Part 9

Cut each of the cucumbers into two equal parts. Extract the pulp, and add to it the mustard seeds, currants, and chopped garlic. Fill the cavities with this mixture, and arrange the cucumbers on their ends in two large earthenware dishes. Put the vinegar into a pan, add the whole peppers, ginger, mace, and salt, and boil for five minutes. Pour over the cucumbers while hot. Reboil the vinegar each day for a week, and pour it over the pickle, but on the last occasion add the mustard and the horseradish. Cover the pickle closely and set aside for a month.

INDIA RELISH

6 green tomatoes 1 red pepper 2 green peppers 2 onions 12 medium sized cucumbers Salt 1 pint (2 cups) vinegar ½ pint (1 cup) water 3 tablespoonfuls sugar 1 teaspoonful cinnamon 1 teaspoonful turmeric 1 saltspoonful cloves 1 saltspoonful allspice 1 pint (2 cups) hot vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls white mustard seeds 2 tablespoonfuls powdered mint

Slice the tomatoes and remove as many of the seeds as possible. Take the seeds also from the peppers and chop them with the onions. Slice the cucumbers into a stoneware jar. Cover them with salt and let them stand for twenty-four hours. Drain, pour the cold vinegar and one cupful of water over them, bring slowly to a scald, and drain again. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, and allspice together with a little cold vinegar. Put the mustard seeds, spices, and vegetables into the hot vinegar and boil for twenty-five minutes, stirring almost constantly. Pour into small jars, lay a nasturtium leaf over the top, and seal.

LEMON PICKLE

12 large lemons ½ cupful salt 8 garlic cloves 1 tablespoonful powdered mace 1 tablespoonful grated nutmeg 1 tablespoonful powdered allspice 1 teaspoonful red pepper 4 heaping tablespoonfuls mustard ½ gallon vinegar

Wash and dry the lemons, and cut each one into eight pieces. Place them in an earthenware pan with the salt, garlic, mace, nutmeg, red pepper, allspice, and mustard; add the vinegar, and bring the pickle gradually to the boil.

Simmer for half an hour, then pour it into a large stoneware jar, and stir it daily for a month, after which time place it in small glass jars and cover securely.

LIME RELISH

12 thin-skinned limes ½ pint (1 cup) vinegar ¼ pint (½ cup) water 12 ozs. (1½ cups) sugar

Wash the limes and soak them in cold water for twenty-four hours, changing the water several times. In the morning put them in an earthenware dish over the fire, cover with cold water, and boil till a straw can penetrate them easily.

Let cool, cut in eighths, and remove the seeds. Put the sugar, vinegar, and water into a casserole, allow it to boil for twenty minutes, then pour it over the limes.

Pour into jars and seal. This is very good with fish or cold meats.

MIXED PICKLES

1 gallon vinegar ¼ lb. bruised ginger ¼ lb. mustard seed ¼ lb. salt 1 oz. black pepper ¼ oz. red pepper ¼ lb. unmixed mustard 2 ozs. turmeric Vegetables in season ¼ oz. mace

Take a large earthenware jar or casserole that will hold two gallons, and put the vinegar into it; add the ginger and mustard seeds. Pound together the salt, peppers, mace, mustard, and turmeric. Make them into a paste by adding a little vinegar, then add it to the vinegar in the jar, taking care to mix it thoroughly.

Cover the jar tightly, and keep it in a warm place for a month, stirring it every day with a wooden spoon. Gather different vegetables as they come in season, and prepare them by cutting them into neat pieces and scalding them in strong brine, which should be boiling hot. The different pieces must be drained and left to get quite dry before putting them into the pickle. When all the vegetables that are wished for are added, put the pickles into earthenware jars or dishes and cover carefully so as to exclude the air.

PICCALILLI

2 heads sound white cabbage 2 heads cauliflower 1 teaspoonful ground ginger 1 teaspoonful white pepper 1 teaspoonful powdered mace Vinegar ½ lb. white mustard seeds 4 green peppers 4 red peppers 4 dozen small cucumbers 3 quarts small green string-beans ¼ peck green tomatoes 1 bunch celery 6 large white onions

Tie the spices in a muslin bag. Chop the vegetables, sprinkle with salt, allow to stand for three hours, then drain and squeeze out. Cover with hot vinegar, add the spice bag, and allow to stand until the next morning. Reheat the vinegar and pour it over the pickle; do this for three days, then keep in an earthenware dish tightly covered.

PICKLED BEETS

7 beets 2 pints (4 cups) vinegar ½ oz. whole ginger ½ oz. whole peppers 1 bay leaf 1 blade mace 12 cloves

Wash the beets carefully, taking care not to break the fibres, or they will bleed and lose their color. Boil them in plenty of boiling salted water for one and a half hours. Take them up, peel and cut them in slices an eighth of an inch thick, and put them into a stoneware jar. Boil one pint of the vinegar with the whole peppers, bay leaf, mace, cloves, ginger, and, when boiled for five minutes, add to it the other pint of cold vinegar. Strain over the beets in the jars; cover when cold.

PICKLED CHERRIES

7 lbs. red cherries 3½ lbs. sugar ½ pint (1 cup) vinegar 1½ ozs. whole cloves 2½ ozs. stick cinnamon

Wipe the cherries, then stone and drain them. Tie the spices in a muslin bag and heat them with the vinegar.

When boiling, pour the vinegar over the cold cherries. Keep draining off and heating for four days.

Then heat all together in a casserole and seal.

PICKLED EGG-PLANT

Egg-plants Lemon Vinegar Sugar Mixed spices

Peel egg-plants into inch thick slices and soak them in salted water for three hours. Drain and place in water, add a little lemon juice, and leave for three hours. Drain and pour over the slices some hot spiced vinegar, allowing one cupful of sugar and one and a half tablespoonfuls of mixed spices to one quart of vinegar.

Place the egg-plant slices in stoneware jars, bring the vinegar to boiling point, and add it. Cover and seal.

PICKLED ONIONS

Small button onions Salt water 1 quart (4 cups) vinegar 2 blades mace 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoonful sugar 1 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful allspices 8 cloves 1 teaspoonful whole peppers

Take the onions, remove the outer skin with the fingers and the second skin with a silver knife, throw them into salt water, allowing them to remain for twenty-four hours. Then put them on the fire in an earthenware pan with fresh salt water and let them come to a boil. Remove from the fire, pour off the water, put the onions into a large stoneware jar, and pour over the hot vinegar, which has been previously scalded, with the spices. When spices are used, they should be put into a small cheesecloth bag and thrown into the vinegar; this obviates the necessity of straining.

PICKLED OYSTERS

200 large oysters ½ pint (1 cup) vinegar 1 pint (2 cups) white wine 4 teaspoonfuls salt 1 teaspoonful white pepper ¼ teaspoonful powdered mace

Strain the liquor from the oysters, add to it the above ingredients, then put into an earthenware jar and allow to boil up. Pour while boiling hot over the oysters, and let them stand for a quarter of an hour; then pour the liquor off and let both oysters and liquor get cold.

Put the oysters into a jar, add the liquor, and cover tightly. They will keep for some time.

PICKLED PEACHES

½ peck peaches ½ pint (1 cup) vinegar ½ pint (1 cup) water 3 pints (6 cups) sugar A few cloves

Do not pare the peaches, but wipe them carefully with a clean cloth. Divide them into three equal parts. The peaches should not be too ripe. Bring the vinegar, the sugar, and water to boiling point in an earthenware dish, then put in one-third of the peaches, and cook for twenty minutes; remove them to a platter, then put in another third of the peaches, till each part has cooked for twenty minutes.

Stick two cloves into each peach, put them into dry jars, cover with the boiling syrup, and seal at once.

PICKLED PLUMS

Plums Salt 1 quart (4 cups) vinegar 1 tablespoonful sugar 1 oz. white ginger 1 oz. allspice 1 oz. cloves 1 oz. whole peppers 1 shallot 6 chillies

Choose young green plums and wipe them well; now put a layer of salt into an earthenware dish, then a layer of the plums, and repeat these layers until the dish is full, being careful to end with the salt. Leave this for four days, then lift out the fruit, drain well, and dry it in the sun, turning it constantly for three days.

Put the vinegar and the spices into a saucepan; bring them to boiling point and simmer for ten minutes; then strain and leave till cold. Pour on the fruit and bottle it.

PICKLED RED CABBAGE

1 large red cabbage Salt 1 teaspoonful red pepper 1 quart (4 cups) vinegar

Bring the vinegar to the boiling point and cool it; stir the red pepper into it. Quarter the cabbage, remove the stalk, pull the leaves apart, and wash it thoroughly.

Cut the leaves into thin shreds, arrange them on an earthenware dish, sprinkle a handful of salt over them, and allow to stand in a cool place for twelve hours.

Drain the cabbage, dry it in a cloth, and pack it in stoneware jars. Fill the jars with the vinegar so that the pickle is well covered, and tie down.

PICKLED WALNUTS

1 peck hulled walnuts Vinegar ¼ lb. cloves 4 tablespoonfuls mustard seeds 2 tablespoonfuls black pepper 1 pint (2 cups) grated horseradish 2 pepper pods 2 sliced onions 1 garlic clove

Gather the walnuts while soft enough to run a pin through them; put them into an earthenware pan, cover them with water, and boil till the hull comes off easily.

Put them into a tub of cold water; hull them, then wash them and put them into jars. Pour moderately strong salt and water over them and let them remain in this for a week, changing the brine once during this time. At the end of this time scald them in weak vinegar, and let them remain in this for four days; then pour it off, cover them with cold vinegar, and add all the seasonings. Keep well covered.

SHALLOT PICKLE

Shallots 1 quart (4 cups) vinegar 1 blade mace 2 cloves 4 allspices A pinch of red pepper 6 whole white peppers 2 saltspoonfuls salt

Put the vinegar and the spices into an earthenware pan and boil them for five minutes. Strain and leave to cool.

Skin and divide up the shallots, place them in perfectly dry pickle jars, fill up the jars with the vinegar.

Cover and leave for two months before using.

TOMATO CHUTNEY

2½ lbs. tomatoes 1 lb. apples 1 large onion 1 pint (2 cups) vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls salt 4 heaping tablespoonfuls (4 ozs.) brown sugar 2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) ground ginger 1 tablespoonful mustard seed

Skin and slice the tomatoes into an earthenware dish, add the apples and onion finely chopped, add the vinegar and salt, and stew until soft; then rub through a sieve, stir in the sugar, ginger, mustard seed, and cook gently for half an hour.

Cover the jar and leave in a warm place for three days; then divide into wide-necked bottles, cork tightly, and store in a cool place.

PRESERVE RECIPES

“_Things sweet to taste_”

APPLE JAM

Apples Sugar Water Lemon

Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then put them into an earthenware pan with enough water to cover and the rind and strained juice of the lemon.

Bring them to the boiling point, stir the whole round, take out the apples, and set them to cool. When cold, put the apples into a thin syrup made of half a pound of sugar to every pound of fruit, and enough water to dissolve the sugar; allow them to boil for ten minutes, keeping it all well skimmed.

Remove the pan and let the whole cool, then set the pan over the fire and let it all simmer carefully until the fruit looks quite clear. When cool, put into jars and cover.

BLACK CURRANT JELLY

Black currants Raspberries Water Sugar

To every four pounds of black currants allow one pound of raspberries. Pluck the roughest of the stalks from the currants, and the stems and the leaves from the raspberries, and put them into a fireproof dish with half a pint of water. Boil them for ten minutes after they have begun to simmer. Then squeeze out all the juice that can be got quite clear and free from specks. Measure it, allow one pound of sugar to each pint of juice, and a pound over if there are more than four pints, half a pound if under that quantity.

Put it on the fire, and stir till the sugar is all melted; then bring it to the boil, and allow it to bubble for ten minutes. Skim it, if necessary, and pot it.

It should be kept in a cool, dry place after being fastened down so as to be air-tight.

CRANBERRY PRESERVE

1 quart cranberries 1 pint (2 cups) water ½ teaspoonful carbonate of soda Sugar

Pick over the berries, put them into an earthenware pot with the water, and cook slowly for one hour, stirring occasionally. Draw the pan to the side of the stove, and add the soda. Stir well, and carefully remove all scum as it rises. Then rub through a sieve, and to every cupful of the purée add one cupful of sugar. Return to the pan and cook gently for half an hour.

Put into jars and seal.

CURRANT BAR-LE-DUC

Red or white currants Sugar

Secure the largest sized currants, red or white, and stem them without breaking. To each pound allow three pounds of sugar. Take some currants and bruise them while warm until a pint of juice is obtained. Put half a cupful of this into an earthenware dish and add the sugar. Bring slowly to boiling point and skim carefully.

After it has been boiling for five minutes drop in one pound of the currants and simmer for four minutes. Lift them out without breaking them, and boil the syrup down for five minutes, or longer if it is not very thick. Skim well and strain over the fruit. Put into little jelly glasses and when cold cover with hot paraffin.

FIG AND RHUBARB JAM

4 lbs. rhubarb 3 lbs. sugar 2 lemons 1 lb. figs ¼ pint (½ cup) water

Wash and dry the rhubarb and figs and cut them into small pieces; put them into an earthenware jar or casserole, add the sugar, the strained lemon juice, and the water. Simmer for forty minutes. Seal in jars.

This excellent preserve keeps well.

GINGER PEARS

10 lbs. pears 1 lb. crystallized ginger 7 lbs. sugar 4 lemons 6 oranges

Peel the pears, cut them into small pieces, put them into an earthenware pan with the sugar, and simmer for one hour. Add the strained orange and lemon juice and the ginger cut into small pieces, and allow to simmer for two and a half hours.

Divide into glasses and cover.

GRAPE CONSERVE

5 lbs. grapes 5 lbs. sugar 1 lb. raisins 1 lb. shelled walnuts 3 juicy oranges

Remove the stems, skins, and seeds from the grapes, then cook the pulp in a casserole till tender and press it through a sieve. Boil the yellow skins of the oranges until tender, then chop fine.

Put them into an earthenware pan with the grape pulp, add the strained orange juice, sugar, raisins, and walnuts. Boil until quite thick; put into glasses and seal.

GREEN-GAGE JAM

Green-gages Lump sugar Water

Stone the green-gages, and add some of the kernels to the fruit. Allow six pounds of lump sugar and one quart of water to every six pounds of green-gages, weighed after stoning. Heat the sugar on a baking sheet in the oven, then add it to the water and allow to boil for eight minutes, then add the fruit, and boil gently in a casserole for three-quarters of an hour.

Pour into glass jars and seal.

LEMON MARMALADE

3 lbs. lemons 2 quarts (8 cups) water 2 oranges Sugar

Wipe the lemons and the oranges carefully. Pare the skin very thinly from the lemons and the oranges, and cut them up into slender chips. Put the chips on to boil in a saucepan, with three cupfuls of the water, allow to cook for forty minutes. Now take all the white part from the lemons and the oranges and cut up all the pulp roughly; put this into a large casserole or earthenware dish with the remainder of the water to cook slowly for one and a quarter hours. Stir it frequently; then strain it through a hot jelly bag without pressure. Add the chips and the liquid to the strained juice. Now measure this liquid, and for each cupful allow one pound of sugar. Return to the casserole, and boil slowly for half an hour.

Put into jars and seal for use.

PRESERVED HUCKLEBERRIES

Huckleberries Sugar Lemons

Wash and drain the huckleberries, then weigh, and to each pound allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar and the strained juice of half a lemon. Sprinkle one-half of the sugar over the berries and stand aside overnight. In the morning drain off the juice into a casserole, add the remaining sugar and the lemon juice, add half a pint of water, stir over the fire till the sugar is dissolved, bring quickly to boiling point, skim, add the berries, and simmer gently until they are tender.

Put into glasses and seal.

PRESERVED CARROTS

5 lbs. carrots Sugar Almonds Lemons Almond extract

Wash, but do not scrape, five pounds of young carrots, boil them till tender in boiling salted water, then drain, peel, and mash to a fine pulp. To every pound of the pulp allow one and a half pounds of sugar, six blanched and shredded almonds, the grated rind and strained juice of two lemons, and half a teaspoonful of almond extract. Put the pulp and sugar into an earthenware pan and cook together for a quarter of an hour; remove from the fire and add the almonds, the lemon juice, and rind. Return to the fire, add the almond extract, and cook for five minutes longer.

When cool, put in jars and seal.

PRUNE MARMALADE

2½ lbs. large prunes 6 large apples ½ lb. (1 cup) sugar 1 lemon 2 tablespoonfuls orange flower water

Wash the prunes and soak them over night in cold water. Steam or stew gently until tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle; then remove the stones. Return to the fire, add the apples, pared, cored, and sliced, sugar, strained lemon juice, and orange flower water.

Cook slowly to a marmalade in a casserole, stirring occasionally that the mixture may be smooth.

Can at once.

PUMPKIN PRESERVE

Pumpkin 1 lb. (2 cups) sugar 2 lemons 1 teaspoonful powdered ginger Water

Peel, slice, and remove the seeds from the pumpkin, then weigh it. For each pound take one pound of sugar. Lay the pumpkin in a large earthenware dish, and sprinkle the sugar between the layers. Moisten the sugar with the strained lemon juice, cover with a cloth, and leave for three days. Place in an earthenware pan, adding half a pint of water for each three pounds of sugar, the ginger, and the grated rind of one lemon. Simmer till quite tender, and turn into a large bowl.

Cover and leave for six days. Lay the slices of pumpkin in dry jars, boil the syrup until it thickens, pour into the jars, and tie down immediately.

QUINCE MARMALADE

Quinces Sugar Cold water

Wipe the quinces with a damp cloth, but do not peel them; cut them in slices and put them into an earthenware pan with enough cold water to float them. Boil them till quite tender and the fruit is reduced to a pulp, then rub through a sieve. Weigh the pulp, and allow three-quarters of a pound of lump sugar to every pound.

Place the whole on the fire and keep it well stirred from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon until reduced to a marmalade. Drop a little on a cold plate; if it jellies, you will know that it is ready. Divide into glass jars while hot; let it stand till cold, then seal.

RASPBERRY JAM

Raspberries Sugar

Take equal quantities of raspberries and sugar. The raspberries must be ripe and dry. Put them into a casserole and then place them in a hot oven; put the sugar on a baking sheet and put it also in a hot oven.

When quite hot and beginning to run, take it out and stir it among the raspberries until all the sugar is dissolved; let the preserve remain in the oven for fifteen minutes, then take it out and pour into jars.

This preserve is excellent both in flavor and color, and will keep for one year.

TOMATO PRESERVE

Tomatoes Sugar Red currant juice

Choose ripe, sound, well-colored tomatoes and rub them through a sieve; put the juice and the purée into an earthenware pan and boil for five minutes, stirring all the time, then let it drain through a napkin stretched out as for jelly straining; weigh all that remains on the napkin, and for each pound of pulp allow one pound of sugar. Put the sugar into a pan with half a pint of water, let it dissolve, and cook it till it reaches 236° F., or the “small ball” (_i. e._, on dipping the finger and thumb first into cold water and then into the syrup, and again into cold water, the sugar from the fingers forms a small ball), keeping it well skimmed; then add the tomato pulp and half a cupful of red currant juice for every pound of the pulp.

Place on the fire and stir continuously till it reaches 220° F.; then let the preserve cook for three minutes more and pot in the usual way.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES

“_Cheerful looks make every dish a feast_”

ASPIC JELLY

1½ ozs. (3 heaping tablespoonfuls) powdered gelatine 1¾ pints (3½ cups) water or stock 4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar 4 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar 1 sprig parsley 2 bay leaves 1 blade mace 4 cloves 12 whole white peppers 1 inch cinnamon stick Rind and juice 1 lemon 1 level teaspoonful salt 1 small carrot 1 small onion 1 small turnip 1 stalk celery 6 drops kitchen bouquet Whites and shells of 2 eggs

Put the gelatine into a clean cold saucepan, add the water or stock, then the vegetables, cleaned and cut into small pieces; add all the other ingredients, and whisk over a gentle heat until boiling. Remove the beater, allow the thick white scum to rise to the top of the pan, draw to one side of the stove, cover, and allow to stand ten minutes. Pour two quarts of boiling water through a jelly bag, then the jelly. Turn the jelly into a wet earthenware mold and use as required when set.

Aspic jelly lends itself to a great variety of useful dishes. It is used in cold entrées where the materials are molded in the jelly, which means that the aspic must be beautifully clear and of firm consistence.

BOILED HOMINY

½ pint (1 cup) hominy grits 2 pints (4 cups) boiling water Salt to taste

Have the water boiling in a fireproof dish, stir into it the hominy, adding salt to taste. Cook slowly for three hours or longer, stirring frequently. If the hominy is soaked overnight, one and a half hours boiling in the morning will suffice.

Cook in the same manner.

CANDIED CRANBERRIES

Cape Cod cranberries Sugar Water

For this recipe use the Cape Cod cranberries, half as much sugar as berries, and half as much water as sugar. Wash and pick over the berries and lay them in a deep casserole; put the sugar on the top like a crust, and the water on the top of that.

Cook very slowly.

When they just come to boiling point, cover for just a few moments—not long or the skins will burst—then uncover and simmer until tender. Take up carefully and spread on oiled plates to dry.

These candied cranberries may be used in place of cherries for decorating cakes or candies.

CHOUX PASTRY

2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter ½ pint (1 cup) water 4 large eggs ¼ teaspoonful salt ¼ lb. (1 cup) flour

Put the butter into a fireproof dish, add the water, bring to the boiling point, quickly add the flour and salt, stir well with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, remove from the fire, allow to cool, but not become cold; add the eggs, beating each one in thoroughly.

Set away in a cool place for one hour.

Put into a forcing bag with a plain tube and force on to a greased baking tin into small rounds; brush over with beaten egg, and bake in a hot oven for half an hour.

When cold, split them open at one side and fill them with whipped cream sweetened and flavored to taste.

The mixture may be forced in small pieces into a pan of smoking hot fat and fried like doughnuts. They should then be sprinkled over with sugar.

CORN-MEAL SOUFFLÉ