White Bechamel Sauce

Put four ounces of flour into a stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter; knead these together smoothly by working them with a wooden spoon; next add an onion, a small carrot, half a head of celery, some parsley, a bay-leaf, and thyme (the vegetables cut thin), a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt; moisten with a pint and a half of milk, stir the sauce over the fire while it boils sharply for twenty minutes; then strain it through a tammy cloth or pointed strainer into a basin afterwards to be immediately removed into a convenient sized covered stewpan or bainmarie, for use.

Note. Allow me here to impress upon your minds how all-important it is that whenever you are stirring a sauce upon the fire, you must bear with some strength and a little tact on the edge of the bowl of the wooden spoon, so as to prevent the sauce from burning at the bottom of the stewpan while it is being reduced; for rest assured that whenever through negligence this occurs, the sauce is spoilt. These remarks apply more especially to such sauces as contain milk or cream.