagine an infinity of sauces and different stews." French cookbooks soon began to include dozens of different soups and sauces, and several of the cla.s.sic sauces were soon developed and named. Among these were alternatives to the meat-juice preparations, including two egg-emulsified sauces, hollandaise and mayonnaise, and the economical bechamel, the basic, neutral white sauce of milk, b.u.t.ter, and flour. But the great majority of sauces were made from meat, and meat juices were the underlying, unifying element in French cooking. "the foundation of cooking," and said that by adopting a systematic approach to them, even a bourgeois family with limited resources would be "able to imagine an infinity of sauces and different stews." French cookbooks soon began to include dozens of different soups and sauces, and several of the cla.s.sic sauces were soon developed and named. Among these were alternatives to the meat-juice preparations, including two egg-emulsified sauces, hollandaise and mayonnaise, and the economical bechamel, the basic, neutral white sauce of milk, b.u.t.ter, and flour. But the great majority of sauces were made from meat, and meat juices were the underlying, unifying element in French cooking.

Francois Marin on Cooking as a Chemical ArtModern cooking is a species of chemistry. The science of the cook today is to break down, digest, and distill meats into their quintessence, to take their light and nourishing juices, mix and confound them together, in such a way that none dominates and all can be tasted; finally, to give them that unity which painters give their colors, and render them h.o.m.ogeneous enough that their different flavors result only in a fine and piquant taste; in, if I may say it, a harmony of all tastes joined together....- Dons de Comus Dons de Comus, 1750 The Cla.s.sic French System: Careme and Escoffier In 1789 came the French Revolution. The great houses of France were much reduced, and their cooks no longer had unlimited help and resources. Some lost their positions, and survived by opening the first fine restaurants. The culinary impact of these upheavals was a.s.sessed by the renowned chef Antonin Careme (17841833). In the "Preliminary Discourse" to his Maitre d'Hotel francais, Maitre d'Hotel francais, he noted that the "splendor of the old cuisine" was made possible by the lavish expenditures of the master on personnel and materials. After the Revolution, cooks lucky enough to retain a position he noted that the "splendor of the old cuisine" was made possible by the lavish expenditures of the master on personnel and materials. After the Revolution, cooks lucky enough to retain a position were thus obliged, for want of help, to simplify the work in order to be able to serve dinner, and then to do a great deal with very little. Necessity brought emulation; talent made up for everything, and experience, that mother of all perfection, brought important improvements to modern cuisine, making it at the same time both healthier and simpler.

Restaurants too brought improvements; "in order to flatter the public taste," the commercial chefs had to come up with novel, ever more "elegant" and "exquisite" preparations. So social revolution became a new motivating force for culinary progress.

Sauce Families Careme made a number of contributions to this progress, and perhaps the most notable involved the sauces. His idea, set forth in Careme made a number of contributions to this progress, and perhaps the most notable involved the sauces. His idea, set forth in The Art of French Cooking in the 19th Century, The Art of French Cooking in the 19th Century, was to organize the infinity of possibilities that Marin foresaw, and thereby help cooks realize them. He cla.s.sified the sauces of the time into fourfamilies, each headed by a basic or leading sauce, and each expandable by playing variations on that basic theme. Only one of the leading sauces, espagnole, was based on expensive, highly concentrated meat extract; both veloute and allemande used unreduced stock, and bechamel used milk. Many of these sauces were thickened with flour, which is much more economical than reduced meat bouillon. This approach suited the limits and needs of postrevolutionary cuisine. The parent sauces could be prepared in advance, with the novel but minor modifications and seasonings to be done at the last minute on the day of the meal. As Raymond Sokolov puts it in his guide to the cla.s.sic sauces, was to organize the infinity of possibilities that Marin foresaw, and thereby help cooks realize them. He cla.s.sified the sauces of the time into fourfamilies, each headed by a basic or leading sauce, and each expandable by playing variations on that basic theme. Only one of the leading sauces, espagnole, was based on expensive, highly concentrated meat extract; both veloute and allemande used unreduced stock, and bechamel used milk. Many of these sauces were thickened with flour, which is much more economical than reduced meat bouillon. This approach suited the limits and needs of postrevolutionary cuisine. The parent sauces could be prepared in advance, with the novel but minor modifications and seasonings to be done at the last minute on the day of the meal. As Raymond Sokolov puts it in his guide to the cla.s.sic sauces, The Saucier's The Saucier's Apprentice, Apprentice, these sauces were conceived as "convenience foods at the highest level." these sauces were conceived as "convenience foods at the highest level."

Less than a century after Careme, the great compilation of cla.s.sic French cuisine, Auguste Escoffier's Guide Culinaire Guide Culinaire (1902), lists nearly 200 different sauces, not including dessert sauces. And Escoffier attributed the eminence of French cooking directly to its sauces. "The sauces represent the (1902), lists nearly 200 different sauces, not including dessert sauces. And Escoffier attributed the eminence of French cooking directly to its sauces. "The sauces represent the partie capitale partie capitale of the cuisine. It is they which have created and maintained to this day the universal preponderance of French cuisine." of the cuisine. It is they which have created and maintained to this day the universal preponderance of French cuisine."

Of course this flavoring system was the creation of the line of professional cooks going back to medieval times. Alongside it there developed a more modest domestic tradition, which is accomplished in its own way. Disinclined to the labor and expense of long-simmered stocks and sauces, middle-cla.s.s home cooks refined other methods: for example, making a broth from the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of a roast, using the broth to dissolve the flavorful crust from the roasting pan, and boiling this relatively small amount of liquid to reduce and thicken it, or binding it with cream or flour.

Sauces in Italy and England Purees and Meat Juices From the Middle Ages through the 16th century, Italian court cooking was as innovative as French cooking, and sometimes more so. Yet it stagnated in the 17th century, according to historian Claudio Benporat, as part of a general political and cultural decline caused by an absence of strong Italian leaders and the influence of other European powers on the several Italian courts. The sauces that have come to be known as distinctively Italian are mainly domestic and relatively unrefined in character, based not so much on essences as on whole materials: the purees of tomato fruits and basil leaves, for example. The basic Italian meat sauce, or sugo, is made in the manner of Marin's 18th-century consomme: meat is slowly cooked to liberate its juices, which are allowed to cook down and brown on the pan bottom; then meat broth is used to redissolve the browned residues, and allowed to concentrate and itself brown: and the process repeated to produce a concentrated flavor. The meat is not discarded, but becomes part of the sauce. Not only Italy but much of the Mediterranean region, including southern France, has been less interested in extracting meat essences than in highlighting and combining flavors. From the Middle Ages through the 16th century, Italian court cooking was as innovative as French cooking, and sometimes more so. Yet it stagnated in the 17th century, according to historian Claudio Benporat, as part of a general political and cultural decline caused by an absence of strong Italian leaders and the influence of other European powers on the several Italian courts. The sauces that have come to be known as distinctively Italian are mainly domestic and relatively unrefined in character, based not so much on essences as on whole materials: the purees of tomato fruits and basil leaves, for example. The basic Italian meat sauce, or sugo, is made in the manner of Marin's 18th-century consomme: meat is slowly cooked to liberate its juices, which are allowed to cook down and brown on the pan bottom; then meat broth is used to redissolve the browned residues, and allowed to concentrate and itself brown: and the process repeated to produce a concentrated flavor. The meat is not discarded, but becomes part of the sauce. Not only Italy but much of the Mediterranean region, including southern France, has been less interested in extracting meat essences than in highlighting and combining flavors.

The Cla.s.sic French Sauce FamiliesCareme's original cla.s.sification of the sauces has undergone various modifications, as have the ingredients in many of the derived sauces. Here is one modern version of the family tree that shows a number of the more familiar derived sauces. Stocks and roux are brown if the meat, vegetables, or flour are browned at relatively high heat before liquid is added; otherwise they are yellow or white, and lighter in flavor as well.Basic Sauce: Brown, or Espagnole, made with brown stock (beef, veal), brown roux, tomatoes

Bordelaise ("from Bordeaux") ("from Bordeaux")

Red wine, shallots Red wine, shallots

Diable ("devil") ("devil")

White wine, shallots, cayenne White wine, shallots, cayenne

Lyonnaise ("from Lyon") ("from Lyon")

White wine, onion White wine, onion

Madeira

Madeira wine Madeira wine

Perigueux (village in Perigord region) (village in Perigord region)

Madeira wine, truffles Madeira wine, truffles

Piquante

White wine, vinegar, gherkins, capers White wine, vinegar, gherkins, capers

Poivrade

("peppered") Vinegar, peppercorns ("peppered") Vinegar, peppercorns

Red wine sauces sauces

Red wine Red wine

Robert

White wine, onion, mustard White wine, onion, mustard

Basic Sauce: Veloute ("velvety"), made with white stock (veal, poultry, fish), yellow roux

Allemande ("German") ("German")

Egg yolks, mushrooms Egg yolks, mushrooms

White Bordelaise

White wine, shallots White wine, shallots

Ravigote ("invigorated") ("invigorated")

White wine, vinegar White wine, vinegar

Supreme

Poultry stock, cream, b.u.t.ter Poultry stock, cream, b.u.t.ter

Basic Sauce: Bechamel (a gourmand), made with milk, white roux

Creme