In the matter of stock it is, above all, necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the finest materials at one’s disposal. The master or mistress of a house who stints in this respect thereby deliberately forfeits his or her right to make any remark [2] ]whatsoever to the chef concerning his work, for, let the talent or merits of the latter be what they may, they are crippled by insufficient or inferior material. It is just as absurd to exact excellent cooking from a chef whom one provides with defective or scanty goods, as to hope to obtain wine from a bottled decoction of logwood.
The Principal Kinds of Fonds de Cuisine (Foundation Sauces and Stocks)
The principal kinds of fonds de cuisine are:—
1. Ordinary and clarified consommés.
2. The brown stock or “estouffade,” game stocks, the bases of thickened gravies and of brown sauces.
3. White stock, basis of white sauces.
4. Fish stock.
5. The various essences of poultry, game, fish, &c., the complements of small sauces.
6. The various glazes: meat, game, and poultry.
7. The basic sauces: Espagnole, Velouté, Béchamel, Tomato, and Hollandaise.