From Garum to Mole: Sauces and Identity in the Western World

The sauces we eat evoke emotions, define our meals, direct our conversations over those meals, and influence the way we think about ourselves and each other. Sauces, through their consumption and rejection, create bonds between peoples and distinguish outsiders. This multidisciplinary volume brings together leading scholars to reconsider sauces and identity beginning in the ancient Roman world and ending in the kitchens of modern homes, restaurants, and culinary schools. From garum, ketchup, and mole to olive oil, maple syrup, and even human sweat, the contributors examine critical parts of meals that are neither filling, sturdy carbohydrates, nor critical proteins, but complicated flavors that enhance the dining experience. They reflect on the cultures that produced and consumed sauces and how each one informs our understanding of those cultures. Featuring a foreword by prominent chef Ana Ros and peppered with recipes, From Garum to Mole offers insights for scholars, chefs and cooks, and anyone who wonders about the meaning of what we eat.

• Publication date: 29 May 2026
• Page count: 344
• Dimensions: Height 234 mm; Width 156 mm; Thickness 22 mm
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9780190622091