Chapter 13

CALF'S HEAD STEWED. Wash and soak it for an hour, bone it, take out the brains, the tongue and the eyes. Make a forcemeat with two pounds of beef suet, as much lean veal, two anchovies boned and washed, the peel of a lemon, some grated nutmeg, and a little thyme. Chop them up together with some grated bread, and mix in the yolks of four eggs. Make part of this forcemeat into fifteen or twenty balls; boil five eggs hard, some oysters washed clean, and half a pint of fresh mushrooms, and mix with the rest of the forcemeat. Stuff that part of the head where the bones were taken out, tie it up carefully with packthread, put it into two quarts of gravy or good broth, with a blade of mace, cover it close, and stew it very slowly for two hours. While the head is doing, beat up the brains with some lemon-thyme and parsley chopped very fine, some grated nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg mixed with it. Fry half the brains in dripping, in little cakes, and fry the balls. When the head is done, keep it warm with the brain-cakes and balls; strain off the liquor in which the head was stewed, add to it some stewed truffles and morels, and a few pickled mushrooms. Put in the other half of the brains chopped, boil them up together, and let them simmer a few minutes. Lay the head into a hot dish, pour the liquor over it, and place the balls and the brain-cakes round it. For a small family, half the head will be sufficient. A lamb's head may be done in the same way.

CALF'S HEART. Chop fine some suet, parsley, sweet marjoram and a boiled egg. Add some grated bread, lemon peel, pepper, salt and mustard. Mix them together in a paste, and stuff the heart with it, after it has been well washed and cleaned. If done carefully, it is better baked than roasted. Serve it up quite hot, with gravy and melted butter.

CALF'S KIDNEY. Chop veal kidney, and some of the fat; likewise a little leek or onion, pepper, and salt. Roll the kidney up with an egg into balls, and fry it.--A calf's heart should be stuffed and roasted as a beef's heart; or sliced and made into a pudding, the same as for a steak or kidney pudding.

CALF'S LIVER. There are several ways of making this into a good dish. One is to broil it, after it has been seasoned with pepper and salt. Then rub a bit of cold butter over, and serve it up hot and hot.--If the liver is to be roasted, first wash and wipe it, then cut a long hole in it, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, chopped anchovy, herbs, fat bacon, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of butter, and an egg. Sew up the liver, lard or wrap it in a veal caul, and put it to the fire. Serve it with good brown gravy, and currant jelly.--If the liver and lights are to be dressed together, half boil an equal quantity of each; then cut them in a middling-sized mince, add a spoonful or two of the water that boiled it, a bit of butter, flour, salt and pepper. Simmer them together ten minutes, and serve the dish up hot.

CALF'S SWEETBREADS. These should be half boiled, and then stewed in white gravy. Add cream, flour, butter, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Or do them in brown sauce seasoned. Or parboil, and then cover them with crumbs, herbs, and seasoning, and brown them in a Dutch oven. Serve with butter, and mushroom ketchup, or gravy.

CALVES. The general method of rearing calves consumes so much of the milk of the dairy, that it is highly necessary to adopt other means, or the calves must be sold to the butcher while they are young. A composition called linseed milk, made of linseed oil-cake powdered, and gradually mixed with skim-milk sweetened with treacle, has been tried with considerable effect. It must be made nearly as warm as new milk when taken from the cow. Hay tea mixed with linseed and boiled to a jelly, has likewise been tried with success. A species of water gruel, made in the following manner, is strongly recommended. Put a handful or two of oatmeal into some boiling water, and after it has thickened a little, leave it to cool till it is lukewarm; mix with it two or three pints of skim-milk, and give it to the calf to drink. At first it may be necessary to make the calf drink by presenting the fingers to it; but it will soon learn to drink of itself, and will grow much faster than by any other method. According to the old custom, a calf intended to be reared is allowed to suck for six or eight weeks; and if the cow give only a moderate quantity of milk, the value of it will amount to the price of the calf in half that time. By the method now recommended, only a little oatmeal or ground barley is consumed, and a small quantity of skim-milk. The calf is also more healthy and strong, and less subject to disease. Small whisps of hay should be placed round them on cleft sticks, to induce the calves to eat; and when they are weaned, they should be turned into short sweet grass; for if hay and water only are used, they are liable to swellings and the rot. The fatting of calves being an object of great importance, a greater variety of food is now provided for this purpose than formerly, and great improvements have been made in this part of rural economy. Grains, potatoes, malt dust, pollard, and turnips now constitute their common aliment. But in order to make them fine and fat, they must be kept as clean as possible, with fresh litter every day. Bleeding them twice before they are slaughtered, improves the beauty and whiteness of the flesh, but it may be doubted whether the meat is equally good and nutricious. If calves be taken with the scouring, which often happens in a few days after being cast, make a medicine of powdered chalk and wheat meal, wrought into a ball with some gin; and it will afford relief. The shoote is another distemper to which they are liable, and is attended with a violent cholic and the loathing of food. The general remedy in this case is milk, well mulled with eggs; or eggs and flour mixed with oil, melted butter, linseed or anniseed. To prevent the sickness which commonly attends calves about Michaelmas time, take newly-churned butter, without salt, and form it into a cup the size of an egg; into this cup put three or four cloves of bruised garlic, and fill it up with tar. Having put the cup down the calf's throat, pour into its nostrils half a spoonful of the spirit of turpentine, rub a little tar upon its nose, and keep it within doors for an hour. Calves ought to be housed a night before this medicine is given.

CALICO FURNITURE. When curtains or bed furniture of this description are to be taken down for the summer, shake off the loose dust, and lightly brush them with a small long-haired furniture brush. Wipe them afterwards very closely with clean flannels, and rub them with dry bread. If properly done, the curtains will look nearly as well as at first, and if the colour be not very light, they will not require washing for years. Fold them up in large parcels, and put them by carefully. While the furniture remains up, it should be preserved as much as possible from the sun and air, which injure delicate colours; and the dust may be blown off with bellows. Curtains may thus be kept clean, even to use with the linings after they have been washed or newly dipped.

CAMP VINEGAR. Slice a large head of garlic, and put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, with half an ounce of cayenne, two tea-spoonfuls of soy, two of walnut ketchup, four anchovies chopped, a pint of vinegar, and enough cochineal to give it the colour of lavender drops. Let it stand six weeks; then strain it off quite clear, and keep it in small bottles sealed up.

CAMPHOR JULEP. Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of camphor in half a pint of brandy. It may thus be kept fit for use; and a tea-spoonful taken in a wine glass of cold water will be found an agreeable dose.--Another way. To a quarter of an ounce of camphor, add a quart of boiling water, and a quart of cold. Let it stand six hours, and strain it off for use.

CAMPHOR OINTMENT. Put half an ounce of camphor into an ounce of the oil of almonds, mixed with an ounce of spermaceti. Scrape fine into it half an ounce of white wax, and melt it over some hot water.

CAMPHORATED OIL. Beat an ounce of camphor in a mortar, with two ounces of Florence oil, till the camphor is entirely dissolved. This liniment is highly useful in rheumatism, spasms, and other cases of extreme pain.

CANARIES. Those who wish to breed this species of birds, should provide them a large cage, with two boxes to build in. Early in April put a cock and hen together; and whilst they are pairing, feed them with soft meat, or a little grated bread, scalded rapeseed and an egg mixed together. At the same time a small net of fine hay, wool, cotton, and hair should be suspended in one corner of the cage, so that the birds may pull it out as they want it to build with. Tame canaries will sometimes breed three or four times in a year, and produce their young about a fortnight after they begin to sit. When hatched, they should be left to the care of the old ones, to nurse them up till they can fly and feed themselves; during which time they should be supplied with fresh victuals every day, accompanied now and then with cabbage, lettuce, and chick-weed with seeds upon it. When the young canaries can feed themselves, they should be taken from the old ones, and put into another cage. Boil a little rapeseed, bruise and mix it with as much grated bread, mace seed, and the yolk of an egg boiled hard; and supply them with a small quantity every day, that it may not become stale or sour. Besides this, give them a little scalded rapeseed, and a little rape and canary seed by itself. This diet may be continued till they have done moulting, or renewed at any time when they appear unhealthy, and afterwards they may be fed in the usual manner.

CANCER. It is asserted by a French practitioner, that this cruel disorder may be cured in three days, by the following simple application, without any surgical operation whatever. Knead a piece of dough about the size of a pullet's egg, with the same quantity of hog's lard, the older the better; and when they are thoroughly blended, so as to form a kind of salve, spread it on a piece of white leather, and apply it to the part affected. This, if it do no good, is perfectly harmless.--A plaster for an eating cancer may be made as follows. File up some old brass, and mix a spoonful of it with mutton suet. Lay the plaster on the cancer, and let it remain till the cure is effected. Several persons have derived great benefit from this application, and it has seldom been known to fail.

CANDIED ANGELICA. Cut angelica into pieces three inches long, boil it tender, peel and boil it again till it is green; dry it in a cloth, and add its weight in sugar. Sift some fine sugar over, and let them remain in a pan two days; then boil the stalks clear and green, and let them drain in a cullender. Beat another pound of sugar and strew over them, lay them on plates, and dry them well in an oven.

CANDIED FRUIT. Take the preserve out of the syrup, lay it into a new sieve, and dip it suddenly into hot water, to take off the syrup that hangs about it. Put it on a napkin before the fire to drain, and then do another layer in the sieve. Sift the fruit all over with double refined sugar previously prepared, till it is quite white. Set it on the shallow end of sieves in a lightly-warm oven, and turn it two or three times: it must not be cold till dry. Watch it carefully, and it will be beautiful.

CANDIED PEEL. Take out the pulps of lemons or oranges, soak the rinds six days in salt and water, and afterwards boil them tender in spring water. Drain them on a sieve, make a thin syrup of loaf sugar and water, and boil the peels in it till the syrup begins to candy about them. Then take out the peels, grate fine sugar over them, drain them on a sieve, and dry them before the fire.

CANDLES. Those made in cold weather are best; and if put in a cool place, they will improve by keeping; but when they begin to sweat and turn rancid, the tallow loses its strength, and the candles are spoiled. A stock for winter use should be provided in autumn, and for summer, early in the spring. The best candle-wicks are made of fine cotton; the coarser yarn consumes faster, and burns less steady. Mould candles burn the clearest, but dips afford the best light, their wicks being proportionally larger.

CAPER SAUCE. Add a table-spoonful of capers to twice the quantity of vinegar, mince one third of the capers very fine, and divide the others in half. Put them into a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or good thickened gravy, and stir them the same way as the melted butter, to prevent their oiling. The juice of half a Seville orange or lemon may be added. An excellent substitute for capers may be made of pickled green peas, nastursions, or gherkins, chopped into a similar size, and boiled with melted butter. When capers are kept for use, they should be covered with fresh scalded vinegar, tied down close to exclude the air, and to make them soft.

CAPILLAIRE. Take fourteen pounds of good moist sugar, three of coarse sugar, and six eggs beaten in well with the shells, boil them together in three quarts of water, and skim it carefully. Then add a quarter of a pint of orange-flower water, strain it off, and put it into bottles. When cold, mix a spoonful or two of this syrup in a little warm or cold water.

CARACHEE. Mix with a pint of vinegar, two table-spoonfuls of Indian soy, two of walnut pickle, two cloves of garlic, one tea-spoonful of cayenne, one of lemon pickle, and two of sauce royal.

CARMEL COVER. Dissolve eight ounces of double refined sugar in three or four spoonfuls of water, and as many drops of lemon juice. Put it into a copper skillet; when it begins to thicken, dip the handle of a spoon in it, and put that into a pint bason of water. Squeeze the sugar from the spoon into it, and so on till all the sugar is extracted. Take a bit out of the water, and if it snaps and is brittle when cold, it is done enough. But let it be only three parts cold, then pour the water from the sugar, and having a copper form oiled well, run the sugar on it, in the manner of a maze, and when cold it may be put on the dish it is intended to cover. If on trial the sugar is not brittle, pour off the water, return it into the skillet, and boil it again. It should look thick like treacle, but of a light gold colour. This makes an elegant cover for sweetmeats.

CARP. This excellent fish will live some time out of water, and may therefore get wasted: it is best to kill them as soon as caught, to prevent this. Carp should either be boiled or stewed. Scale and draw it, and save the blood. Set on water in a stewpan, with a little Chili vinegar, salt, and horse-radish. When it boils, put in the carp, and boil it gently for twenty minutes, according to the thickness of the fish. Stew the blood with half a pint of port wine, some good gravy, a sliced onion, a little whole pepper, a blade of mace, and a nutmeg grated. Thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour, season it with pepper and salt, essence of anchovy, and mushroom ketchup. Serve up the fish with the sauce poured over it, adding a little lemon juice. Carp are also very nice plain boiled, with common fish sauce.

CARPETS. In order to keep them clean, they should not frequently be swept with a whisk brush, as it wears them fast; not more than once a week, and at other times with sprinkled tea-leaves, and a hair brush. Fine carpets should be done gently on the knees, with a soft clothes' brush. When a carpet requires more cleaning, take it up and beat it well, then lay it down and brush it on both sides with a hand-brush. Turn it the right side upwards, and scour it clean with ox-gall and soap and water, and dry it with linen cloths. Lay it on the grass, or hang it up to dry thoroughly.

CARRAWAY CAKE. Dry two pounds of good flour, add ten spoonfuls of yeast, and twelve of cream. Wash the salt out of a pound of butter, and rub it into the flour; beat up eight eggs with half the whites, and mix it with the composition already prepared. Work it into a light paste, set it before the fire to rise, incorporate a pound of carraway comfits, and an hour will bake it.

CARRIER SAUCE. Chop six shalots fine, and boil them up with a gill of gravy, a spoonful of vinegar, some pepper and salt. This is used for mutton, and served in a boat.

CARROLE OF RICE. Wash and pick some rice quite clean, boil it five minutes in water, strain and put it into a stewpan, with a bit of butter, a good slice of ham, and an onion. Stew it over a very gentle fire till tender; have ready a mould lined with very thin slices of bacon, mix the yolks of two or three eggs with the rice, and then line the bacon with it about half an inch thick. Put into it a ragout of chicken, rabbit, veal, or of any thing else. Fill up the mould, and cover it close with rice. Bake it in a quick oven an hour, turn it over, and send it to table in a good gravy, or curry sauce.

CARROTS. This root requires a good deal of boiling. When young, wipe off the skin after they are boiled; when old, scrape them first, and boil them with salt meat. Carrots and parsnips should be kept in layers of dry sand for winter use, and not be wholly cleared from the earth. They should be placed separately, with their necks upward, and be drawn out regularly as they stand, without disturbing the middle or the sides.

CARROT PUDDING. Boil a large carrot tender; then bruise it in a marble mortar, and mix with it a spoonful of biscuit powder, or three or four little sweet biscuits without seeds, four yolks and two whites of eggs, a pint of cream either raw or scalded, a little ratifia, a large spoonful of orange or rose-water, a quarter of a nutmeg, and two ounces of sugar. Bake it in a shallow dish lined with paste; turn it out, and dust a little fine sugar over it.

CARROT SOUP. Put some beef bones into a saucepan, with four quarts of the liquor in which a leg of mutton or beef has been boiled, two large onions, a turnip, pepper and salt, and boil them together for three hours. Have ready six large carrots scraped and sliced; strain the soup on them, and stew them till soft enough to pulp through a hair sieve or coarse cloth, with a wooden spoon; but pulp only the red part of the carrot, and not the yellow. The soup should be made the day before, and afterwards boiled with the pulp, to the thickness of peas-soup, with the addition of a little cayenne.