Sauces
I'm currently reading Michael Ruhlman's book The Making of a Chef and there's a lot of information in there about making sauces so that topic has been on my mind of late. Sauces got their start in the Western world with garum (sometimes referred to as liquamen), a sauce created by Romans for seasoning meat. This garum was used like a condiment, sprinkled on meat at the table, and probably wouldn't appeal to most of us. Garum was typically made from anchovies and the intestines of larger fish. This was mixed and then heavily salted, and allowed to sit for 24 hours. Then this fishy mix was placed in sealed containers in the sun and allowed to ferment for several months. Today most sauces are variations on the sauces derived by 3 famous French chefs, La Varenne, Careme, and Escoffier. One of my favorite meals is based on Béchamel , a French sauce developed around 1650 (or maybe from Italy if you believe the Catherine de Medici line of thought--personally, I don't). Si...