Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
by
Eliza Leslie
Part 8 out of 9
cloth, and set it away for use. When it is to be taken, warm a
tea-cupful, sweeten it with sugar, and add a little grated lemon-peel.
ARROW ROOT JELLY.
Mix three table-spoonfuls of arrow root powder in a tea-cup of
water till quite smooth, cover it, and let it stand a quarter of
an hour. Put the yellow peel of a lemon into a skillet with a pint
of water, and let it boil till reduced to one half. Then take out
the lemon-peel, and pour in the dissolved arrow root, (while the
water is still boiling;) add sufficient white sugar to sweeten it
well, and let it boil together for five or six minutes. It may be
seasoned (if thought necessary) with two tea-spoonfuls of wine,
and some grated nutmeg.
It may be boiled in milk instead of water, or in wine and water,
according to the state of the person for whom it is wanted.
RICE JELLY.
Having picked and washed a quarter of a pound of rice, mix it with
half a pound of loaf-sugar, and just sufficient water to cover it.
Boil it till it becomes a glutinous mass; then strain it; season
it with whatever may be thought proper; and let it stand to cool.
PORT WINE JELLY.
Melt in a little warm water an ounce of isinglass; stir it into a
pint of port wine, adding two ounces of sugar candy, an ounce of
gum arabic, and half a nutmeg grated. Mix all well, and boil it
ten minutes; or till every thing is thoroughly dissolved. Then
strain it through muslin, and set it away to get cold.
SAGO.
Wash the sago through two or three water, and then let it soak for
two or three hours. To a tea-cupful of sago allow a quart of water
and some of the yellow peel of a lemon. Simmer it till all the
grains look transparent. Then add as much wine and nutmeg as may
be proper, and give it another boil altogether. If seasoning is
not advisable, the sago may be boiled in milk instead of water,
and eaten plain.
TAPIOCA.
Wash the tapioca well, and let it steep for five or six hours,
changing the water three times. Simmer it in the last water till
quite clear, then season it with sugar and wine, or lemon juice.
GRUEL.
Allow three large table-spoonfuls of oatmeal or Indian meal to a
quart of water. Put the meal into a large bowl, and add the water,
a little at a time, mixing and bruising the meal with the back of
a spoon. As you proceed, pour off the liquid into another bowl,
every time, before adding fresh water to the meal, till you have
used it all up. Then boil the mixture for twenty minutes, stirring
it all the while; add a little salt. Then strain the gruel and
sweeten it. A piece of butter may be stirred into it; and, if
thought proper, a little wine and nutmeg. It should be taken warm.
OATMEAL GRUEL.
Put four table-spoonfuls of the best grits (oatmeal coarsely
ground) into a pint of boiling water. Let it boil gently, and stir
it often, till it becomes as thick as you wish it. Then strain it,
and add to it while warm, butter, wine, nutmeg, or whatever is
thought proper to flavour it.
If you make the gruel of fine oatmeal, sift it, mix it first to a
thick batter with a little cold water, and then put it into the
sauce-pan of boiling water. Stir it all the time it is boiling,
lifting the spoon gently up and down, and letting the gruel fall
slowly back again into the pan.
PANADA.
Having pared off the crust, boil some slices of bread in a quart
of water for about five minutes. Then take out the bread, and beat
it smooth in a deep dish, mixing in a little of the water it has
boiled in; and mix it with a bit of fresh butter, and sugar and
nutmeg to your taste. Another way is to grate some bread, or to
grate or pound a few crackers. Pour on boiling water, beat it
well, and add sugar and nutmeg.
BARLEY WATER.
Wash clean some barley, (either pearl or common) and to two ounces
of barley allow a quart of water. Put it into a sauce-pan, adding,
if you choose, an equal quantity of stoned raisins; or some lemon-peel
and sugar; or some liquorice root cut up. Let it boil slowly
till the liquid is reduced one half. Then strain it off, and
sweeten it.
GROUND RICE MILK.
Mix in a bowl two table-spoonfuls of ground rice, with sufficient
milk to make a thin batter. Then stir it gradually into a pint of
milk and boil it with sugar, lemon-peel or nutmeg.
BEEF TEA.
Cut a pound of the lean of fresh juicy beef into small thin
slices, and sprinkle them with a very little salt. Put the meat
into a wide-mouthed glass or stone jar closely corked, and set it
in a kettle or pan of water, which must be made to boil, and kept
boiling hard round the jar for an hour or more. Then take out the
jar and strain the essence of the beef into a bowl. Chicken tea
may be made in the same manner.
MUTTON BROTH.
Cut off all the fat from a loin of mutton, and to each pound of
the lean allow a quart of water. Season it with a little salt and
some shred parsley, and put in some large pieces of the crust of
bread. Boil it slowly for two or three hours, skimming it
carefully.
Beef, veal, or chicken broth may be made in the same manner.
Vegetables may be added if approved. Also barley or rice.
MUTTON BROTH MADE QUICKLY.
Cut three chops from the best part of a neck of mutton, and remove
the fat and skin. Beat the meat on both sides and slice it thin.
Put into a small sauce-pan with a pint of water, a little salt,
and some crust of bread cut into pieces. You may add a little
parsley, and a small onion sliced thin. Cover the sauce-pan, and
set it over the fire. Boil it fast, skim it, and in half an hour
it should be ready for use.
WINE WHEY.
Boil a pint of milk; and when it rises to the top of the sauce-pan,
pour in a large glass of sherry or Madeira. It will be the
better for adding a glass of currant wine also. Let it again boil
up, and then take the sauce-pan off the fire, and set it aside to
stand for a few minutes, but do not stir it. Then remove the curd,
(if it has completely formed,) and pour the clear whey into a bowl
and sweeten it.
When wine is considered too heating, the whey may be made by
turning the milk with lemon juice.
RENNET WHEY.
Wash a small bit of rennet about two inches square, in cold water,
to get off the salt. Put it into a tea-cup and pour on it
sufficient lukewarm water to cover it. Let it stand all night, and
in the morning stir the rennet water into a quart pitcher of warm
milk. Cover it, and set it near the fire till a firm curd is
formed. Pour off the whey from it, and it will be found an
excellent and cooling drink. The curd may be eaten (though not by
a sick person) with wine, sugar, and nutmeg.
CALF'S FEET BROTH.
Boil two calf's feet in two quarts of water, till the liquid is
reduced one half, and the meat has dropped to pieces. Then strain
it into a deep dish or pan, and set it by to get cold. When it has
congealed, take all the fat carefully off; put a tea-cupful of the
jelly into a sauce-pan, and set it on hot coals. When it has
nearly boiled, stir in by degrees the beaten yolk of an egg, and
then take it off immediately. You may add to it a little sugar,
and some grated lemon-peel and nutmeg.
CHICKEN BROTH AND PANADA.
Cut up a chicken, season it with a very little salt, and put it
into three quarts of water. Let it simmer slowly till the flesh
drops to pieces. You may make chicken panada or gruel of the same
fowl, by taking out the white meat as soon as it is tender,
mincing it fine, and then pounding it in a mortar, adding as you
pound it, sufficient of the chicken water to moisten the paste.
You may thin it with water till it becomes liquid enough to drink.
Then put it into a sauce-pan and boil it gently a few minutes.
Taken in small quantities, it will be found very nutritious. You
may add to it a little grated lemon-peel and nutmeg.
VEGETABLE SOUP.
Take a white onion, a turnip, a pared potato, and a head of
celery, or a large tea-spoonful of celery seed. Put the vegetables
whole into a quart of water, (adding a little salt,) and boil it
slowly till reduced to a pint. Make a slice of nice toast; lay it
in the bottom of a bowl, and strain the soup over it.
ONION SOUP.
Put half a pound of the best fresh butter into a stew-pan on the
fire, and let it boil till it has done making a noise; then have
ready twelve large onions peeled and cut small; throw them into
the butter, add a little salt, and stew them a quarter of an hour.
Then dredge in a little flour, and stir the whole very hard; and
in five minutes pour in a quart of boiling water, and some of the
upper crust of bread, cut small. Let the soup boil ten minutes
longer, stirring it often; and after you take it from the fire,
stir in the yolks of two beaten eggs, and serve it up immediately,
In France this soup is considered a fine restorative after any
unusual fatigue. Instead of butter, the onions may be boiled in
veal or chicken broth.
TOAST AND WATER.
Toast some slices of bread very nicely, without allowing them to
burn or blacken. Then put them into a pitcher, and fill it up with
boiling water. Let it stand till it is quite cold; then strain it,
and put it into a decanter. Another way of preparing toast and
water is to put the toasted bread into a mug and pour cold water
on it. Cover it closely, and let it infuse for at least an hour.
Drink it cold.
APPLE WATER.
Pare and slice a fine juicy apple; pour boiling water over it,
cover it, and let it stand till cold.
TAMARIND WATER.
Put tamarinds into a pitcher or tumbler till it is one-third full;
then fill it up with cold water, cover it, and let it infuse for a
quarter of an hour or more.
Currant jelly or cranberry juice mixed with water makes a pleasant
drink for an invalid.
MOLASSES POSSETS.
Put into a sauce-pan a pint of the best West India molasses; a
tea-spoonful of powdered white ginger; and a quarter of a pound of
fresh butter. Set it on hot coals, and simmer it slowly for half
an hour; stirring it frequently. Do not let it come to a boil.
Then stir in the juice of two lemons, or two table-spoonfuls of
vinegar; cover the pan, and let it stand by the fire five minutes
longer. This is good for a cold. Some of it may be taken warm at
once, and the remainder kept at hand for occasional use.
It is the preparation absurdly called by the common people a
stewed quaker.
Half a pint of strained honey mixed cold with the juice of a
lemon, and a table-spoonful of sweet oil, is another remedy for a
cold; a tea-spoonful or two to be taken whenever the cough is
troublesome.
FLAX-SEED LEMONADE.
To a large table-spoonful of flax-seed allow a tumbler and a half
of cold water. Boil them together till the liquid becomes very
sticky. Then strain it hot over a quarter of a pound of pulverized
sugar candy, and an ounce of pulverized gum arabic. Stir it till
quite dissolved, and squeeze into it the juice of a lemon.
This mixture has frequently been found an efficacious remedy for a
cold; taking a wine-glass of it as often as the cough is
troublesome.
COCOA.
Put into a sauce-pan two ounces of good cocoa (the chocolate nut
before it is ground) and one quart of water. Cover it, and as soon
as it has come to a boil, set it on coals by the side of the fire,
to simmer for an hour or more. Take it hot with dry toast.
COCOA SHELLS.
These can be procured at the principal grocers and confectioners,
or at a chocolate manufactory. They are the thin shells that
envelope the chocolate kernel, and are sold at a low price; a
pound contains a very large quantity. Soak them in water for five
or six hours or more, (it will be better to soak them all night,)
and then boil them in the same water. They should boil two hours.
Strain the liquid when done, and let it be taken warm.
RAW EGG.
Break a fresh egg into a saucer, and mix a little sugar with it;
also, if approved, a small quantity of wine. Beat the whole to a
strong froth. It is considered a restorative.
SODA WATER.
To forty grains of carbonate of soda, add thirty grains of
tartaric acid in small crystals. Fill a soda bottle with spring
water, put in the mixture, and cork it instantly with a well-fitting cork.
SEIDLITZ POWDERS.
Fold in a white paper one drachm of Rochelle salts. In a blue
paper a mixture of twenty grains of tartaric acid, and twenty-five
grains of carbonate of soda. They should all be pulverized very
fine. Put the contents of the white paper into a tumbler not quite
half full of cold water, and stir it till dissolved. Then put the
mixture from the blue paper into another tumbler with the same
quantity of water, and stir that also. When the powders are
dissolved in both tumblers, pour the first into the other, and it
will effervesce immediately. Drink it quickly while foaming.
BITTERS.
Take two ounces of gentian root, an ounce of Virginia snake root,
an ounce of the yellow paring of orange peel, and half a drachm of
cochineal. Steep these ingredients, for a week or more, in a quart
of Madeira or sherry wine, or brandy. When they are thoroughly
infused, strain and filter the liquor, and bottle it for use. This
is considered a good tonic, taken in a small cordial glass about
noon.
ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT.
Mix an ounce of oil of peppermint with a pint of alcohol. Then
colour it by putting in some leaves of green mint. Let it stand
till the colour is a fine green; then filter it through blotting
paper. Drop it on sugar when you take it.
Essence of pennyroyal, mint, cinnamon, cloves, &c. may all be
prepared in the same manner by mixing a portion of the essential
oil with a little alcohol.
You may obtain liquid camphor by breaking up and dissolving a lump
in white brandy or spirit of wine.
LAVENDER COMPOUND.
Fill a quart bottle with lavender blossoms freshly gathered, and
put in loosely; then pour in as much of the best brandy as it will
contain. Let it stand a fortnight, and then strain it. Afterwards,
mix with it of powdered cloves, mace, nutmeg and cochineal, a
quarter of an ounce of each; and cork it up for use in small
bottles. When taken, a little should be dropped on a lump of
sugar.
LEAD WATER.
Mix two table-spoonfuls of extract of lead with a bottle of rain
or river water. Then add two table-spoonfuls of brandy, and shake
it well.
[Footnote: These remedies are all very simple; but the author
_knows_ them to have been efficacious whenever tried.]
REMEDY FOR A BURN.
After immediately applying sweet oil, scrape the inside of a raw
potato, and lay some of it on the place, securing it with a rag.
In a short time put on fresh potato, and repeat this application
very frequently. It will give immediate ease, and draw out the
fire. Of course, if the burn is bad, it is best to send for a
physician.
FOR CHILBLAINS.
Dip the feet every night and morning in cold water, withdrawing
them in a minute or two, and drying them by rubbing them very hard
with a coarse towel. To put them immediately into a pail of brine
brought from a pickle tub is another excellent remedy when feet
are found to be frosted.
FOR CORNS.
Mix together a little Indian meal and cold water, till it is about
the consistence of thick mush. Then bind it on the corn by
wrapping a small slip of thin rag round the toe. It will not
prevent you from wearing your shoe and stocking. In two or three
hours take it off, and you will find the corn much softened. Cut
off as much of it as is soft with a penknife or scissors. Then put
on a fresh poultice, and repeat it till the corn is entirely
levelled, as it will be after a few regular applications of the
remedy; which will be found successful whenever the corn returns.
There is no permanent cure for them.
WARTS.
To remove the hard callous horny warts which sometimes appear on
the hands of children, touch the wart carefully with a new pen
dipped slightly in aqua-fortis. It will give no pain; and after
repeating it a few times, the wart will be found so loose as to
come off by rubbing it with the finger.
RING-WORMS.
Rub mercurial ointment on the ring-worm previous to going to bed,
and do not wash it off till morning. It will effect a cure if
persevered in; sometimes in less than a week.
MUSQUITO BITES.
Salt wetted into a sort of paste, with a little vinegar, and
plastered on the bite, will immediately allay the pain; and if not
rubbed, no mark will be seen next day. It is well to keep salt and
vinegar always in a chamber that is infested with musquitoes. It
is also good for the sting of a wasp or bee; and for the bite of
any venomous animal, if applied immediately. It should be left on
till it becomes dry, and then renewed.
ANTIDOTE FOR LAUDANUM.
When so large a quantity of laudanum has been swallowed as to
produce dangerous effects, the fatal drowsiness has been prevented
when all other remedies have failed, by administering a cup of the
strongest possible coffee. The patient has revived and recovered,
and no ill effects have followed.
GREEN OINTMENT.
Take two or three large handfuls of the fresh-gathered leaves of
the Jamestown weed, (called Apple Peru in New England,) and pound
it in a mortar till you have extracted the juice. Then put the
juice into a tin sauce-pan, mixed with sufficient lard to make a
thick salve. Stew them together ten or fifteen minutes, and then
pour the mixture into gallipots and cover it closely. It is
excellent to rub on chilblains, and other inflammatory external
swellings, applying it several times a day.
TO STOP BLOOD.
For a prick with a pin, or a slight cut, nothing will more
effectually stop the bleeding than old cobwebs compressed into a
lump and applied to the wound, or bound on it with a rag. A scrap
of cotton wadding is also good for stopping blood.
PERFUMERY, ETC.
COLOGNE WATER.
Procure at a druggists, one drachm of oil of lavender, the same
quantity of oil of lemon, of oil of rosemary, and of oil of
cinnamon; with two drachms of oil of bergamot, all mixed in the
same phial, which should be a new one. Shake the oils well, and
pour them into a pint of spirits of wine. Cork the bottle tightly,
shake it hard, and it will be fit for immediate use; though it
improves by keeping. You may add to the oils, if you choose, ten
drops of the tincture of musk, or ten drops of extract of
ambergris.
For very fine cologne water, mix together in a new phial oil of
lemon, two drachms; oil of bergamot, two drachms; oil of lavender,
two drachms; oil of cedrat, one drachm; tincture of benzoin, three
drachms; neroli, ten drops; ambergris, ten drops; attar of roses,
two drops. Pour the mixture into a pint of spirits of wine; cork
and shake the bottle, and set it away for use.
Another receipt for cologne water is to mix with a pint of
alcohol, sixty drops or two large tea-spoonfuls of orange-flower
water, and the same quantity of the essential oils of lemon,
lavender, and bergamot.
LAVENDER WATER.
Mix two ounces of essential oil of lavender, and two drachms of
essence of ambergris, with a pint of spirits of wine; cork the
bottle, and shake it hard every day for a fortnight.
HUNGARY WATER.
Mix together one ounce of oil of rosemary and two drachms of
essence of ambergris; add them to a pint of spirits of wine. Shake
it daily for a month, and then transfer it to small bottles.
ROSE VINEGAR.
Fill a stone or china jar with fresh rose leaves put in loosely.
Then pour on them as much of the best white wine vinegar as the
jar will hold. Cover it, and set it in the sun, or in some other
warm place for three weeks. Then strain it through a flannel bag,
and bottle it for use, This vinegar will he found very fine for
salads, or for any nice purposes.
THIEVES' VINEGAR.
Take a large handful of lavender blossoms, and the same quantity
of sage, mint, rue, wormwood and rosemary. Chop and mix them well.
Put them into a jar, with half an ounce of camphor that has been
dissolved in a little alcohol, and pour in three quarts of strong
clear vinegar. Keep the jar for two or three weeks in the hot sun,
and at night plunge it into a box of heated sand. Afterwards
strain and bottle the liquid, putting into each bottle a clove of
garlic sliced. To have it very clear, after it has been bottled
for a week, you should pour it off carefully from the sediment,
and filter it through blotting paper. Then wash the bottles, and
return the vinegar to them. It should be kept very tightly corked.
It is used for sprinkling about in sick-rooms; and also in close
damp oppressive weather. Inhaling the odour from a small bottle
will frequently prevent faintness in a crowd.
It is best to make it in June.
This vinegar is so called from an old tradition, that during the
prevalence of the plague in London the composition was invented by
four thieves, who found it a preservative from contagion; and were
by that means enabled to remain in the city and exercise their
profession to great advantage, after most of the inhabitants had
fled.
OIL OF FLOWERS.
A French process for obtaining essential oils from flowers or
herbs has been described as follows:--Take carded cotton, or split
wadding and steep it in some pure Florence oil, such as is quite
clear and has no smell. Then place a layer of this cotton in the
bottom of a deep china dish, or in an earthen pipkin. Cover it
with a thick layer of fresh rose leaves, or the leaves of sweet
pink, jasmine, wall-flower, tuberose, magnolia blossoms, or any
other odoriferous flower or plant from which you wish to obtain
the perfume. Spread over the flower-leaves another layer of cotton
that has been steeped in oil. Afterwards a second layer of
flowers, and repeat them alternately till the vessel is quite
full. Cover it closely, and let it stand in the sun for a week.
Then throw away the flower-leaves, carefully press out the oil
from the cotton, and put it into a small bottle for use. The oil
will be found to have imbibed the odour of the flowers.
Keep the scented cotton to perfume your clothes-presses.
BALM OF GILEAD OIL.
Put loosely into a bottle as many balm of Gilead flowers as will
come up to a third part of its height; then nearly fill up the
bottle with sweet oil, which should be of the best quality. Let it
infuse (shaking it occasionally) for several days, and it will
then be fit for use. It is considered a good remedy for bruises of
the skin; also for cuts, burns, and scalds that are not very bad,
and should be applied immediately,--by wetting a soft rag with it;
renewing it frequently,
LIP SALVE.
Put into a wide-mouthed bottle four ounces of the best olive oil,
with one ounce of the small parts of alkanet root. Stop up the
bottle, and set it in the sun, (shaking it often,) till you find
the liquid of a beautiful crimson. Then strain off the oil very
clear from the alkanet root, put it into an earthen pipkin, and
add to it an ounce of white wax, and an ounce and a half of the
best mutton suet, which has been previously clarified, or boiled
and skimmed. Set the mixture on the embers of coals, and melt it
slowly: stirring it well. After it has simmered slowly far a
little while, take it off; and while still hot, mix with it a few
drops of oil of roses, or of oil of neroli, or tincture of musk.
COLD CREAM.
Cut very fine a drachm of white wax and a drachm of spermaceti.
Put it into a small sauce-pan with one ounce of oil of sweet
almonds, and mix them well together. Set it on hot coals, and as
soon as it has boiled take it off, and stir in an ounce of orange-flower
or rose-water. Beat it very hard, and then put it into
gallipots.
SOFT POMATUM.
Soak half a pound of fresh lard and a quarter of a pound of beef
marrow in water for two or three days; squeezing and pressing it
every day, and changing the water. Afterwards drain off the water,
and put the lard and marrow into a sieve to dry. Then transfer it
to a jar, and set the jar into a pot of boiling water. When the
mixture is melted, put it into a basin, and beat it with two
spoonfuls of brandy. Then drain off the brandy, perfume the
pomatum by mixing with it any scented essence that you please, and
tie it up in gallipots.
COSMETIC PASTE.
Take a quarter of a pound of Castile soap, and cut it into small
pieces. Then, put it into a tin or porcelain sauce-pan, with just
water enough to moisten it well, and set it on hot coals. Let it
simmer till it is entirely dissolved; stirring it till it becomes
a smooth paste, and thickening it with Indian meal, (which even in
a raw state is excellent for the hands.) Then take it from the
fire, and when cool scent it with rose-water, or with any fragrant
essence you please. Beat and stir it hard with a silver spoon, and
when it is thoroughly mixed put it into little pots with covers.
ACID SALT.
This is the composition commonly, but erroneously called salt of
lemon, and is excellent for removing ink and other stains from the
hands, and for taking ink spots out of white clothes. Pound
together in a marble mortar an ounce of salt of sorrel, and an
ounce of the best cream of tartar, mixing them thoroughly. Then,
put it in little wooden boxes or covered gallipots, and rub it on
your hands when they are stained, washing them in cold water, and
using the acid salt instead of soap; a very small quantity will
immediately remove the stain. In applying it to linen or muslin
that is spotted with ink or fruit juice, hold the stained part
tightly stretched over a cup or bowl of boiling water. Then with
your finger rub on the acid salt till the stain disappears. It
must always be done before the article is washed.
This mixture costs about twenty-five cents, and the above quantity
(if kept dry) will be sufficient for a year or more.
Ink stains may frequently be taken out of white clothes by rubbing
on (before they go to the wash) some bits of cold tallow picked
from the bottom of a mould candle; Leave the tallow sticking on in
a lump, and when the article comes from the wash, it will
generally be found that the spot has disappeared. This experiment
is so easy and so generally successful that it is always worth
trying. When it fails, it is in consequence of some peculiarity in
the composition of the ink.
SWEET JARS.
Take a china jar, and put into it three handfuls of fresh damask
rose-leaves; three of sweet pinks, three of wall-flowers, and
stock gilly-flowers, and equal proportions of any other fragrant
flowers that you can procure. Place them in layers; strewing fine
salt thickly between each layer, and mixing with them an ounce of
sliced orris root.
You may fill another jar with equal quantities of lavender,
knotted marjoram, rosemary, lemon thyme, balm of Gilead, lemon-peel,
and smaller quantities of laurel leaves and mint; and some
sliced orris root. You may mix with the herbs, (which must all be
chopped,) cloves, cinnamon, and sliced nutmeg; strewing salt
between the layers.
Flowers, herbs, and spice may all be mixed in the same jar; adding
always some orris root. Every thing that is put in should be
perfectly free from damp.
The jar should be kept closely covered, except when the cover is
occasionally removed for the purpose of diffusing the scent
through the room.
SCENTED BAGS.
Take a quarter of a pound of coriander seeds, a
quarter of a pound of orris root, a quarter of a pound of aromatic
calamus, a quarter of a pound of damask rose leaves, two ounces of
lavender blossoms, half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of
cinnamon, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and two drachms of
musk-powder. Beat them all separately in a mortar, and then mix
them well together. Make small silk or satin bags; fill each with
a portion of the mixture, and sew them closely all round. Lay them
among your clothes in the drawers.
VIOLET PERFUME.
Drop twelve drops of genuine oil of rhodium on a lump of loaf-sugar.
Then pound the sugar in a marble mortar with two ounces of
orris root powder. This will afford an excellent imitation of the
scent of violets. If you add more oil of rhodium, it will produce
a rose perfume. Sew up the powder in little silk bags, or keep it
in a tight box.
DURABLE INK.
Take, when empty, one of the little bottles that has contained
indelible ink, such as is sold in cases, and wash and rinse it
clean. Put into it half an inch of lunar caustic; fill it up with
good vinegar, and cork it tightly. This is the marking ink.
Prepare the larger bottle that has contained the liquid used for
the first wash, by making it quite clean. Take a large tea-spoonful
of salt of tartar, and a lump of gum arabic the size of a
hickory nut. Put them into the wash bottle, and fill it up with
clear rain water, Cork both bottles tightly, and set them for two
days in the sun. The liquids will then be fit for use.
Linen cannot be marked well with durable ink unless the weather is
clear and dry. Dip a camel's hair pencil in the large bottle that
contains the gum liquid, and wash over with it a small space on a
corner of the linen, about large enough to contain the name. Dry
it in the sun, and let it alone till next day. Then take a very
good pen, acid with the ink from the smallest bottle, write the
name you intend, on the place that has been prepared by the first
liquid. This also must be dried in the sun. See that the bottles
are always well corked, and keep them in a covered box.
After the linen is dried, iron it before you write on it.
ANOTHER DURABLE INK.
For the marking liquid--rub together in a small mortar five
scruples of lunar caustic with one drachm of gum arabic, one
scruple of sap-green and one ounce of rain water.
For wetting the linen--mix together one ounce of salt of soda, two
ounces of boiling water, and a table-spoonful of powdered gum
arabic.
TO KEEP PEARL-ASH.
Take three ounces of pearl-ash, and put it into a clean black
bottle with a pint and a half (not more) of soft water. The
proportion is an ounce of pearl-ash to half a pint of water. Cork
it very tightly, shake it, and it will be fit for use as soon as
all the pearl-ash is dissolved. A table-spoonful of this liquid is
equal to a small tea-spoonful of pearl-ash in the lump or powder.
Keeping it ready dissolved will be found very convenient.
ALMOND PASTE.
Blanch half a pound of shelled sweet, almonds, and a quarter of a
pound of bitter ones, and beat them in a mortar to a smooth paste
--adding by degrees a jill of rose or orange-flower water. Then
beat in, gradually, half a pound of clear strained honey. When the
whole is well incorporated, put it into gallipots, pouring on the
top of each some orange-flower or rose-water. Keep it closely
covered. This is a celebrated cosmetic for the hands.
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.
MINCED OYSTERS.
Take fifty fine large oysters, and mince them raw. Chop also four
or five small pickled cucumbers, and a bunch of parsley. Grate
about two tea-cupfuls of stale bread-crumbs, and beat up the yolks
of four eggs. Mix the whole together in a thick batter, seasoning
it with cayenne and powdered mace; and with a little salt if the
oysters are fresh. Have ready a pound of lard, and melt in the
frying-pan enough of it to fry the oysters well. If the lard is in
too small a quantity they will be flat and tough. When the lard is
boiling hot in the pan, put in about a table-spoonful at a time of
the oyster-mixture, and fry it in the form of small fritters;
turning them so as to brown on both sides. Serve them up hot, and
eat them with small bread rolls.
STEWED BLACK FISH.
Flour a deep dish, and lay in the bottom a piece of butter rolled
in flour. Then sprinkle it with a mixture of parsley, sweet
marjoram, and green onion; all chopped fine. Take your black fish
and rub it inside and outside with a mixture of cayenne, salt, and
powdered cloves and mace. Place skewers across the dish, and lay
the fish upon them. Then pour in a little wine, and sufficient
water to stew the fish. Set the dish in a moderate oven, and let
it cook slowly for an hour.
Shad or rock fish may be dressed in the same manner.
FRIED SMELTS.
These little fish are considered extremely fine. Before they are
cooked, cut off the heads and tails. Sprinkle the smelts with
flour, and have ready in a frying pan over the fire plenty of
fresh lard or butter. When it boils, put in the fish and fry them.
BROILED SWEET-BREADS.
Split open and skewer the sweet-breads; season them with pepper and
salt, and with powdered mace. Broil them on a gridiron till
thoroughly done. While they are broiling, prepare some melted
butter seasoned with mace and a little white wine, or mushroom
catchup; and have ready some toast with the crust cut off. Lay the
toast in the bottom of a dish; place the sweet-breads upon it, and
pour over them the drawn butter.
PICKLED EGGS.
Boil twelve eggs quite hard, and lay them in cold water; having
peeled off the shells. Then put them whole into a stone jar, with
a quarter of an ounce of whole mace, and the same quantity of
cloves; a sliced nutmeg; a table-spoonful of whole pepper; a small
bit of ginger; and a peach leaf. Fill up the jar with boiling
vinegar; cover it closely that the eggs may cool slowly. When they
are cold, tie up the jar; covering the cork with leather. After it
has stood three days pour off the pickle, boil it up again, and
return it boiling hot to the eggs and spice. They will be fit for
use in a fortnight.
GUMBO SOUP.
Take four pounds of the lean of a fresh round of beef and cut the
meat into small pieces, avoiding carefully all the fat. Season the
meat with a little pepper and salt, and put it on to boil with
three quarts and a pint of water (not more.) Boil it slowly and
skim it well. When no more scum rises, put in half a peck of
ochras, peeled and sliced, and half a peck of tomatas cut in
quarters. Boil it slowly till the ochras and tomatas are entirely
dissolved, and the meat all to rags. Then strain it through a
cullender, and send it to table with slices of dry toast. This
soup cannot be made in less than seven or eight hours. If you dine
at two, you must put on the meat to boil at six or seven in the
morning. It should be as thick as a jelly.
SHREWSBURY CAKES.
Rub three quarters of a pound of butter into two pounds of sifted
flour, and mix in half a pound of powdered sugar, and half a pound
of currants, washed and dried. Wet it to a stiff paste with rich
milk. Roll it out, and cut it into cakes. Lay them on buttered
baking sheets, and put them into a moderate oven.
RICE FLUMMERY.
To two quarts of milk allow half a pound of ground rice. Take out
one pint of the milk, and mix the rice gradually with it into a
batter; making it quite smooth and free from lumps. Put the three
pints of milk into a skillet, (with a bunch of peach leaves or a
few peach-kernels.) and let it come to a boil. Then while it is
still boiling, stir in by degrees the rice batter, taking care not
to have it lumpy; add sugar, mace, and rose brandy to your taste;
or you may flavour it with a small tea-spoonful of oil of lemon.
When it has boiled sufficiently, and is quite thick, strain it,
and put it into a mould to congeal. Make a rich boiled custard,
(flavoured in the same manner,) and send it to table in a pitcher
to eat with the flummery. Both should be cold. If you mould it in
tea-cups, turn it out on a deep dish, and pour the custard round
it.
APPLE BUTTER WITHOUT CIDER.
To ten gallons of water add six gallons of the best molasses,
mixing them well together. Put it into a large kettle over a good
fire; let it come to a hard boil, and skim it as long as any scum
continues to rise. Then take out half the liquid, and put it into
a tub. Have ready eight bushels of fine sound apples, pared, cored
and quartered. Throw them gradually into the liquid that is still
boiling on the fire. Let it continue to boil hard, and as it
thickens, add by degrees the other half of the molasses and water,
(that which has been put into the tub.) Stir it frequently to
prevent its scorching, and to make it of equal consistence
throughout. Boil it ten or twelve hours, continuing to stir it. At
night take it out of the kettle, and set it in tubs to cool;
covering it carefully. Wash out the kettle and wipe it very dry.
Next morning boil the apple butter six or eight hours longer; it
should boil eighteen hours altogether. Half an hour before you
take it finally out, stir in a pound of mixed spice; cloves,
allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, all finely powdered. When entirely
done, put up the apple butter in stone or earthen jars. It will
keep a year or more.
It can, of course, be made in a smaller quantity than that given
in the above receipt; and also at any time in the winter; fresh
cider not being an ingredient, as in the most usual way of making
apple butter.
AN APPLE POT PIE.
Make a paste, allowing a pound of butter, or of chopped suet to
two pounds and a quarter of flour. Have ready a sufficient
quantity of fine juicy acid apples, pared, cored, and sliced. Mix
with them brown sugar enough to sweeten them, a few cloves, and
some slips of lemon-peel. Butter the inside of an iron pot, and
line it with some of the paste. Then put in the apples,
interspersing them with thin squares of paste, and add a very
little water. Cover the whole with a thick lid of the dough, which
must be carefully closed round the edges. Pour on water enough to
fill the pot, and let it boil two hours. When done, serve it up on
a large dish, and eat it with butter and sugar.
PUDDING CATCHUP.
Mix together half a pint of noyau; a pint of sherry or other white
wine; the yellow peel of four lemons, pared thin; and half an
ounce of mace. Put the whole into a large bottle, and let it stand
for two or three weeks. Then strain it, and add half a pint of
capillaire or strong sugar syrup; or of Curaçoa. Bottle it, and it
will keep two or three years. It may be used for various sweet
dishes, but chiefly for pudding-sauce mixed with melted butter.
CURAÇOA.
Pound as much dried orange-peel as will make six ounces when done;
the peel of fresh shaddock will be still better; or you may
substitute six drachms of the oil of orange-peel. Put it into a
quart of the strongest and clearest rectified spirit; shake it,
let it infuse for a fortnight, and strain it. Then make a syrup by
dissolving a pound of the best loaf-sugar in a pint of cold water,
adding to it the beaten white of an egg, and boiling and skimming
it till the scum ceases to rise. Mix the syrup with the strained
liquor. Let it stand till next day, and then filter it through
white blotting paper fastened to the bottom of a sieve. Curaçoa is
a great improvement to punch; also a table-spoonful of it in a
tumbler of water makes a very refreshing summer drink.
PATENT YEAST.
Boil half a pound of fresh hops in four quarts of water, till the
liquid is reduced to two quarts Strain it, and mix in sufficient
wheat flour to make a thin batter; adding half a pint of strong
fresh yeast, (brewer's yeast, if it can be procured.) When it is
done fermenting, pour it into a pan, and stir in sufficient Indian
meal to make a moderately stiff dough. Cover it, and set it in a
warm place to rise. When it has become very light, roll it out
into a thick sheet, and cut it into little cakes. Spread them out
on a dish, and let them dry gradually in a cool place where there
is no sun. Turn them five or six times a day while drying; and
when they are quite dry, put them into paper bags, and keep them
in a jar or box closely covered, in a place that is not in the
least damp.
When you want the yeast for use, dissolve in a little warm water
one or more of the cakes, (in proportion to the quantity of bread
you intend making,) and when it is quite dissolved, stir it hard,
thicken it with a little flour, cover it, and place it near the
fire to rise before you use it. Then mix it with the flour in the
usual manner of preparing bread.
This is a very convenient way of preserving yeast through the
summer, or of conveying it to a distance.
TO DRY HERBS.
By drying herbs with artificial heat as quickly as possible, you
preserve their scent and flavour much better than when they are
dried slowly by exposing them to the sun and air; a process by
which a large portion of their strength evaporates. All sorts of
herbs are in the greatest perfection just before they begin to
flower. Gather them on a dry day, and place them in an oven, which
must not be hot enough to discolour, scorch, or burn them. When
they are quite dry, take them out, and replace them with others.
Pick the leaves from, the stems, (which may be thrown away,) and
put them into bottles or jars; cork them tightly, and keep them in
a dry place. Those that are used in cookery should be kept in a
kitchen closet.
PEACH KERNELS.
When peaches are in season, have in a convenient place an old
basket or something of the sort, in which all the peach stones can
be saved; they are too useful to be thrown away. Then have them
carefully cracked, so as to extract the kernels whole if possible.
Spread them out on a dish for one day. Then, put them into a box
or jar, and keep them to use as bitter almonds; for which they are
an excellent substitute in flavouring custards, creams and cakes.
Plum stones are worth saving in the same manner.
LEMON-PEEL.
Never throw away the rind of a lemon; Keep a wide-mouthed bottle
half full of brandy, and put into it (cut in pieces) all the
lemon-rind that you do not immediately want. As the white part of
the rind is of no use, it will be best to pare off the yellow very
thin, and put that alone into the brandy, which will thus imbibe a
very fine lemon flavour, and may be used for many nice purposes.
TO KEEP TOMATAS.
Take fine ripe tomatas, and wipe them dry, taking care not to
break the skin. Put them, into a stone jar with cold vinegar,
adding a small thin muslin bag filled with mace, whole cloves, and
whole peppers. Then cork the jar tightly with a cork that has been
dipped in melted rosin, and put it away in a dry place. Tomatas
pickled in this manner keep perfectly well and retain their
colour. For this purpose use the small round button tomatas.
ADDITIONAL RECEIPTS.
FRENCH GREEN PEA SOUP.
This soup is made without meat. Put into a soup-pot four quarts of
shelled green peas, two large onions sliced, a handful of leaves
of sweet marjoram shred from the stalks, or a handful of sweet
basil; or a mixed handful of both--also, if you like it, a handful
of green mint. Add four quarts of water, and boil the whole slowly
till all the peas are entirely to pieces. Then take off the pot,
and mash the peas well against its sides to extract from them all
their flavour. Afterward strain off the liquid into a clean pot,
and add to it a tea-cup full of the juice of spinach, which you
must prepare, while the soup is boiling, by pounding some spinach
in a mortar. This will give the soup a fine green colour. Then put
in a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter rolled whole in
flour; and add a pint and a half more of shelled young peas. If
you wish the soup very thick, you may allow a quart of the
additional peas. Season it with a very little salt and cayenne;
put it again over the fire, and boil it till the last peas are
quite soft, but not till they go to pieces.
Have ready in a tureen two or three slices of toasted bread cut
into small squares or dice, and pour the soup on it.
This soup, if properly made, will be found excellent,
notwithstanding the absence of meat. It is convenient for fast
days; and in the country, where vegetables can be obtained from
the garden, the expense will be very trifling. What is left may be
warmed for the next day.
GIBLET SOUP.
Take three pounds of shin of beef or of neck of mutton. Cut off
the meat and break the bones. Then put the meat with the bones
into a soup-pot, with a tea-spoonful of salt, and three quarts of
water. Add a bunch of sweet marjoram, one of sweet basil, and a
quarter of an ounce of black pepper-corns, all tied in a thin
muslin rag; a sliced onion, and six or eight turnips and carrots,
cut small. Let the whole boil slowly for two or three hours,
skimming it well. In the meantime, have ready two sets of goose-giblets,
or four of duck. They must he scalded, and well washed in
warm water. Cut off the bills and split the heads; and cut the
necks and gizzards into mouthfuls. Having taken the meat and bones
out of the soup, put in the giblets, with a head of celery
chopped. Boil it slowly an hour and a half; or more, taking care
to skim it. Make a thickening of an ounce and a half of butter,
and a large table-spoonful of flour, mixed together with a little
of the soup. Then stir it into the pot, adding a large table-spoonful
of mushroom catchup, and some small force-meat balls, or
little dumplings. Boil the soup half an hour longer. Then send it
to table with the giblets in the tureen.
GUMBO.
Take an equal quantity of young tender ochras, and of ripe
tomatas, (for instance, a quarter of a peck of each.) Chop the
ochras fine, and scald and peel the tomatas. Put them into a stew-pan
without any water. Add a lump of butter, and a very little
salt and pepper; and, if you choose, an onion minced fine. Let it
stew steadily for an hour. Then strain it, and send it to table as
soup in a tureen. It should be like a jelly, and is a favourite
New Orleans dish. Eat dry toast with it.
HAM OMELET.
Take six ounces of cold coiled ham, and mince it very fine, adding
a little pepper. Beat separately the whites and yolks of six eggs,
and then mix them together add to them gradually the minced ham.
Beat the whole very hard, and do not let it stand a moment after
it is thoroughly mixed. Have ready some boiling lard in a frying-pan,
and put in the omelet immediately. Fry it about ten minutes
or a quarter of an hour. When done, put it on a hot dish, trim off
the edges, and fold it over in a half moon. Send it to table hot,
and covered. It is eaten at breakfast.
If you wish a soft omelet, (not to fold over,) fry it a shorter
time, and serve it in a deep dish, to be helped with a spoon.
A similar omelet may be made of the lean of a cold smoked tongue.
BATTER PUDDING.
Take a quart of milk, and stir into it gradually eight table
spoonfuls of sifted flour, carefully pressing out all the lumps
with the back of the spoon. Beat eight eggs very light, and add
them by degrees to the milk and flour. Then stir the whole very
well together.
Dip your pudding-cloth into boiling water, and then dredge it with
flour. Pour in the pudding, and tie it tightly, leaving room for
it to swell. Put it into a pot full of boiling water, and boil it
hard for two hours. Keep it in the pot till it is time to send it
to table. Serve it up with wine-sauce, butter and sugar, or
molasses and cold butter.
PEACH MANGOES.
Take free-stone peaches of the largest size, (when they are full
grown, but not quite ripe,) and lay them in salt and water for two
days, covered with a board to keep them down. Then take them out,
wipe them dry, cut them open, and extract the stones. Mix
together, to your taste, minced garlic, scraped horseradish,
bruised mustard seed, and cloves; and a little ginger-root soaked
in water to soften, and then sliced. Fill the cavity of the
peaches with this mixture. Then tie them round with packthread,
and put them into a stone jar till it is two-thirds full. Strew
among them some whole cloves, broken cinnamon, and a little
cochineal. Season some cold vinegar, (allowing to each quart a
jill of fresh made mustard, and a little ginger, and nutmeg,) and
having mixed this pickle well, fill up the jar with it.
BROILED TOMATAS.
Take large ripe tomatas; wipe them, and split them in half. Broil
them on a gridiron till brown, turning them when half done. Have
ready in a dish some butter seasoned with a little pepper. When
the tomatas are well broiled, put them into the dish, and press
each a little with the back of a spoon, so that the juice may run
into the butter and mix with it. This is to make the gravy. Send
them to table hot.
Tomatas are very good sliced, and fried in butter.
PRESERVED TOMATAS.
Take large fine tomatas, (not too ripe,) and scald them to make
the skins come off easily. Weigh them, and to each pound allow a
pound of the best brown sugar, and the grated peel of a large
lemon. Put all together into a preserving kettle, and having
boiled it slowly for three hours, (skimming it carefully,) add the
juice of the lemons, and boil it an hour longer. Then put the
whole into jars, and when cool cover and tie them up closely. This
is a cheap and excellent sweetmeat; but the lemon must on no
account be omitted. It may be improved by boiling a little ginger
with the other ingredients.
TOMATA HONEY.
To each pound of tomatas, allow the grated peel of a lemon and six
fresh peach-leaves. Boil them slowly till they are all to pieces;
then squeeze and strain them through a bag. To each pint of liquid
allow a pound of loaf-sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Boil them
together half an hour, or till they become a thick jelly. Then put
it into glasses, and lay double tissue paper closely over the top.
It will be scarcely distinguishable from real honey.
PRESERVED CUCUMBERS.
Your cucumbers should be well shaped, and all of the same size.
Spread the bottom and sides of a preserving kettle with a thick
layer of vine leaves. Then put in the cucumbers--with a little
alum broken small. Cover them thickly with vine leaves, and then
with a dish. Fill up the kettle with water, and let them hang over
a slow fire till nest morning, but do not allow the water to boil.
Next day, take them out, cool them, and repeat the process with
fresh vine leaves, till the cucumbers are a fine green. When cold
drain them, cut a small piece out of the flat side, and extract
the seeds. Wipe the cucumbers in a dry cloth, and season the
inside with a mixture of bruised mace and grated lemon-peel. Tie
on with a packthread the bit that was cut out.
Weigh them, and to every pound of cucumbers allow a pound of loaf-sugar.
Put the sugar into a preserving kettle, a half pint of
water to each pound, and the beaten white of an egg to every four
pounds. Boil and skim the sugar till quite clear, adding sliced
ginger and lemon parings to your taste. When cool, pour it over
the cucumbers, and let them lie in it two days, keeping them
covered with a plate, and a weight on it to press it down. Then
boil up the syrup again, adding one-half as much sugar, &c. as you
had at first; and at the last the juice and grated peel of two
lemons for every six cucumbers. The lemon must boil in the syrup
but ten minutes. Then strain the syrup all over the cucumbers, and
put them up in glass jars.
If they are not quite clear, boil them in a third syrup.
Small green melons may be preserved in this manner.
APPLE RICE PUDDING.
Wash half a pint of rice, and boil it till soft and dry. Pare,
core, and cut up six large juicy apples, and stew them in as
little water as possible. When they are quite, tender, take them
out, and mash them with six table-spoonfuls of brown sugar. When
the apples and rice are both cold, mix them together. Have ready
five eggs beaten very light, and add them gradually to the other
ingredients, with five or six drops of essence of lemon, and a
grated nutmeg. Or you may substitute for the essence, the grated
peel and the juice of one large lemon. Beat the whole very hard
after it is all mixed; tie it tightly in a cloth, (leaving but a
very small space for it to swell,) and stopping up the tying place
with a lump of flour moistened to paste with water. Put it into a
pot of boiling water, and boil it fast for half an hour. Send it
to table hot, and eat it with sweetened cream, or with beaten
butter and sugar.
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Take large, fine, juicy apples, and pare and core them, leaving
them as whole as possible. Put them into a kettle with sufficient
water to cover them, and let them parboil a quarter of an hour.
Then take them out, and drain them on a sieve. Prepare a paste in
the proportion of a pound of butter to two pounds of flour, as for
plain pies. Roll it out into a sheet, and cut it into equal
portions according to your number of apples. Place an apple on
each, and fill up the hole from whence the core was extracted with
brown sugar moistened with lemon-juice, or with any sort of
marmalade. Then cover the apple with the paste, closing it neatly.
Place the dumplings side by side in buttered square pans, (not so
as to touch,) and bake them of a light brown. Serve them warm or
cool, and eat them with cream sauce.
They will be found very good.
INDIAN LOAF CAKE.
Mix a tea-cup full of powdered white sugar with a quart of rich
milk, and cut up in the milk two ounces of butter, adding a salt-spoonful
of salt. Put this mixture into a covered pan or skillet,
and set it on coals till it is scalding hot. Then take it off, and
scald with it as much yellow Indian meal (previously sifted) as
will make it of the consistence of thick boiled mush. Beat the
whole very hard for a quarter of an hour, and then set it away to
cool.
While it is cooling, beat three eggs very light, and stir them
gradually into the mixture when it is about as warm as new milk.
Add a tea-cup full of good strong yeast, and beat the whole
another quarter of an hour--for much of the goodness of this cake
depends on its being long and well beaten. Then have ready a
turban mould or earthen pan with a pipe in the centre, (to diffuse
the heat through the middle of the cake.) The pan must be very
well buttered, as Indian meal is apt to stick. Put in the mixture,
cover it, and set it in a warm place to rise. It should be light
in about four hours. Then bake it two hours in a moderate oven.
When done, turn it oat with the broad surface downwards, and send
it to table hot and whole. Cut it into slices, and eat it with
butter.
This will be found an excellent cake. If wanted for breakfast, mix
it, and set it to rise the night before. If properly made,
standing all night will not injure it. Like all Indian cakes, (of
which this is one of the best,) it should be eaten warm.
It will be much improved by adding to the mixture, a salt-spoon of
pearl-ash, or sal-aratus, dissolved in a little water.
PLAIN CIDER CAKE.
Sift into a large pan a pound and a half of flour, and rub into it
half a pound of butter. Mix in three-quarters of a pound of
powdered white sugar and melt a small tea-spoonful of sal-aratus
or pearl-ash in a pint of the best cider. Pour the cider into the
other ingredients while it is foaming, and stir the whole very
hard. Have ready a buttered square pan, put in the mixture, and
set It immediately in a rather brisk oven. Bake it an hour or
more, according to its thickness. This is a tea cake, and should
be eaten fresh. Cut it into squares, split and butter them.
TENNESSEE MUFFINS.
Sift three pints of yellow Indian meal, and put one-half into a
pan and scald it. Then set it away to get cold. Beat six: eggs,
whites and yolks separately. The yolks must be beaten till they
become very thick and smooth, and the whites till they are a stiff
froth, that stands alone. When the scalded meal is cold, mix it
into a batter with the beaten yolk of egg, the remainder of the
meal, a salt-spoonful of salt, and, if necessary, a little water.
The batter must be quite thick. At the last, stir in, lightly and
slowly, the beaten white of egg. Grease your muffin rings, and set
them in an oven of the proper heat; put in the batter immediately,
as standing will injure it.
Send them to table hot; pull them open, and eat them with butter.
HOE CAKE.
Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, and sift into a
pan a quart of wheat flour, adding a salt-spoon of salt. Make a
hole in the middle, and mix in the white of egg so as to form a
thick batter, and then add two table-spoonfuls of the best fresh
yeast. Cover it, and let it stand all night. In the morning, take
a hoe-iron (such as are made purposely for cakes) and prop it
before the fire till, it is well heated. Then flour a tea-saucer,
and filling it with batter, shake it about, and clap it to the
hoe, (which must be previously greased,) and the batter will
adhere, till it is baked. Repeat this with each cake. Keep them
hot, and eat them with butter.
MILK TOAST.
Boil a pint of rich milk, and then take it off, and stir into it a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, mixed with a small table-spoonful
of flour. Then let it again come to a boil. Have ready
two deep plates with half a dozen slices of toast in each. Pour
the milk over them hot, and keep them covered till they go to
table. Milk toast is generally eaten at breakfast.
POTATO YEAST.
Pare half a dozen middle-sized potatoes, and boil them in a quart
of soft water, mixed with a handful of hops, till quite soft. Then
mash the potatoes smooth, not leaving in a single lump. Mix with
them a handful of wheat flour. Set a sieve over the pan in which
you have the flour and mashed potatoes, and strain into them the
hop-water in which they were boiled. Then stir the mixture very
hard, and afterwards pass it through a cullender to clear it of
lumps. Let it stand till it is nearly cold. Then stir in four
table-spoonfuls of strong yeast, and let it stand to ferment. When
the foam has sunk down in the middle, (which will not be for
several hours,) it is done working. Then put it into a stone jug
and cork it. Set it in a cool place.
This yeast will be found extremely good for raising home-made
bread.
Yeast when it becomes sour may be made fit to use by stirring into
it a little sal-aratus, or pearl-ash, allowing a small tea-spoonful
to a pint of yeast. This will remove the acidity, and improve the
bread in lightness. The pearl-ash must be previously melted in a
little lukewarm water.
CREAM CHEESE.
The cheese so called (of which numbers are brought to Philadelphia
market) is not in reality made of cream, but of milk warm from the
cow, and therefore unskimmed.
Having strained into a tub a bucket of new milk, turn it in the
usual way with rennet water. When it has completely come, take a
clean linen cloth and press it down upon the firm curd, so as to
make the whey rise up over it. As the whey rises, dip it off with
a saucer or a skimming dish. Then carefully put the curd (as whole
as possible) into a cheese hoop, or mould, which for this purpose
should be about half a foot deep, and as large round as a dinner
plate--first spreading a clean wet cloth under the curd, and
folding it (the cloth) over the top. Lay a large brick on it, or
something of equivalent weight, and let the whey drain gradually
out through the holes at the bottom of the mould. It must not be
pressed hard, as when finished a cream cheese should be only about
the consistence of firm butter. The curd will sink gradually in
the mould till the whole mass will be about two or three inches
thick. Let it remain in the mould six hours, by which time the
whey should cease to exude from it. Otherwise, it must be left in
somewhat longer.
When you take out the cheese, rub it all over with a little lard,
and sprinkle it slightly with fine salt. Set it in a dry dark
place, and in four or five days it will be fit for use. When once
cut, it should (if the weather is warm) be eaten immediately; but
if uncut, it will keep a week in a cold place, provided it is
turned three or four times a day. Send it to table whole on a
large plate, and cut it when there into wedge-shaped pieces as you
would a pie. It is usually eaten at tea or supper, and is by most
persons considered a delicacy.
ALMOND BREAD.
Blanch, and pound in a mortar, half a pound of shelled sweet
almonds till they are a smooth paste, adding rose-water as you
pound them. They should be done the day before they are wanted.
Prepare a pound of loaf-sugar finely powdered, a tea-spoonful of
mixed spice, (mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon,) and three-quarters of a
pound of sifted flour. Take fourteen eggs, and separate the whites
from the yolks. Leave out seven of the whites, and beat the other
seven to a stiff froth. Beat the yolks till very thick and smooth,
and then beat the sugar gradually into them, adding the spice.
Next stir in the white of egg, then the flour, and lastly the
almonds. You may add twelve drops of essence of lemon.
Put the mixture into a square tin pan, (well buttered,) or into a
copper or tin turban-mould, and set it immediately in a brisk
oven. Ice it when cool. It is best if eaten fresh. You may add a
few bitter almonds to the sweet ones.
CUSTARD CAKES.
Mix together a pound of sifted flour and a quarter of a pound of
powdered loaf-sugar. Divide into four a pound of fresh butter; mix
one-fourth of it with the flour, and make it into a dough. Then
roll it out, and put in the three remaining divisions of the
butter at three more rollings. Set the paste in a cool place till
the custard is ready. For the custard, beat very light the yolk
only of eight eggs, and then stir them gradually into a pint of
rich cream, adding three ounces of powdered white sugar, a grated
nutmeg, and ratafia, peach-water, or essence of lemon, to your
taste. Put the mixture into a deep dish; set it in an iron baking
pan or a Dutch oven half full of boiling water, and bake it a
quarter of an hour. Then put it to cool.
In the mean time roll out the paste into a thin sheet; cut it into
little round cakes about the size of a dollar, and bake them on
flat tins. When they are done, spread some of the cakes thickly
with the custard, and lay others on the top of them, making them
fit closely in the manner of lids.
You may bake the paste in patty-pans like shells, and put in the
custard after they come out of the oven. If the custard is baked
in the paste, it will be clammy and heavy at the bottom.
They are sometimes called cream cakes or cream tarts.
HONEY GINGER CAKE.
Rub together a pound of sifted flour and three-quarters of a pound
of fresh butter. Mix in, a tea-cup of fine brown sugar, two large
table-spoonfuls of strong ginger, and (If you like them) two
table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds. Having beaten five eggs, add
them to the mixture alternately with a pint of strained honey;
stirring in towards the last a small tea-spoonful of pearl-ash,
that has been melted in a very little water.
Having beaten or stirred the mixture long enough to make it
perfectly light, transfer it to a square iron or block-tin pan,
(which must be well buttered,) put it into a moderate oven, and
bake it an hour or more, in proportion to its thickness.
When cool, cut it into squares. It is best if eaten fresh, but it
will keep very well a week.
ROCK CAKE.
Blanch three-quarters of a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and
bruise them fine in a mortar, but not to a smooth paste as for
maccaroons. Add, as you pound them, a little rose-water. Beat to a
stiff froth the whites of four eggs, and then beat in gradually a
pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Add a few drops of oil of lemon.
Then mix in the pounded almonds. Flour your hands, and make the
mixture into little cones or pointed cakes. Spread sheets of damp,
thin, white paper on buttered sheets of tin, and put the rock
cakes on it, rather far apart. Sprinkle each with powdered loaf-sugar.
Bake them of a pale brown, in a brisk oven. They will be
done in a few minutes.
When cold, take them off the papers.
FROZEN CUSTARD.
Slice a vanilla bean, and boil it slowly in half a pint of
milk/till all the strength is extracted and the milk highly
flavoured with the vanilla. Then strain its and set it aside. Mix
a quart of cream and a pint of milk, or, if you cannot procure
cream, take three pints of rich milk, and put them into a skillet
or sauce-pan. Set it on hot coals, and boil it. When it has come
to a boil, mix a table-spoonful of flour in three table-spoonfuls
of milk, and stir it info the boiling liquid. Afterwards add two
eggs, (which have been beaten up with two table-spoonfuls of
milk,) pouring them slowly into the mixture. Take care to stir it
all the time it is boiling. Five minutes after, stir in gradually
half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar, and then the decoction of
vanilla. Having stirred it hard a few moments, take it off the
fire, and set it to cool. When quite cold, put it into a mould and
freeze it, as you would ice-cream, for which it frequently passes.
You may flavour it with a tea-spoonful of strong oil of lemon,
stirred in just before you take it from the fire, or with a
quarter of a pound of shelled bitter almonds, blanched, pounded in
a mortar with a little water, and then boiled in half a pint of
milk, till the flavour Is extracted.
CHERRY CORDIAL.
Take a bushel of fine ripe cherries, either red or black, or
mixed; stone them, put them into a clean wooden vessel, and mash
them with a mallet or beetle. Then boil them about five minutes,
and strain the juice. To each quart of juice allow a quart of
water, a pound of sugar, and a quart of brandy. Boil in the water
(before you mix it with the juice) two ounces of cloves, and four
ounces of cinnamon; then strain out the spice. Put the mixture
into a stone jug, or a demijohn, and cork it tightly. Bottle it in
two or three months.
COMMON ICE CREAM.
Split into pieces a vanilla bean, and boil it in a very little
milk till the flavour is well extracted; then strain it. Mix two
table-spoonfuls of arrow-root powder, or the same quantity of fine
powdered starch, with just sufficient cold milk to make it a thin
paste; rubbing it till quite smooth. Boil together a pint of cream
and a pint of rich milk; and while boiling stir in the preparation
of arrow-root, and the milk in which the vanilla has been boiled.
When it has boiled hard, take it off, stir in half a pound of
powdered loaf-sugar, and let it come to a boil again. Then strain
it, and put it into a freezer placed in a tub that has a hole in
the 'bottom to let-out the water; and surround the freezer on all
sides with ice broken finely, and mixed with coarse salt. Beat the
cream hard for half an hour. Then let it rest; occasionally taking
off the cover, and scraping down with a long spoon the cream that
slicks to the sides. When it is well frozen, transfer it to a
mould; surround it with fresh salt and ice, and then freeze it
over again.
If you wish to flavour it with lemon instead of vanilla, take a
large lump of the sugar before you powder it, and rub it on the
outside of a large lemon till the yellow is all rubbed off upon
the sugar. Then, when the sugar is all powdered, mix with it the
juice.
For strawberry ice cream, mix with the powdered sugar the juice of
a quart of ripe strawberries squeezed through a linen.
PINK CHAMPAGNE JELLY.
Beat half the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and then stir it
hard into three wine-glasses of filtered water. Put twelve ounces
of the best double-refined loaf-sugar (powdered fine and sifted)
into a skillet lined with porcelain. Pour on it the white of egg
and water, and stir it till dissolved. Then add twelve grains of
cochineal powder. Set it over a moderate fire, and boil it and
skim it till the scum ceases to rise. Then strain it through a
very fine sieve. Have ready an ounce and a half of isinglass that
has been boiled in a little water till quite dissolved. Strain it,
and while the boiled sugar is lukewarm mix it with the isinglass,
adding a pint of pink champagne and the juice of a large lemon.
Run it through a linen bag into a mould. When it has congealed so
as to be quite firm, wrap a wet cloth round the outside of the
mould, and turn out the jelly into a glass dish; or serve it
broken up, in jelly glasses, or glass cups. Jelly may be made in a
similar manner of Madeira, marasquin, or noyau.
A CHARLOTTE RUSSE.
Boil in half a pint of milk a split vanilla bean, till all the
flavour is extracted. Then strain the milk, and when it is cold
stir into it the yolks of four beaten eggs, and a quarter of a
pound of powdered loaf-sugar.
Simmer this custard five minutes over hot coals, but do not let it
come to a boil. Then set it away to cool. Having boiled an ounce
of the best Russian isinglass in a pint of water till it is
entirely dissolved and the water reduced to one-half, strain it
into the custard, stir it hard, and set it aside to get quite
cold.
Whip to a stiff froth a quart of rich cream, taking it off in
spoonfuls as you do it, and putting it to drain on an inverted
sieve. When the custard is quite cold, (but not yet set or
congealing,) stir the whipt cream gradually into it.
Take at circular mould of the shape of a drum, the sides being
straight. Cut to fit it two round slices from the top and bottom
of an almond sponge-cake; glaze them with white of egg, and lay
one on at the bottom of the mould, reserving the other for the
top.
Having thus covered the bottom, line the sides of the mould with,
more of the sponge-cake, cut into long squares and glazed all over
with white of egg. They must be placed so as to stand up all
round--each wrapping a little over the other so as to leave not
the smallest vacancy between; and they must be cut exactly the
height of the mould, and trimmed evenly. Then fill up with the
custard and cream when it is just beginning to congeal; and cover
the top with the other round slice of cake.
Set the mould in a tub of pounded ice mixed with coarse salt; and
let it remain forty minutes, or near an hour. Then turn out the
Charlotte on a china dish. Have ready an icing, made in the usual
manner of beaten white of egg and powdered sugar, flavoured with
essence of lemon. Spread it smoothly over the top of the
Charlotte, which when the icing is dry will be ready, to serve.
They are introduced at large parties, and it is usual to have two
or four of them.
A CHARLOTTE POLONAISE.
Boil over a slow fire a pint and a half of cream. While it is
boiling have ready six yolks of eggs, beaten up with two table-spoonfuls
of powdered arrow-root, or fine flour. Stir this
gradually into the boiling cream, taking care to have it perfectly
smooth and free from lumps. Ten minutes will suffice for the egg
and cream to boil together. Then divide the mixture by putting it
into two separate sauce-pans.
Then mix with it, in one of the pans, six ounces of chocolate
scraped fine, two ounces of powdered loaf-sugar, and a quarter of
a pound of maccaroons, broken up. When it has come to a hard boil,
take it off, stir it well, pour it into a bowl, and set it away to
cool.
Have ready, for the other sauce-pan of cream and egg, a dozen
bitter almonds, and four ounces of shelled sweet almonds or
pistachio nuts, all blanched and pounded in a mortar with rose-water
to a smooth paste, and mixed with an ounce of citron also
pounded. Add four ounces of powdered sugar; and to colour it
green, two large spoonfuls of spinach juice that has been strained
through a sieve. Stir this mixture into the other half of the
cream, and let it come to a boil. Then put it aside to cool.
Cut a large sponge-cake into slices half an inch thick. Spread one
slice thickly with the chocolate cream, and cover another slice
with the almond cream. Do this alternately (piling them evenly on
a china dish) till all the ingredients are used up. You may
arrange it in the original form of the sponge-cake before it was
cut, or in a pyramid. Have ready the whites of the six eggs
whipped to a stiff froth, with which have been gradually mixed six
ounces of powdered sugar, and twelve drops of oil of lemon. With a
spoon heap this meringue (as the French call it) all over the pile
of cake, &c., and then sift powdered sugar over it. Set it in a
very slow oven till the outside becomes a light brown colour.
Serve it up cold, ornamented according to your taste.
If you find the chocolate cream too thin, add more maccaroons. If
the almond cream is too thin, mix in more pounded citron. If
either of the mixtures is too thick, dilute it with more cream.
This is superior to a Charlotte Russe.
APPLE COMPOTE.
Take large ripe pippin apples. Pare, core, and weigh them, and to
each pound allow a pound of fine loaf-sugar and two lemons.
Parboil the apples, and then set them out to cool. Pare off very
nicely with a penknife the yellow rind of the lemons, taking care
not to break it; and then with scissors trim the edges to an even
width all along. Put the lemon-rind to boil in a little sauce-pan
by itself, till it Becomes tender, and then set it to cool. Allow
half a pint of water to each pound of sugar; and when it is
melted, set it on the fire in the preserving kettle, put in the
apples, and boil them slowly till they are clear and tender all
through, but not till they break; skimming the syrup carefully.
After you have taken out the apples, add the lemon-juice, put in
the lemon-peel, and boil it till quite transparent. When the whole
is cold, put the apples with the syrup into glass dishes, and
dispose the wreaths of lemon-peel fancifully about them.
ANIMALS
FIGURES EXPLANATORY OF THE PIECES INTO WHICH THE FIVE LARGE
ANIMALS ARE DIVIDED BY THE BUTCHERS.
Beef.
[Illustration:
1. Sirloin. 10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.
2. Rump. 11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.
3. Edge Bone. 12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.
4. Buttock. 13. Brisket.
5. Mouse Buttock. 14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece
6. Leg. 15. Clod.
7. Thick Flank. 16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.
8. Veiny Piece. 17. Shin.
9. Thin Flank. 18. Cheek.]
Veal.
[Illustration:
1. Loin, Best End. 6. Breast, Best End.
2. Fillet. 7. Blade Bone.
3. Loin, Chump End. 8. Fore Knuckle.
4. Hind Knuckle. 9. Breast, Brisket End.
5. Neck, Best End. 10. Neck, Scrag End.]
_Mutton_
[Illustration:
1. Leg 2. Shoulder
3. Loin, Best End. 4. Loin, Chump End.
5. Neck, Best End. 6. Breast
7. Neck, Scrag End.]
_Note:_ A Chine is two Loins, and two Necks of the Best End.
_Pork_
[Illustration:
1. Leg. 2. Hind Loin.
3. Fore Loin. 4. Spare Rib.
5. Hand. 6. Spring.]
_Venison_
[Illustration:
1. Shoulder.
2. Neck.
3. Haunch.
4. Breast.
5. Scrag.]
INDEX
Acid salt
Almond cake
Almond custard
Almond ice-cream
Almond maccaroons
Almond pudding
Another almond pudding
Anchovy catchup
Anchovy sauce
Anniseed cordial
Apees
Apples, baked
Apple butter
Apple butter, without cider
Apple custard
Apple dumplings
Apple fritters
Apple jelly
Apple and other pies
Apple pot-pie Apples, preserved
Apple pudding, baked
Apple pudding, boiled
Apple sauce
Apple water
Apricots, preserved
Arrow-root blanc-mange
Arrow-root jelly
Arrow-root pudding
Artichokes, to boil
Asparagus, to boil
Asparagus soup
Balm of Gilead oil
Barberry jelly
Barberries, to pickle
Barley water
Bath buns
Bean soup
Beans, (dried,) to boil
Beans, (green or French,) to boil
Beans, (green,) to pickle
Beans, (Lima,) to boil, and dry
Beans, (scarlet) to boil
Beef, remarks on
Beef, à la mode
Beef, baked
Beef bouilli
Beef (corned or salted) to boil
Beef cakes
Beef, to corn
Beef, to dry and smoke
Beef dripping, to save
Beef, hashed
Beef's heart, roasted
Beef's heart, stewed
Beef kidney, to dress Beef, potted
Beef, to roast
Beef soup, fine
Beef steaks, to broil
Beef steaks, to fry
Beef steak pie
Beef steak pudding
Beef, to stew
Beef, (a round of,) to stew
Beef, (a round of,) to stew another way
Beef and tongues, to pickle
Beef tea
Beets, to boil
Beets, to stew
Beer, (molasses)
Beer, (sassafras)
Biscuit, (milk)
Biscuit, (soda)
Biscuit, (sugar)
Biscuit, (tea)
Bishop
Bitters
Black cake
Black-fish, to stew
Blanc-mange
Blanc-mange, (arrow-root)
Blanc-mange, (carrageen)
Bottled small beer
Bran bread
Bread
Bread, (rye and Indian)
Bread cake
Bread jelly
Bread pudding, baked
Bread pudding, boiled
Bread and butter pudding
Bread sauce
Brocoli, to boil
Brown soup, rich
Buckwheat cakes
Burnet vinegar
Burns, remedy for
Butter, to brown
Butter, melted or drawn
Butter, to make
Butter, to preserve
Butternuts, to pickle
Cabbage, to boil
Cabbage, (red,) to pickle
Cale-cannon
Calf's feet broth
Calf's feet, to fry
Calf's feet jelly
Calf's head, dressed plain
Calf's head, hashed
Calf's head soup
Calf's liver, fried
Calf's liver, larded
Cantelope, preserved
Caper sauce
Capillaire
Carrots, to boil
Carrot pudding
Carp, to stew
Carrageen blanc-mange
Catfish soup
Cauliflower, to boil
Cauliflower, to pickle
Cayenne pepper
Celery, to prepare for table
Celery sauce
Celery vinegar
Charlotte, (plum)
Charlotte, (raspberry)
Cheese, to make
Cheese, (cottage)
Cheese, (sage)
Cheese, (Stilton)
Cheesecake, (almond)
Cheesecake, (common)
Cherry bounce
Cherry cordial
Cherries, (dried)
Cherry jam
Cherry jelly
Cherries, preserved
Cherries, preserved whole
Cherry shrub
Chestnuts, to roast
Chestnut pudding
Chicken broth, and panada,
Chickens, broiled,
Chicken croquets and rissoles,
Chicken curry,
Chicken dumplings or puddings,
Chickens, fricasseed,
Chicken jelly,
Chicken pie,
Chicken salad,
Chilblains, remedy for,
Chili vinegar,
Chitterlings, or calf's tripe,
Chocolate, to make,
Chocolate custard,
Chowder,
Cider cake,
Cider, (mulled,)
Cider vinegar,
Cider wine,
Cinderellas, or German puffs,
Citrons, to preserve,
Clam soup,
Clam soup, (plain,)
Clotted cream,
Cocoa, to prepare,
Cocoa shells, to boil,
Cocoa-nut cakes,
Cocoa-nut cakes, (white,)
Cocoa-nut custard, baked,
Cocoa-nut custard, boiled,
Cocoa-nut jumbles,
Cocoa-nut maccaroons,
Cocoa-nut pudding,
Cocoa-nut pudding, another way,
Codfish, (fresh,) to boil,
Codfish, (fresh,) to boil another way,
Codfish, salt, to boil,
Coffee, to make,
Coffee, (French,)
Cold cream,
Cold slaw,
Cold sweet sauce,
Cologne water,
Colouring for confectionary,
Corn, (Indian,) to boil,
Corn, (green,) pudding,
Corns, remedy for,
Cosmetic paste,
Crab-apples, (green,) to preserve,
Crab-apples, (red,) to preserve,
Crabs, (cold,)
Crabs, (hot,)
Crabs, (soft,)
Cranberries, to preserve,
Cranberry sauce,
Cream cake,
Cream, (lemon,)
Cream, (orange,)
Cream, to preserve,
Cream sauce,
Cucumbers, to dress raw,
Cucumbers, to fry,
Cucumbers, to pickle,
Cup cake,
Curaçoa,
Curds and whey,
Currant jelly, (black,)
Currant jelly, (red,)
Currant jelly, (white,)
Currant shrub,
Currant wine,
Custard, (boiled,)
Custard, (plain,)
Custard, (rice,)
Custard, (soft,)
Custard pudding,
Dough nuts,
Ducks, to hash,
Ducks, to stew,
Ducks, to roast,
Dumplings, (apple,)
Dumplings, (light,)
Dumplings, (plain suet,)
Dumplings, (fine suet,)
Dumplings, (Indian,)
Durable ink,
Durable ink, another way,
Eastern pudding,
Eggs, to boil for breakfast,
Eggs, to fricassee,
Eggs, to keep,
Eggs with ham,
Egg nogg,
Eggs, to pack,
Eggs, to pickle,
Egg plant, to stew,
Egg plant, to fry,
Egg plant, stuffed,
Eggs, raw,
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