The French undoubtedly understand the making of sauces better than any other nation. The English make a drawn-butter sauce and use it as a foundation for many kinds. By the addition of capers, shrimps, chopped pickle, lobster, oysters, etc., one has caper, shrimp, lobster and the other kinds of sauces. The drawn-butter sauce is simple, yet is often improperly made, being insipid in taste and lumpy and unappetizing in appearance through insufficient cooking. The French white sauce differs materially from that of the English, since it is made with strong white stock prepared from veal or chicken, or both, and with some vegetables for a basis. One shrinks from using a receipt for sauce that requires stock ; and many simple receipts are here given which do not call for that as an ingredient.

In thickening sauces, it should be remembered that butter and flour should be well cooked together before the liquid is added, to prevent the flour from tasting uncooked ; and the butter should be very hot before the flour is added to it. In butter sauces, however, only enough butter should be used at first to cook the flour, the remainder being cut in pieces and added after the sauce is taken from the fire. In this way the flavor is preserved.

A mistake that is frequently made in the preparation of any sauce that is thickened with butter and flour cooked together, is that the liquid is added to the thickening before the flour and butter have at all cooled. The stew-pan in which the butter and flour are cooked should be drawn to a cool part of the range and the mixture stirred until partially cooled before putting in the liquid, which should be cold and be added gradually. The length of time for a sauce to cook varies. It must be remembered that if the sauce is boiled longer than ten minutes, the butter will separate and come to the top, where it can be skimmed off ; this leaves a clear sauce. If cooked less than this time the butter does not separate. Long cooking makes the sauce greasy, unless it be continued long enough to make the separation of oil and ingredients complete. In common sauces the quick method is generally preferred, and if by mistake the sauce becomes oily, a little cold water may be added and the sauce stirred until it begins to boil, when it will be found perfectly smooth and satisfactory.

Drawn-Butter Sauce

One-half cupful of butter (scant). One pint of boiling water. Two table-spoonfuls of flour. One-half tea-spoonful of salt. One-quarter tea-spoonful of pepper.

Put half the butter into the stew-pan, and when it bubbles, sprinkle in the flour, and stir well for two minutes. Draw back on the range, and when slightly cooled add the boiling water, a little at a time, stirring all the time until the liquid is thick and smooth. Let the sauce boil up once, stirring it constantly; then put back again, and add the remainder of the butter, cut in pieces, and also the salt and pepper. When carefully made this sauce will be like cream; but if it is not entirely smooth, strain it before using. Drawn-butter sauce is sometimes preferred slightly acid, in which case a few drops of strong vinegar or of lemon juice are added just before serving.