Part 11

Cut into small pieces, and scrape the rind of cymbelines--put them into strong salt and water--let them remain in it three days, then in fair water a day, changing the water several times--soak them in alum water an hour--tie up oyster shells in a cloth, and boil them with the cymbelines. When the cymbelines are tender, take them up, and put them back into the alum water. Make the syrup for them, allowing a pound and a half of sugar to one of the cymbelines. When clarified, let it get cold--then rinse the cymbelines, and boil them three-quarters of an hour. When partly cooled, put in a little essence of lemon to flavor them. These are good eaten like any other sweetmeats, or used instead of citron for cake.

322. _Watermelon Rinds._

Take the rind of a nice ripe watermelon--cut it into small strips, and boil them, till they begin to grow tender, in water, with saleratus and peach leaves in it, in the proportion of a tea-spoonful of saleratus and a dozen peach leaves to a couple of quarts of water. Take the rinds out of the water, and soak them in alum water an hour. Make a syrup, allowing the same weight of sugar as rinds. When clarified and cooled, rinse the rinds, and put them in the syrup, together with powdered ginger, tied up in a small bag. Boil them till they are quite soft--when partly cooled, add a little essence of lemon. Turn the syrup from them in the course of two or three days, take out the bags of ginger, and boil the syrup till there is just sufficient of it to cover the rinds, and turn it on them while hot.

323. _Muskmelons._

Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green, and of a quick growth, and as late in the season as possible. If preserved while the weather is very hot, they are apt to ferment. Scrape off the skin of the rind, being careful not to scrape any of the green part. Cut them through the middle, and take out the seeds--then cut them in rings, an inch in thickness. Soak them in salt and water a day, then in fair water three or four hours, changing the water several times. Soak them in alum water an hour--rinse and put them in fair water, with a handful of peach leaves to four or five pounds of the melon, and a table-spoonful of ginger, tied up in small pieces of cloth. The peach leaves turn the melon a fine green color. Boil the melons till they begin to grow tender, then put them in alum water, together with the ginger. Make a syrup of white sugar, and put in the melons and ginger, (which should be previously rinsed.) Boil them in the syrup as long as you can, without their breaking to pieces. In the course of a week turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it on to the melons. Add sufficient essence of lemon to flavor it, just before turning it on to the melons. Keep them covered tight, in a cool place, with a paper wet in brandy on them.

324. _Pine Apples._

Take those that are ripe, and perfectly fresh--pare off the rind, and cut the apples in slices an inch thick. Powder the same weight of white sugar as you have pine apples--lay the pine apples in a deep dish, and sprinkle part of the powdered sugar between each layer of apples. Reserve about half of the sugar. Let the apples remain till the succeeding day--then turn the syrup from them, and mix it with the reserved sugar, and half a pint of water, for three or four pounds of pine apple. Boil the syrup, take it from the fire, and when cool, put in the apples, simmer them gently till tender, let them remain in a deep dish for several days--they should be covered up tight, and kept in a cool place. Whenever there is any appearance of fermentation, turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back hot on to the pine apples. Keep them in glass or china jars, covered tight, and in a cool place.

325. _Pumpkin Chips._

Take what quantity you choose of a good sweet pumpkin, (the butter pumpkin makes the nicest sweetmeats.) Halve the pumpkin, take out the seeds, and cut it into chips of the size of a dollar. For each pound of the pumpkin to be preserved, allow a pound of fine white sugar, and a gill of lemon-juice. Put the chips in a deep dish, and sprinkle on each layer a layer of the sugar. Turn the lemon-juice over the whole. Let it remain a day--then boil the whole together, with half a pint of water to three pounds of the pumpkin, a table-spoonful of powdered ginger, tied up in bags, and the peel of the lemons, cut into small pieces. When the pumpkin becomes tender, turn the whole into a preserve pot. In the course of a week, turn the syrup from the pumpkin, boil it to a rich syrup, and turn it back hot.

326. _Gages._

Allow equal weights of sugar and gages. Make a syrup of white sugar, and just water enough to cover the plums. Boil the plums slowly in the syrup ten minutes--turn them into a dish, and let them remain four or five days, then boil them again, till the syrup appears to have entered the plums. Put them in a china jar, and in the course of a week turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it over them hot.

327. _Strawberries._

Procure Chili or field strawberries, and hull them. Take equal quantities of berries, and powdered white sugar--put a layer of each in a preserving pan, having a layer of strawberries at the bottom. Let them remain an hour, then put in a gill of cold water, to prevent their burning to the bottom of the pan. Set them on a very moderate fire--when the juice runs freely, increase the fire, until they boil briskly. Let them boil half an hour, then turn them into a dish--when lukewarm, put them in wide-mouthed bottles, or small glass jars, cork and seal them tight, and keep them in dry sand.

328. _Raspberry and Blackberry Jam._

For each pound of berries, allow a pound of sugar. Put a layer of each alternately in a preserving dish. Let them remain half an hour--then boil them slowly, stirring them frequently, to keep them from burning. When they have boiled half an hour, take a little up in a cup, and set it in a dish of cold water--if it appears of the consistency of thick jelly, take the whole from the fire--if not, boil it till it becomes so.

329. _Strawberry, Raspberry, and Blackberry Jelly._

Jellies of these fruits are all made in the following manner: Take the berries when ripe, and in their prime, mash them, and let them drain through a flannel bag, without squeezing it. To each pint of juice, put a pound of white sugar, and the beaten white of an egg to three pounds of the sugar. Set it on the fire--when it boils up well, take it from the fire, and skim it clear. Set it back on the fire--if any more scum rises, take it from the fire, and skim it off. Boil it till it becomes a jelly, which is ascertained by taking a little of it up into a tumbler of cold water. If it falls to the bottom in a solid mass, it is sufficiently boiled.

330. _Cranberry, Grape, and Currant Jelly._

They are all made in the same manner. Take the fruit in its prime, wash and drain it till nearly dry, then put it in an earthen jar, or pot, and set the pot in a kettle of hot water. Set the kettle where the water will boil, taking care that none of it gets into the jar. When the fruit breaks, turn it into a flannel bag, and let it drain slowly through, into a deep dish, without squeezing. When the juice has all passed through the bag, put to each pint of it a pound and a half of white sugar. Put to each quart of the syrup the beaten white of an egg. Set the syrup where it will boil gently--as fast as any scum rises, take the syrup from the fire, and skim it clear. When the jelly has boiled fifteen or twenty minutes, try a little of it in a tumbler of cold water--if it sinks to the bottom of the tumbler in a solid lump, it is sufficiently boiled. Jellies are improved by being put in the sun for several days--care must be taken that the dew does not fall on them.

331. _Quince Jelly._

Halve the quinces, and take out the cores. Boil the quinces till very soft, in clear water, mash them, and let them drain through a flannel bag, without squeezing them. Put to the quince liquor, when drained through the bag, white sugar, in the proportion of a pound to a pint of the liquor. Add the whites of eggs, and clarify it. When clear, boil it on a moderate fire, till it becomes a thick jelly. Fill glasses with the jelly, and cover them tight. The quince pulp that remains in the jelly-bag can be made into marmalade.

332. _Apple Jelly._

Halve tart apples, and take out the cores. Boil them till very soft, in a large proportion of water--then let it pass through a jelly-bag, without squeezing them. Weigh the liquor, and to each pint of it put a pound of white sugar--then boil it slowly till it becomes a thick jelly, which is ascertained in the same manner as currant jelly. If you wish to have it of a red tinge, put in, when taken from the fire, a little cranberry or beet-juice. If you wish to have it a straw color, put in a little tincture of saffron. If green, use the expressed juice of spinach leaves. Let it pass through the jelly-bag again--when cool, turn it into glasses.

333. _Lemon Jelly._

Put on a slow fire an ounce of white isinglass, pulled into small pieces, and rinsed, a pint of water, with the rind of six lemons. Stir it constantly till dissolved, then add a pint of lemon-juice, and sweeten it to the taste with nice white sugar. Boil the whole four or five minutes, then color it with tincture of saffron, and let it pass through a flannel bag, without squeezing it. Fill your jelly glasses with it when partly cooled.

334. _Calf's Feet Jelly._

Take four feet, (that have been perfectly cleaned,) and boil them, in four quarts of water, till very soft, and the water is reduced to one quart. Take it from the fire, and let it remain till perfectly cold, then take off all the fat, and scrape off the dregs that adhere to the jelly. Put the jelly in a preserving kettle, set it on a slow fire--when it melts, take it from the fire, and mix with it half a pint of white wine, the juice and grated rind of a couple of fresh lemons, and a stick of cinnamon or mace. Wash and wipe dry six eggs--take the whites of them, and beat them to a froth--stir them into the jelly when it is cool--bruise the shells, and mix them with the jelly, then set it on a few coals. Sweeten it, when hot, to the taste--white sugar is the best, but brown answers very well. Let the whole boil slowly fifteen minutes, without stirring it--suspend a flannel bag on a nail, and let the jelly drain through it, into a deep dish or pitcher. If it is not clear the first time, let it pass through the bag till it becomes so. The bag should not be squeezed, otherwise the jelly will not look clear. When transparent, turn it into glasses, and set the glasses, if the weather is hot, into cold water, and keep them in a cool place. This kind of jelly will keep but a few days, in warm weather. A knuckle of veal, and sheep's feet, make a nice jelly, prepared in the same manner as calf's feet.

335. _Hartshorn Jelly._

Boil four ounces of hartshorn shavings in a couple of quarts of water, till it becomes a thick jelly--then strain and put to it the juice and rind of a couple of lemons, a wine glass of white wine, and a stick of cinnamon. Wash four fresh eggs, wipe them dry, separate the whites from the yelks, beat the whites to a froth, bruise the shells, and mix them with the hartshorn--set the whole on a moderate fire--sweeten it to the taste when hot. Boil it till it becomes quite thick, then let it drain through a jelly-bag till clear.

336. _Coffee._

Old Java and Mocha coffee are the best kinds. Coffee should be put in an iron pot, and dried over a moderate fire for several hours, before it is roasted. It should be put at such a distance from the fire, as to be in no danger of burning. When it has dried three or four hours, set the pot on a hot bed of coals, and stir it constantly, until sufficiently roasted, which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest colored kernels--if it is brittle, the whole is done. Turn it out of the pot immediately, into a box--cover it tight, to keep in the steam. A coffee-roaster is better than a pot to roast coffee in, as it preserves the fine aromatic flavor of the coffee, which in a great measure escapes with the steam of the coffee, when roasted in an open pot. To make good common coffee, allow a table-spoonful of it, when ground, to each pint of water. Turn on the water boiling hot, and boil the coffee in a tin pot, from twenty to twenty-five minutes--if boiled longer, it will not taste fresh and lively. Let it stand, after being taken from the fire, four or five minutes to settle, then turn it off carefully from the grounds, into a coffee-pot or urn. When the coffee is put on the fire to boil, a piece of fish-skin or isinglass, of the size of a nine-pence, should be put in, or else the white and shell of half an egg, to a couple of quarts of coffee. Many persons dislike to clear coffee with fish-skin, thinking that it imparts an unpleasant taste to coffee, but it will not, if properly prepared. The skin should be taken from mild codfish, that has not been soaked, as the skin loses its clearing properties by soaking. Rinse it in cold water, and dry it perfectly. When dried, cut it into pieces of the size of a nine-pence. If torn off, as it is wanted for use, too much is apt to be put in at once, and give the coffee a bad taste. A piece of the size of a twelve and a half cent piece, is sufficient to settle a couple of quarts of water. French coffee is made in a German filter, the water is turned on boiling hot, and one-third more coffee is necessary than when boiled in the common way. Where cream cannot be procured for coffee, the coffee will be much richer to boil it with a less proportion of water than the above rule, and weaken it with boiling hot milk, when served out in cups.

337. _Tea._

Scald the tea-pot, and if the tea is a strong kind, a tea-spoonful for a pint of water is sufficient--if it is a weak kind, more will be required. Pour on just enough boiling water to cover the tea, and let it steep. Green tea should not steep more than five or six minutes before drinking--if steeped longer, it will not be lively. Black tea requires steeping ten or twelve minutes to extract the strength.

338. _Chocolate._

Scrape the chocolate off fine, mix it smooth with water--if liked very rich, make the chocolate entirely of milk--if not, use half water. Boil water and milk together, then stir in the chocolate, previously mixed with water--stir it till it boils, then sweeten it to your taste, and take it up. If liked rich, grate in a little nutmeg. A table-spoonful of chocolate to a pint of water or milk, is about the right proportion.

339. _Hop Beer._

Put to six ounces of hops five quarts of water, and boil them three hours--then strain off the liquor, and put to the hops four quarts more of water, a tea-cup full of ginger, and boil the hops three hours longer. Strain and mix it with the rest of the liquor, and stir in a couple of quarts of molasses. Take about half a pound of bread, and brown it very slowly--when very brown and dry, put it in the liquor, to enrich the beer. Rusked bread is the best for this purpose, but a loaf of bread cut in slices, and toasted till brittle, will do very well. When rusked bread is used, pound it fine, and brown it in a pot, as you would coffee, stirring it constantly. When the hop liquor cools, so as to be just lukewarm, add a pint of new yeast, that has no salt in it. Keep the beer covered in a temperate situation, till it has ceased fermenting, which is ascertained by the subsiding of the froth--turn it off carefully into a beer keg, or bottles. The beer should not be corked very tight, or it will burst the bottles. It should be kept in a cool place.

340. _Beer of Essential Oils._

Mix a couple of quarts of boiling water with a pint and a half of molasses. Stir in five quarts of cold water, then add ten drops of the oil of sassafras, ten of spruce, fifteen of winter-green, and a tea-spoonful of essence of ginger. When just lukewarm, put in half a pint of fresh lively yeast. When fermented, bottle and cork it, and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit to drink in the course of two or three days.

341. _Spring Beer._

Take a small bunch of all, or part of the following: Sweet fern, sarsaparilla, winter-green, sassafras, prince's pine, and spice wood. Boil them with two or three ounces of hops to three or four gallons of water, and two or three raw potatoes, pared and cut in slices. The strength of the roots and hops is obtained more thoroughly by boiling them in two waters--for, when the liquor is strongly saturated with the hops, it will rather bind up the roots than extract their juices. The roots should be boiled five or six hours--the liquor should then be strained, and a quart of molasses put to three gallons of the beer. If you wish to have the beer very rich, brown half a pound of bread, and put it into the liquor. If the liquor is too thick, dilute it with cold water. When just lukewarm, put in a pint of fresh lively yeast, that has no salt in it. The salt has a tendency to keep it from fermenting. Keep it in a temperate situation, covered over, but not so tight as to exclude the air entirely, or it will not work. When fermented, keep it in a tight keg, or bottle and cork it up.

342. _Ginger Beer._

Boil gently, in a gallon of water, three table-spoonsful of cream of tartar, three of ginger, and a lemon cut in slices. When it has boiled half an hour, take it from the fire, strain and sweeten it to your taste--white sugar is the best, but brown sugar or molasses answers very well. Put to it, when lukewarm, half a pint of fresh yeast. Turn it off carefully, when fermented, bottle it, and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit to drink in the course of seven or eight days.

343. _Instantaneous Beer._

Put to a pint and a half of water four tea-spoonsful of ginger, a table-spoonful of lemon-juice--sweeten it to the taste with syrup or white sugar, and turn it into a junk bottle. Have ready a cork to fit the bottle, a string of wire to tie it down, and a mallet to drive in the cork. Then put into the bottle a heaping tea-spoonful of the super-carbonate of soda, cork it immediately, tie it down, then shake the whole up well, cut the string, and the cork will fly out. Turn it out, and drink immediately.

344. _Mixed Wine._

Take equal parts of ripe currants, grapes, raspberries, and English cherries. Bruise them, then mix cold water with them, in the proportion of four pounds of fruit to a gallon of water. Let the whole remain half a day. Stir the whole up well, then strain it--to each gallon of it put three pounds of sugar. Keep it in a temperate situation, where it will ferment slowly, three or four days--stir it up frequently. When fermented, add a ninth part of brandy to it, and stop it up tight--when it becomes clear, bottle it. In the course of a year it will be fit to drink.

345. _Currant Wine._

Strain the currants, which should be perfectly ripe. To each quart of juice put a couple of quarts of water, and three pounds of sugar--stir the whole well together, and let it stand twenty-four hours, without stirring--then skim and set it in a cool place, where it will ferment slowly. Let it remain three or four days--if, at the end of that time, it has ceased fermenting, add one quart of French brandy to every fifteen gallons of the liquor, and close up the barrel tight. When it becomes clear, it is fit to bottle. This will be good in the course of six months, but it is much improved by being kept several years.

346. _Grape Wine._

Bruise the grapes, which should be perfectly ripe. To each gallon of grapes put a gallon of water, and let the whole remain a week, without being stirred. At the end of that time, draw off the liquor carefully, and put to each gallon three pounds of lump sugar. Let it ferment in a temperate situation--when fermented, stop it up tight. In the course of six months it will be fit to bottle.

347. _To mull Wine._

To a pint of water put a tea-spoonful of powdered cloves and cinnamon. Set it where it will boil--then separate the whites and yelks of three eggs, and beat the yelks with a large spoonful of powdered white sugar. As soon as the water boils, turn it on to the yelks and sugar--add a pint of wine, and turn the beaten whites of the eggs over the whole.

348. _Quince Cordial._

Take ripe nice quinces, wipe off the fur, and grate them. Express the juices of the quince pulp through a strong cloth, and to each quart of it put two-thirds of a quart of French brandy, a pound and a half of white sugar, a hundred bitter almonds, or peach meats, a dozen cloves. Put it in a stone pot, cover it tight, and keep it a week in a warm place, then skim and bottle it, and let it remain a year before using it.

349. _Peach Cordial._

Take ripe juicy peaches--wash and wipe them, to get off the down--gash them to the stone. Put to each peck of peaches a gallon of French brandy, and cover them up tight. Let the whole remain a couple of months, then drain the brandy free from the peaches--add sufficient cold water to render it of the strength of good white wine, and to every three gallons of it put four pounds of sugar. Stir it up well--let it remain a couple of days, stirring it up well each day, then turn it into a wine cask, and close it tight.

350. _Smallage Cordial._

Take young sprouts of smallage--wash and drain them till perfectly dry. Cut them in small pieces, put them in a bottle, with seeded raisins, having an alternate layer of each. When the bottle is two-thirds full of the smallage, turn in French brandy, till the bottle is full. Let it remain three or four days, to have the smallage absorb the brandy--then put in as much more brandy as the bottle will hold. It will be fit for use in the course of eight or ten days. This is an excellent family medicine.

351. _Currant Shrub._

To a pint of strained currant juice, put a pound of sugar. Boil the sugar and juice gently together, eight or ten minutes, then set it where it will cool. Add, when lukewarm, a wine glass of French brandy to every pint of syrup--bottle and cork it tight--keep it in a cool place.

352. _Raspberry Shrub._

To three quarts of fresh, ripe raspberries, put one of good vinegar. Let it remain a day--then strain it, and put to each pint a pound of white sugar. Boil the whole together for half an hour, skim it clear. When cool, add a wine glass of French brandy to each pint of the shrub. A couple of table-spoonsful of this, mixed with a tumbler two-thirds full of water, is a wholesome and refreshing drink in fevers.

353. _Lemon Shrub._

Procure nice fresh lemons--pare the rind off thin, then squeeze out the juice of the lemons, and strain it. To a pint of the juice put a pound of white sugar, broken into small pieces. Measure out for each pint of the syrup three table-spoonsful of French brandy, and soak the rind of the lemons in it. Let the whole remain a day, stirring up the lemon-juice and sugar frequently. The next day turn off the syrup, and mix it with the brandy and lemon rinds--put the whole in clean bottles, cork and seal them tight, and keep them in dry sand, in a cool place.

354. _Sherbet._

Boil in three pints of water six or eight green stalks of rhubarb, a quarter of a pound of figs or raisins. When the whole has boiled between twenty-five and thirty minutes, strain it, and mix it with a tea-spoonful of rosewater, and lemon or orange syrup to the taste. Let it get cold before drinking it.

355. _Noyeau._