Use pastry flour for gravies and sauces.
The sauce should be a little more salt than the food with which it is
to be served.
As a rule, the sauce should be poured around, not over the food.
No positive general rule can be given for thickening, as flour varies
and different kinds of liquid require different proportions. Also the
evaporation of liquids, in different quantities, varies.
About one tablespoon of flour may be calculated for each cup of water;
but for milk, cream or tomato that amount is quite too much.
Do not make sauces too thick. A sauce should not be a paste. The
consistency of medium cream is about right for nearly all; some should
be thinner, and a few slightly thicker.
As they thicken by standing, make sauces thinner at first than required.
A Roux is a mixture of oil or butter, and flour, heated together for
thickening sauces. It is used in the following manner;
Heat the oil, without browning, in a saucepan; add the flour, rub
smooth with wire batter whip, then add liquid, hot, stirring until
smooth. The sauce should come to the boiling point only and be removed
at once from the fire as otherwise the oil will separate.
Adding flour to hot oil cooks it more perfectly than a boiling liquid
and obviates the raw flour taste.
Directions for flavoring, pp. 24-27.
=1 Plain Nut Sauce=
1 tablespn. raw nut butter, 1 pt. water. Mix butter with water, boil ½
hr., add salt with water to make 1½-2 cups; thicken slightly.
Serve with nut and legume dishes, over boiled rice and with some
vegetables. Steamed nut butter may be used instead of raw.
=2 Nut Onion Sauce=
Cook sliced onions with plain sauce.
=3 Nut and Tomato Sauce=
Use ⅓ tomato instead of all water in plain sauce. A little browned
flour sometimes.
=4 Nut Gravy for Roasts=
Cook browned flour, onion, garlic, bayleaf and a very little tomato
with plain sauce. A little sage occasionally.
=5 Nut and Tomato Bisque Sauce=
Thicken nut and tomato bisque, p. 93, slightly.
May use steamed or roasted nut butter, nutmese, or the water from
boiled peanuts with a little lemon juice, for nut sauces.
=6 Simple Brown Sauce=
2 tablespns. oil or melted butter
2 tablespns. flour
1-2 teaspns. browned flour
1 pt. water
salt
Follow directions for making sauce with roux.
=7 Brown Onion Sauce=
Simmer without browning sliced or chopped onion in oil, before adding
flour to brown sauce.
=8 Savory Sauce=
Add a delicate flavoring of leaf sage to brown or brown onion sauce.
=9 Roast Gravy--par excellence=
A little tomato, onion, a trifle of thyme and bay leaf with nut cream
in brown sauce. Simmer, strain.
=10 Consommé Sauce=
Consommé with more browned flour and tomato or onion, thickened. Roux
may be used.
=11 Celery Consommé Sauce=
½ cup finely-sliced celery
2 tablespns. oil or melted butter
2 tablespns. flour
1 pt. consommé
Add celery to hot oil, then flour and hot consommé with more salt if
necessary.
=★ 12 Everybody’s Favorite=
⅔ tablespn. butter
1⅓ tablespn. oil
½-1 clove garlic
1-2 teaspns. browned flour
1½-2 tablespns. white flour
1¾ cup boiling water
¾ cup milk
salt
½ tablespn. chopped parsley
Throw crushed or finely-chopped garlic into oil and proceed as for
sauce with roux, adding parsley last, of course. The sauce is nice
without the parsley. Raw or steamed nut butter may be used.
=13 Almond and Tomato Cream Sauce--starchless=
½ tablespn. almond butter
1 cup strained tomato
½ teaspn. salt
Rub butter smooth with tomato, heat to boiling, add salt and serve.
This sauce heated with stewed okra makes a delightful omelet sauce, or
side dish, or dressing for trumese, toast or rice.
=★ 14 Old Fashioned Milk Gravy=
1 pt. rich milk (part cream)
2-2½ tablespns. browned flour No. 1
Blend the flour with cold water or milk, stir into boiling milk, boil
up and add salt. Or, put 1-1½ tablespn. of oil in a sauce pan; when
just hot add the flour, then hot milk, stir until smooth and add salt.
=★ 15 Sour Cream Gravy=
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespn. flour
½-1 teaspn. browned flour
boiling water
salt
Mix cream and flour, pour boiling water over, stirring constantly, to
make of the desired consistency; boil thoroughly, add salt, serve. The
gravy may be flavored.
=16 Cream or White Sauce=
2 tablespns. oil or melted butter
(or 1 tablespn. solid butter)
1½ tablespn. flour
1 pt. milk
salt
Follow directions for sauce with roux. Or, heat milk, without oil,
in an oiled frying pan, to just boiling; add slowly, stirring, flour
blended with water or milk. Boil up well, remove from fire, add salt.
¼-⅓ cream and ⅔ water may be used instead of milk.
For vegetables the sauce should be thinner. A teaspoonful of sugar
improves the flavor with carrots and turnips.
=★ 17 Tomato Cream Sauce=
Especially suitable for mashed peas or sweet potatoes.
Add ½ cup rich strained tomato and more salt to each pint of cream
sauce.
=18 Cream of Tomato Sauce=
1 pt. strained tomato
1 tablespn. flour
¼ cup cream (½ cup if thin)
1 teaspn. salt
Thicken boiling tomato, add cream, remove from fire, add salt.
Do not add the salt before the cream.
=19 Cream of Tomato Sauce--Sister Howard’s=
1-1½ tablespn. butter
finely-sliced onion
1-1½ tablespn. flour
1 pt. tomato
2-3 tablespns. cream
salt
Simmer onion in butter without browning, add flour, hot tomato, cream
and salt.