The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft
by David Paul Larousse
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Book Summary Information
Author: David Paul LarousseEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-05-28
ISBN: 0471572284
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Wiley
Book Reviews of The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft
Book Review: Excellent Professional text and reference. Buy it if you make sauces!
Summary: 5 Stars
`The Sauce Bible' by culinary educator, David Paul Larousse is one of those very few books you find which are specifically written for culinary professional. The first clue is the high list price of $54.95. The second is that textbook specialist, John Wiley and Sons publish it. The third is the fact that the book began as an essay on sauce painting, which the average foodie will admire, but, to my knowledge, will virtually never try to reproduce. The fourth clue is that the quantities for many of the recipes are a lot larger than one would need for a dish for four or six. The fifth clue is the large amount of narrative and graphics devoted to explaining the relationships between members of the various sauce families, based on the famous French `mother sauces'.
That is not to say the average cooking enthusiast couldn't get something from this book. The biggest question is whether this book is better than the standard modern work in English, James Peterson's `Sauces'. The very first comparison I did was on the two books' treatments of `beurre blanc' or white butter sauce commonly used for fish and often used as an exemplar of `nouvelle cuisine' cooking, although the recipe is much older than the 1970's. I think the treatment of this by the two different books is a good indication of the books' relative strengths and weaknesses. While Larousse has, by a very rough count, 480 recipes to Peterson's 350, Peterson gives more details on the techniques used for each individual recipe, while Larousse spends more time on general material. Peterson's recipe, with introduction and variations, takes up over three pages, including tips on saving the sauce for later use. Larousse' recipe for basic `beurre blanc' takes about half a page, although later recipes such as Bercy and Chambertin are variations. Oddly, Peterson includes in the basic recipe a step to strain the solids, primarily the shallot, out of the final product, while Larousse give no such instruction until we get to the recipe for the Chambertin sauce.
So, for the amateur chef, Peterson may really be the better book, since he is more detailed in his recipes for very common sauces, even if he is a bit fussy for the amateur. But, I really think that a dedicated foodie will want both books. While Peterson is probably the better quick reference, Larousse is better in understanding the relations between all members of the sauce families. And, he certainly covers more different classically named sauces. Peterson, for example, gives no mention or recipe for Chambertin sauce, at least it is neither in his list of recipes or in his index. And, you will certainly want Larousse if you wish to understand sauce painting the way they do it a fancy restaurants and on the `Iron Chef America'.
I have seen at least two less expensive trade paperback books on sauces and while I believe both are decent, I strongly recommend one of these two books for the dedicated foodie in preference to a shorter book. I am especially respectful of Larousse's tutorial on the making of stocks. His recipes and techniques are certainly useable by the home cook, although they would meet no one's notion of quick cooking, as the longer ones take from eight to twelve hours for optimum results. The only thing I missed in this volume was the concept so artfully stated by Deborah Madison where she proclaims that stocks should be crafted to meet their specific uses.
Highly recommended for the professional and the dedicated foodie.
Summary of The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft
A complete contemporary reference on the subject of stocks and sauces, including complete instructions for creating ``arabesques'' of sauce paintings. Features anecdotes, miniature biographies regarding several major and minor contributors to modern cooking techniques as well as historical and linguistic references to specific dishes. Numerous sauces and accompaniments created by other culinary professionals are also included.Sauces, Salsa & Garnishes Books
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