small faggot of savoury herbs, salt to taste; 3 or 4 mushrooms, when
obtainable; 2 pints of white stock, 1 pint of cream, 1 tablespoonful of
arrowroot.
_Mode_.--Put the stock into a stewpan, with the parsley, cloves,
bay-leaf, herbs, and mushrooms; add a seasoning of salt, but no pepper,
as that would give the sauce a dusty appearance, and should be avoided.
When it has boiled long enough to extract the flavour of the herbs,
etc., strain it, and boil it up quickly again, until it is nearly
half-reduced. Now mix the arrowroot smoothly with the cream, and let it
simmer very gently for 5 minutes over a slow fire; pour to it the
reduced stock, and continue to simmer slowly for 10 minutes, if the
sauce be thick. If, on the contrary, it be too thin, it must be stirred
over a sharp fire till it thickens. This is the foundation of many kinds
of sauces, especially white sauces. Always make it thick, as you can
easily thin it with cream, milk, or white stock.
_Time_.--Altogether, 2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. per pint.
[Illustration: THE CLOVE.]
THE CLOVE.--The clove-tree is a native of the Molucca Islands,
particularly Amboyna, and attains the height of a laurel-tree,
and no verdure is ever seen under it. From the extremities of
the branches quantities of flowers grow, first white; then they
become green, and next red and hard, when they have arrived at
their clove state. When they become dry, they assume a yellowish
hue, which subsequently changes into a dark brown. As an
aromatic, the clove is highly stimulating, and yields an
abundance of oil. There are several varieties of the clove; the
best is called the _royal clove_, which is scarce, and which is
blacker and smaller than the other kinds. It is a curious fact,
that the flowers, when fully developed, are quite inodorous, and
that the real fruit is not in the least aromatic. The form is
that of a nail, having a globular head, formed of the four
petals of the corolla, and four leaves of the calyx not
expanded, with a nearly cylindrical germen, scarcely an inch in
length, situate below.
BECHAMEL MAIGRE, or WITHOUT MEAT.