I’m not sure if this is the first book Kathy Gunst wrote, but I suspect it is. The bio on the back page notes that she went to the London Cordon Bleu School of Cookery, and that she was an editor for Food and Wine, but mentions no other books. So this 1984 tome may be that significant first book in her career. If you had read Condiments back then, you would have been hoping for more from Kathy. And in fact she has left a trail of over 40 books, a steady flow of recipes that are carefully researched and presented in volume after volume.

In this book Kathy begins by saying:

Condiments are to food what jewelry and makeup are to clothing.

Finish this book and you will, culinarily speaking, be perfect attired and coiffed. There are eight chapters here:

• Mustard

• Vinegar

• Oil

• Hot Pepper Sauces and Horseradishes

• Occidental Sauces

• Oriental Sauces

• Relishes, Pickles and Savory Chilies

• Chutneys

Each chapter begins with history and background, surveys the condiments readily available in in the mid-1980s, goes on to recipes to make your condiments, and then even more recipes to use your condiment creations in lovely recipes. When she wrote this book, Kathy noticed — how could she not — that her pantry contained over 200 jars of mustard. She could not contain herself though so Condiments has very own recipe for Herb-Flavored Mustard and then a Mustard-Cider Cream Sauce that Kathy says is great for smoked fish. Or ham. Or roast beef. I think it should go heavy on the bun to polish your burger.

The research in this book was comprehensive 31 years ago. It remains so. You’ll enjoy her careful delving into where the term “mustard” comes from. Does it mean “hard wine” or “burning must” or “a long time I delay my meal.” In that last reference, very old meat was made appetizing only through the application of mustard to camouflage the scent of meat verging on inedible. We don’t know the origin of the name, but we do know that mustard seeds were gathered and used by 3000 BC. Mustard is surely one of our first condiments and one that ranks at the top of consumption.

You can still find copies of Condiments on Amazon. Used copies begin at $0.01. New condition books start at $66. That’s a serious price for any cookbook, but Condiments is a tiny culinary treasure and book to enjoy for at least another 31 years.

For your enjoyment, here’s that Mustard-Cider Cream Sauce.

Mustard-Cider Cream Sauce

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup heavy cream
  

• ¼ cup brown sugar
  

• 2 tablespoons mustard powder
  

• ⅓ cup fresh apple cider
  

• ½ tablespoon cider vinegar
  

• ⅛ teaspoon salt
  

• 1 egg yolk
  

Preparation:

Heat ½ cup of the cream with the sugar in the top half of a double boiler set over barely simmering water (or in a medium saucepan set over simmering water) until warm.

In a small bowl, mix the mustard powder, cider, vinegar and salt. Using a whisk, gradually beat the mustard-cider mixture into the warmed cream.

Beat the egg yolk slightly in a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the mustard-cream to the yolk, mix well and gradually add it back to the saucepan. Cook the sauce over a low heat, whisking frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Whip the remaining ¼ cup of cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mustard and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.