Part 7

Make good common, or raised pie crust, divide it into as many pieces, as you wish dumplings. Pare tart mellow apples, take out the cores, with a penknife, fill the holes with a blade of mace, and sugar. Roll out your crust half an inch thick, and enclose an apple in each piece. Tie them up in separate bags, that are floured inside. Drop them into a pot of boiling water, and boil them without any intermission for an hour, then take them out of the bags. If allowed to stop boiling they will not be light. Eat them with butter and sugar, or pudding sauce.

225. _Orange Pudding._

Mix three ounces of butter, with four table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, when stirred to a cream, add a quart of boiling milk, the juice and peel of two large oranges, the peel should be chopped very fine, put in a gill of wine, then an ounce of citron, cut into small strips, add eight eggs, the whiles and yolks beaten separately. Mix the whole well together, then turn it into a pudding dish, with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake it directly in a quick oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes.

226. _Bird's Nest Pudding._

Pare and halve tart mellow apples, scoop out the cores, put a little flour in the hollow of the apples, and wet it so as to form a thick paste, stick a blade or two of mace and three or four Zante currants, in each one of the apples. Butter small cups, and put half an apple, in each one, lay three or four narrow strips of citron round each apple. Mix a quart of milk, with three table spoonsful of flour, six eggs, a grated nutmeg and four table spoonsful of sugar. Nearly fill the cups with this mixture. Bake them about thirty minutes. They should be eaten as soon as done.

227. _Apple Custard Pudding._

Pare and take out the cores of nice tart apples, lay them in a pudding dish, well buttered, fill the holes of the apples, with nutmeg and sugar. For nine or ten apples, mix half a pint of flour with a quart of milk, four table spoonsful of sugar, and seven eggs, turn it over the apples, flavor it with whatever spice you like, and bake it about half an hour.

228. _English Plum Pudding._

Soak three quarters of a pound of finely pounded crackers in two quarts of milk. Put in twelve beaten eggs, half a pound of stoned raisins, quarter of a pound of Zante currants, the same weight of citron, cut into small pieces, and five ounces of blanched and pounded almonds; add a wine glass of lemon brandy, or wine, and a little orange flower, or rosewater, and a little salt. Bake or boil it from two hours and a half, to three hours.

229. _Transparent Pudding._

Melt half a pound of butter, and stir it into the same weight of double refined loaf sugar, add half a tea spoonful of essence of lemon, eight eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, and a couple of table spoonsful of cream. Set the whole on a few coals, stir it constantly till it thickens, take it off before it gets to boiling, and stir it till nearly cold, then turn it into a dish lined with pastry, put a rim of puff paste round the edge, and bake it half an hour. It will cut light and clear.

230. _Lemon Syrup._

Mix a pint of lemon juice with a pound and three quarters of lump sugar. Dissolve it by a gentle heat, skim it until clear, then add one ounce of thin cut lemon peel, and simmer if gently for a few moments. Strain it through a flannel bag; when cold, bottle, cork, and seal it tight, keep it in a cool place. Another method of making it which is cheaper, and very good, is to dissolve half an ounce of citric acid, in a pint of clarified syrup, by a gentle heat; when cool, put in a few drops of oil or a little essence of lemon.

231. _Orange Syrup._

Take nice fresh oranges, squeeze out the juice, and strain it; to a pint of juice put a pound and a half of while sugar. Dissolve it over a moderate fire, put in the peel of the oranges, and let the whole boil eight or ten minutes. Strain it till clear, through a flannel bag, bottle and cork it tight. This is nice to flavor puddings and pies, or sherbet.

232. _Blackberry Syrup._

Pick over blackberries that are perfectly ripe, boil them in their juice till they break to pieces, then strain them through a flannel cloth, and to each pint of juice put a pound of sugar. Boil it again for ten minutes, then strain it and add a wine glass of brandy to each pint of syrup. When cool, bottle and cork it tight, and set it in a cool place. This mixed with cold water in the proportion of a wine glass of it to two thirds of a tumbler of water is a very agreeable summer beverage, it also possesses fine medicinal properties.

233. _Clarified Syrup for Sweet Meats._

For most kinds of fruit, one pound of sugar, to one of the fruit, is sufficient to preserve them; some kinds of fruit will do with less. Put your sugar into your preserving kettle, and turn in as much cold water as you think will cover your fruit, when put in, add the white of an egg to every three pounds of sugar, then put it over a slow fire; when the sugar has dissolved, put it where it will boil, let it boil several minutes, then take it from the fire, and skim it till clear, put it back on the fire, when the scum rises again, take the kettle off and skim it again, this operation repeat till it is perfectly clear, then put in the fruit. If you have not syrup enough to cover the fruit, take the fruit out and put in more cold water, and let it get to boiling before you put in the fruit, if you have too much syrup, it should boil away before you boil your fruit in it. White sugar is better than brown for preserving, but brown sugar answers very well for common sweet meats. Every kind of ware but iron, will do to preserve in, but earthen ware is the best on account of its not imparting an unpleasant taste, to the sweet meats.

234. _To Preserve Quinces._

Quinces if very ripe, are best pared and cut in slices about an inch thick, the cores should be taken out carefully with a small knife, then put the quinces in clarified syrup, and boil them till you can stick a broom splinter through them easily, take them up and put them in jars, and turn the syrup over them, cover them up, and put them in a cool place, as soon as done. Quinces preserved in this manner retain more of their natural flavor, but they cannot be preserved in this way without they are very ripe. If not very ripe pare and halve them, and take out the cores. Boil the quinces till tender, then take them out, strain the water they were boiled in, and use it to make a syrup for the quinces, allow a pound of sugar to a pound of the fruit, when clarified put in the quinces and boil them slowly half an hour. Set them away in jars covered with a paper wet in brandy. Look at them in the course of three or four days, and if they have begun to ferment, turn off the syrup, and scald it, then turn it back on the quinces. Some people boil the cores of the quinces with them, but the syrup does not look as nice for it. A cheap way of preserving quinces, which is very good for common use, is to boil the parings and cores in cider till tender, then strain the cider, and for ten pounds of quince, put in two pounds of brown sugar, and a couple of quarts of molasses, and the beaten whites of two eggs; put it on the fire, clarify it, then put in the quinces, which should be pared and halved, put in the peel of an orange, boil them till tender.

235. _Quince Marmalade._

Wash and quarter them, put them on the fire, with a little water, and stew them till tender enough to rub through a sieve. When strained, put to a pound of pulp, a pound of brown sugar, set it back on the fire, and let it stew slowly, stir it constantly. To ascertain when it is done, take a little of it out and let it get cold, if it then cuts smooth and clear it is sufficiently stewed. Crab apple marmalade, is made in the same manner.

236. _To Preserve Pears._

Take an ounce of race ginger, for every pound of pears. Scrape off the skin, cut it into thin slices, and boil it until tender, then take it from the fire, put in your sugar, allowing three quarters of a pound to a pound of the pears, set it on the fire, clarify it, then put in the pears, if very small they are good preserved whole, boil them till tender, then put them in jars tightly covered, set them away in a cool place. In the course of five or six days, boil the syrup again, and turn it on them while hot. Choke and Vergoulouse are the best pears for preserving. The ginger can be omitted if not liked.

237. _To Preserve Peaches._

Pare your peaches, which should be very ripe, and if you wish to preserve them whole, allow a pound of sugar, to a pound of fruit. Take lump sugar, break it into small pieces, and dip each piece into cold water, let it be in just long enough to get saturated with the water, then put the lumps into a preserving kettle, set the kettle over a slow fire, when the sugar has dissolved, put in your peaches, boil them twenty minutes. These as well as all other sweet meats, should be set away in a cool place, as soon as done, if allowed to stand by the fire for a few hours, the syrup will not look clear; all preserves should be covered up tight. Let them remain several days, then turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back on to them, while hot. If you preserve your peaches without the stones, three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is sufficient, take those that are mellow and juicy, pare and halve them, take out the stones, put them in a deep dish; on each layer of peach, sprinkle your sugar, let them stand three or four hours, then put them on the fire with very little water, let them boil slowly for twenty minutes.

238. _To Preserve Currants._

Take your currants from the stems, for a pound of currants, allow a pound of sugar. Make some syrup, clarify it, and put in the currants, let them boil slowly for a few moments. A table spoonful of these, mixed with a tumbler of water is a very wholesome drink in the summer.

239. _To Preserve Barberries._

Pick over your barberries, and put them in clarified syrup, boil them half an hour. Molasses does very well to preserve barberries in, for common use, with a little orange peel boiled with them. Preserved barberries mixed with water, is a very refreshing drink in fevers.

240. _To Preserve Ginger._

Take green ginger, and soak it until you can scrape off the outside, when scraped, soak it in salt and water one day, then take it out of the salt and water, and boil it till tender. Make a syrup of white sugar, allowing equal weights of sugar and ginger, when clarified take it off, and when cold, turn it on the ginger, let it remain a week, then boil the ginger and syrup together, until the syrup appears to have entered the ginger, when cool put in a little essence of lemon.

241. _To Preserve Apples._

Take nice tart apples, halve and quarter them, and take out the cores. For a pound of apples, allow three quarters of a pound of sugar. When you have clarified your syrup, put in the apples, with the skin of a lemon pared thin. When the apples are tender, take them up, and let the syrup remain till cold, then turn it over them. Apples preserved in this manner, will keep but a few days. Crab apples should be preserved whole, with the skins on, and to a pound of the apples put a pound of sugar.

242. _To Preserve Cymbelines or Mock Citron._

Cut and scrape the rinds of cymbelines, put them in strong salt and water, let them remain in it a week, then in fair water three days, changing the water every day, then 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 in alum water. Make your syrup, allowing a pound and a half of sugar, to a pound of the melon, boil your cymbelines in it three quarters of an hour. These are good eaten as any other preserves, or put in cake instead of citron.

243. _To Preserve Watermelon Rinds._

Take the rind of a nice watermelon, cut it in strips and boil them a quarter of an hour, with a tea spoonful of saleratus to three or four quarts of water, then soak them in alum water an hour, rinse and put them in clarified syrup, and boil them twenty minutes. When they have stood three or four days, turn the syrup from them, and boil it, then turn it back on the rinds while hot. Allow equal weights of rinds and sugar.

244. _To Preserve Cherries._

Allow three quarters of a pound of sugar, to a pound of cherries. Make your syrup, allowing half a pint of water, to two pounds of cherries, put in your cherries, shake them occasionally to prevent their sticking to the kettle. When the syrup is colored strain the cherries.

245. _To Preserve Muskmelons._

Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green, the later in the season, the better. Scrape off the skin of the rind, taking care not to scrape the green part. Cut them through the middle, and take out the seeds, then cut them in the form of rings an inch thick. Put them in salt and water, and let them lay several days, then in fair water one day, changing the water several times; take them out and soak them in alum water, one or two hours. Take race ginger, the green is the best, soak it until you can scrape off the outside, cut it in slices, and boil it until tender. Boil your melons in fresh water, with a handful of peach leaves, and the ginger, allowing half an ounce to each pound of fruit. When the melon is tender, put it in alum water, together with the ginger. Make the syrup for the melons, allowing a pound of white sugar, to a pound of the fruit, when clarified put in the melons, and boil them, together with the ginger, half an hour, take them up, turn the syrup over them, when cool, drop in a little essence of lemon. When they have stood several days turn the syrup from them, boil and turn it back while hot, to the melons.

246. _To Preserve Pine Apples._

Pare off the rind of the pine apples, cut them in slices an inch thick. Weigh out a pound of white sugar, allowing a pound of it to each pound of fruit, lay your pine apples in a deep dish, on each layer of it sprinkle some of your sugar, (which should be powdered.) Set the pine apples away till the next day, reserving part of the sugar. Then turn the syrup from the pine apples into your preserving pan, add your reserved sugar, put in a tea cup of water, to the juice of four or five pine apples, clarify it, then put in the apples, and boil them till tender. Let the whole stand in a dish several days, and if there is any appearance of fermentation, put it in a preserving pan, scald it through, then turn it into glasses, and set it in a cool place.

247. _To Preserve Pumpkins._

Take a good sweet pumpkin, halve it, take out the seeds, and cut it in chips, of the size of a dollar. To each pound of pumpkin, allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a gill of lemon juice. Put your pumpkin chips in a dish, and to each layer, put a layer of sugar, turn the lemon juice over the whole, and let it stand a day, then boil it till tender, with half a pint of water to four or five pounds of the pumpkin. Tie up ginger in a bag, and boil with it, also the rind of several lemons, cut into chips.

248. _To Preserve Gages._

Take equal quantities of fruit and sugar. Make a syrup of the sugar, (which should be white,) with a little water, when it boils drop in the plums, boil them very slowly for a few moments, then take them up into dishes, and let them remain several days, then boil them again, until the syrup appears to have entered them. Put the plums in jars, boil the syrup again, in the course of two or three days, and turn it over them.

249. _To Preserve Strawberries._

Take Chili or field strawberries, and hull them. Take equal quantities of fruit, and white sugar, and put a layer of each alternately in a preserving pan, having a layer of strawberries at the bottom, let them stand for half an hour, then put a gill of cold water with them, to prevent their burning at the bottom of the pan. Set them over a moderate fire, when the juice runs freely increase the fire, until they boil briskly, when they have boiled half an hour, take them up, turn them into bottles, cork them tight, and dip the mouths of the bottles into hot sealing wax. Keep them in dry sand.

250. _Blackberry and Raspberry Jam._

For a pound of berries allow a pound of brown sugar, put a layer of each alternately in a dish, let them stand two or three hours, strain them, put them over a moderate fire, and boil them half an hour.

251. _Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Jelly._

Pick over your fruit carefully, then mash and squeeze the berries through a flannel bag, to each pint of juice put a pound of white sugar, set it on the fire, when it has boiled seven or eight minutes, take it from the fire and skim it till clear, then put it back on the fire; as fast as the scum rises take it from the fire, and skim it. To ascertain when it is done, take a little of it from the fire, and let it be till cold.

252. _Cranberry, Grape and Currant Jelly._

Wash and drain the berries till nearly dry, then put them in a preserving pan, with a plate at the bottom, heat them till they break, then strain them through a flannel cloth; to each pint put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim them till perfectly clear, the kettle should be taken from the fire when skimmed. When the jelly has boiled four or five hours, take a little of it up, and put it in a tumbler of cold water, if it sinks to the bottom in a solid mass, it is done sufficiently. Jellies are improved, by being put in the sun for several days. Care must be taken, that the dew does not fall on them.

253. _Quince Jelly._

Halve your quinces, take out the cores, and boil the quinces until very soft, in just sufficient water to cover them, then squeeze them through a flannel bag, and to a pound of quince pulp, put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, strain it again, fill your glasses and cover them tight.

254. _Apple Jelly._

Take greenings, pippins or crab apples, halve them and take out the cores, boil them till tender in water just sufficient to cover them, boil with them the peel and juice of a lemon, to every three pounds of the apple. Strain the apple, and to each pound, put a pound of loaf sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, take it up, color it if you like, either with saffron, beet juice, or cochineal. Strain it, and put it in glasses, and set them in a cool place.

255. _Lemon Jelly._

Put on a slow fire an ounce and a half of isinglass, (pulled into small pieces,) a pint of water, with the rind of several lemons; when dissolved put in a pint of lemon juice, a pound and a half of white sugar, color it with a few grains of saffron, strain it through a flannel bag, then boil it ten or fifteen minutes, strain it till clear, let it remain till nearly congealed, then fill your glasses or moulds with it. To get it out of the moulds dip them into lukewarm water for a minute, the jelly will then come out easily.

256. _Calf's Foot Jelly._

To four feet put four quarts of water, boil them till tender, and the water boils away to one quart. Take it off, let it stand till cold, then skim off the fat carefully, and put the jelly into a preserving pan, and set it on the fire; when it melts take it from the fire, put in the beaten whites of seven eggs, a little cinnamon, half a pint of white wine, the juice of two lemons, and the rind, leaving out the white part; sweeten the whole to your taste, with loaf sugar. Put it back on the fire, and boil it fifteen minutes, then strain it through a flannel bag, without squeezing it, if it is not clear the first time it is strained, strain it till it is. The bag should be suspended on a nail over a dish, and the jelly poured into it, and allowed to drain through it gradually. When clear turn it into cups or glasses, and set them where the jelly will congeal, but not so cold as to freeze it. This kind of jelly will not keep longer than two or three days in warm weather. A knuckle of veal makes a jelly as good as calves' feet, it is made in the same manner. Jellies and sweet meats are less liable to ferment, if kept in glass jars or bottles. A paper wet in spirits and put over sweet meats, has a tendency to prevent their fermenting. Sweet meats should be carefully watched during warm weather, and if fermentation commences turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back.

257. _Coffee._

To make good strong coffee, allow for each person a heaping table spoonful of ground coffee, and a pint of water. Put your coffee into a tin pot, with a piece of fish skin about the size of a ninepence, to two or three quarts of water, turn on your water boiling hot, and boil the coffee from fifteen to twenty minutes, take it off, and let it stand to settle five or six minutes, then turn it off carefully. French coffee is made in a German filter, the water is turned on to it boiling hot, an ounce to each person is allowed, put in a piece of fish skin before you turn on the water. When cream cannot be preserved for coffee, boiled milk is a good substitute. Many people dislike to settle coffee with fish skin, thinking it imparts a disagreeable taste to the coffee, but it is owing to its not being prepared properly, the skin should be taken from mild codfish, washed, and cut into small pieces and dried perfectly. The white of an egg, egg shells, and isinglass, are all good to settle coffee. The best kind of coffee is old Java, and Mocha; before it is roasted, it should be hung over the fire two or three hours to dry, if dried in the oven it looses its strength, it should be hung at such a distance from the fire, as to be in no danger of burning. When dry put it on hot coals, and stir it constantly till done, which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest kernels, if it is brittle, the whole is done. Put it in a box, and cover it up tight, to keep in the steam.

Coffee is much better roasted in a coffee roaster, than a kettle, as the fine aromatic flavor of the coffee is preserved, which escapes in a great measure, when roasted in an open kettle.

258. _To make Tea._

Scald your tea pot, and put in a tea spoonful of tea, for each person that is to drink it, if it is a weak kind of tea, more will be required, pour on just boiling water enough to cover it, let it stand six or eight minutes, not longer if you wish to have it in perfection, pour on the rest of the water boiling hot.

259. _Chocolate._

Scrape the chocolate off fine, and mix it smoothly with a little cold milk, or water. If liked very rich, make it entirely of milk, if not, use equal quantities of milk and water, boil it, then stir in the chocolate while boiling, sweeten it to your taste, let it boil five or six minutes; if liked rich, grate in a little nutmeg. A heaping table spoonful of grated chocolate to a pint of milk, or water, is the right proportion.

260. _Hop Beer._

For three gallons of beer, take nine quarts of water, six ounces of hops. Boil the hops in half the water three hours, strain it, then boil the hops again in the remainder of the water, three hours longer, with a tea cup of ginger. Strain and put it with the rest of the liquor, and two quarts of molasses, and when lukewarm, put in a pint of new yeast, without any salt in it. Keep it in a temperate place, till it has ceased fermenting, which is ascertained by the froth subsiding. Turn it off carefully into a cask, or bottle it; it should not be corked very tight, or it will burst the bottles. Keep the bottles in a cool place.

261. _Spruce Beer._