add new flavors to a food, but to deepen its
flavor and integrate it with the underlying
flavor of the other dishes.
Many of these preparations required
prodigious amounts of flesh, the solid part of
which did not appear in the final dish. A small
amount of consommé, for example, was made
with 2 lb/1 kg each of beef and veal, two
partridges, a hen, and some ham. This meat
was first cooked with some bouillon — itself
already a meat extract — until the liquid
bouillon and meat juices evaporated, and the
meat began to stick to the pan and caramelize.
Then yet more bouillon was added along with
some vegetables, the mixture cooked for four
hours, and strained to produce a liquid
“yellow like gold, mild, smooth, and cordial.”
The Flowering of French Sauces Marin
called his collection of bouillons, potages, jus,
consommés, restaurants (“restoring” soups),
coulis, and sauces “the foundation of