And this leads me to discuss at once the two sauces I
have just mentioned.
* A tea- spoonful of anchovy vinegar is in this case better than lime,
juice. — W.
I Most delicious with cold roast beef. — W.
SAUCES— CONTINUED 91
Mayonnaise sauce is certainly one of the most useful, and
popular of all the sauces we attempt out here. In order-
ing it, if you know what to say, and give good materials,
you may be certain of success. Be sure that the oil you
give is thoroughly good, or the result will be very painful ;
and examine your mustard, vinegar, and eggs. Assuming
that these are all satisfactory, set to work in the following
manner : —
Commence with the dry ingredients, and put into a
soup-plate, or slop-basin, the cold, very hard-boiled yolks
of two eggs, a salt-spoonful of salt, a dessert-spoonful of
mustard powder, a tea-spoonful of finely-minced shallot,
and a dust of white pepper. Bruise these together
thoroughly with the back of a silver spoon. Now, add a
little oil, and work your materials to a paste, dropping
in the oil patiently by degrees until you get it nice and
moist; next throw in the yolks of two raw eggs, and
continue your working, adding oil without measure, and
judging by your eye when you think you have made
enough sauce, for the tarragon vinegar you finally add
will not be more than a good table-spoonful. The moment
the vinegar is added, the sauce will assume a creamy
appearance, and when worked sufficiently, will be ready
for the block tin strainer (to get rid of " onion atoms,"
lumps of egg, &c.,) and then for the table. If made on
the plains, early in the afternoon, the sauce-boat should be
placed in the ice-box ; but, to be successful, mayonnaise
sauce ought, if possible, to be made as near the time of
service as possible. "When cream is used, it takes the place
of the oil, but if only a little can be spared, a dessert-spoon-
ful may be added to the sauce I have described with good
effect. All mayonnaise sauces should he iced, if only for a
few minutes.
The points in this sauce to be noted are, the order in
which the various ingredients should be employed, the use
92 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS.
of the raw yolks in conjunction with the hard-boiled (they
produce the thick creaminess you want), the liberal use of
good oil, and the addition last of all, in sparing quantity,
of the tarragon vinegar. You do not want an acid sauce
at all, remember. English cooks, as a rule, ruin their
mayonnaise and salad dressings, by measuring the oil and
vinegar they use in equal portions ! No artist measures
these ingredients.* You might as well expect a painter
to tell you the number of gi^ains of the colours he used in
painting a pictuiT. You must not omit a little onion, but
whilst permitting the flavour " scarce suspected to animate
the whole," you must on no account permit the " atoms to
lui'k within the bowl" — the ladies in Sydney Smith's days
were perhaps less critical in the matter of this fragrant
bulb, than are our fail' enslavers in the present year of
gi-ace.
" Tar tare sauce" is the same as the above, without the
use of hard-boiled eggs : raw yolks alone should be used,
and the oil and vinegar should be added in the following
proportions ; a tea-spoonful of the latter, to two table-
spoonfuls of t✪ Tartare Saucehe former, well beaten together, and often
times repeated till enough sauce is made.
Page 52 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1885. 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
And this leads me to discuss at once the two sauces I have just mentioned.
* A tea- spoonful of anchovy vinegar is in this case better than lime, juice. — W.
I Most delicious with cold roast beef. — W.
SAUCES— CONTINUED 91
Mayonnaise sauce is certainly one of the most useful, and popular of all the sauces we attempt out here. In ordering it, if you know what to say, and give good materials, you may be certain of success. Be sure that the oil you give is thoroughly good, or the result will be very painful ; and examine your mustard, vinegar, and eggs. Assuming that these are all satisfactory, set to work in the following manner : —
Commence with the dry ingredients, and put into a soup-plate, or slop-basin, the cold, very hard-boiled yolks of two eggs, a salt-spoonful of salt, a dessert-spoonful of mustard powder, a tea-spoonful of finely-minced shallot, and a dust of white pepper. Bruise these together thoroughly with the back of a silver spoon. Now, add a little oil, and work your materials to a paste, dropping in the oil patiently by degrees until you get it nice and moist; next throw in the yolks of two raw eggs, and continue your working, adding oil without measure, and judging by your eye when you think you have made enough sauce, for the tarragon vinegar you finally add will not be more than a good table-spoonful. The moment the vinegar is added, the sauce will assume a creamy appearance, and when worked sufficiently, will be ready for the block tin strainer (to get rid of " onion atoms," lumps of egg, &c.,) and then for the table. If made on the plains, early in the afternoon, the sauce-boat should be placed in the ice-box ; but, to be successful, mayonnaise sauce ought, if possible, to be made as near the time of service as possible. "When cream is used, it takes the place of the oil, but if only a little can be spared, a dessert-spoonful may be added to the sauce I have described with good effect. All mayonnaise sauces should he iced, if only for a few minutes.
The points in this sauce to be noted are, the order in which the various ingredients should be employed, the use
of the raw yolks in conjunction with the hard-boiled (they produce the thick creaminess you want), the liberal use of good oil, and the addition last of all, in sparing quantity, of the tarragon vinegar. You do not want an acid sauce at all, remember. English cooks, as a rule, ruin their mayonnaise and salad dressings, by measuring the oil and vinegar they use in equal portions ! No artist measures these ingredients.* You might as well expect a painter to tell you the number of grains of the colours he used in painting a picture. You must not omit a little onion, but whilst permitting the flavour " scarce suspected to animate the whole," you must on no account permit the " atoms to lurk within the bowl" — the ladies in Sydney Smith's days were perhaps less critical in the matter of this fragrant bulb, than are our fail' enslavers in the present year of grace.
" Tar tare sauce" is the same as the above, without the use of hard-boiled eggs : raw yolks alone should be used, and the oil and vinegar should be added in the following proportions ; a tea-spoonful of the latter, to two tablespoonfuls of the former, well beaten together, and often times repeated till enough sauce is made.
Records on this page
Tartare SauceMayonnaise Sauce