This is a most delicious sauce, and can be made good and cheap without the use of cream. To make a pint of Bechamel, take a quart of No. 3 Stock (see No. 10), and place it in an open saucepan to boil away. (See No. 26.) Boil a pint of milk separately, and, if possible, put a bay-leaf in the milk, and just a suspicion of nutmeg - rub a nutmeg once across the grater, but don't rub it back again. When the stock has boiled away to about a quarter of a pint - take care in doing this, if the stock is strong, that you don't boil it away so much that it gets sticky and begins to turn colour; i.e., don't boil it to what cooks call a glaze - pour the boiling milk on to the reduced stock, and stir it up. Then thicken with some white thickening, or butter and flour (see No. 12) till it is as thick as cream. If it is not smooth, pass it through a sieve. Remember, no extract of meat must have been put to No. 3 stock. Probable cost of one pint, five-pence. A pint is a large quantity, but you can make less by following out the principles of the above directions.

This delicious sauce should be used more frequently than it is. It is a great help to warm up cold fowl, cold veal, or any white meat. It can be served with potatoes, It is invaluable with sweetbreads of every description.

Bechamel Sauce (Quick And Cheap)

Take a little stock (white), and put it into a saucepan to boil. Thicken it with a little white thickening. (See No. 12). Season with pepper and salt. A bay-leaf may be boiled in the stock, and just a suspicion of nutmeg. A few drops of lemon-juice may be added at the last moment. Probable cost of one pint, l 1/2d.

Fish Bechamel Sauce

Whenever you boil fish, try and get some bones to make fish Bechamel, as its cost is almost nil, and yet it is a most delicious accompaniment to fish.

Suppose we have a sole filleted. Take the backbone and fins, and place them in a little water to boil. A little tiny piece of onion may be added. Boil for some time, till the water is reduced to half a pint, then thicken this with some white thickening (see No. 12), or plain butter and flour, till it is as thick as double cream. Season with pepper and salt, and, if you have a bottle of essence of almonds in the house, you can act as follows: - Turn the bottle upside-down on to the cork; take out the cork, and touch a spoon with the wet end of the cork. Stir the sauce with this spoon. This will be sufficient to flavour the sauce. Also, a little chopped parsley may be thrown in, and a few drops of lemon-juice. This is a very cheap sauce, as the backbone and fins of a filleted sole are generally thrown away. The stock made from them would make a hard jelly when cold. It is much nicer than butter-sauce, or ordinary melted butter, and far cheaper. Probable cost of a quarter of a pint, one penny. You may get this sauce made exactly this way at some great public dinner. You would then think very likely, "What a delicious fish-sauce! It must be very expensive".