An indispensible culinary reference and learning experience
It's a book, yes, and it does have recipes. But it's not a cookbook. It's an incredible tome of reference material; there's a huge section on various ingredients and cooking implements, right down to what kind of metal is best on which pans for what purpose and the optimum construction of spatulae.
It contains a brief rundown of the evolution of classical French cooking, from which a great deal of contemporary sauces emerged. The in-depth information on various kinds of stocks, how to make them, the best way to alter their consistency, the best cuts to use and how using bones instead of meat will change the character of the broth, ways to cook with meat that's been used to make stock so it doesn't go to waste, is just incredible. ... Read More
Fantastic Sauce Book
The best sauce book ever written. Good for average to above average cooks. May be a little confusing to the beginer.
This book should be in everyone's kitchen.
Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition) is a great tool for those who are attending a culinary school for it provides an in depth understanding of sauce making. To quote one of my Culinary professors, "...Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition) is a must for every kitchen's cooking library". If you want to become a good sauce maker, you need to read Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition).
Saucy & Nice
Bought the book as a Christmas gift. It looks wonderful and I hope to be the beneficiary of the recipient's learning!
Too Much Info for An Average Cook!
I should have respected a few other reviewers and not purchase Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition). After I got it, with "Cooking" by the same author, I returned it because it was "too much." The "Cooking" book by the same author was okay, but if you add Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (2nd Edition) with "Cooking," it is overkill. "Cooking" by itself is good unless you are "big" into sauces. I was not impressed, and I am a "good" cook but not with a lot of time that "Sauces" required to get the sauces right.
