Mastering Sauces: The Home Cook’s Guide to New Techniques for Fresh Flavors

by Susan Volland

Finally, a cookbook on sauces that is fresh, vibrant, and alive. In Mastering Sauces, Susan Volland veers away from traditional lesson plans and presents sauce-making in a whole new way. She focuses on how great cooks all over the world make sauces with impromptu élan—they splash and drizzle, slather and douse. Great sauces are made by following three fundamental principles: Maximize Flavor, Manipulate Texture, and Season Confidently. Armed with these principles, you can make any sauce your way.


In addition to over 150 recipes that reflect today’s tastes for seasonal produce, international ingredients, and alternative dietary choices, there are dozens of tips and tables suggesting ways to adapt and customize sauces. There are innovative Meatless Reductions, international Sauces That Start with a Can of Diced Tomatoes, and an Endlessly Adaptable Stir-Fry Sauce. In a conversational and very readable style, Volland teaches the “whys” and “hows” of sauce-making so cooks can better understand their ingredients to create the dish they want. And because she knows that even the best cooks have off-nights, she finishes with a list of Remedies for Faltering Sauces.


Mastering Sauces is the go-to resource for all cooks, all tastes, and all diets.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Nonfiction, Food

496 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2015

About the author

A Seattle native, Susan Volland is a classically trained chef and served as recipe editor for Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine projects. She works as a teacher, recipe tester, and food writer. This is her first solo cookbook.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by Dr. Bruce McMenomy, who is both a brilliant cook and a brilliant philologist. His recommendation was well founded. I felt a bit guilty enjoying this book as much as I did, for fear of slighting my profound appreciation of James Peterson whose book of sauces if the absolute Bible on the subject to me. Then I noted that Peterson himself reviewed Volland's book called it "a must-by, and an essential one, for any serious cook." The two things that I do best in the kitchen are soups and sauces. I have no idea why this is so, but it is. Thus, I have a large number of books about the saucier's art on my shelves. My favourite character in "Apocalypse Now" was the guy who drove the boat on the river in Cambodia who had been a saucier in New Orleans. He had been on his way the Escoffier School in Parish when he was drafted. This book reviews a lot of things with which most cooks are already familiar, suggests some new ways of doing old things, revisits some old ways of doing things that need renewal, and suggests some brand-new things which I never considered. From this book, I made a "Thai tincture" by infusing vodka with fresh galangal root, shredded kaffir lime leaves, Thai bird chilis and lemongrass. This stuff (a tablespoon or two) does magical things to coconut sauces, soups and Thai curries. I made curry in which one uses apple juice rather than meat or fowl stock as the liquid. I made stock in a pressure cooker. This is one of those books where there is just too much to absorb at one reading therefor one is better advised to (a) read it annually or (b) keep it on a shelf in the kitchen for regular routine reference.

[Pierre · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for professionals. It is too heavy and too dense to be any good for a home cook. The recipes are okay but are not well illustrated or explained since the author assumes you absorbed her technical chapters earlier.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most valuable cookbook I've ever read - and definitely the only cookbook I've wanted to buy after I got it from the library. First of all, I was shocked at the number of vegan and vegan-friendly recipes, as I fully expected this book to be a buffet of meat, eggs, and dairy. Not only does Volland provide advice on adapting recipes to be vegan, she had many explicitly vegan recipes included - including a vegan mayo that I'm so excited to try. Another reason to love this book: it provides you with a knowledge base and basic recipes that you can built upon and customize in so many different ways. Far from being a sauce Bible, this book is truly a jumping off point, a source of inspiration and creativity in the kitchen. On top of that, even though the author is incredibly well educated and experience, her tone is friendly, encouraging, and lighthearted. I absolutely LOVED this book.

[Jeff Heuer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for anyone who cooks. Pays homage to classic techniques, while also making liberal use of more modernist approaches and ingredients. I appreciated the focus on lighter and more global flavor profiles than we associate with the typical “sauce canon”. Includes thoughtful alternatives for all types of dietary restrictions.

[Leanne Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really accessible for a novice to read and start using. Tone is easy to read. Lots of iideas for altering base recipes guide innovation.

Mayonnaise recipe I tried flopped. Could've been my technique. I saved it in the end by using a different recipe.

Chocolate sauce was tasty. I would've liked a true ganache recipe.

[Sharon]

I am so glad I purchased this book which is a guide to New Techniques and Fresh Flavors. I have used one recipe and was delighted and now on to the next recipes. This book will be used many times over.

[Graham Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the first cookbook I've read cover to cover. Such a great resource, I've learnt loads!

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, a cookbook on sauces that is fresh, vibrant, and alive. In Mastering Sauces, Susan Volland veers away from traditional lesson plans and presents sauce-making in a whole new way. She focuses on how great cooks all over the world make sauces with impromptu élan—they splash and drizzle, slather and douse. Great sauces are made by following three fundamental principles: Maximize Flavor, Manipulate Texture, and Season Confidently. Armed with these principles, you can make any sauce your way.


In addition to over 150 recipes that reflect today’s tastes for seasonal produce, international ingredients, and alternative dietary choices, there are dozens of tips and tables suggesting ways to adapt and customize sauces. There are innovative Meatless Reductions, international Sauces That Start with a Can of Diced Tomatoes, and an Endlessly Adaptable Stir-Fry Sauce. Don’t have time to make stock? Brew a quick “Mock Stock” or savory infusion. Not eating meat? Avoiding wheat? Check out the chapter called Respect Your Mother, where, alongside the classics, there are tantalizing recipes for Vegan Corn “Hollandaise” (pictured on the cover), Soy Cream Sauce, and Eggless Mayo.


In a conversational and very readable style, Volland teaches the “whys” and “hows” of sauce-making so cooks can better understand their ingredients to create the dish they want. And because she knows that even the best cooks have off-nights, she finishes with a list of Remedies for Faltering Sauces.

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most cookbooks tread lightly on the subject of sauces, obvious (from the name) sauces are center to this book. I found the topic well covered, lots of adventuresome tips and a lot of good cooking sense. The book is well organized and really adds a lot to your cooking dimension. bravo.

[pianogal]

Browsed through for a minute. Think there is some good comprehensive info here, but I don't have time to go through it in depth right now. Will have to come back for further study.

[Mark]

24 December 2018 Putting on pause; haven't read in a long while.