On Food and Cooking

little   saffron     and     fine    spices;     mix

everything  together,   strain  it  and put it  into

a   pot on  the coals,  stirring    constantly  until

it   coats   the     spoon;  and     so  take    it  off     the

fire,    stirring    constantly  for     the     length  of

two Our Father  s;  then    dish    it  out,    putting

mild    spices  on  top....

—   The Neapolitan  Recipe  Collection, ca.

1475,   transl. Terence Scully

Sauce Terminology Another important
development during the Middle Ages was the
elaboration of a new vocabulary for sauces
and other flavorful fluids, and a more
systematic approach to them. The Roman
term ius was replaced by derivatives of the
Latin salsus, meaning “salted”: sauce in
France, salsa in Italy and Spain. In French, jus
came to mean meat juices; bouillon was a
stock produced by simmering meat in water;
coulis was a thickened meat preparation that
gave flavor and body to sauces, to potages —