PUNGENT SAUCE (Sauce Pkutante)

Put into a saucepan a half-pint of vinegar, a branch of thyme, two or three sprigs of sweet marjoram, a leaf of laurel, a clove of garlic, a shalot or a little onion, and Cayenne pepper and salt to your taste. Add a glass of broth or gravy. Stew the whole slowly till it is reduced to two thirds of the original quantity: then strain it.