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 describes a peasant farmer making a spread of pounded herbs, cheese, oil, and vinegar — an ancestor of pesto genovese — 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, 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 (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 China The 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 ... urchins, eggs, and starch are early versions of more refined thickening methods Harmonizing Flavors in Ancient China The addition, intensification, and blending of flavors that characterize good sauce making are central to the art of. ..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 (p 235), which provided saltiness, savoriness, and a distinctive aroma (much as anchovies... 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