Part 9
Take up the roots in July; clean them perfectly as soon as out of the earth, then hang them up in the air, till nearly dry; after this cut them into thin slices, and boil them in water till the decoction is extremely strong; then press it hard out to obtain all the juice from the roots. This decoction is left to settle a little, and when it has deposited its coarser parts, pour it off into vessels, evaporate it over a fire, strong first, but mild afterwards, till it becomes of a thick consistence; then let the fire go out, and when the extract is cool, take out large parcels of it at a time, and work them well with the hands, forming them into cylindric masses, which cut into such lengths as required, roll them over half-dried bay-leaves, which adhere to the surfaces, and leave them exposed to the sun, till perfectly dried. Great nicety is to be observed at the end of the evaporation, to get the extract to a proper consistence without letting it burn.
77. REFINED LIQUORICE.
That description of article which is vended in thin, rounded, and glazed pieces, about the thickness of a crow’s quill, is entirely prepared in this country. The whole process consists in evaporating the liquorice-ball anew, and purifying it by rest, with the help of isinglass, &c.
78. CANDIED ORANGE MARMALADE.
Cut the clearest Seville oranges into two, take out all the juice and pulp into a basin, and pick all the skins and seeds out of it. Boil the rinds in hard water till they become tender, and change the water two or three times while they are boiling. Then pound them in a marble mortar, and add to it the juice and pulp; put them next into a preserving pan with double their weight in loaf sugar, and set it over a slow fire. Boil it rather more than half an hour, put it into pots: cover it with brandy paper, and tie it close down.
79. TRANSPARENT MARMALADE.
Cut very pale Seville oranges into quarters; take out the pulp, put it into a basin, and pick out the skins and seeds. Put the peels into a little salt and water, and let them stand all night, then boil them in a good quantity of spring water until they are tender: cut them in very thin slices, and put them into the pulp. To every pound of marmalade put one pound and a half of double refined beaten sugar; boil them together gently for 20 minutes; if they are not transparent, boil them a few minutes longer. Stir it gently all the time, and take care not to break the slices. When it is cold, put it into jelly and sweetmeat glasses tied down tight.
80. BARBERRY MARMALADE.
Mash the barberries in a little water, on a warm stove; pass them through a hair sieve with a paddle; weigh the pulp and put it back on the fire; reduce it to one half, clarify a pound of sugar and boil it well; put in the pulp and boil it together for a few minutes.
81. QUINCE MARMALADE.
Take quinces that are quite ripe, pare and cut them in quarters, take out the cores, put them in a stew-pan with spring water, nearly enough to cover them, keep them closely covered, and let them stew gently till they are quite soft and red, then mash and rub them through a hair sieve. Put them in a pan over a gentle fire, with as much thick clarified sugar as the weight of the quinces; boil them an hour and stir the whole time with a wooden spoon to prevent its sticking; put it into pots, and when cold tie them down.
82. SCOTCH MARMALADE.
Take of the juice of Seville oranges, 2 pints, yellow honey, 2 lbs.
Boil to a proper consistence.
83. HARTSHORN JELLY.
Boil half a pound of hartshorn in three quarts of water, over a gentle fire, till it becomes a jelly; when a little hangs on a spoon it is done enough. Strain it hot, put it into a well-tinned saucepan, and add to it half a pint of Rhenish wine, and a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar. Beat the whites of four eggs or more to a froth, stir it sufficiently for the whites to mix well with the jelly, and pour it in as if cooling it. Boil it two or three minutes, then put in the juice of four lemons, and let it boil two minutes longer. When it is finely curdled and of a pure white, pour it into a swan-skin jelly bag over a China basin, and pour it back again until it becomes as clear as rock water; set a very clean China basin under, fill the glasses, put some thin lemon rind into the basin, and when the jelly is all run out of the bag, with a clean spoon fill the rest of the glasses, and they will look of a fine amber colour. Put in lemon and sugar agreeable to the palate.
84. WHIPT CREAM.
Mix the whites of eight eggs, a quart of thick cream, and half a pint of sack, sweeten them to taste with double refined sugar. It may be perfumed with a little musk or ambergris tied in a rag and steeped in a little cream. Whip it up with a whisk, and some lemon-peel tied in the middle of the whisk. Then lay the froth with a spoon on the glasses, or basins.
85. PISTACHIO CREAM.
Beat half a pound of pistachio nut kernels in a mortar with a spoonful of brandy. Put them into a pan with a pint of good cream and the yolks of two eggs beaten fine. Stir it gently over the fire till it grows thick, and then put it into a China soup plate. When it is cold stick it over with small pieces of the nuts, and send it to table.
86. ICE CREAM.
To a pound of any preserved fruit add a quart of good cream, squeeze the juice of two lemons into it and some sugar to taste. Let the whole be rubbed through a fine hair sieve, and if raspberry, strawberry, or any red fruit, add a little cochineal to heighten the colour: have the freezing pot nice and clean; put the cream into it and cover it; then put it into the tub with ice beat small, and some salt; turn the freezing pot quick, and as the cream sticks to the sides, scrape it down with an ice-spoon, and so on till it is frozen. The more the cream is worked to the side with the spoon, the smoother and better flavoured it will be. After it is well frozen, take it out and put it into ice shapes with salt and ice: then carefully wash the shapes for fear of any salt adhering to them; dip them in lukewarm water and send them to table.
87. _Another Method._
Bruise two pottles of strawberries in a basin with half a pint of good cream, a little currant jelly, and some cold clarified sugar; rub this well through the tammy, and put it in an ice pot well covered; then set it in a tub of broken ice with plenty of salt; when it grows thick about the sides, stir it with a spoon, and cover it close again till it is perfectly frozen through; cover it well with ice and salt both under and over, and when it is frozen change it into a mould and cover well with ice. Sweeten a little plain cream with sugar and orange flower water, and treat it the same; likewise any other fruit, without cream, may be mixed as above. This is called _water ice_.
88. CURRANT JELLY.
Take the juice of red currants, 1 lb. sugar, 6 oz. Boil down.
89. _Another Method._
Take the juice of red currants, and white sugar, equal quantities. Stir it gently and smoothly for three hours, put it into glasses, and in three days it will concrete into a firm jelly.
90. BLACK CURRANT JELLY.
Put to ten quarts of ripe dry black currants, one quart of water; put them in a large stew-pot, tie paper close over them, and set them for two hours in a cool oven. Squeeze them through a fine cloth, and add to every quart of juice a pound and a half of loaf sugar broken into small pieces. Stir it till the sugar is melted; when it boils skim it quite clean. Boil it pretty quick over a clear fire, till it jellies, which is known by dipping a skimmer into the jelly and holding it in the air; when it hangs to the spoon in a drop, it is done. If the jelly is boiled too long it will lose its flavour and shrink very much. Pour it into pots, cover them with brandy papers, and keep them in a dry place. Red and white jellies are made in the same way.
91. APPLE JELLY.
Take of apple juice strained, 4 lbs. sugar, one pound. Boil to a jelly.
92. STRAWBERRY JELLY.
Take of the juice of strawberries, 4 lbs. sugar, 2 lbs. Boil down.
93. GOOSEBERRY JELLY.
Dissolve sugar in about half its weight of water, and boil; it will be nearly solid when cold; to this syrup add an equal weight of gooseberry juice, and give it a boil, but not long, for otherwise it will not fix.
94. RASPBERRY CREAM.
Rub a quart of raspberries through a hair sieve, and take out the seeds and mix it well with cream; sweeten it with sugar to your taste, then put it into a stone jug, and raise a froth with a chocolate mill. As the froth rises, take it off with a spoon, and lay it upon a hair sieve. When there is as much froth as wanted, put what cream remains in a deep China dish, and pour the frothed cream upon it, as high as it will lie on.
95. RASPBERRY JAM.
Mash a quantity of fine ripe dry raspberries, strew on them their own weight of loaf sugar, and half their weight of white currant juice. Boil them half an hour over a clear slow fire, skim them well, and put them into pots or glasses; tie them down with brandy papers, and keep them dry. Strew on the sugar as quick as possible after the berries are gathered, and in order to preserve their flavour, they must not stand long before boiling them.
96. STRAWBERRY JAM.
Bruise very fine some scarlet strawberries, gathered when quite ripe, and put to them a little juice of red currants. Beat and sift their weight in sugar, strew it over them, and put them into a preserving pan. Set them over a clear slow fire, skim them, then boil them 20 minutes, and put them into glasses.
97. RASPBERRY PASTE.
Mash a quart of raspberries, strain one half and put the juice to the other half; boil them a quarter of an hour, put to them a pint of red currant juice, and let them boil all together, till the raspberries are done enough. Then put a pound and a half of double refined sugar into a clean pan, with as much water as will dissolve it; boil it to a sugar again; then put in the raspberries and juice, scald and pour them into glasses. Put them into a stove to dry, and turn them when necessary.
98. DAMSON CHEESE.
Boil the fruit in a sufficient quantity of water to cover it; strain the pulp through a very coarse hair sieve; to each pound add four ounces of sugar. Boil till it begins to candy on the sides, then pour it into tin moulds. Other kinds of plums may be treated in the same way, as also cherries, and several kinds of fruit.
99. AN OMELETTE SOUFFLE.
Put two ounces of the powder of chestnuts into a skillet, then add two yolks of new laid eggs, and dilute the whole with a little cream, or even a little water; when this is done, and the ingredients well mixed, leaving no lumps, add a bit of the best fresh butter, about the size of an egg, and an equal quantity of powdered sugar; then put the skillet on the fire, and keep stirring the contents; when the cream is fixed and thick enough to adhere to the spoon, let it bubble up once or twice, and take it from the fire; then add a third white of an egg to those you have already set aside, and whip them to the consistency of snow: then amalgamate the whipped whites of eggs and the cream, stirring them with a light and equal hand, pour the contents into a deep dish, sift over with double refined sugar, and place the dish on a stove, with a fire over it as well as under, and in a quarter of an hour the cream will rise like an _omelette souffle_; as soon as it rises about four inches it is fit to serve up.
100. ORGEAT PASTE.
Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of sweet, and a quarter of a pound of bitter almonds; pound them in a mortar, and wet them sufficiently with orange flower water, that they may not oil. When they are pounded fine, add three quarters of a pound of fine powdered sugar to them, and mix the whole in a stiff paste, which put into pots for use. It will keep six months; when wanted to be used, take a piece about the size of an egg, and mix it with half a pint of water, and squeeze it through a napkin.
101. PATE DE GUIMAUVE.
Take of decoction of marshmallow roots, 4 oz. water, 1 gallon. Boil 4 pints and strain: then add gum arabic, half a pound, refined sugar, 2 lbs. Evaporate to an extract, then take it from the fire, stir it quickly with the whites of twelve eggs, previously beaten to a froth: then add, while stirring, half an oz. of orange-flower water.
102. _Another._
Take of very white gum arabic, and white sugar, each 2¼ lbs. with a sufficient quantity of boiling water. Dissolve, strain, and evaporate without boiling, to the consistence of honey: beat up the whites of six eggs with four drachms of orange-flower water, which mix gradually with the paste, and evaporate over a slow fire, stirring it continually till it will not stick to the fingers, it should be very light, spongy, and extremely white.
103. PATE DE JUJUBES.
Take of raisins stoned, 1 lb. currants picked, jujubes, opened, each 4 oz. water, a sufficient quantity. Boil; strain with expression, add sugar, 2½ lbs. gum arabic, 2½ lbs. previously made into a mucilage with some water, and strain; evaporate gently, pour into moulds, finish by drying in a stove and then divide it.
TO PRESERVE FRUITS.
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Some rules are necessary to be observed in this branch of confectionary.
In the first place, observe, in making syrups, that the Sugar is well dissolved before it is placed on the fire, otherwise the scum will not rise well, nor the fruit obtain its best colour.
When stone fruits are preserved, cover them with mutton suet rendered, to exclude the air; as air is sure to ruin them.
All wet sweet-meats must be kept dry and cool to preserve them from mouldiness and damp.
Dip a piece of writing paper in brandy, lay it close upon the sweetmeats, cover them tight with paper, and they will keep well for any length of time; but they will inevitably spoil without these precautions.
104. TO BOTTLE DAMSONS.
Put damsons, before they are too ripe, into wide-mouthed bottles, and cork them down tight; then put them into a moderately heated oven, and about three hours will do them; observe that the oven is not too hot, otherwise it will make the fruit fly. All kinds of fruits that are bottled may be done in the same way, and they will keep two years; after they are done, they must be put away with the mouth downward, in a cool place, to keep them from fermenting.
105. TO PRESERVE BARBERRIES.
Set an equal quantity of barberries and sugar in a kettle of boiling water, till the sugar is melted and the barberries quite soft; let them remain all night. Put them next day into a preserving pan, and boil them fifteen minutes, then put them into jars, tie them close, and set them by for use.
106. GRAPES.
Take close bunches, whether white or red, not too ripe, and lay them in a jar. Put to them a quarter of a pound of sugar candy, and fill the jar with common brandy. Tie them up close with a bladder, and set them in a dry place.
107. TO DRY CHERRIES.
Having stoned the desired quantity of morello cherries, put a pound and a quarter of fine sugar to every pound; beat and sift it over the cherries, and let them stand all night. Take them out of their sugar, and to every pound of sugar, put two spoonsful of water. Boil and skim it well, and then put in the cherries; boil the sugar over them, and next morning strain them, and to every pound of syrup put half a pound more sugar; boil it till it is a little thicker, then put in the cherries and let them boil gently. The next day strain them, put them in a stove and turn them every day till they are dry.
108. TO CLARIFY HONEY.
The best kind is clarified by merely melting it in a water bath, and taking off the scum; the middling kind by dissolving it in water, adding the white of an egg to each pint of the solution; and boiling it down to its original consistence, skimming it from time to time. The inferior kind requires solution in water, boiling the solution with one pound of charcoal, to 25 pounds of honey, adding, when an excess of acid is apprehended, a small quantity of chalk or oyster-shell powder; next by straining it several times through flannel, and reducing the solution to its original consistence by evaporation.
109. TO PRESERVE CANDIED ORANGE FLOWERS.
Free them from their cups, stamina, and pistils, put four ounces into one pound of sugar boiled to a candy height, and poured on a slab, so as to be formed into cakes.
110. TO PRESERVE FRUITS IN BRANDY, OR OTHER SPIRITS.
Gather plums, apricots, cherries, peaches, and other juicy fruits, before they are perfectly ripe, and soak them for some hours in hard, or alum water, to make them firm; as the moisture of the fruit weakens the spirit, it ought to be strong, therefore, add five ounces of sugar to each quart of spirit.
111. SEVILLE ORANGES, WHOLE.
Cut a hole at the stem end of the oranges, the size of sixpence, take out all the pulp, put the oranges into cold water for two days, changing it twice a day; boil them rather more than an hour, but do not cover them, as it will spoil the colour; have ready a good syrup, into which put the oranges, and boil them till they look clear; then take out the seeds, skins, &c. from the pulp first taken out of the oranges, and add to it one of the whole oranges, previously boiled, with an equal weight of sugar to it and the pulp; boil this together till it looks clear, over a slow fire, and when cold fill the oranges with this marmalade, and put on the tops; cover them with syrup, and put brandy paper on the top of the jar. It is better to take out the inside at first, to preserve the fine flavour of the juice and pulp, which would be injured by boiling in the water.
112. CUCUMBERS AND MELONS.
Take large cucumbers, green, and free from seed, put them in a jar of strong salt and water, with vine leaves on the top, set them by the fire side till they are yellow; then wash and set them over a slow fire in alum and water, covered with vine leaves; let them boil till they become green; take them off, and let them stand in the liquor till cold: then quarter them, and take out the seed and pulp; put them in cold spring water, changing it twice a day for three days. Have ready a syrup made thus: to one pound of loaf sugar, half an ounce of ginger bruised, with as much water as will wet it; when it is quite free from scum, put in, when boiling, the rind of a lemon and juice; when quite cold, pour the syrup on the melons. If the syrup is too thin, after standing two or three days, boil it again, and add a little more sugar. A spoonful of rum, gives it the West-Indian flavour. Girkins may be done the same way. One ounce of alum, when pounded, is sufficient for a dozen melons of a middling size.
113. STRAWBERRIES, WHOLE.
Take an equal weight of fruit and double refined sugar, lay the former in a large dish, and sprinkle half the sugar in fine powder; give a gentle shake to the dish, that the sugar may touch the under side of the fruit. Next day make a thin syrup with the remainder of the sugar; and allow one pint of red currant juice, to every three pounds of strawberries; in this simmer them until sufficiently jellied. Choose the largest scarlets, not dead ripe.
114. APRICOTS.
Infuse young apricots before their stones become hard, into a pan of cold spring water, with plenty of vine leaves; set them over a slow fire until they are quite yellow, then take them out and rub them with a flannel and salt to take off the lint; put them into the pan to the same water and leaves, cover them close at a distance from the fire, until they are a fine light green, then pick out all the bad ones. Boil the best gently two or three times in a thin syrup, and let them be quite cold each time before you boil them. When they look plump and clear, make a syrup of double refined sugar, but not too thick; give your apricots a gentle boil in it, and then put them into the pots or glasses, dip a paper in brandy, lay it over them, tie them close, and keep them in a dry place.
115. CANDIED ANGELICA.
The stalks are to be boiled for a quarter of an hour in water, to take away their bitterness, and some of the strong scent; they are then to be put into syrup, boiled to a full candied height, and kept on the fire, until they appear quite dry, and then taken out and drained.
116. CANDIED ERINGO.
Is prepared nearly in the same manner as candied angelica, but the roots are only slit, and washed three or four times in cold water, before they are put into the syrup.
117. GOOSEBERRIES.
Put an ounce of roche alum beat very fine, into a large pan of boiling hard water; place a few gooseberries at the bottom of a hair sieve, and hold them in the water till they turn white. Then take out the sieve, and spread the gooseberries between two cloths; put more into the sieve, and repeat it till they are all done: Put the water into a glazed pot until the next day, then put the gooseberries into wide-mouthed bottles; pick out all the cracked and broken ones, pour the water clear out of the pot, and fill the bottles with it, cork them loosely, and let them stand a fortnight. If they rise to the corks, draw them out and let them stand two or three days uncorked, then cork them close again.
PICKLING.
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This branch of domestic economy comprises a great variety of articles which are essentially necessary to the convenience of families.
It is too prevalent a practice to make use of brass utensils to give pickles a fine colour. This pernicious custom is easily avoided by heating the liquor and keeping it in a proper degree of warmth before it is poured upon the pickle. Stone or glass jars are the best adapted for sound keeping.
Pickles should never be handled with the fingers, but taken out by a spoon, with holes in it, kept for the purpose.
The strongest vinegar must be used for pickling. It must not be boiled, as thereby the strength of the vinegar and spices will be evaporated. By parboiling the pickles in brine, they will be ready in half the time they would otherwise be. When taken out of the hot brine, let them get cold and quite dry before you put them into the pickle.
The articles to be pickled should be perforated with a larding pin, in several places, by which means they will the more readily imbibe the flavour of the pickle.
The spices, &c. generally used, are those mentioned in the following receipt for walnuts.
118. TO PICKLE WALNUTS.
Make a brine of salt and water, with a quarter of a pound of salt to a quart of water. Soak the walnuts in this for a week, and if you wish to have them ready the sooner, run a larding pin through them, in half a dozen places, which will make them much softer and better flavoured. Put them into a stew-pan with the brine, and give them a gentle simmer. Lay them on a sieve to drain, then put them on a fish plate in the open air, a couple of days, or till they turn black. Put them into unglazed or stone jars, about three parts full, and fill up the jars with the following pickle;[13] and when they have been done about a week, open them and fill them up again, and so on continually, or else they will be spoiled.
119. ONIONS.