Error in Overseasoning. -Many a plain sauce is spoilt by cooks who are too fond of using so-called relishes. They seem to me to be unable to make a sauce without adding one or more dashes of bottled sauces, spices, &c., thinking that these additions must necessarily be an improvement. This practice, I need hardly say, is a much mistaken one, for frequently (nearly always) such additions overpower the •essential, natural flavour of their plain sauces, by overloading them with ingredients which are-' detrimental. A plain sauce as a rule needs nothing in the way of seasoning, except salt and pepper, to bring out the flavour and to awaken the palate. Those who wish for piquancy of flavour will always find means to satisfy their wants from the cruet. Characteristic of Sauces and Seasoning. — No matter what the character of a sauce may be, remember that in all compound sauces, whether plain or high class (rich), the rule for seasoning and flavour- ing is the same in every case : that is, the ingredients used for this purpose should be so proportioned that no flavour predominates over the other, so that by a careful and judicious combination of flavours the sauce or sauces prepared will not fail to be acceptable to the palate of the most refined gourmet. Cook’s Duty regarding Taste.— Furthermore remember that it is a cook’s duty to study the likes and dislikes as to seasoning and flavouring of those for whom she or he works, whereby certain ingredients for every sauce must necessarily be increased or lessened according to taste. If this is done no one need fail to become master of the art of sauce-making, as far as the extraction and com- bination of flavours in sauces is concerned. SAUCES AND THEIR COMPOSITION On the Reduction of Sauces. —We reduce or boil down sauces to give them the necessary strength. This is usually the case with the compounds into which stocks, essences, fumets, &c., have been in- corporated : these are added for the express purpose of reduction, and should be in a concentrated form, so as to lessen as much as possible the labour of boiling or simmering. All sauces which need to be reduced must be strained and freed from fat, they must be put on a quick fire at first, and must be stirred with a wooden spatula or spoon to prevent the sauce from adhering to the bottom of the saucepan in which the sauce is put. The necessary quantity of stock &c. re- quired for its improvement is next added, it is then allowed to boil until it has acquired the desired consistency : when this is effected the sauce is passed through a tammy cloth. Various Kinds of Sauces. — Having explained the difference between white and brown sauces, and having given minute details of the various thickenings (liaisons), as well as other important points concerning sauces and their preparation, I will now 'give a list of the various sauces most frequently used in cookery. There are two groups of sauces : I. Hot Sauces. — These are divided into three sections : (1) Plain (2) Savoury (3) Sweet II. Cold Sauces. — These are divided into three sections : (1) Chaud-froid ' (2) Salad (3) Sweet I. HOT SAUCES (1) Plain Sauces. — These include : Melted Butter Egg Onion (white Caper Sauce Anchovy White Sauce or brown) Fennel Brown Parsley Mustard Bread, &c. &c. (2) Savour ry Sauces. — (a) White Sauces : Bechamel Cardinal Bavigote Maltre d’Hotel Cream Mornay Shrimp Plucne

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Error in Overseasoning. -Many a plain sauce is spoilt by cooks who are too fond of using so-called relishes. They seem to me to be unable to make a sauce without adding one or more dashes of bottled sauces, spices, &c., thinking that these additions must necessarily be an improvement. This practice, I need hardly say, is a much mistaken one, for frequently (nearly always) such additions overpower the •essential, natural flavour of their plain sauces, by overloading them with ingredients which are detrimental. A plain sauce as a rule needs nothing in the way of seasoning, except salt and pepper, to bring out the flavour and to awaken the palate. Those who wish for piquancy of flavour will always find means to satisfy their wants from the cruet. Characteristic of Sauces and Seasoning. — No matter what the character of a sauce may be, remember that in all compound sauces, whether plain or high class (rich), the rule for seasoning and flavouring is the same in every case : that is, the ingredients used for this purpose should be so proportioned that no flavour predominates over the other, so that by a careful and judicious combination of flavours the sauce or sauces prepared will not fail to be acceptable to the palate of the most refined gourmet. Cook’s Duty regarding Taste.— Furthermore remember that it is a cook’s duty to study the likes and dislikes as to seasoning and flavouring of those for whom she or he works, whereby certain ingredients for every sauce must necessarily be increased or lessened according to taste. If this is done no one need fail to become master of the art of sauce-making, as far as the extraction and combination of flavours in sauces is concerned. SAUCES AND THEIR COMPOSITION On the Reduction of Sauces. —We reduce or boil down sauces to give them the necessary strength. This is usually the case with the compounds into which stocks, essences, fumets, &c., have been incorporated : these are added for the express purpose of reduction, and should be in a concentrated form, so as to lessen as much as possible the labour of boiling or simmering. All sauces which need to be reduced must be strained and freed from fat, they must be put on a quick fire at first, and must be stirred with a wooden spatula or spoon to prevent the sauce from adhering to the bottom of the saucepan in which the sauce is put. The necessary quantity of stock &c. required for its improvement is next added, it is then allowed to boil until it has acquired the desired consistency : when this is effected the sauce is passed through a tammy cloth. Various Kinds of Sauces. — Having explained the difference between white and brown sauces, and having given minute details of the various thickenings (liaisons), as well as other important points concerning sauces and their preparation, I will now 'give a list of the various sauces most frequently used in cookery. There are two groups of sauces : I. Hot Sauces. — These are divided into three sections : (1) Plain (2) Savoury (3) Sweet II. Cold Sauces. — These are divided into three sections : (1) Chaud-froid ' (2) Salad (3) Sweet I. HOT SAUCES (1) Plain Sauces. — These include : Melted Butter Egg Onion (white Caper Sauce Anchovy White Sauce or brown) Fennel Brown Parsley Mustard Bread, &c. &c. (2) Savour ry Sauces. — (a) White Sauces : Bechamel Cardinal Bavigote Maltre d’Hotel Cream Mornay Shrimp Plucne

The new century cookery book