Part 17

_Ingredients._—½ pint of milk, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 4 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of boiled rice, 3 tablespoonfuls of currants, sugar to taste, a very little grated nutmeg, hot lard or clarified dripping. _Mode._—Put the milk into a basin with the flour, which should previously be rubbed to a smooth batter with a little cold milk; stir these ingredients together; add the well-whisked eggs, the rice, currants, sugar, and nutmeg. Beat the mixture for a few minutes, and, if not sufficiently thick, add a little more boiled rice; drop it, in small quantities, into a pan of boiling lard or clarified dripping; fry the fritters a nice brown, and, when done, drain them on a piece of blotting-paper, before the fire. Pile them on a white d’oyley, strew over sifted sugar, and serve them very hot. Send a cut lemon to table with them. _Time._—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CURRANT JAM, Black.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit, weighed before being stripped from the stalks, allow; ¾ lb. of loaf sugar, 1 gill of water. _Mode._—Let the fruit be very ripe, and gathered on a dry day. Strip it from the stalks, and put it into a preserving-pan, with a gill of water to each lb. of fruit; boil these together for 10 minutes; then add the sugar, and boil the jam again for 30 minutes, reckoning from the time when the jam simmers equally all over, or longer, should it not appear to set nicely when a little is poured on to a plate. Keep stirring it to prevent it from burning, carefully remove all the scum, and when done, pour it into pots. Let it cool, cover the top of the jam with oiled paper, and the top of the jars with a piece of tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg: this, when cold, forms a hard stiff cover, and perfectly excludes the air. Great attention must be paid to the stirring of this jam, as it is very liable to burn, on account of the thickness of the juice. _Time._—10 minutes to boil the fruit and water; 30 minutes with the sugar, or longer. _Average cost_, from 6_d._ to 8_d._ for a pot capable of holding 1 lb. _Sufficient._—Allow from 6 to 7 quarts of currants to make 1 dozen pots of jam, each pot to hold 1 lb. _Seasonable._—Make this in July.

CURRANT JAM, Red.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. _Mode._—Let the fruit be gathered on a fine day; weigh it, and then strip the currants from the stalks; put them into a preserving-pan with sugar in the above proportion; stir them, and boil them for about ¾ hour. Carefully remove the scum as it rises. Put the jam into pots, and, when cold, cover with oiled papers; over these put a piece of tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg; press the paper round the top of the pot, and, when dry, the covering will be quite hard and air-tight. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour, reckoning from the time the jam boils all over. _Average cost_, for a lb. pot, from 6_d._ to 8_d._ _Sufficient._—Allow from 6 to 7 quarts of currants to make 12 1-lb. pots of jam. _Seasonable._—Make this in July.

CURRANT JELLY, Black.

_Ingredients._—Black currants; to every pint of juice allow ¼ pint of water, 1 lb of loaf sugar. _Mode._—Strip the currants from the stalks, which may be done in an expeditious manner, by holding the bunch in one hand, and passing a small silver fork down the currants: they will then readily fall from the stalks. Put them into a jar, place this jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and simmer them until their juice is extracted; then strain them, and to every pint of juice allow the above proportion of sugar and water; stir these ingredients together cold until the sugar is dissolved; place the preserving-pan on the fire, and boil the jelly for about ½ hour, reckoning from the time it commences to boil all over, and carefully remove the scum as it rises. If the jelly becomes firm when a little is put on a plate, it is done; it should then be put into _small_ pots, and covered the same as the jam in the preceding recipe. If the jelly is wanted very clear, the fruit should not be squeezed dry; but, of course, so much juice will not be obtained. If the fruit is not much squeezed, it may be converted into a jam for immediate eating, by boiling it with a little common sugar: this answers very well for a nursery preserve. _Time._—About ¾ hour to extract the juice; ½ hour to boil the jelly. _Average cost_, from 8_d._ to 10_d._ per ½-lb. pot. _Sufficient._—From 3 pints to 2 quarts of fruit should yield a pint of juice. _Seasonable._—Make this in July.

CURRANT JELLY, Red.

_Ingredients._—Red currants; to every pint of juice allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. _Mode._—Have the fruit gathered in fine weather; pick it from the stalks, put it into a jar, and place this jar in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire, and let it simmer gently until the juice is well drawn from the currants; then strain them through a jelly-bag or fine cloth, and if the jelly is wished very clear, do not squeeze them _too much_, as the skin and pulp from the fruit will be pressed through with the juice, and so make the jelly muddy. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow ¾ lb of loaf sugar; put these into a preserving-pan, set it over the fire, and keep stirring the jelly until it is done, carefully removing every particle of scum as it rises, using a wooden or silver spoon for the purpose, as metal or iron ones would spoil the colour of the jelly. When it has boiled from 20 minutes to ½ hour, put a little of the jelly on a plate, and if firm when cool, it is done. Take it off the fire, pour it into small gallipots, cover each of the pots with an oiled paper, and then with a piece of tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Label the pots, adding the year when the jelly was made, and store it away in a dry place. A jam may be made with the currants, if they are not squeezed too dry, by adding a few fresh raspberries, and boiling all together, with sufficient sugar to sweeten it nicely. As this jam is not worth storing away, but is only for immediate eating, a smaller proportion of sugar than usual will be found enough: it answers very well for children’s puddings, or for a nursery preserve. _Time._—From ¾ to 1 hour to extract the juice; 20 minutes to ½ hour to boil the jelly. _Average cost_, from 8_d._ to 10_d._ per ½-lb. pot. _Sufficient._—8 quarts of currants will make from 10 to 12 pots of jelly. _Seasonable._—Make this in July.

_Note._—Should the above proportion of sugar not be found sufficient for some tastes, add an extra ¼ lb. to every pint of juice, making altogether 1 lb.

CURRANT JELLY, White.

_Ingredients._—White currants; to every pint of juice allow ¾ lb. of good loaf sugar. _Mode._—Pick the currants from the stalks, and put them into a jar; place this jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and simmer until the juice is well drawn from the fruit, which will be in from ¾ to 1 hour. Then strain the currants through a fine cloth or jelly-bag; do not squeeze them too much, or the jelly will not be clear, and put the juice into a very clean preserving-pan, with the sugar. Let this simmer gently over a clear fire until it is firm, and keep stirring and skimming until it is done; then pour it into small pots, cover them, and store away in a dry place. _Time._—¾ hour to draw the juice; ½ hour to boil the jelly. _Average cost_, from 8_d._ to 10_d._ per ½-lb. pot. _Sufficient._—From 3 pints to 2 quarts of fruit should yield 1 pint of juice. _Seasonable_ in July and August.

CURRANT PUDDING, Boiled (Plain and Economical).

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, ½ lb. of suet, ½ lb. of currants, milk. _Mode._—Wash the currants, dry them thoroughly, and pick away any stalks or grit; chop the suet finely; mix all the ingredients together, and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding into a stiff batter; tie it up in a floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for 3½ hours; serve with a cut lemon, cold butter, and sifted sugar. _Time._—3½ hours. _Average cost_, 10_d._ _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CURRANT PUDDING, Black or Red.

_Ingredients._—1 quart of red or black currants, measured with the stalks, ¼ lb. of moist sugar, suet crust or butter crust (_see_ recipes for CRUSTS). _Mode._—Make, with ¾ lb. of flour, either a suet crust or butter crust (the former is usually made); butter a basin, and line it with part of the crust; add the currants, which should be stripped from the stalks, and sprinkle the sugar over them; put the cover of the pudding on; make the edges very secure, that the juice does not escape; tie it down with a floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil from 2½ to 3 hours. Boiled without a basin, allow ½ hour less. We have given rather a large proportion of sugar; but we find fruit puddings are so much more juicy and palatable when _well sweetened_ before they are boiled, besides being more economical. A few raspberries added to red-currant pudding are a very nice addition; about ½ pint would be sufficient for the above quantity of fruit. Fruit puddings are very delicious if, when they are turned out of the basin, the crust is browned with a salamander, or put into a very hot oven for a few minutes to colour it: this makes it crisp on the surface. _Time._—2½ to 3 hours; without a basin, 2 to 2½ hours. _Average cost_, in full season, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ in June, July, and August.

CURRANT AND RASPBERRY TART, Red.

_Ingredients._—1½ pint of picked currants, ½ pint of raspberries, 3 heaped tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, ½ lb of short crust. _Mode._—Strip the currants from the stalks, and put them into a deep pie-dish, with a small cup placed in the midst, bottom upwards; add the raspberries and sugar; place a border of paste round the edge of the dish, cover with crust, ornament the edges, and bake from ½ to ¾ hour; strew some sifted sugar over before being sent to table. This tart is more generally served cold than hot. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour, _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ in June, July, and August.

_Note._—In tarts of this description carefully avoid washing the fruit.

CURRANTS, Iced, for Dessert.

_Ingredients._—¼ pint of water, the whites of 2 eggs, currants, pounded sugar. _Mode._—Select very fine bunches of red or white currants, and well beat the whites of the eggs. Mix these with the water; then take the currants, a bunch at a time, and dip them in; let them drain for a minute or two, and roll them in very fine-pounded sugar. Lay them to dry on paper, when the sugar will crystallize round each currant, and have a very pretty effect. All fresh fruit may be prepared in the same manner; and a mixture of various fruits iced in this manner, and arranged on one dish, looks very well for a summer dessert. _Time._—¼ day to dry the fruit. _Average cost_, 8_d._ for a pint of iced currants. _Seasonable_ in summer.

CURRY.

_Ingredients._—Veal, mutton, fowl, or rabbit; a large onion, butter, brown gravy or stock, a tablespoonful of curry-powder. _Mode._—Let the meat be half fried. Cut the onion into small pieces, and fry it in butter till quite brown; add the meat, with a small quantity of brown gravy or stock, also the curry-powder, and stew all for about 20 minutes. This is for a dry curry; more gravy and curry-powder can be used if preferred. _Time._—20 minutes. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CURRY ST. LEONARDS.

_Ingredients._—Chicken, or any meat; 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of curry-powder, 4 or 5 leaves of mint, a teacup of good gravy, salt, a dessertspoonful of vinegar, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream. _Mode._—Fry together for 10 minutes the butter, curry-powder, and mint; then add the meat _cut into dice_, also the gravy, salt, and vinegar. Let all these simmer for 20 minutes, and then pour over the cream, and serve quite hot. _Time._—30 minutes. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CURRY-POWDER (Founded on Dr. Kitchener’s Recipe).

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of coriander-seed, ¼ lb. of turmeric, 2 oz. of cinnamon-seed, ½ oz. of cayenne, 1 oz. of mustard, 1 oz. of ground ginger, ½ ounce of allspice, 2 oz. of fenugreek seed. _Mode._—Put all the ingredients in a cool oven, where they should remain one night; then pound them in a mortar, rub them through a sieve, and mix thoroughly together; keep the powder in a bottle, from which the air should be completely excluded.

CURRY-POWDER (Capt. White’s Recipe; most excellent).

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of pale turmeric seed, 4 oz. of cumming seed, 8 oz. of coriander seed, 4 oz. of black pepper, 2 oz. of cayenne pepper, 4 oz. of Jamaica ginger, 10 oz. of caraway seed, ¼ oz. of cardamums. _Mode._—Mix together all these ingredients, well pounded, and then place the mixture in the sun, or before the fire, stirring it frequently. _Average cost_, 5_s._ 2_d._

_Note._—This will be found a most excellent curry-powder, if care be taken to purchase the ingredients at a good druggist’s.

CUSTARDS, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, 3 oz. of loaf sugar, 3 laurel-leaves, or the rind of ½ lemon, or a few drops of essence of vanilla, 1 tablespoonful of brandy. _Mode._—Put the milk into a _lined_ saucepan, with the sugar and whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred (the lemon-rind flavours custards most deliciously), and let the milk steep by the side of the fire until it is well flavoured. Bring it to the point of boiling, then strain it into a basin; whisk the eggs well, and, when the milk has cooled a little, stir in the eggs, and _strain_ this mixture into a jug. Place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire; keep stirring the custard _one way_ until it thickens; but on no account allow it to reach the boiling point, as it will instantly curdle and be full of lumps. Take it off the fire, stir in the brandy, and when this is well mixed with the custard, pour it into glasses, which should be rather more than three-parts full; grate a little nutmeg over the top, and the dish is ready for table. To make custards look and eat better, ducks’ eggs should be used, when obtainable; they add very much to the flavour and richness, and so many are not required as of the ordinary eggs, 4 ducks’ eggs to the pint of milk making a delicious custard. When desired extremely rich and good, cream should be substituted for the milk, and double the quantity of eggs used to those mentioned, omitting the whites. _Time._—½ hour to infuse the lemon-rind, about 10 minutes to stir the custard. _Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ to fill 8 custard-glasses. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CUSTARD PUDDING, Baked.

_Ingredients._—1½ pint of milk, the rind of ¼ lemon, ¼ lb. of moist sugar, 4 eggs. _Mode._—Put the milk into a saucepan with the sugar and lemon-rind, and let this infuse for about ½ hour, or until the milk is well flavoured; whisk the eggs, yolks and whites; pour the milk to them, stirring all the while; then have ready a pie-dish, lined at the edge with paste ready baked; strain the custard into the dish, grate a little nutmeg over the top, and bake in a _very slow_ oven for about ½ hour, or rather longer. The flavour of this pudding may be varied by substituting bitter almonds for the lemon-rind; and it may be very much enriched by using half cream and half milk, and doubling the quantity of eggs. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—This pudding is usually served cold with fruit tarts.

CUSTARD PUDDING, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—1 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 4 eggs, flavouring to taste. _Mode._—Flavour the milk by infusing in it a little lemon-rind or cinnamon; whisk the eggs, stir the flour gradually to these, and pour over them the milk, and stir the mixture well. Butter a basin that will exactly hold it; put in the custard, and tie a floured cloth over; plunge it into boiling water, and turn it about for a few minutes, to prevent the flour from settling in one part. Boil it slowly for ½ hour; turn it out of the basin, and serve. The pudding may be garnished with red-currant jelly, and sweet sauce may be sent to table with it. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CUSTARD SAUCE, for Sweet Puddings or Tarts.

_Ingredients._—½ pint of milk, 2 eggs, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 tablespoonful of brandy. _Mode._—Put the milk in a very clean saucepan, and let it boil. Beat the eggs, stir to them the milk and pounded sugar, and put the mixture into a jug. Place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water; keep stirring well until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle. Serve the sauce in a tureen, stir in the brandy, and grate a little nutmeg over the top. This sauce may be made very much nicer by using cream instead of milk; but the above recipe will be found quite good enough for ordinary purposes. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per pint. _Sufficient_, this quantity, for 2 fruit tarts, or 1 pudding.

CUSTARD TARTLETS, or Fanchonnettes.

_Ingredients._—For the custard, 4 eggs, ¾ pint of milk, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of pounded sugar, 3 dessertspoonfuls of flour, flavouring to taste; the whites of 2 eggs, 2 oz. of pounded sugar. _Mode._—Well beat the eggs; stir to them the milk, the butter, which should be beaten to a cream, the sugar, and flour; mix these ingredients well together, put them into a very clean saucepan, and bring them to the simmering point, but do not allow them to boil. Flavour with essence of vanilla, bitter almonds, lemon, grated chocolate, or any flavouring ingredient that may be preferred. Line some round tartlet-pans with good puff-paste; fill them with the custard, and bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes; then take them out of the pans; let them cool, and in the meantime whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; stir into this the pounded sugar, and spread smoothly over the tartlets a little of this mixture. Put them in the oven again to set the icing, but be particular that they do not scorch; when the icing looks crisp, they are done. Arrange them, piled high in the centre, on a white napkin, and garnish the dish, and in between the tartlets, with strips of bright jelly, or very firmly-made preserve. _Time._—20 minutes to bake the tartlets; 5 minutes after being iced. _Average cost_, exclusive of the paste, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ to fill 10 or 12 tartlets, _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—The icing may be omitted on the top of the tartlets, and a spoonful of any kind of preserve put at the bottom of the custard instead: this varies both the flavour and appearance of this dish.

CUTLET, the Invalid’s.

_Ingredients._—1 nice cutlet from a loin or neck of mutton, 2 teacupfuls of water, 1 very small stick of celery, pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Have the cutlet cut from a very nice loin or neck of mutton; take off all the fat; put it into a stewpan, with the other ingredients; stew _very gently_ indeed for nearly 2 hours, and skim off every particle of fat that may rise to the surface from time to time. The celery should be cut into thin slices before it is added to the meat, and care must be taken not to put in too much of this ingredient, or the dish will not be good. If the water is allowed to boil fast, the cutlet will be hard. _Time._—2 hours’ very gentle stewing. _Average cost_, 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1 person. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CUTLETS, Mutton, Italian.

_Ingredients._—About 3 lbs. of the neck of mutton, clarified butter, the yolk of 1 egg, 4 tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 1 teaspoonful of minced shalot, 1 saltspoonful of finely-chopped lemon-peel; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste; flour, ½ pint of hot broth or water, 2 teaspoonfuls of Harvey’s sauce, 1 teaspoonful of soy, 2 teaspoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of port wine. _Mode._—Cut the mutton into nicely-shaped cutlets, flatten them, and trim off some of the fat, dip them in clarified butter, and then into the beaten yolk of an egg. Mix well together bread-crumbs, herbs, parsley, shalot, lemon-peel, and seasoning in the above proportion, and cover the cutlets with these ingredients. Melt some butter in a frying-pan, lay in the cutlets, and fry them a nice brown; take them out, and keep them hot before the fire. Dredge some flour into the pan, and, if there is not sufficient butter, add a little more; stir till it looks brown, then put in the hot broth or water, and the remaining ingredients; give one boil, and pour round the cutlets. If the gravy should not be thick enough, add a little more flour. Mushrooms, when obtainable, are a great improvement to this dish, and when not in season, mushroom-powder may be substituted for them. _Time._—10 minutes; rather longer, should the cutlets be very thick. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

CUTLETS of Cold Mutton.

[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold loin or neck of mutton, 1 egg, bread-crumbs, brown gravy or tomato sauce. _Mode._—Cut the remains of cold loin or neck of mutton into cutlets, trim them, and take away a portion of the fat, should there be too much; dip them in beaten egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and fry them a nice brown in hot dripping. Arrange, them on a dish, and pour round them either a good gravy or hot tomato sauce. _Time._—About 7 minutes. _Seasonable._—Tomatoes to be had most reasonably in September and October.

DAMPFNUDELN, or German Puddings.

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of butter, 5 eggs, 2 small tablespoonfuls of yeast, 2 tablespoonfuls of finely-pounded sugar, milk, a very little salt. _Mode._—Put the flour into a basin, make a hole in the centre, into which put the yeast, and rather more than ¼ pint of warm milk; make this into a batter with the middle of the flour, and let the sponge rise in a warm temperature. When sufficiently risen, mix the eggs, butter, sugar, and salt, with a little more warm milk, and knead the whole well together with the hands, beating the dough until it is perfectly smooth, and it drops from the fingers. Then cover the basin with a cloth, put it in a warm place, and when the dough has nicely risen, knead it into small balls; butter the bottom of a deep sauté-pan, strew over some pounded sugar, and let the dampfnudeln be laid in, but do not let them touch one another; then pour over sufficient milk to cover them, put on the lid, and let them rise to twice their original size by the side of the fire. Now place them in the oven for a few minutes to acquire a nice brown colour, and serve them on a napkin, with custard sauce flavoured with vanilla, or a compôte of any fruit that may be preferred. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour for the sponge to rise; 10 to 15 minutes for the puddings to rise; 10 minutes to bake them in a brisk oven. _Sufficient_ for 10 or 12 dampfnudeln. _Seasonable_ at any time.

DAMSON CHEESE.