The pleasures of the table are greatly increased by a variety of carefully made sauces; and homely dishes are made sightly by their use. While many sauces may seem elaborate and mysterious to the uninitiated they are all quite simple when once understood. They may be, however, divided into two classes - the simple, every-day ones, as brown sauce, cream or white sauce, English drawn butter, sauce Béchamel with a host of others; and the more elaborate sauces, such as mayonnaise, Bearnaise, sauce tartar, and those savory dish sauces which heighten the flavor of fish, flesh and game. These elaborate sauces are not in the least complicated, but require materials and seasonings not usually found in the everyday American kitchen, and, moreover, require the delicate taste and trained hand of an intelligent cook.

The chief causes of failure in even the more simple sauces are the use of inferior materials, and the lack of constant stirring and careful attention while the sauce is heating. Lard or suet cannot be substituted for good, sweet butter; corn starch or coarse flour will not take the place of fine flour. Ingredients must be carefully measured.