German Sauce
Ingredients.
Yolks of two Eggs.
One wineglassful of Sherry.
One dessertspoonful of Castor Sugar.
Put the yolks of eggs into a stewpan with the sherry and sugar. Whisk this over the fire until it comes to a thick froth, taking care that it does not curdle.
Sauce Hollandaise (No. 1).
Ingredients, One gill of Béchamel.
One ounce of Butter.
Yolks of three Eggs.
The juice of half a Lemon.
This is a sabayon in all but name: yolks, fortified wine and sugar whisked over heat until they hold a foam. The whole thing succeeds or fails on heat control.
- The hinge: gentle, indirect heatThe hinge: gentle, indirect heat. "Over the fire" here need not mean a direct flame — the side of the range or a bain-marie would serve. Set the pan over barely simmering water and whisk without stopping; yolks thinned with wine and sugar will curdle somewhere in the region of 160-180F, and once they curdle nothing will bring them back.
- A wineglassfulRoughly 2 fl oz (60 ml) in this period, though wineglasses were not standardised. With two yolks that gives a loose, pourable foam; use a little less if you want it to hold its shape on a spoon.
- DessertspoonfulBetween a teaspoon and a tablespoon, about 2 teaspoons. The sauce is meant to be lightly sweet rather than syrupy, so err low and taste.
- Castor sugarSuperfine or caster sugar. It matters here because the sauce is never boiled and coarse granules will not fully dissolve in the short whisking time.
- SherryA medium or oloroso sherry suits it better than a bone-dry fino, which can read thin against the yolks. Marsala or Madeira are the usual substitutes.
- When it is doneThree to five minutes of hard whisking. The sauce should at least double in volume, turn pale, and leave a trail from the whisk that holds for a second or two.
- Yield and servingTwo yolks make enough for two to three portions. Serve it warm and at once, poured over a steamed or boiled pudding, stewed fruit or a plain sponge; it will slacken and weep if it stands.
- The trailing linesThe béchamel, butter, yolks and lemon at the end of this page are the ingredient list for the Sauce Hollandaise that follows in the book, not part of the German Sauce.
"German sauce" is one English kitchen name for a wine-and-yolk foam whipped over heat, close kin to the Italian zabaglione — with no flour, butter or cream to hold it together. Confusion is built into the label: nineteenth-century menus also used allemande for a savoury vel"vel"out he the the ingredient list tells you which of the two you are looking at. Its place in a chapter of sauces beside Hollandaise is suggestive: both depend on yolks whisked over gentle heat, and a cook who had mastered the technique on one could turn out the other. The instruction to take care it does not curdle is the whole of the skill.