KITCHEN AND COOKERY 542 the sugar, and, if liked, some flavouring. Pour the custard into the dish, and if the flavour of nutmeg is liked, grate a little over the top. Place the pie-dish in a deep bakmg-tm with hot water to come half-way up the dish. Bake the pudding very slowly until it is set ; if it cooks too quickly it will be full of holes, and there will be a lot of watery Hquid with the custard. If the oven is really slow, the pudding may take an hour to cook. N.B. — If a cheaper pudding is desired, use only two eggs. If liked, a strip of lemon- rind can be cooked in the milk to flavour it. Nutmep will then not be needed. FIG PUDDING Required : Eight ounces of dried figs. Eight ounces of castor sugar. Six ounces of fresh breadcrumbs. Four ounces of butter. Half a gill of milk. Two eggs. Half a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon. A saltspocnful of grated nutmeg. A pinch of salt. Put the butter and sugar in a basin, and beat them with a Avooden spoon until they are soft and white like cream. Beat the eggs slightly, then add them gradually to the butter and sugar, beating them well together. E.xamine the figs carefully, chop them finely, and mix them with the crumbs, salt, and spice. Stir these into the eggs, etc., and lastlv add the milk. Put the mixture in a well-greased mould, twist a piece of greased paper over the top. Place in a saucepan with enough boiling water to come half-way up the mould, and let the pudding steam for three hours. Turn it out carefully, and serve with lemon or wine sauce. BLACK CAP PUDDING Required : Quarter of a pound of flour. Half a pint of milk- One egg. A few currants. A pinch of salt. Sieve the flour and salt into a basin. Beat up the egg, add about two tablespoon- fuls of milk to it ; make a well in the middle of the flour, put in the egg and stir the flour gradually and smoothly, adding more milk until half the milk quantity is used. Then beat this batter well. Add the rest of the milk, and let the batter stand for an hour, or even longer if possible ; it will then be lighter when cooked. Thickly butter som.e small dariole moulds or cups, sprinkle the bottom of each with some cleaned currants, pressing them on to the butter. Pour in enough batter to three-quarter fill the moulds. Place them in a shallow stewpan (unless you have a steamer) with boiling water to come half- way up them. Lay a piece of buttered paper across the top. Put the lid on the pan, and let the puddings steam for one hour. Turn them out carefully on to a hot dish, and serve some marmalade sauce or other sweet sauce with them. THE ABC OF SAUCE^MAIilNQ HThe preparation of sauces is considered to be one of the highest branches of cookery. In their making much discrimination is needed to wisely select and skilfully blend ingredients and flavours in order to develop the characteristic features of any special variety, that it may be pleasing to the palates of those partaking of it. Again, sauces are an accompaniment, or accessory, of fish, meat, game, etc., therefore their flavour must never be too pronounced. Inferior cooks are apt to be over-liberal with store -bottled sauces and wine in order to disguise the tastelessness of the sauce they have concocted. The result is failure, and a sameness about all their sauces which becomes most wearisome and monotonous. CLASSIFICATION OF SAUCES Sauces may be divided into two classes : 1. Hot sauces. 2. Cold sauces. These must again be subdivided into three groups : I. HOT SAUCES (a) Brown sauce- (b) White sauce. (c) Sweet sauce. 2. COLD SAUCES (a) Chaudfroid sauce (6) Salad dressing (c) Sweet sauce There are two principal foundation sauces, from which, with a few exceptions, an almost endless number of varieties can be prepared. These foundation sauces are : Bechamel — a rich white sauce. Espagnole — a rich brown sauce. Plain household sauces have also for their foundation a brown and white sauce, but of a far less rich composition. EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS CLASSES OF SAUCES I. HOT SAUCES (a) Brown :
- Espagnole (foundation sauce).
- Brown (plain foundation sauce).
- Bigarade.
Chasseur.
- Caper.
Curry. Mushroom. Italian. Robert. 5^ . Reform. "' ;. * Piquante.
- Tomato, etc.
(b) White :
- Bechamel (foundation sauce).
- White (plain foundation saucej.
- Bearnaise.
Cucumber. Celery. Mousseline. Supreme.
- xMattre d' Hotel.
Horseradish. Hollandaise.
