“There are many sauces besides hunger.”

GLAZE

Glaze is much used in high-class cooking. It gives to meats a smooth and polished surface. Cold meats to be garnished for suppers are much improved in appearance by being glazed. Glaze is also added to sauces to give them richness and flavor.

To make glaze: Take good consommÉ of beef (or a white stock, when it is to be used for fowls or white meat), clear it, and reduce it to one quarter (or one quart of stock to one cupful). It will quickly boil down in an open saucepan and become like a thick paste. It will keep some time if closed in a preserve jar and kept in a cool place. When used, heat it in a double saucepan and apply it with a brush.

ROUX FOR SAUCES

One tablespoonful of butter; one tablespoonful of flour.

Roux is used for thickening, giving body to sauces, etc. It is made by cooking together an equal quantity of butter and flour for about five minutes, or until the flour has lost the raw taste. When the roux is cooked, draw the saucepan to a cooler part of the range, and add the liquor (stock or milk) slowly, in the proportion of one cupful of liquor to one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and stir until smooth. If the roux is for white sauce do not let the flour color. If for brown sauce, let it cook until brown, but be careful that it does not burn. If more flavor is wanted, fry a few slices of onion or other vegetables in the butter before adding the flour. Sauces thickened in this way are much better than those in which uncooked flour is used. In making roux do not use more butter than flour. Where more butter is required in a sauce, add it, in small pieces at a time, after the other ingredients are mixed with the roux. This will prevent an oily line forming.

WHITE SAUCE

• 1 tablespoonful of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful of flour.
• 1 cupful of milk.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes, but do not let it color; draw it to a cooler part of the range and add very slowly, stirring all the time, one cupful of cold milk, and stir until perfectly smooth and a little thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Most of the white sauces are simple variations from this sauce. Water may be used instead of milk, and it is then called drawn-butter sauce. It can be made richer by adding a little more butter, in small pieces, one at a time, after the milk is in; also by adding the beaten yolk of an egg. If the egg is added remove the pan from the fire and let it cool a little before adding the egg; then cook for a minute, but do not let it boil, or the egg will curdle.

The secret of making a good white sauce is in cooking the flour until the starch grains have burst, which removes the raw and pasty taste one finds where this care is not used. There is no difficulty in making it smooth if the milk is turned in slowly, as directed above. A common way of making this sauce is to rub the butter and flour together, and then stir them into the boiling milk, but this does not give as good a result as when a roux is made. The intense heat of frying butter cooks the flour quickly, while milk boiled long enough to cook the flour is changed in flavor. When this sauce is used as the basis of other sauces, the amount of salt and pepper must be varied to suit the requirements of the other ingredients.

WHITE SAUCE FOR FISH

Make a white sauce, using with the milk two tablespoonfuls of the water in which the fish is boiled. Boil in the water with the fish five cloves, three bay-leaves, one onion, eight peppercorns, and two tablespoonfuls of salt. This will give flavor to the fish and to the sauce.

EGG SAUCE FOR BOILED FISH

To a pint, or two cupfuls, of white sauce, add three hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or small dice, and, if liked, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

CAPER SAUCE

(BOILED MUTTON)

Add to two cupfuls of white sauce four tablespoonfuls of capers. See also page 164.

OYSTER SAUCE

(BOILED FISH OR FOWLS)

Scald the oysters in their own liquor until the edges curl. Make a white sauce using oyster-liquor instead of milk, or use half milk and half oyster-liquor. Add the oysters just before serving. One dozen oysters are enough for one pint of sauce.

CELERY SAUCE

(BOILED FOWLS)

Cut one half cupful of celery into small pieces. Boil it in salted water until tender. Add the cooked celery to one cupful of white sauce.

LOBSTER SAUCE

Chop the meat of a lobster into coarse pieces. Add it to a pint of white sauce. Add also a little of the coral (which has been dried and pounded to a powder), and a little paprica.

VELOUTÉ AND ALLEMANDE SAUCES

(FISH AND VEGETABLES)

Make a white sauce (page 277), using chicken or veal stock instead of milk.

Allemande. Remove the VeloutÉ from the fire; add two yolks beaten with one half cupful of cream or milk, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of nutmeg. Put on the fire a moment to thicken, but do not let it boil. Continue to stir for some moments after removing from the fire.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

Make a white sauce, using for liquor one half each of rich white stock and milk, or use stock alone. A slice of onion, carrot and turnip should be fried in the butter before the flour is added. A richer BÉchamel is made by adding a little cream and chopped mushrooms.

POULETTE SAUCE

(FOR CHICKEN-BREASTS, SWEETBREADS, AND OTHER ENTRÉES)

Take a pint of white sauce made with chicken or veal stock instead of milk. Beat four yolks with a cupful of cream. Remove the sauce from the fire, and add it slowly to the eggs and cream, stirring all the time. Put it again on the fire a moment to thicken; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Add one tablespoonful of butter slowly, a small piece at a time, the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of nutmeg. Serve at once. Do not put the sauce together until it is time to serve, as it is likely to curdle after the eggs and lemon-juice are in. Stir constantly, and for a moment after removing from the fire.

VILLEROI

(TO USE FOR EGGS VILLEROI, AND FOR COATING COLD MEATS THAT ARE TO BE HEATED AGAIN)

Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter and a slice of onion; fry for a few moments, but not brown. Remove the onion, and add two tablespoonfuls of flour; cook but do not brown the flour. Dilute with two cupfuls of stock, and boil, stirring constantly until the sauce is very thick. Season with one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, a dash each of cayenne and nutmeg; remove from the fire, and add the yolks of four eggs beaten with one half cupful of cream or milk. Place again on the fire, and let thicken until quite stiff and elastic. Do not let it boil after the eggs are added, or it will curdle; stir constantly. When it is beginning to cool pour it over the articles it is to coat, or roll the articles in it as the receipts direct. Chopped parsley, truffles, and mushrooms may be mixed with this sauce, if desired. The thick sauce left from coating the articles may be diluted with stock or milk, and served with them. This amount of sauce is sufficient to coat and to give diluted sauce for a dozen eggs villeroi.

HOLLANDAISE

(BOILED FISH, ASPARAGUS, CAULIFLOWER)

In a saucepan or bowl rub to a cream one half cupful of butter; add the yolks of four eggs, and beat well together; then the juice of half a lemon, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of cayenne; then add slowly one cupful of hot water; mix well, and set it into a saucepan of hot water. Stir constantly until the sauce becomes like a thick cream. Do not let it boil. Remove from the fire, and continue to stir for a few minutes. It should be creamy and consistent. It is one of the best sauces to use with fish. It is also good cold with cold fish or meats.

CHAUDFROID SAUCE

(FOR COVERING COLD CHICKEN OR MEATS WHICH ARE TO BE SERVED COLD)

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a saucepan; when it bubbles add two tablespoonfuls of flour. Let it cook well, but not brown; stir all the time. Add two cupfuls of chicken or of veal stock, and stir until it is well thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Then add a half box, or one ounce, of gelatine which has soaked an hour in a half cupful of cold water. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Strain the sauce, and let it just begin to stiffen before using it. Put a little on ice to see if it will be of the right firmness. If it is too stiff add a little more stock; if not hard enough add a little more gelatine. It needs to be only firm enough to hold its place well without running.

A yellow color can be given it by adding the yolks of three eggs just before removing it from the fire. A brown chaudfroid, which is used for game and dark meats, is made by browning the roux, diluting it with beef stock; and a deeper color can be obtained with a few drops of kitchen bouquet. This sauce, poured over boned chicken or other meats, gives them a smooth, even surface. They can then be elaborately decorated with truffles, making ornamental cold dishes for suppers. Before covering a galantine with chaudfroid fill any irregularities on the surface of the meat with a little of the sauce which has been placed on ice to set. The surface can in this way be made perfectly even, so when the sauce is turned over it the galantine will be smooth. (See picture, page 192.)

BROWN SAUCE

Put a tablespoonful of chopped onion and a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan on the fire. Let them both become brown; then add a tablespoonful of flour, and brown that also. Stir all the time. Add a cupful of beef or brown stock, and cook until the sauce is a little thickened. Season with pepper and salt. Strain it to remove the onion. A sauce poivrade is made by adding to the brown sauce, at the same time that the stock is put in, a cupful of claret, two cloves, a bay-leaf, a little thyme and parsley. In place of claret, a teaspoonful of mustard, the juice of half a lemon, and a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar gives a Robert sauce.

ESPAGNOLE

(CHOPS, CUTLETS, CROQUETTES, AND SEASONING FOR OTHER SAUCES)

• 2½ cupfuls of stock or consommÉ.
• 1 tablespoonful of gelatine.
• 4 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• 4 tablespoonfuls of flour.
• 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped onion.
• 1 tablespoonful of chopped lean ham.
• 1 tablespoonful each of chopped carrot and celery.
• 1 bay-leaf.
• 3 cloves.
• 1 piece of parsley.
• 1 piece of mace.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ½ teaspoonful of pepper.

Soak the gelatine in a half cupful of stock. Put the butter in a saucepan; when hot add the chopped vegetables and ham, and let them brown; then add the flour, and let that brown. Stir constantly so it will not burn. When well browned add slowly the stock, then the herbs, spices, salt, and pepper, and let cook for five minutes. Cover the saucepan. Set it into a larger one containing hot water. Draw it to the side of the range to simmer slowly for two hours. Then stir in the soaked gelatine, and let stand another half hour. When ready to serve skim off the fat and strain. If a stock made with knuckle of veal is used, the gelatine will not be needed. It is used to give smoothness. This is the richest of the brown sauces, and in French cooking is used as the basis, or seasoning, for them all. If too thick dilute with stock.

CHAMPAGNE SAUCE (HAM)

Put in a saucepan one cupful of champagne, two cloves, six peppercorns, one bay-leaf, one teaspoonful of sugar. Let them infuse for five minutes over the fire; then add a cupful of Espagnole or of brown sauce, and a little mushroom liquor if convenient. Let it simmer for ten minutes and strain.

Any white wine may be used instead of champagne.

PIQUANTE SAUCE

(BAKED FISH, ROAST AND BROILED MEATS)

• 2 cupfuls of brown stock.
• 4 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• 2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
• 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.
• Dash of cayenne.
• 1 tablespoonful of chopped onion.
• 1 tablespoonful of chopped capers.
• 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped pickle.
• 1 teaspoonful of sugar.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• 1 teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar.

Put the butter in a saucepan, and when it begins to brown add the flour, and stir until it is well browned, but do not let it burn. Draw to a cooler place on the range, and slowly add the stock, stirring constantly, add salt and cayenne, and let simmer for ten minutes. In another saucepan boil the vinegar, onion, and sugar rapidly for five minutes; then add it to the sauce, and at the same time add the capers, pickle and tarragon vinegar. Stir well, and let cook for two minutes to heat the pickle. If the sauce becomes too thick dilute it with a little water. For piquante sauce No 2, to two cupfuls of Espagnole sauce add capers and pickles.

SOUBISE SAUCE

(FOR CHOPS)

Fry three or four onions until soft in a tablespoonful of butter; press them through a strainer, and mix with a cupful of brown sauce.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

(ROAST OR BOILED BEEF)

Mix together two tablespoonfuls of soft white crumbs of bread and two tablespoonfuls of grated horseradish. Cover them with cream or milk, and let soak for two hours. Then rub them through a sieve, and add one quarter teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Enough milk should be used to give it the consistency of cream. This sauce will keep in a cool place for several days.

MUSTARD SAUCE

(CORNED BEEF, BROILED AND ROASTED MEATS)

Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of flour. Add to it

• 1 cupful of stock.
• 1 tablespoonful of French mustard.
• 1 tablespoonful of vinegar.
• A dash of cayenne.
• 1 teaspoonful of dry English mustard.
• ½ teaspoonful salt.
• 1 teaspoonful of sugar.

Cook slowly for ten minutes.

CURRY SAUCE

(FOR EGGS, CHICKEN, ETC.)

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles add a teaspoonful of onion-juice, and a tablespoonful of curry powder mixed with two tablespoonfuls of flour. Let it cook a few minutes, and add slowly two cupfuls of milk. Stir constantly.

OLIVE SAUCE

(DUCKS)

• 1 dozen stoned olives.
• 1 cupful of brown stock.
• 1 tablespoonful of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful of flour.
• 1 tablespoonful each of chopped onion and carrot.
• 1 clove.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• Dash of pepper.

Put the butter in a saucepan; when it bubbles add the chopped onion and carrot and let them brown; then the flour and let that brown. Then add slowly the stock; season with salt, pepper and one clove; let simmer for twenty minutes and strain. Stone the olives, leaving the meat in one piece; boil them in a little water for half an hour. Add the cooked olives to the strained sauce, and cook for five minutes; or, dilute a cupful of Espagnole sauce with a cupful of brown stock, and add the cooked olives. If brown sauce is not at hand, use extract of beef from jar (one teaspoonful of extract to one cupful of hot water). If the sauce gets too thick dilute it with a little stock.

TOMATO SAUCE

(MEATS, CROQUETTES AND ENTRÉES)

• 2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful of flour.
• 1 tablespoonful each of carrot and onion.
• ½ can of tomatoes.
• Parsley.
• 1 bay-leaf.
• 3 cloves.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; add the chopped onion and carrot, and let slightly brown; add the flour and cook five minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the tomatoes, cloves, bay-leaf, salt and pepper. Cook slowly for half an hour, or until the tomatoes are soft and reduced to right consistency. Then add a tablespoonful of butter (a small piece at a time to prevent an oily line); strain; add more salt and pepper if necessary.

MUSHROOM SAUCE

(USING CANNED MUSHROOMS)

Make a brown roux, using one tablespoonful each of butter and of flour; add a cupful of stock and a half cupful of liquor from the can of mushrooms. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the time; then add one can of drained mushrooms, a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, a half teaspoonful of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Let the mushrooms become well heated; then remove from the fire and stir in the yolk of one raw egg rubbed with a teaspoonful of butter. Stir the hot sauce until the egg is set; add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and serve; or a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet may be used and the egg and parsley omitted.

This sauce may be served on the same dish with beefsteaks, fowls, etc., and the mushrooms laid evenly, top side up, around the meat as a garnish.

It may be made a white sauce by making a white roux, using white stock and leaving out the kitchen bouquet. The mushrooms are sometimes cut into halves or quarters.

MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL SAUCE

(BROILED FISH AND STEAKS)

• 2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.
• 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• ½ teaspoonful of pepper.

Rub the butter to a cream; add salt, pepper, and parsley chopped very fine; then the lemon-juice slowly. Spread it on broiled meat or fish; let the heat of the meat melt the butter. The dish must not be put in the oven after the sauce is spread, or the parsley will lose its freshness and color. This sauce, which greatly improves as well as garnishes broiled meat, can be mixed and kept for some time in a cool place. Soften a little before using so it will spread evenly, and be quickly melted by the hot meat.

MINT SAUCE

(SPRING LAMB)

1 bunch of mint; 1 tablespoonful of sugar; ¾ cupful of vinegar. Rinse the mint in cold water; chop it very fine. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar; add the mint and let stand for an hour, to infuse before using. If the vinegar is too strong, dilute it with cold water. If the sauce is wanted hot, heat the vinegar and sugar, and stir in the chopped mint just before serving.

BREAD SAUCE

(PARTRIDGES, QUAIL, GROUSE)

Sift two cupfuls of dry bread-crumbs. Put on the fire a pint of milk and a small onion sliced. When the milk is scalded remove the onion, and add enough of the fine crumbs to thicken it. Season with a tablespoonful of butter, a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper and of nutmeg. Put the coarse crumbs into a pan with a tablespoonful of butter and sautÉ them a light brown, stirring all the time; add a dash of paprica; serve the fried crumbs on the dish with the game; serve the sauce in a boat.

JELLY SAUCE

(GAME AND MUTTON)

Melt in a saucepan one tumblerful of currant or of grape jelly; add slowly one tablespoonful of butter. Let boil one minute; remove, and just before serving add one tablespoonful of sherry or of red wine.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

(ROAST TURKEY, CHICKEN, MUTTON)

• 1 quart of cranberries.
• 2 cupfuls of sugar.
• 2 cupfuls of water.

Pick over the berries carefully and wash in cold water. Put them in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware saucepan, with enough water to cover them. Cook until tender; then add the sugar, and remove as soon as the sugar is dissolved. It may be served hot or cold. If thoroughly cooked the skins improve the sauce. If strained and put in a mold to cool, it becomes a jelly. If the berries are carefully selected, and boiled slowly without being stirred, they will retain their shape, and the sauce will be clear and transparent.

APPLE SAUCE

(GOOSE AND PORK)

Peel, quarter, and core six tart apples. Put them in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware saucepan, and cover with water. Boil until tender, then press them through a colander; add a teaspoonful of butter, a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon, and sweeten to taste. When used with meats apple sauce should be tart.

BÉARNAISE

This is a very good sauce to use either hot or cold with meats and fish. It is very like Mayonnaise.

• Yolks of 4 eggs.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• Dash of cayenne.
• 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil.
• 1 tablespoonful of hot water.
• 1 tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar.

Beat the yolks; add the oil and water; stand the bowl in boiling water and stir until the eggs thicken; remove and add salt, pepper, and vinegar. It should be creamy and of the consistency of Mayonnaise. A few chopped capers, olives, and gherkins make it a good Tartare sauce; and a little tomato purÉe will make it a red Mayonnaise to use with cold boiled fish.

MAYONNAISE

• Yolk of 1 egg.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• Dash of cayenne.
• 1 cupful of salad oil.
• 1½ teaspoonfuls of lemon-juice.

Let the oil and egg be thoroughly chilled before beginning to make Mayonnaise. In summer it is well to stand the soup-plate in which the dressing is being mixed in a dish of cracked ice; stir constantly with a silver fork or a wooden spoon. Have the yolk entirely free from any white of the egg; add drop by drop the oil. The success depends on adding the oil slowly at first. It is well to spend half the time in incorporating the first two spoonfuls of oil; after that it can be added in larger quantities. After the dressing has become a little thick, alternate a few drops of lemon-juice or of vinegar with the oil; a little tarragon vinegar gives good flavor. If mustard is liked, add one quarter teaspoonful of dry mustard. Add the salt and pepper last. If the sauce curdles, take another yolk, and add slowly the curdled Mayonnaise. A few drops of ice water or a small bit of ice added to the mixture when it begins to curdle will sometimes bring it back.

This dressing will keep for some time in a closed jar in the ice-box. The proportions given are right, but it is usually desirable to make a larger quantity. With care more oil can be added to the egg, which will give more sauce.

A very safe mixture, and one recommended for summer, is made by using the yolk of a hard-boiled egg with a raw yolk. With this the dressing is more quickly made and seldom curdles. Lemon-juice makes a whiter dressing than vinegar, but it also makes it a little softer.

WHITE MAYONNAISE

Just before serving add to the above quantity of Mayonnaise one half cupful of very stiff whipped cream, or the white of one half an egg whipped very stiff.

GREEN MAYONNAISE

Take some green herbs, such as chervil, tarragon, chives, parsley, a leaf of spinach, lettuce or watercress, and pound them in a mortar with a little lemon-juice. Express the juice and add it to the Mayonnaise. It is then called Ravigote sauce. Mashed green peas may be used to give color and also more consistency to the sauce when it is to be used to cover cold fish. A little vegetable green coloring can be added if the color is not sufficiently deep, but a delicate color is preferable.

RED MAYONNAISE

Dry some lobster coral; pound it to a powder and rub it through a sieve; mix it with a little lemon-juice and add it to the Mayonnaise. Use a little carmine color if deeper shade is wanted. Or, color with well-strained tomato purÉe.

JELLY MAYONNAISE

Instead of yolks of eggs, use aspic jelly as a medium to hold the oil; mix the sauce the same as the ordinary Mayonnaise. Or, to a cupful of aspic jelly (see page 321) or chicken aspic add a cupful of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar (one half being tarragon if convenient), a few drops of lemon-juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne; stir together all at once, the jelly being warmed enough to be liquid. Place it on ice and stir until it begins to set; keep it in a cool place. This jelly softens easily. It is used to coat fish or meats, and should be put on when a little soft. It will then make a smooth and polished surface. Keep the meats coated with the jelly on ice until ready to serve. It is used also for salads in forms, or Russian salads (see receipts).

MAYONNAISE WITH ARROWROOT

Smooth a tablespoonful of arrowroot in cold water; stir it over the fire until it becomes smooth, clear and firm like starch; when a little cooled, add salt, pepper, mustard, and two or three yolks, and beat until smooth; when cold add oil as in regular Mayonnaise. This mixture will not curdle.

TARTARE

(FISH AND COLD MEATS)

To a cupful of Mayonnaise made with mustard, add one tablespoonful of capers, three olives, and two gherkins, all chopped very fine; also the juice expressed from some pounded green herbs, as in green Mayonnaise or Ravigote (see above); or chop the herbs fine and mix them in the dressing. A good Tartare sauce can be made by using tarragon vinegar and a little onion-juice when mixing the Mayonnaise, and adding parsley and capers, both chopped very fine, just before serving it.

AGRA DOLCE

(SOUR SWEET)

(AN ITALIAN SAUCE USED WITH VENISON, SWEETBREADS, CALF’S-HEAD, AND MUTTON)

Mix together two heaping tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one quarter bar of grated chocolate, one tablespoonful each of shredded candied orange and lemon-peel, ten blanched almonds shredded, one half cupful of currants, and one cupful of vinegar. Let them soak for two hours. Then pour it over the cooked meat, and simmer for ten minutes.

This receipt was obtained in Florence, where it is a well-known and favorite sauce.

BEURRE NOIR OR BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

(EGGS, CALF’S HEAD, CALF’S BRAINS, FISH)

Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a saucepan and let it cook slowly until it has browned, then add three tablespoonfuls of hot vinegar, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of pepper and of salt.

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