Chapter 11

Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Put the fruit in a preserving kettle over the fire and boil fifteen minutes, mashing a little to prevent sticking to the kettle. Then add the sugar and boil ten minutes, skimming carefully; turn into glasses and seal when cold.

ORANGE MARMALADE.

Select smooth, thin-skinned, juicy oranges. Take twenty-one, and five lemons. Cut the rind very thin from a third of the fruit, and boil it in two quarts of water until it can be pierced easily with a broom straw. Drain from the water and cut in fine strips with scissors, add this to the pulp of the oranges and lemons after removing all the white bitter skin and pips from the fruit. Weigh and allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, put in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware kettle and cook until clear. Put in glasses and when cold cover with brandied paper and seal.

PUMPKIN CHIPS.

Slice very thin and chip about four pounds of pumpkin, put in an earthenware bowl, and cover it over night with four and a half pounds of granulated sugar and the juice of one dozen lemons. Boil the lemon peel until tender and cut in small thin chips and add to the juice, etc. In the morning, boil together until perfectly clear and crisp.

Pickles, Sauces, etc.

RIPE CUCUMBER PICKLE.

Pare and seed the cucumbers. Slice each cucumber lengthwise in four pieces or cut it in fancy shapes, cover with cold vinegar and let them stand for twenty-four hours. Drain and put them in fresh vinegar with two pounds of sugar, and one ounce of cassia buds to one quart of vinegar. Boil for twenty minutes and put in jars.

SWEET PICKLED PEACHES.

Select fine, fresh, ripe, but not soft peaches, peel and weigh them. To every seven pounds of fruit take five pounds of granulated sugar, a pint of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon and one tablespoonful of cloves, tie the spices up in a muslin bag, add a few pieces of stick cinnamon and a few allspice. Put the fruit in a stone jar, bring the sugar, vinegar and spice to a boil, pour over the peaches, cover and let them stand until the next day, scald the syrup again and pour over the fruit, and so on, until it has been done in all seven times. Take out the bag of spice and put the fruit with the syrup into jars and seal. These are much more delicious than peaches that are cooked.

SWEET PICKLED PLUMS.

Follow the recipe for sweet pickled peaches.

SPICED CURRANTS.

Take seven pounds of fresh and perfectly ripe currants, pick them over, wash and stem them and put in a granite-ware or porcelain-lined kettle, with five pounds of granulated sugar, one even tablespoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, one dessertspoonful of allspice, one pint of best cider vinegar. Boil an hour and a half, put in jars and when cold seal.

CHILI SAUCE.

Four dozen ripe tomatoes, eight green peppers, three cups of chopped onion, eight cups of cider or wine vinegar, two cups of brown sugar, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, three teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, two teaspoonfuls of allspice, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, eight tablespoonfuls of salt. Skin the tomatoes and put them in the kettle over the fire; as soon as the water runs from them, take out half of it, then put in the onions and peppers chopped, boil together four hours, stir constantly the last hour to prevent burning, then add the other ingredients and simmer long enough thoroughly to mix them. Put the sauce in small bottles, cork tight and seal and keep in a dark place.

CHILI PEPPER SAUCE.

Twenty ripe tomatoes, six green peppers and four white onions chopped fine, two cups of best wine or cider vinegar, one cup of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of salt, two even teaspoonfuls of ground mace, two teaspoonfuls of nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, one teaspoonful of celery seed. Boil an hour and bottle while hot. Very nice to serve with baked beans.

MUSTARD PICKLES.

One quart each of tiny whole cucumbers, large cucumbers sliced, green tomatoes sliced and small button onions, one large cauliflower divided into flowerettes, and four green peppers cut fine. Make a brine of four quarts of water and one pint of salt, pour it over the mixed vegetables and let it stand covered twenty-four hours. Then scald it and turn into a colander to drain. Mix one cup of flour, six tablespoonfuls of mustard, and one tablespoonful of turmeric with enough vinegar to make a smooth paste, add one cup of granulated sugar and sufficient vinegar to make two quarts in all. Boil this mixture until it is thick and smooth, stirring constantly, then add the vegetables and heat them through.

RIPE TOMATO PICKLE.

A peck of perfectly ripe tomatoes, two quarts of fine cooking salt, half a pound of ground mustard, one ounce of cloves, two green peppers, two or three onions and one pound of brown sugar. Pierce the tomatoes with a silver fork or broom straw, put them in a stone jar with salt in alternate layers. Throw away all the liquor made by standing one week. Return to jar and cover with cold water, cover and let it stand twenty-four hours. Drain again thoroughly, throw away the water, return the tomatoes to the jar and cover with cold vinegar, having added to the fruit, the onions and peppers sliced, with the mustard, cloves and sugar. After they have stood three weeks they are ready for use.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLES.

One peck of sliced tomatoes, eight onions, one pound of bell peppers, one pound of horse radish, one pound of white mustard seed, half a pound of black mustard seed, half an ounce of whole cloves, half an ounce of stick cinnamon, half an ounce of pepper corns, one or two nutmegs and four pounds of sugar. Select the tomatoes when they are beginning to turn white, slice and lay them in salt for twenty-four hours. Drain and put in the kettle, which should be of granite ware or porcelain lined, with the peppers, onions and horse radish chopped, and sprinkle the mustard seeds over all. Tie the spices in a thin muslin bag and cover the whole with best wine vinegar, boil until tender and clear in appearance. The peppers should have all the seeds removed. Half a cup of dry mustard is considered by some an improvement.

GOOSEBERRY CATSUP.

Boil ten pounds of large English gooseberries, seven pounds of coffee sugar, and three pints of vinegar together for an hour and a half. Then add two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, one of allspice and one of cloves and boil half an hour longer. Put in jars and seal.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR.

Put a pound of fine fruit into a bowl and pour over it a quart of the best wine or cider vinegar. Next day strain the liquor on a pound of fresh raspberries. The following day do the same. Do not squeeze the fruit, but drain as dry as possible by lightly pressing it. The last time strain it through muslin previously wet with vinegar to prevent waste. Put into a preserving kettle with a pound of sugar to every pint of juice. Stir until the sugar is melted and let it cook gently for five minutes, skim it. When cold, bottle and cork well.

Sweet Sauces.

FRUIT SAUCE.

Put a cupful of granulated sugar in a saucepan, pour over it two and a half cupfuls of boiling water, let it boil a few minutes, then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, two even teaspoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed to a paste with a little cold water, then add a cupful of canned fruit or a glass of any kind of fruit or jelly liked and the juice of a lemon. Press through a fine sieve and serve with fritters or puddings.

FRESH FRUIT SAUCE.

Follow the above recipe, using a cupful of pure juice of the fruit desired and the juice of either a half or whole lemon.

ORANGE SAUCE.

Beat four egg yolks, three ounces of sugar, a teaspoonful of flour and the grated rind of one orange together until light, add a pint of boiling milk and stir over the fire until thick, taking care that it does not curdle, remove from the fire and add a liqueur glass of curacao, and beat until light and foaming.

BANANA SAUCE.

Rub two bananas through a fine sieve. Put half a cup of granulated sugar in a saucepan with one cup of boiling water, add the banana pulp to it, let it come to a boil, and skim if necessary. Rub a heaping tablespoonful of butter with half a tablespoonful of flour, stir into it a little of the liquid, and then add to that in the saucepan; add the juice and grated rind of half a lemon, and it is ready to serve.

FOAMING SAUCE.

Beat to a cream a cup of sugar and a quarter of a cup of butter, and add to it two tablespoonfuls of wine or fruit juice, or in winter fruit syrup. If the latter, use only three-quarters of a cup of sugar. At serving time add a quarter of a cup of boiling water, stir well, then add the white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth. Beat until the sauce foams.

HARD SAUCE.

Cream one tablespoonful of butter, stir in four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and beat until very light, then add a teaspoonful of boiling water and beat again. Flavor to suit taste.

SOUTHERN SAUCE.

Beat four tablespoonfuls of brown sugar with two tablespoonfuls of butter to a cream, and add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, set the bowl in a pan of hot water on the stove and stir until thick, add a glass of sherry, stir well and it is ready to serve.

VANILLA SAUCE.

Put a pint of rich milk in a double boiler, sweeten with two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar. While the milk is coming to the boiling point beat the yolks of four eggs until light and creamy, add the hot milk to the eggs, stirring briskly, then turn it into the boiler, stirring rapidly until it thickens, remove from the fire, turn into a bowl, flavor with vanilla extract and serve very cold.

SAUCE FOR NOODLE PUDDING.

Four egg yolks, four ounces of sugar, a quarter of a cup of sherry, one teaspoonful of potato flour, half a cup of water, the rind of half and the juice of one lemon. Beat quickly over hot water until the sauce thickens, then serve at once.

MAPLE SYRUP SAUCE.

Half a pound of maple sugar dissolved in half a cup of cream, or rich milk. If the latter is used add a teaspoonful of butter.

Savory Sauces.

In making sauces great care should be taken to have the saucepans scrupulously clean and only granite-ware or porcelain-lined saucepans should be used, especially where there is any acid as in tomatoes or pickles. Never use an iron spider except for browning butter and flour together as they will not brown in a saucepan.

VEGETABLE STOCK FOR SAUCES.

Take any kinds of vegetables convenient, such as parsnips, celery, carrots, turnips, green pepper, onion, leek, parsley, celery tops, celery root, Jerusalem artichokes, a bay leaf, two cloves, two allspice, and cook in water until tender; strain, pressing all from the vegetables. The water Jerusalem artichokes are boiled in is valuable for sauces. The liquid from canned peas is also excellent. Care must be taken in putting the vegetables together not to let any one predominate, turnip especially, as it makes a sauce very bitter.

COLORING FOR SAUCES, SOUPS, Etc.

Melt a quarter of a pound of granulated sugar in a spider, cook until it is a very dark, rich brown, almost black, stir constantly. Great care must be taken that it does not burn. When done pour over it a quart of boiling water and let it cook until the caramel is entirely dissolved, pour it out and when cold strain and bottle. It will keep indefinitely and a tablespoonful will give color to a pint of liquid.

OLIVE SAUCE.

Melt a heaping tablespoonful of butter in a spider and when it begins to brown stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of flour, let it cook until a very dark brown, but be careful not to let it burn, then add enough rich vegetable stock to make a thick cream-like sauce. Have ready some olives--six or seven, that have been boiled a few minutes in water and cut from the stones, add these to the sauce, season with pepper and salt to taste, bring to the boiling point and serve.

SAUCE HOLLANDAISE.

One-quarter of a pound of butter, one-quarter of a cup of water, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, the juice of a quarter of a lemon, a dash of cayenne, and the yolks of three eggs. Beat the butter to a cream and stir in the yolks of eggs, one at a time, then the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set the bowl it is mixed in in a pan of boiling water on the fire, beating constantly with an egg beater, and when it begins to thicken stir in gradually the boiling water. When it is as thick as soft custard it is done. Great care must be taken not to let it remain too long on the fire or it will curdle.

DRAWN BUTTER OR CREAM SAUCE.

Melt a large heaping tablespoonful of butter and stir into it a heaping teaspoonful of flour, let them cook together without browning and add by degrees a cup of hot milk.

CURRY SAUCE.

Curry sauce is made by adding curry powder to taste to a white sauce. It may likewise be added to a brown sauce.

CHEESE SAUCE.

A white or cream sauce with grated Parmesan cheese added to taste.

TOMATO SAUCE.

Melt a large tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan over the fire, when it bubbles put into it a small onion and half a green pepper, if convenient, chopped very fine. Simmer gently for a few minutes, then stir in a heaping teaspoonful of flour, and add four nice, fresh tomatoes peeled and cut small--canned tomatoes may be used--a gill of vegetable stock, a clove and part of a bay leaf, and pepper and salt to taste. Let it cook gently for half an hour and press through a fine sieve.

SAUCE TARTARE

may be made by beating a small tablespoonful of butter to a cream, adding salt, pepper, dry mustard and sugar to taste and the raw yolk of an egg. Add a tablespoonful of olives, small cucumbers and capers chopped very fine and a few drops of onion juice. Serve with mock fish cutlets and croquettes.

SAUCE PIQUANTE.

Melt a heaping tablespoonful of butter in a spider and when it bubbles stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of flour, cook until it turns a dark brown, taking care not to let it burn, add to it enough well-seasoned vegetable stock to make the sauce the proper consistency, then pour it into a granite-ware saucepan and add one small cucumber pickle, two olives and a few capers, all chopped very fine; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sandwiches.

CHEESE SANDWICHES.

Half a pound of grated cheese, one tablespoonful of butter, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs mashed very fine and a teaspoonful of mayonnaise dressing. Mix the ingredients thoroughly; butter before cutting from the loaf some slices of brown or white home-made bread; spread with the mixture and fold together.

CELERY SANDWICHES.

Use dainty little baking powder biscuits freshly baked but cold, or white home-made bread for these sandwiches. Only the very tender part of celery should be used and chopped fine and put in iced water until needed. Add a few chopped walnuts to the celery and enough mayonnaise dressing to hold them together; butter the bread before cutting from the loaf, spread one slice with the mixture and press another over it. If biscuits are used, split and butter them. They should be small and very thin for this purpose and browned delicately.

NUT AND CREAM CHEESE SANDWICHES.

Boston brown bread buttered on the loaf and cut in very thin slices; spread with a filling of cream cheese and chopped walnut meats; press a buttered slice over it. They may be cut in fingers, rounds or half-moons. The proportion is three-quarters of a cup of nuts to a ten-cent package of Philadelphia cream cheese. This quantity will make a large number of sandwiches.

NUT SANDWICHES.

Graham, rye, and Boston brown bread make very nice sandwiches. Butter the loaf and cut in very thin slices, sprinkle with chopped nuts and fold together.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD AND PEANUT SANDWICHES.

Chop the nuts very fine, butter the bread before cutting from the loaf, sprinkle the nuts thickly over the butter, press two slices together. Boston brown bread with raisins is also nice for these sandwiches.

OLIVE SANDWICHES.

Prepare the bread and butter as for other sandwiches. It may be cut in squares, rounds or triangles to suit the fancy. Stone and chop as many Queen olives as needed and mix with them enough mayonnaise dressing to hold together, spread half the number of bread slices with the mixture and cover with the other half.

Brown, rye, whole wheat or white bread may be used. Home-made is preferable, but it must be twelve hours old. Sandwiches may be sweet or savory, may be cut round, square, or in triangles.

Sundries.

CRACKERS AND CHEESE TOASTED.

Butter some zepherettes and sprinkle thickly with grated Parmesan cheese, bake in a quick oven, or toast on a gridiron; serve hot.

CRACKERS WITH CREAM CHEESE AND GUAVA JELLY.

Spread zepherettes with cream cheese and dot with Guava jelly.

WELSH RAREBIT.

Half a pound of American cheese, two butter balls, two eggs, half a teaspoonful of mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne pepper, half a cup of milk and an even saltspoonful of soda. Cut the cheese fine, melt the butter in a chafing dish or spider, stir the mustard, salt and pepper with it, then add the cheese and milk; when the cheese is dissolved add the eggs slightly beaten and stir until it thickens. Serve on toast.

CHEESE SOUFFLE.

Melt one tablespoonful of butter in a spider, add to it a slightly heaping tablespoonful of flour and one cup of hot milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne pepper and one cup of grated Parmesan cheese; then add the yolks of three eggs beaten light, remove from the fire and let it cool; then add the whites of eggs beaten stiff, turn into a pudding dish, bake twenty-five minutes and serve immediately.

CHEESE STRAWS.

Take two ounces of flour and three ounces of Parmesan cheese grated (it is better to buy the cheese by the pound and have it grated at home), and two ounces of butter. Rub the butter into the flour, add the cheese and a little salt and cayenne pepper, and make into a paste with the yolk of an egg; roll the paste out in a sheet about an eighth of an inch thick and five inches wide and cut in narrow strips; bake in a hot oven about ten minutes.

PATE A CHOU FOR SOUPS.

Put a gill of milk and an ounce of butter into a saucepan over the fire; when it comes to the boiling point add two ounces of sifted flour; stir with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth, then add two eggs, one at a time, beating briskly; remove from the fire and spread out thin, cut in pieces, the size of a small bean, put them in a sieve, dredge with flour, shake it well and fry in boiling fat until a nice brown. Add to the soup after it is in the tureen.

A FILLING FOR PATTIES.

Break two eggs in a bowl, add a little salt and white pepper, a few drops of onion juice and four tablespoonfuls of cream, beat slightly; turn into a buttered tin cup, stand in a saucepan with a little boiling water in it on the stove, cover and cook until stiff--about three or four minutes--remove from the fire, turn out of the cup. When ready to use cut in half-inch slices and then into stars or any fancy shape preferred, or into dice. Make a cream sauce thicker than for other uses, that it may not run through the pastry; put them in the sauce, bring to the boiling point and fill the patties just as they are to be served.

GRUEL OF KERNEL FLOUR OR MIDDLINGS.

Put a pint of boiling water in a saucepan over the fire; mix two heaping teaspoonfuls of the flour with a little cold water and stir into the boiling water. Let it boil twenty minutes, add a little cream to it and salt. Very nutritious.

KOUMYSS.

Dissolve a third of a cake of compressed yeast in a little tepid water; take a quart of milk, fresh from the cow, or warmed to blood heat, and add to it a tablespoonful of sugar and the dissolved yeast. Put the mixture immediately in beer bottles with patent stoppers, filling to the neck, and let them stand for twelve hours where bread would be set to rise--that is, in a temperature of 68 or 70 degrees--then stand the bottles upside down on ice until wanted.

HOME-MADE BAKING POWDER.

Procure from a reliable druggist one-half pound of the best bicarbonate of soda, one pound of cream of tartar and one-half pound of Kingsford's cornstarch. Mix thoroughly and sift three times, put up in small tins. The best baking powder.

VANILLA EXTRACT.

One ounce of Mexican vanilla bean, two ounces of loaf sugar, eight ounces of French rose water, twenty-four ounces of alcohol 95 per cent. Cut up the bean and pound with the sugar in a mortar, sift and pound again until all is a fine powder. Mix the alcohol and rose water; put the vanilla in a paper filter, pour over it a little of the liquid at a time until all is used; filter again if not all is dissolved. Paper filters may be obtained at any of the large drug stores. The extract may be darkened by using a little caramel.

VANILLA SUGAR.

Half a pound of loaf sugar, half an ounce of Mexican vanilla beans. Cut the beans very fine, pound in a mortar with the sugar; sift and pound again until all is fine. Bottle and cork tight and keep in a dark place.

SPINACH FOR COLORING.

Pound some spinach in a mortar, adding a little water; squeeze through a cheese cloth, put in a saucepan over the fire, bring to a boil; when it curdles remove from the stove. Strain through a very fine sieve; what remains on the under part of the sieve is the coloring. It is used for coloring pistache ice cream, jellies, etc.

TOMATO PASTE FOR SANDWICHES.

Skin and cut small three large tomatoes, cook until tender and press through a sieve fine enough to retain the seeds; return to the fire, add two ounces of butter, two ounces of grated bread crumbs and two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese. When it boils stir a beaten egg quickly into it, remove at once from the fire. It must not boil after the egg is added, as it will curdle. Turn the mixture into a bowl and when cold, if it is not for immediate use, cover with melted butter.

CHEESE PASTE FOR SANDWICHES.

Boil two eggs hard, separate the yolks from the whites, mash the yolks smooth and chop the whites very fine; mix and put through a vegetable press, then add butter the size of a small egg and three heaping tablespoonfuls of grated American cheese. Beat together until it is a fine, smooth paste. If not salt enough add a little, and also dry mustard, if liked.

Miscellaneous Recipes.

TOOTH POWDER.

Precipitated chalk, seven ounces; Florentine orris, four ounces; bicarbonate of soda, three ounces; powdered white Castile soap, two ounces; thirty drops each of oil of wintergreen and sassafras. Sift all together and keep in a glass jar or tin box. A very valuable recipe for hardening the teeth.

JAPANESE CREAM.

Four ounces of ammonia, four ounces of white Castile soap cut fine, two ounces of alcohol, two ounces of Price's glycerine and two ounces of ether. Put the soap in one quart of water over the fire; when dissolved add four quarts of water; when cold add the other ingredients, bottle and cork tight. It will keep indefinitely. It should be made of soft water or rain water. To wash woolens, flannels, etc., take a teacup of the liquid to a pail of lukewarm water, and rinse in another pail of water with half a cup of the cream. Iron while damp on the wrong side. For removing grass stains, paint, etc, use half water and half cream.

ORANGE FLOWER LOTION FOR THE COMPLEXION.

Dissolve a slightly heaping tablespoonful of Epsom salts in a pint of imported orange flower water (Chiris de Grasse), and add to it one tablespoonful of witch hazel. Apply with a soft linen cloth. Very refreshing in warm weather and an excellent remedy for oiliness of the skin.

BAY RUM.