Chapter 10

To make cider that will keep sweet for a length of time, requires particular attention to all the points. All the works and utensils in use must be perfectly clean, so that nothing acid shall come in contact with the pulp or liquor while pressing. The casks should be cleaned in the following manner:

After washing each barrel clean, put in a lump of unslaked lime, and pour in a gallon of boiling water; bung it up, and roll the barrel several times a day, letting it lay with the bung down; in the evening, empty out the lime-water, and wash the barrel clean in several waters; after the water is drained out, burn a brimstone match in it, made of a piece of coarse muslin one inch broad, and four long, dipped in melted brimstone; light one end of the match, and put it in; put the bung on slightly, so as to hold the other end, and allow air sufficient to make it burn; when the rag has burned out, drive in the bung to keep in the sulphuric gas, which, if allowed time, will condense on the sides.

The apples should be kept under cover, and secured from rain. After they have laid to mellow for two or three weeks, select those that are sound; break off the stems and leaves; have the trough perfectly clean, and after they are ground, keep them from the sun and rain for twenty-four hours; then press them, and fill into the casks; the first running is always the best; each cask that is filled should be numbered, so as to know the quality; and after they are all filled, draw off and mix them, the weak with the strong; keep the casks filled up with cider while they are fermenting; when the fermentation is subsiding, there will be a thin white scum rise slowly: when this is all off, lay on the bung lightly; rack it off in a few days in barrels, in which brimstone has been used, and bung it tight; rack it off again in March, and keep the bungs in tight.

To Make Vinegar.

You may always have good vinegar for pickling, and other purposes, by taking a little pains. Get a tight whiskey barrel, if it is clean you need not rinse it, and put into it ten gallons of the best vinegar you can procure, with one quart of whiskey and one quart of molasses; every day for a week, add a gallon of good cider that has not been watered, and shake the barrel each time; let it stand in this state two weeks, shaking the barrel frequently. After this, you may put in a gallon of cider occasionally, with any that has been left at table, or the settlings of decanters or bottles that have had wine in, but do not put in any water. It will make much sooner in the garret or a warm place, but if the barrel is fixed early in the summer, you will have plenty to pickle with in the fall; taste it so as not to add cider too fast. Have a phial with a string attached to it that you can put in at the bung. You should have a barrel of good hard cider before you begin to make vinegar. If you are in want of vinegar, fill a jug from the barrel, and set it in the hot sun, where it will turn sour much quicker. It is a good plan to keep a jug in a closet, where you can empty all the slops of cider and wine; and when you get it full, empty it in the barrel.

After the pickling is done, you can put as much hard cider in the barrel, a gallon at a time, as you have taken out, with a little molasses, and half a pint of whiskey; if you put too much of the latter it will prevent it from getting sour, but a little gives strength to the cider, and the molasses increases the acidity, and helps to color it. If you should have any juice of cherries, currants, or blackberries, put it in, or if you can get cheap sour raisins, they will be an improvement to the flavor of the vinegar; a tea-cup of burnt sugar will give it a good color.

Vinegar made in this way will keep pickles good for several years. If the cider has not sufficient strength it will take longer to make.

To Pickle Mangoes.

Pick your musk-melons at a proper age, before they get too hard; make a slit in the sides and take out the seeds with a tea-spoon; boil a pickle of ground alum salt, that will bear an egg, and let the melons lay in this a week; then make a new pickle, and let them lay in it another week; then wash them, and scald them in weak vinegar, or sour cider, with cabbage leaves around the kettle; put them in a jar, and put the vinegar and leaves in with them; leave them two days, then wipe them carefully, and to two dozen mangoes, have an ounce of mace, one of cloves, some nasturtions, small onions, scraped horse-radish, and mustard seed sufficient to fill them; fill up the inside of each one, and tie them round with strings. Put them in your kettle with strong vinegar, and let them scald a few minutes; then put them in a wide-mouthed jar, and pour the vinegar over; have them covered close, and they will keep good for several years. Large green tomatoes make good mangoes, previously salted and drained, when fill them as other mangoes.

For Pickling Mangoes with Oil and Vinegar.

Cut a square piece out to remove the inside; lay them in salt and water nine or ten days, and afterwards green them as any other pickle. For stuffing, take two ounces of garlic, dried and pulverized, two ounces of horse-radish, prepared as the garlic, two ounces of nutmegs, two ounces of cloves, two ounces of mace, two ounces of whole mustard seed. When the mangoes are large, put a small cucumber, and two beans in each. Wipe each mango perfectly dry before the stuffing is put in; sew each up, and tie twine around it; then put them in a pot, and pour the pot two-thirds full of sharp vinegar; pour sweet oil on the top till covered. The ingredients must be mixed with sweet oil. The spices, &c. mentioned, are sufficient for a dozen mangoes.

Cucumbers.

Gather the cucumbers while they are small, lay them in a jar with salt enough to make a pickle; pour in a little water, and if there is not salt enough to cover them, in a few days put in more. At the end of two weeks put them in a kettle, with cabbage leaves around and through them; fill it up with weak vinegar, and let them scald three hours; put all in a jar for three days, then take out the cucumbers, pour out the vinegar and leaves; put them back in the jar, with some cloves, peppers, horse-radish and mustard; boil some strong vinegar and pour over them.

Small Cucumbers.

Wash small cucumbers from two to four inches long; put a gallon of very strong vinegar in a large jar, with mustard seed, scraped horse-radish, and celery seed, a small portion of each, and a tea-cupful of salt; put the cucumbers in the jar; tie them close. Martina's may be pickled in the same way, or in the old way of pickling cucumbers.

To Pickle Cherries or Peaches.

If peaches, wipe them well with a coarse towel; if cherries, cut the stems half off, but do not stone them; put them in jars, and to every half gallon of vinegar it takes to cover them, put a pound of sugar, and cloves and cinnamon to taste; boil and skim it well, and when nearly cool pour it over the fruit; for three successive days pour off the vinegar, and boil and pour it on again.

Peaches.

Pick out sound clingstone peaches; lay them in salt and water for a day, then wipe them on a coarse cloth: boil up some strong vinegar, with a little ginger, whole pepper and mustard seed; put the peaches in a jar and pour this over.

White Walnuts.

Take full grown white walnuts, or butter-nuts, before the shells get so hard that a pin will not run through easily; put them in a jar; boil a pickle of ground alum salt that will bear an egg, skim it, and when it gets cold; pour it on the walnuts; let them lay in this ten days; then make another pickle as strong as the first, and leave them in it ten days longer; then scrape each one carefully, until you get all the rough skin off, wipe them with a very coarse cloth, and let them soak in cold water two days; boil them in weak vinegar, and let them lay in this a week; boil enough good vinegar to cover them; mix together scraped horse-radish, mustard seed, cloves, red pepper, onions and garlic; put a layer of the walnuts in a jar, and sprinkle the spice over; pour the boiling vinegar over the top.

English Walnuts.

Gather them when nearly full grown, but not too hard; pour boiling salt and water on them; let them be covered with it nine days, changing it every third day; then take them out on dishes, and put them in the sun to blacken, turning them over; then put them in a jar and strew over them pepper, cloves, garlic, mustard seed and scraped horse-radish; cover them with cold strong vinegar and tie them up.

Black Walnuts.

Gather the walnuts while you can run a pin through them; boil them in an iron pot three hours, to soften the shell; put them in a tub of cold water, hull and wash them, and put them in your jars; pour salt and water over them, and change it every day for a week; at the end of that time scald them in weak vinegar; let them stand in this three days, then pour it off, and for half a bushel of hulled walnuts, have quarter of a pound of cloves, a tea-cup of mustard seed, two spoonsful of black pepper, a pint of scraped horse-radish, two pods of red pepper, some sliced onions and garlic; put these in the jars with the walnuts, and fill them up with strong cold vinegar.

Pickled walnuts will keep for six or seven years, and are as good at the last as the first.

Virginia Yellow Pickles.

To two gallons of vinegar, put one pound of ginger, quarter of a pound of black pepper, two ounces of red pepper, two of cloves, a tea-cup of celery seed, a pint of horse-radish, a pint of mustard seed, a few onions or garlic, and three ounces of turmeric to turn them yellow. The above ingredients should be mixed together in a jar, and set in the sun by the first of July, tied up close, with a block over each jar to keep out the rain. Put whatever you intend to pickle in salt and water for two or three days; then pour boiling salt and water on them; wash them and drop them in the jars of vinegar.

You can pickle any thing in this way but walnuts. The same pickle, by adding more vinegar to it, will do for two years; if the jars are set by a fire, a much less time will do to take the strength out of the spices; the turmeric should be tied up in a bag.

Tomatoes.

Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; lay them on dishes, and strew salt thickly over them; let them stand for twenty-four hours, occasionally pouring off the liquor that the salt extracts; then drain them on a sifter, and gently squeeze them, as it is this juice that weakens the vinegar and makes the pickles spoil; take a large jar, put in a layer of tomatoes, then a layer of sliced onions, mustard seed, cloves and white pepper, or whole black pepper; (you may if you like, break two pods of red pepper and put in each jar.) When the jar is full, pour very strong vinegar over, and in a few days they will be ready for use, and will keep all winter. They retain much of the tomato flavor, and should be kept in a cool place.

Another Way.

Take small round tomatoes when they are not too ripe; stick them with a needle in several places, to keep the skin from bursting, and let them lay a week in salt and water; then wash them and put them in a jar with some cloves, pepper and small onions; cover them with strong cold vinegar, and tie up the jar.

Pepper Mangoes.

Take fully grown green peppers, cut a slit in the side of each and take out the seeds; make a strong brine and lay them in it for three days; then soak them in clear water a day and night; pack them in a jar, and pour boiling vinegar over them with a piece of alum; let them stay in this three days, when boil the vinegar again, and pour over them; when they are green, stuff them with chopped cabbage, mustard seed, cloves, horse-radish, pepper, and a small onion in each; tie them up, put them in a jar; boil fresh vinegar and pour over.

Observe always to have the kettle you boil vinegar in well cleaned; never put pickles in common earthen-ware, as the glazing is poisonous.

Onions.

Peel small white onions and pour boiling milk and water over them; when cold, put them in a jar, and make a pickle of strong vinegar, a little mace, ginger, white mustard seed, and horse-radish; boil it and pour over them.

If you want them to be white, do not put in black pepper or cloves.

Mushrooms.

Take the small round mushrooms that are pale pink underneath, with white tops, and peel easily; put them in a jar with a little mace, white mustard seed and salt; cover them with cold vinegar, and tie them close. If you put in black pepper or cloves, it will turn them dark.

Nasturtions.

Have some strong vinegar in a jar with a little salt, and as you gather the nasturtions, put them in, and keep the jar tied close.

Cherries.

Take sound morel cherries with the stems on, and put them in a jar; boil spices in strong vinegar, and pour over them hot. Damsons may be done in the same way. A little sugar improves the pickle.

Cabbage.

Take firm heads of purple cabbage, quarter them, sprinkle them with salt, and let them lay three or four days, when shave them fine, drain off the salt and put them in a jar, boil enough vinegar to cover them, with horse radish, pepper and cloves, when nearly cold pour it on the cabbage, and put in a little cochineal tied up in a bag, it will he fit for use in a week.

Another Way.

Cut hard cabbage fine as for slaw, sprinkle salt through it, and let it lay under a moderate pressure for twelve hours, then drain well through a colander, slice a dozen raw onions, have a large jar in readiness, put in a layer of cabbage, strew in some of the onions, a few cloves, a tea-cupful of mustard seed, some whole black pepper, cut six half ripe red pepper pods, and sprinkle in; add a little more salt, boil vinegar and pour on sufficient to cover the mixture.

Cut Cucumbers.

Slice large cucumbers lengthwise--do not pare them--then cut them half an inch thick; if you have small ones, slice them across, put them in a large jar, and sprinkle them well with salt, after standing a day or two, pour off the liquid the salt has extracted, drain them, and wash the jar, and put the cucumbers in alternately, with sliced onions, mustard seed, white pepper, whole black pepper and a few cloves, pour over them strong vinegar, and tie close, keep them in a cool place, but do not allow them to freeze in severe weather, as freezing spoils the flavor of pickles. When pickles do not keep well, pour off the vinegar, and put more on, but if the vinegar is of the best quality, there is little fear of this. Putting alcohol on over paper, will prevent their moulding.

Cucumber Catsup.

Take full grown cucumbers, pare them, and cut out the lines of white pith, which are on three sides; cut them in slices about half an inch thick; to six cucumbers, put one onion, sliced fine; then sprinkle them with salt, placing the fruit in layers, with salt between;--next morning, press the liquor from them; put them in _small jars,_ and fill up with strong vinegar, seasoned with pepper, mustard seed, and salt, if necessary. The small jars are recommended--as the cucumbers do not keep well after they have been exposed to the air.

Tomato Catsup.

Take a peck of ripe tomatoes, wash and cut out the stems, but do not peel them; put them over the fire in your bell-metal kettle, cover them, and let them boil till soft enough to mash, when pour them in a colander placed over a pan; drain them and throw away the liquid; then mash and strain the tomatoes, a few at a time, through a ball sifter: this is rather a tedious process; but, as the waste liquor has been previously drained off, the catsup will require but about twenty minutes boiling; throw in the spices before you take it up, fine pepper and salt, mustard, and a few whole cloves, and sliced onions, if you like their flavor; allow a tea-cup of strong vinegar to each bottle of catsup; part of which may be put in with the spices, and the rest in each bottle on top of the catsup, before you cork and seal them.

Walnut Catsup.

Gather the walnuts, as for pickling and put them in salt and water for ten days, then pound them in a mortar, and to every dozen walnuts put a quart of strong vinegar, and stir it every day for a week, then strain it through a bag, and to every quart of liquor put a tea-spoonful of pounded mace, the same of cloves, and a few pieces of garlic or onion, boil it twenty minutes, and when cold, bottle it. White or black walnuts are as good for catsup as the English walnut, and will keep good for several years.

Green Tomato Catsup.

After the tomatoes have ceased to ripen, slice and put them in a jar, with salt scattered through them, let them stand two days, then drain them in a colander, put them in the jars they are to remain in, strewing sliced onions, cloves, whole pepper, mustard seed, and one or two red pepper pods through them, boil vinegar enough to cover them and pour over, tie them close and put a plate on each jar.

Mushroom Catsup.

Take the largest mushrooms, those that are beginning to turn dark, cut off the roots, put them in a stone jar, with some salt, mash them and cover the jar, let them stand two days, stirring them several times a day, then strain and boil the liquor, to every quart of which, put a tea-spoonful of whole pepper and the same of cloves, and mustard seed, and a little ginger, when cold, bottle it, leaving room in each bottle for a tea-cupful of strong vinegar, and a table-spoonful of brandy; cork them up and seal them over. Tomato Sauce.

Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; cut them in slices and lay them on a large dish; cover well with salt each layer; the next morning put the tomatoes in a colander or on a sifter, and drain off all the liquid; then mash them with a wooden masher, and to each quart, put a pint of strong vinegar, two table-spoonsful of white mustard seed, a dozen cloves, a dozen grains of black pepper, an onion sliced and chopped, a table-spoonful of salt; if mashed fine you can pour it out of wide-mouthed bottles; put a table-spoonful of spirits in each bottle at the top; cork tight, and seal. If you prefer putting the sauce in small stone jars, put spirits on paper at the top of each. Spiced Peaches.

Take nine pounds of good ripe peaches, rub them with a course towel, and halve them; put four pounds of sugar and a pint of good vinegar in your preserving kettle, with cloves, cinnamon and mace; when the syrup is formed, throw in the peaches, a few at a time, so as to keep them as whole as may be; when clear, take them out and put in more; boil the syrup till quite rich, and then pour it over the peaches. Cherries may be done in the same way. Mushroom Sauce.

Gather large mushrooms, that have not turned dark, peel them and cut off the stems; put them in a pan and strew salt over each layer; when all are in, mash them well; then put them in a jar, put a plate on the top, and set it in a pot of cold water; let it heat gradually, and boil for fifteen or twenty minutes; to each quart of the pulp put three tea-cupsful of strong vinegar, two tea-spoonsful of powdered mace, or one of cloves, two of white mustard seed, one of black pepper; put it in jars or wide-mouthed bottles, with a spoonful of alcohol at the top of each, and secure it from the air. This is by some preferred to the catsup.

TO CURE BACON, BEEF, PORK, SAUSAGE, &c.

To Cure Bacon.

To one thousand weight of pork, put one bushel of fine salt, one pound and a half of saltpetre rolled fine and mixed with the salt; rub this on the meat and pack it away in a tight hogshead; let it lay for six weeks, then hang it up and smoke it with hickory wood, every day for two weeks, and afterwards two or three times a week for a month; then take it down and rub it all over with hickory ashes, which is an effectual remedy against the fly or skipper. When the weather is unusually warm at the time of salting your pork, more care is requisite to preserve it from taint. When it is cut up, if it seems warm, lay it on boards, or on the bare ground, till it is sufficiently cool for salting; examine the meat tubs or casks frequently, and if there is an appearance of mould, strew salt over; if the weather has been very warm after packing, and on examining, you should find evidence of its spoiling, lose no time in unpacking the meat; for a hogshead of hams and shoulders that are in this state, have six pounds of brown sugar, three pounds of salaeratus, mixed with half a bushel of salt; rub each piece with this, and as you pack it in the hogshead, (which should be well washed and cleaned,) sprinkle a little coarse salt over each layer of pork, and also on the bottom of the hogshead. I have known this plan to save a large quantity of pork, that would have been unfit for use, if it had not been discovered and attended to in time. Some persons use crushed charcoal to purify their meat. Shoulders are more easily affected than hams, and if the weather is warm the ribs should be cut out of the shoulders. Jowls also require particular care; black pepper, about a pound to a hogshead, sprinkled on the meat before it is hung up to smoke, is valuable as a preventive where flies are troublesome; have a large pepper-box kept for the purpose, and dust every part that is exposed; pepper is also good to put on beef before it is hung up to dry; wash it off before cooking, and it does not injure the flavor.

To Pickle Pork.

Take out all the ribs, and cut it in pieces of about three pounds each; pack it in a tight barrel, and salt it well with coarse salt; boil a very strong pickle made of coarse salt, and when it is cold pour it over the meat, and put a weight on the top; if you wish pork to keep, do not put saltpetre in, as it injures the flavor.

To Cure Hams and Shoulders.

To cure five hundred weight of hams and shoulders, take fifteen quarts of common salt, one pound and a half of saltpetre rolled fine, half a pound of red pepper pods chopped fine, and four quarts of molasses; mix them all together and rub the meat well, pack it down, cover it close, and let it remain six weeks, then hang it up and smoke it with green hickory wood for three weeks. If there is a damp spell of weather, it is best to make a fire in your meat-house occasionally through the summer, to keep the meat from moulding.

To Make a Pickle for Chines.