beat up with the yelk of an egg (this must not be put
in till the sauce is done). Some barbarous cooks add pepper, or mace,
the juice or peel of a lemon, horseradish, essence of anchovy, Cayenne,
&c.: plain sauces are only to taste of the ingredient from which they
derive their name.

_Obs._--It will very much heighten the flavour of this sauce to pound
the soft part of half a dozen (unboiled) oysters; rub it through a
hair-sieve, and then stir it into the sauce: this essence of oyster (and
for some palates a few grains of Cayenne) is the only addition we
recommend. See No. 441.

_Preserved Oysters._[234-*]--(No. 280.)

Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them except in dividing the
gristle which attaches the shells; put them into a mortar, and when you
have got as many as you can conveniently pound at once, add about two
drachms of salt to a dozen oysters; pound them, and rub them through
the back of a hair-sieve, and put them into a mortar again, with as
much flour (which has been previously thoroughly dried) as will make
them into a paste; roll it out several times, and, lastly, flour it, and
roll it out the thickness of a half-crown, and divide it into pieces
about an inch square; lay them in a Dutch oven, where they will dry so
gently as not to get burnt: turn them every half hour, and when they
begin to dry, crumble them; they will take about four hours to dry; then
pound them fine, sift them, and put them into bottles, and seal them
over.

N.B. Three dozen of natives required 7-1/2 ounces of dried flour to make
them into a paste, which then weighed 11 ounces; when dried and
powdered, 6-1/4 ounces.

To make half a pint of sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stew-pan
with three drachms of oyster powder, and six table-spoonfuls of milk;
set it on a slow fire; stir it till it boils, and season it with salt.

This powder, if made with plump, juicy natives, will abound with the
flavour of the fish; and if closely corked, and kept in a dry place,
will remain good for some time.

_Obs._--This extract is a welcome succedaneum while oysters are out of
season, and in such inland parts as seldom have any, is a valuable
addition to the list of fish sauces: it is equally good with boiled
fowl, or rump steak, and sprinkled on bread and butter makes a very good
sandwich, and is especially worthy the notice of country housekeepers,
and as a store sauce for the army and navy. See Anchovy Powder, No. 435.