(Gouffe)

Put in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with a saltspoonful of salt, and half one of pepper (white), let it boil down to one dessert-spoonful. Take it from the fire, add two tablespoonfuls of cold water, and yolks of two eggs beaten; put on the fire again, stirring till it begins to thicken (take care it does not boil); take it off the fire again, add a piece of butter the size of a walnut, stir till melted; replace on the fire one minute, take off again; put another piece of butter the same size, stirring until the butter melts and becomes incorporated with the eggs; replace again on the fire, do this until four ounces of butter have been used and the sauce looks like a thick yellow mayonnaise. Never add more butter until the last is thoroughly blended; and when you put in the third piece, put in a tablespoonful of cold water, to prevent it turning.

You will observe that the whole process is very much like making a hot mayonnaise, using butter instead of oil; the reason for the frequent taking off and putting on the fire, is because the eggs must be at boiling point, yet not boil; after each fresh piece of butter, they are cooled; they must then be brought back to the same degree, if they were left on the stove the butter would oil.

It sounds much more complicated than it is, and this Hollandaise is the one found in all fine French cooking; but it is not the one commonly used in this country and in England, which is as follows: