oiling water; and into this water should be put all the
stewpans containing those ingredients which it is desired to
keep hot. The quantity and quality of the contents of these
vessels are not at all affected; and if the hour of dinner is
uncertain in any establishment, by reason of the nature of the
master's business, nothing is so certain a means of preserving
the flavour of all dishes as the employment of the bain marie.

GREEN SAUCE FOR GREEN GEESE OR DUCKLINGS.

431. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 pint of sorrel-juice, 1 glass of sherry, 1/2 pint
of green gooseberries, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 oz. of fresh
butter.

_Mode_.--Boil the gooseberries in water until they are quite tender;
mash them and press them through a sieve; put the pulp into a saucepan
with the above ingredients; simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, and serve very
hot.

_Time_.--3 or 4 minutes.

_Note_.--We have given this recipe as a sauce for green geese, thinking
that some of our readers might sometimes require it; but, at the
generality of fashionable tables, it is now seldom or never served.

[Illustration: SORREL.]

SORREL.--We gather from the pages of Pliny and Apicius, that
sorrel was cultivated by the Romans in order to give it more
strength and flavour, and that they also partook of it sometimes
stewed with mustard, being seasoned with a little oil and
vinegar. At the present day, English cookery is not much
indebted to this plant (_Rumex Acetosa_), although the French
make use of it to a considerable extent. It is found in most
parts of Great Britain, and also on the continent, growing wild
in the grass meadows, and, in a few gardens, it is cultivated.
The acid of sorrel is very _prononce_, and is what chemists term
a binoxalate of potash; that is, a combination of oxalic acid
with potash.

GENERAL STOCK FOR GRAVIES.

432. Either of the stocks, Nos. 104, 105, or 107, will be found to
answer very well for the basis of many gravies, unless these are wanted
very rich indeed. By the addition of various store sauces, thickening
and flavouring, the stocks here referred to may be converted into very
good gravies. It should be borne in mind, however, that the goodness and
strength of spices, wines, flavourings, &c., evaporate, and that they
lose a great deal of their fragrance, if added to the gravy a long time
before they are wanted. If this point is attended to, a saving of