several Italian courts. The sauces that have
come to be known as distinctively Italian are
mainly domestic and relatively unrefined in
character, based not so much on essences as
on whole materials: the purees of tomato
fruits and basil leaves, for example. The basic
Italian meat sauce, or sugo, is made in the
manner of Marin’s 18th-century consommé:
meat is slowly cooked to liberate its juices,
which are allowed to cook down and brown on
the pan bottom; then meat broth is used to
redissolve the browned residues, and allowed
to concentrate and itself brown: and the
process repeated to produce a concentrated
flavor. The meat is not discarded, but
becomes part of the sauce. Not only Italy but
much of the Mediterranean region, including
southern France, has been less interested in
extracting meat essences than in highlighting
and combining flavors.
The Classic French Sauce Families