Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/256

212 5 minutes after coming to the boil, otherwise the sauce has an unpleasant taste of raw flour.

Sometimes sauces made by the long process are over-cooked and become oily. In this case a little cold stock, milk or water, can be added, and the sauce stirred until it boils, when it will again become smooth, but it must then immediately be removed from the fire.

PREPARATIONS OF INGREDIENTS.

To avoid repetition, the vegetables used in the following recipes are spoken of as "prepared," meaning that the carrots have been scraped, the turnips peeled, and the onions peeled.

A bouquet-garni consists of a sprig or two of parsley, a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, a sprig of marjoram, a sprig of basil, and a blade of mace, all tied together in a little bouquet. Any of these herbs may be omitted and others substituted, according to taste.

As regards the quantities given in the recipes, they have been kept as uniform as possible; and in most cases provide sufficient sauce to fill a sauce-tureen, or for pouring round an entrée or pudding.

THICKENINGS FOR SAUCES.

White Roux.—In making white roux, equal quantities of butter and flour are stirred in a stewpan over a slow fire for 10 or 15 minutes, but without allowing the roux to take any colour. If for immediate use, the roux must cool slightly before adding the liquid.

Fawn Roux.—For fawn or blonde roux, take equal quantities of butter and flour, and cook slowly over the fire or in a cool oven until the mixture acquires a pale fawn colour.

Brown Roux.—This third variety is usually called "stock roux," because where roux is being constantly used a large quantity of it is made and kept in stock. The proportion of butter and flour are the same as for white and fawn roux. The nut-brown colour is obtained by a long, slow process of frying or roasting, during which much of the flavour characteristic of well-made brown sauce is developed.

Egg Liaison.—This thickening is composed of yolks of eggs beaten up with a small quantity of cream, milk, or white stock. The sauce to which this liaison (or thickening) is added must require no further cooking. One to two tablespoonfuls of hot sauce should be mixed with the eggs and cream, and the whole then strained into the sauce, which should be just below boiling point. To remove the raw taste of the eggs, it is necessary to cook and stir the sauce by the side of the fire for a few minutes, but it must not be allowed to boil, or the eggs may curdle.

Butter and Cream Liaison.—When butter and cream are employed for