Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, 3rd Edition Hardcover – September 5, 2008

The third edition of *Sauces* was released in 2008. This edition is by far the most helpful yet. It is exhaustive with regard to the sauces of french/continental cuisine as this is the tradition in which Peterson was trained, and in which he has developed the most expertise. However, despite that being his primary background, Peterson also includes discussion of many other types of sauces, from Mexican salsas and moles to Japanese dashi and teriyaki sauces; from Indian curries to Italian ragùs. There is an obvious emphasis on the continental tradition, and thus the majority of the book deals with such sauces and recipes. There is much less time and space dedicated to other international/ethnic culinary traditions, but the included info is valuable despite being limited. If, though, (for example) you primarily want to have an exhaustive list of recipes for Thai curries or Ethiopian wats, you might consider instead looking into cookbooks more specifically tailored to those cuisines.The text includes backgrounds of sauces, their relationships to one another, and, of course, recipes. The third edition brings back the valuable charts, diagramming sauce derivatives, relations, and additions, which had been omitted from the second edition. (Do not underestimate the value and utility of these charts!) This edition also includes dozens more recipes, but Peterson did not exclude any of the texts from previous editions that the current form could be as complete and useful as possible.Besides recipes, the book begins with a chapter briefly outlining the history of sauce-making from the Greco-Roman eras until today. This is followed by a chapter on equipment, describing both the necessary and the merely helpful, for sauce-making. The third chapter details ingredients used in sauces. Then the main body of the text discusses the sauces themselves, organized by various categories. The book also includes an index and glossary which I've found to be quite useful.This book is, at times, a bit on the technical side. Thus it is probably better suited for the intermediate or advanced cook. Professionals often keep a copy for reference, but beginning or novice home-cooks might find some of the content a bit too intimidating.This work rightfully deserves its reputation as the most authoritative and the definitive book on the subject of sauces and sauce-making.

This book provides you with the theory, history, and how to of the traditional mother sauces and numerous variations and stocks. I am fascinated by the indepth history of how each sauce developed into the current method. If you would like to make sauces in the traditional, modern, or contemporary styles, this book is terrific.Note: I feel there is an ambiguity in the recipe to Braised Short Ribs. The recipe calls for "sliced" onions to be roasted together with the short rib. However, roasting thinly sliced onions at 400 degrees resulted in them being burned. The burned onions took away from a sweetness that otherwise would have been present in the sauce. I would slice the onions about 1/4" thick, which will allow them to caramelize without seriously burning. Also, I felt there was a flavor missing, and after some thought maybe it was tomato or some more acid. When I consulted other recipes I see that the other recipes add tomato paste, where the recipe in Sauces does not. I would add it next time by smearing it on the ribs and veggies before they are roasted. Lastly, the recipe calls for removing the ribs from the stove and finishing them (and the sauce) in the oven. That final heating of the ribs in the oven was unnecessary. I would remove the ribs from the pot with a little of the braising liquid in a separate covered, unheated dish (so the beef reabsorbs the liquid as it cools) and finishing only the sauce in the oven (or on top of the stove). The final heating in the oven gave a slightly stringy/chewy texture to the beef, where previously it did not have that texture (I was tasting the ribs periodically).

This tome on sauce making is easily the most thorough coverage I have ever been exposed to. Well, it's the only one I've been exposed to, and I doubt there is anything as complete as this.Readable, in-depth, expansive, edifying, and complete.This is a book that needs to be studied and intellectually digested over a period of time as if one were attending college to become a world class chef. This is professional material and should be treated accordingly.A prized gift for the professional, the potential professional, and the (really) serious home cook.That being said, if you want to just whip up a quick sauce in the pan, I'm not sure this will serve your needs. There are dozens of sauce recipes, and they're good, but the idea behind the book is to teach you how to use a particular technique, then apply your knowledge in your own unique way. This is a "get a PHD in sauces", not a whip-it-up-quick index card recipe book.Twenty muscular chapters include:1. A Short History of Sauce Making2. Equipment3. Ingredients4. Stocks, Glaces, and Essences5. Liaisons: An Overview6. White Sauces for Meat and Vegetables7. Brown Sauces8. Stock-Based and Non-Integral Fish Sauces9. Integral Meat Sauces10. Integral Fish and Shellfish Sauces11. Crustacean Sauces12. Jellies and Chauds-Froids13. Hot Emulsified Egg Yolk Sauces14. Mayonnaise-Based Sauces15. Butter Sauces16. Salad Sauces, Vinaigrettes, and Relishes17. Pruees and Puree-Thickened Sauces18. Pasta Sauces19. Asian Sauces20. Dessert SaucesA superb instructional manual that will make you an expert if you study and apply some effort. It gets my highest rating and reccommendation for anyone who craves praise for their cooking prowess (like me).- Alleyrat