Sauces may be a little more trouble to add to a cooked meal, but they can certainly enliven a plain dish. Although we can buy ready-made or powdered packets of sauces at the grocery store, they can easily be made at home once you get the hang of it. It will not only be cheaper, but you can flavor it any way you want.

INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

RECIPES FOR WHITE SAUCE
Three white sauces are commonly used for different purposes, and in each one of them milk is the basis.

These sauces differ from one another in thickness, and include:
~ thin white sauce, used for cream toast and soups
~ medium white sauce, used for dressing vegetables and flavored to accompany meats, patties, or croquettes
~ thick white sauce, used to mix with the materials used for croquettes in order to hold them together.

To insure the best results, the proportion of flour and liquid should be learned for each kind, and to avoid the formation of lumps, the proper method of mixing should be carefully followed out. A white sauce properly made is perfectly smooth, and since only little care is needed to produce such a result, it is inexcusable to serve a lumpy sauce.

It will be easy to remember the proportions for these three sauces if it is observed that each one doubles the previous one in the quantity of flour used, the thin one having one tablespoon to one cup of milk, the medium one two tablespoons to one cup of milk, and the thick one four tablespoonfuls to one cup of milk.

Thin White Sauce ~ One cup milk, one tablespoon butter, one tablespoon flour, and one-half teaspoon salt.

Medium White Sauce ~ One cup milk, two tablespoons butter, two tablespoons flour, and one-half teaspoon salt.

Thick White Sauce ~ One cup milk, two tablespoons butter, one-fourth cup (four tablespoons) flour, and one-half teaspoon salt.

To produce these sauces, the ingredients may be combined in three different ways, each of which has its advantages. These methods should be carefully observed, for they apply not only to the making of this particular sauce, but to the combining of fat, starch, and liquid in any sauce.

METHOD
Heat the milk, being careful that it does not scorch. Brown the butter slightly in a sauce-pan, add the flour and salt, and stir the mixture until it is perfectly smooth and has a deep cream color. Then add the hot milk gradually, stirring to prevent the formation of lumps. Cook five minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the sauce from scorching. Sauce made according to this method does not require long cooking because the flour added to the hot fat cooks quickly. In fact, it is a very desirable method, for the browned butter and the flour lend flavor to the sauce. Many otherwise unattractive or rather tasteless foods can be made much more appetizing by the addition of white sauce made in this way.

EGG SAUCE FOR BOILED FISH
To a pint or two cups of white sauce, add three hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or small dice, and, if liked, a teaspoon of chopped parsley.

WHITE SAUCE FOR FISH
Make a white sauce, using with the milk two tablespoons of the water in which the fish is boiled. Boil in the water with the fish five cloves, three bay-leaves, one onion, eight peppercorns, and two tablespoons of salt. This will give flavor to the fish and to the sauce.

CAPER SAUCE (BOILED MUTTON)
Add to two cups of white sauce four tablespoons of capers. 

OYSTER SAUCE (BOILED FISH OR FOWLS)
Scald the oysters in their own liquor until the edges curl. Make a white sauce using oyster-liquor instead of milk, or use half milk and half oyster-liquor. Add the oysters just before serving. One dozen oysters are enough for one pint of sauce.

LOBSTER SAUCE
Chop the meat of a lobster into coarse pieces. Add it to a pint of white sauce. Add also a little of the coral (which has been dried and pounded to a powder), and a little paprika.

POULETTE SAUCE (FOR CHICKEN-BREASTS, SWEETBREADS, AND OTHER ENTRÉES)
Take a pint of white sauce made with chicken or veal stock instead of milk. Beat four yolks with a cup of cream. Remove the sauce from the fire and add it slowly to the eggs and cream, stirring all the time. Put it again on the fire a moment to thicken, but do not let it boil or it will curdle. Add one tablespoon of butter slowly, a small piece at a time, the juice of one-half lemon, one tablespoon chopped parsley, and a dash of nutmeg. Serve at once. Do not put the sauce together until it is time to serve, as it is likely to curdle after the eggs and lemon-juice are in. Stir constantly, and for a moment after removing from the fire.

*sweetbreads – an organ meat from the thymus gland or pancreas, usually from veal and lamb.

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