The Twentieth Century: Charles Ranhofer’s Bread Sauce Recipe

Charles Ranhofer’s Bread Sauce Recipe from the Epicurean (1893)

American.—Put into a saucepan one ounce of butter with one ounce of finely chopped onions, fry them lightly without coloring and moisten with a pint of boiling milk, add two ounces of bread-crumbs, salt, cayenne pepper and cloves, and when just ready to serve, add a little cream to finish.

English.—Is made exactly the same way, only replacing the fried onions by a raw onion cut in four, and whole peppers instead of cayenne. [Presumably these are strained out before serving. –Ed.]

French.—Chop up a shallot and a quarter of a clove of garlic, putting them in a saucepan with two gills of white wine; let simmer and reduce, adding two tablespoonfuls of very fine bread-crumbs, a little fresh butter, a dash of mignonette [pepper] and grated nutmeg and two gills of broth, let reduce to half, then squeeze in some lemon juice and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

Fried German.—Melt and heat gradually a half a pound of butter so as to obtain a hazel-nut butter, incorporate into it three ounces of white bread-crumbs, cook it over a slow fire for a few minutes without ceasing to stir, salt it lightly and take off the fire to pour into a hot sauce boat.