Chocolate Sauce

An ingredient list rather than a method, which was common in books that assumed the cook already knew what to do with melted chocolate. The quantities are workable; the proportions are worth reading carefully before you begin.

• "5 squares grated chocolate"A square generally meant one ounce of baking chocolate, the size the common brands were sold in, so five squares is about 5 oz. The recipe does not say whether it is sweetened or unsweetened; the cup of sugar suggests it is unsweetened.
• A gillHalf a cup, as the original helpfully notes. Older gills varied regionally, but American cookbooks of this period consistently mean 4 fl oz.
• Half a pound of sugarGranulated sugar runs about 7 oz to the cup, so "1/2 lb. (1 cup)" is a rounded equivalence rather than an exact one. Weigh 8 oz if you want the sauce the author intended; a level cup gives a slightly less sweet result.
• The missing methodCombine chocolate, milk and sugar over low heat or in a double boiler and stir until smooth, then take it off the heat before the vanilla goes in, since the extract's aroma is volatile and driven off by boiling.
• Watch for seizingFive ounces of chocolate to half a cup of milk is a stiff ratio, closer to a thick fudge sauce than a pouring sauce. If it tightens into a paste, loosen it with warm milk a spoonful at a time rather than raising the heat.
• YieldRoughly a cup and a half of finished sauce, depending on how much it reduces; enough for several servings over ice cream, steamed pudding or plain cake. It thickens considerably as it cools and reheats gently with a splash of milk.