— which lias, however, not sucli a delicate white tinge
■ — or any other dainty sauce that must be of pure
white colour.
In the same way, brown sauce would be used as
the basis of ordinary brown sauces, such as tomato,
Bretonne (a brown onion sauce), Chutney sauce, &c.,
Espagnole being reserved for such highly flavoured
dishes as involve wine, truffles, &c., in their com-
position, such as Perigueux, Madere, or other very
high class and expensive sauces.
One more word must be said anent these same
sauces, and that is that in first-class cookery certain
appellations have certain very definite meanings,
to such a degree, in fact, that a skilled connoisseur
could distinguish blindfold between the different
sauces. So please observe that if you choose to
christen your dishes by high sounding names, such
names will lead every connoisseur before whom you
may put them, to expect very definite results, and
to resent accordingly any deception in the matter,
however unconscious on your part. A striking
example of this is to be found in a dish more often
seen mentioned on menus than produced on the
table, namely, supreme de volaille. For this the
-uncooked breasts of fowls must be used, whilst for
the sauce you require a very carefully made velocity,
produced from delicately flavoured chicken stock,
which is thickened at the last with rich cream, a dash
of lemon juice, and any addenda in harmony with the
garnish from which it takes its name. Directions
for this dish will be given amongst the recipes later
on, so it need not be insisted on further, save to
8
ENTRIES.
remark tliat no one knowing anything of cookery
will accept contentedly a fricassee of chicken, how-
ever good of its kind, as a substitute for the
supreme mentioned on the menu! Though under
its proper name those same critics would very likely
have praised it warmly.
So much for hot sauces. Next the cold sauces,
required for cliaufroiz and other cold dishes, must be
considered. These in the present day the average
“ good cook ” generally produces by mixing to a
given proportion of any sauce required a certain
amount of aspic jelly in a state of liquefaction : the
two are then boiled — or not boiled, as the cook
fancies — till somewhat reduced, when they are
poured over the article to be covered or “masked”
(as it is technically termed), when just on the point
of setting. Now this certainly produces a very nice
liquid for masking purposes— especially when the
reduction has been attended to — but for high class
cookery such a sauce tastes too strongly of vinegar
to be judged altogether correct by the gourmet. If
you are giving a dish, say, of quails en aspic, then by
all means use this aspic-stiffeued sauce ; but where
it is simply a case of a chaufroix, the sauce chosen
should be thickened bv reduction or boiling-in till
stiff enough to coat any piece of meat, &c., by its
own density. This is the truly correct method as
practised by first rate chefs, who do not need to
consider time, expense, or work ; but where these
have to be taken into account, even first rate chefs
nowadays admit the addition of a little isinglass
or the pure leaf gelatine (such as Mrs. A. B.
ENTREES AND RECHAUFFES.
9
Page 4
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
— which has, however, not such a delicate white tinge ■ — or any other dainty sauce that must be of pure white colour.
In the same way, brown sauce would be used as the basis of ordinary brown sauces, such as tomato, Bretonne (a brown onion sauce), Chutney sauce, &c., Espagnole being reserved for such highly flavoured dishes as involve wine, truffles, &c., in their composition, such as Perigueux, Madere, or other very high class and expensive sauces.
One more word must be said anent these same sauces, and that is that in first-class cookery certain appellations have certain very definite meanings, to such a degree, in fact, that a skilled connoisseur could distinguish blindfold between the different sauces. So please observe that if you choose to christen your dishes by high sounding names, such names will lead every connoisseur before whom you may put them, to expect very definite results, and to resent accordingly any deception in the matter, however unconscious on your part. A striking example of this is to be found in a dish more often seen mentioned on menus than produced on the table, namely, supreme de volaille. For this the -uncooked breasts of fowls must be used, whilst for the sauce you require a very carefully made velouté, produced from delicately flavoured chicken stock, which is thickened at the last with rich cream, a dash of lemon juice, and any addenda in harmony with the garnish from which it takes its name. Directions for this dish will be given amongst the recipes later on, so it need not be insisted on further, save to
remark that no one knowing anything of cookery will accept contentedly a fricassee of chicken, however good of its kind, as a substitute for the supreme mentioned on the menu! Though under its proper name those same critics would very likely have praised it warmly.
So much for hot sauces. Next the cold sauces, required for cliaufroiz and other cold dishes, must be considered. These in the present day the average “ good cook ” generally produces by mixing to a given proportion of any sauce required a certain amount of aspic jelly in a state of liquefaction : the two are then boiled — or not boiled, as the cook fancies — till somewhat reduced, when they are poured over the article to be covered or “masked” (as it is technically termed), when just on the point of setting. Now this certainly produces a very nice liquid for masking purposes— especially when the reduction has been attended to — but for high class cookery such a sauce tastes too strongly of vinegar to be judged altogether correct by the gourmet. If you are giving a dish, say, of quails en aspic, then by all means use this aspic-stiffeued sauce ; but where it is simply a case of a chaufroix, the sauce chosen should be thickened bv reduction or boiling-in till stiff enough to coat any piece of meat, &c., by its own density. This is the truly correct method as practised by first rate chefs, who do not need to consider time, expense, or work ; but where these have to be taken into account, even first rate chefs nowadays admit the addition of a little isinglass or the pure leaf gelatine (such as Mrs. A. B.
ENTREES AND RECHAUFFES.