The Book of Household Management
by
Mrs. Isabella Beeton
Part 27 out of 34
_Time_.--1 to 14 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 8d. _Seasonable_ at any time.
CARBONATE OF SODA--Soda was called the mineral alkali, because
it was originally dug up out of the ground in Africa and other
countries: this state of carbonate of soda is called _natron._
But carbonate of soda is likewise procured from the combustion
of marine plants, or such as grow on the sea-shore. Pure
carbonate of soda is employed for making effervescing draughts,
with lemon-juice, citric acid, or tartaric acid. The chief
constituent of soda, the alkali, has been used in France from
time immemorial in the manufacture of soap and glass, two
chemical productions which employ and keep in circulation an
immense amount of capital. A small pinch of carbonate of soda
will give an extraordinary lightness to puff pastes; and,
introduced into the teapot, will extract the full strength of
the tea. But its qualities have a powerful effect upon delicate
constitutions, and it is not to be used incautiously in any
preparation.
A NICE PLAIN CAKE.
1766. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of flour, 1 teaspoonful of Borwick's
baking-powder, 1/4 lb. of good dripping, 1 teacupful of moist sugar, 3
eggs, 1 breakfast-cupful of milk, 1 oz. of caraway seeds, 1/2 lb. of
currants.
_Mode_.--Put the flour and baking-powder into a basin; stir those
together; then rub in the dripping, add the sugar, caraway seeds, and
currants; whisk the eggs with the milk, and beat all together very
thoroughly until the ingredients are well mixed. Butter a tin, put in
the cake, and bake it from 11/2 to 2 hours. Let the dripping be quite
clean before using: to insure this, it is a good plan to clarify it.
Beef dripping is better than any other for cakes, &c., as mutton
dripping frequently has a very unpleasant flavour, which would be
imparted to the preparation.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
A NICE PLAIN CAKE FOR CHILDREN.
1767. INGREDIENTS.--1 quartern of dough, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar, 1/4 lb.
of butter or good beef dripping, 1/4 pint of warm milk, 1/2 grated
nutmeg or 1/2 oz. of caraway seeds.
_Mode_.--If you are not in the habit of making bread at home, procure
the dough from the baker's, and, as soon as it comes in, put it into a
basin near the fire; cover the basin with a thick cloth, and let the
dough remain a little while to rise. In the mean time, beat the butter
to a cream, and make the milk warm; and when the dough has risen, mix
with it thoroughly all the above ingredients, and knead the cake well
for a few minutes. Butter some cake-tins, half fill them, and stand them
in a warm place, to allow the dough to rise again. When the tins are
three parts full, put the cakes into a good oven, and bake them from
13/4 to 2 hours. A few currants might be substituted for the caraway
seeds when the flavour of the latter is disliked.
_Time_.--1-3/4 to 2 hours. _Average cost_, _1s. 2d._
_Seasonable_ at any time.
COMMON PLUM CAKE.
1768. INGREDIENTS.--3 lbs. of flour, 6 oz. of butter or good dripping, 6
oz. of moist sugar, 6 oz. of currants, 4 oz. of pounded allspice, 2
tablespoonfuls of fresh yeast, 1 pint of new milk.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter into the flour; add the sugar, currants, and
allspice; warm the milk, stir to it the yeast, and mix the whole into a
dough; knead it well, and put it into 6 buttered tins; place them near
the fire for nearly an hour for the dough to rise, then bake the cakes
in a good oven from 1 to 11/4 hour. To ascertain when they are done,
plunge a clean knife into the middle, and if on withdrawal it comes out
clean, the cakes are done.
_Time_.--1 to 1-1/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 8d.
_Sufficient_ to make 6 small cakes.
A NICE PLUM CAKE.
1769. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of sugar,
1/2 lb. of currants, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1/2 pint of milk, 1
teaspoonful of ammonia or carbonate of soda.
_Mode_.--Put the flour into a basin with the sugar, currants, and sliced
candied peel; beat the butter to a cream, and mix all these ingredients
together with the milk. Stir the ammonia into 2 tablespoonfuls of milk
and add it to the dough, and beat the whole well, until everything is
thoroughly mixed. Put the dough into a buttered tin, and bake the cake
from 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours.
_Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
POUND CAKE.
[Illustration: POUND CAKE.]
1770. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of butter, 1-1/4 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of
pounded loaf sugar, 1 lb. of currants, 9 eggs, 2 oz. of candied peel,
1/2 oz. of citron, 1/2 oz. of sweet almonds; when liked, a little
pounded mace.
_Mode_.--Work the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar,
currants, candied peel, which should be cut into neat slices, and the
almonds, which should be blanched and chopped, and mix all these well
together; whisk the eggs, and let them be thoroughly blended with the
dry ingredients. Beat the cake well for 20 minutes, and put it into a
round tin, lined at the bottom and sides with a strip of white buttered
paper. Bake it from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, and let the oven be well heated
when the cake is first put in, as, if this is not the case, the currants
will all sink to the bottom of it. To make this preparation light, the
yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and added
separately to the other ingredients. A glass of wine is sometimes added
to the mixture; but this is scarcely necessary, as the cake will be
found quite rich enough without it.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours.
_Average cost_, 3s. 6d.
_Sufficient._--The above quantity divided in two will make two
nice-sized cakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
A PAVINI CAKE.
1771. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of ground rice, 1/2 lb. of
raisins stoned and cut into small pieces, 1/4 lb. of currants, 1/4 lb.
of butter, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 1/4 lb. of sifted loaf sugar, 1/2
nutmeg grated, 1 pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.
_Mode_.--Stone and cut the raisins into small pieces; wash, pick, and
dry the currants; melt the butter to a cream, but without oiling it;
blanch and chop the almonds, and grate the nutmeg. When all these
ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together; make the milk
warm, stir in the soda, and with this liquid make the whole into a
paste. Butter a mould, rather more than half fill it with the dough, and
bake the cake in a moderate oven from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or less time
should it be made into 2 cakes.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 8d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: CAKE-MOULD.]
RICE CAKE.
1772. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of ground rice, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of
loaf sugar, 9 eggs, 20 drops of essence of lemon, or the rind of 1
lemon, 1/4 lb. of butter.
_Mode_.--Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs; whisk them both
well, and add to the latter the butter beaten to a cream. Stir in the
flour, rice, and lemon (if the rind is used, it must be very finely
minced), and beat the mixture well; then add the whites of the eggs,
beat the cake again for some time, put it into a buttered mould or tin,
and bake it for nearly 1-1/2 hour. It may be flavoured with essence of
almonds, when this is preferred.
_Time_.--Nearly 1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
QUEEN-CAKES.
1773. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of
pounded loaf sugar, 3 eggs, 1 teacupful of cream, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1
teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, essence of lemon, or almonds to taste.
_Mode_.--Work the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour, add the sugar
and currants, and mix the ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs, mix
them with the cream and flavouring, and stir these to the flour; add the
carbonate of soda, beat the paste well for 10 minutes, put it into small
buttered pans, and bake the cake from 1/4 to 1/2 hour.
Grated lemon-rind may be substituted for the lemon and almond
flavouring, which will make the cakes equally nice.
_Time_. 1/4 to 1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 9d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
SAUCER-CAKE FOR TEA.
1774. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of _tous-les-mois_, 1/4
lb. of pounded white sugar, 1/4 lb. of butter, 2 eggs, 1 oz. of candied
orange or lemon-peel.
_Mode_.--Mix the flour and _tous-les-mois_ together; add the sugar, the
candied peel cut into thin slices, the butter beaten to a cream, and the
eggs well whisked. Beat the mixture for 10 minutes, put it into a
buttered cake-tin or mould, or, if this is not obtainable, a soup-plate
answers the purpose, lined with a piece of buttered paper. Bake the cake
in a moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/4 hour, and when cold, put it away in a
covered canister. It will remain good some weeks, even if it be cut into
slices.
_Time_.--1 to 1-1/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
COMMON SEED-CAKE.
1775. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 quartern of dough, 1/4 lb. of good dripping, 6
oz. of moist sugar, 1/2 oz. of caraway seeds, 1 egg.
_Mode_.--If the dough is sent in from the baker's, put it in a basin
covered with a cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise. Then with a
wooden spoon beat the dripping to a liquid; add it, with the other
ingredients, to the dough, and beat it until everything is very
thoroughly mixed. Put it into a buttered tin, and bake the cake for
rather more than 2 hours.
_Time_.--Rather more than 2 hours.
_Average cost_, 8d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
A VERY GOOD SEED-CAKE.
1776. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of butter, 6 eggs, 3/4 lb. of sifted sugar,
pounded mace and grated nutmeg to taste, 1 lb. of flour, 3/4 oz. of
caraway seeds, 1 wineglassful of brandy.
_Mode_.--Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar,
mace, nutmeg, and caraway seeds, and mix these ingredients well
together. Whisk the eggs, stir to them the brandy, and beat the cake
again for 10 minutes. Put it into a tin lined with buttered paper, and
bake it from 1-1/2 to 2 hours. This cake would be equally nice made with
currants, and omitting the caraway seeds.
_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours. _Average cost_, 2s. 6d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BREAD-MAKING IN SPAIN.--The bread in the south of Spain is
delicious: it is white as snow, close as cake, and yet very
light; the flavour is most admirable, for the wheat is good and
pure, and the bread well kneaded. The way they make this bread
is as follows:--From large round panniers filled with wheat they
take out a handful at a time, sorting it most carefully and
expeditiously, and throwing every defective grain into another
basket. This done, the wheat is ground between two circular
stones, as it was ground in Egypt 2,000 years ago (see No. 117),
the requisite rotary motion being given by a blindfolded mule,
which paces round and round with untiring patience, a bell being
attached to his neck, which, as long as he is in movement,
tinkles on; and when it stops, he is urged to his duty by the
shout of "_Arre, mula_," from some one within hearing. When
ground, the wheat is sifted through three sieves, the last of
these being so fine that only the pure flour can pass through
it: this is of a pale apricot-colour. The bread is made in the
evening. It is mixed with only sufficient water, with a little
salt in it, to make it into dough: a very small quantity of
leaven, or fermenting mixture is added. The Scripture says, "A
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump;" but in England, to
avoid the trouble of kneading, many put as much leaven or yeast
in one batch of household bread as in Spain would last them a
week for the six or eight donkey-loads of bread they send every
night from their oven. The dough made, it is put into sacks, and
carried on the donkeys' backs to the oven in the centre of the
village, so as to bake it immediately it is kneaded. On arriving
there, the dough is divided into portions weighing 3 lbs. each.
Two long narrow wooden tables on trestles are then placed down
the room; and now a curious sight may be seen. About twenty men
(bakers) come in and range themselves on one side of the tables.
A lump of dough is handed to the nearest, which he commences
kneading and knocking about with all his might for about 3 or 4
minutes, and then passes it on to his neighbour, who does the
same; and so on successively until all have kneaded it, when it
becomes as soft as new putty, and ready for the oven. Of course,
as soon as the first baker has handed the first lump to his
neighbour, another is given to him, and so on till the whole
quantity of dough is successively kneaded by them all. The
bakers' wives and daughters shape the loaves for the oven, and
some of them are very small, and they are baked immediately. The
ovens are very large, and not heated by fires _under_ them; but
a quantity of twigs of the herbs of sweet marjoram and thyme,
which cover the hills in great profusion, are put in the oven
and ignited. They heat the oven to any extent required; and, as
the bread gets baked, the oven gets gradually colder; so the
bread is never burned. They knead the bread in Spain with such
force, that the palm of the hand and the second joints of the
fingers of the bakers are covered with corns; and it so affects
the chest, that they cannot work more than two hours at a time.
SNOW-CAKE.
1777. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of _tous-les-mois_, 1/4 lb. of white pounded
sugar, 1/4 lb. of fresh or washed salt butter, 1 egg, the juice of 1
lemon.
_Mode_.--Beat the butter to a cream; then add the egg, previously well
beaten, and then the other ingredients; if the mixture is not light, add
another egg, and beat for 1/4 hour, until it turns white and light. Line
a flat tin, with raised edges, with a sheet of buttered paper; pour in
the cake, and put it into the oven. It must be rather slow, and the cake
not allowed to brown at all. If the oven is properly heated, 1 to 1-1/4
hour will be found long enough to bake it. Let it cool a few minutes,
then with a clean sharp knife cut it into small square pieces, which
should be gently removed to a large flat dish to cool before putting
away. This will keep for several weeks.
_Time_.--1 to 1-1/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
SNOW-CAKE.
(_A genuine Scotch Recipe_.)
1778. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of arrowroot, 1/2 lb. of pounded white sugar,
1/2 lb. of butter, the whites of 6 eggs; flavouring to taste, of essence
of almonds, or vanilla, or lemon.
_Mode_.--Beat the butter to a cream; stir in the sugar and arrowroot
gradually, at the same time beating the mixture. Whisk the whites of the
eggs to a stiff froth, add them to the other ingredients, and beat well
for 20 minutes. Put in whichever of the above flavourings may be
preferred; pour the cake into a buttered mould or tin and bake it in a
moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/2 hour.
_Time_.--1 to 1-1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, with the best Bermuda arrowroot, 4s. 6d.; with St.
Vincent ditto, 2s. 9d.
_Sufficient_ to make a moderate-sized cake. _Seasonable_ at any time.
SCRAP-CAKES.
1779. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of leaf, or the inside fat of a pig; 1-1/2
lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1 oz. of
candied lemon-peel, ground allspice to taste.
_Mode_.--Cut the leaf, or flead, as it is sometimes called, into small
pieces; put it into a large dish, which place in a quick oven; be
careful that it does not burn, and in a short time it will be reduced to
oil, with the small pieces of leaf floating on the surface; and it is of
these that the cakes should be made. Gather all the scraps together, put
them into a basin with the flour, and rub them well together. Add the
currants, sugar, candied peel, cut into thin slices, and the ground
allspice. When all these ingredients are well mixed, moisten with
sufficient cold water to make the whole into a nice paste; roll it out
thin, cut it into shapes, and bake the cakes in a quick oven from 15 to
20 minutes. These are very economical and wholesome cakes for children,
and the lard, melted at home, produced from the flead, is generally
better than that you purchase. To prevent the lard from burning, and to
insure its being a good colour, it is better to melt it in a jar placed
in a saucepan of boiling water; by doing it in this manner, there will
be no chance of its discolouring.
_Time_.--15 to 20 minutes.
_Sufficient_ to make 3 or 4 dozen cakes.
_Seasonable_ from September to March.
[Illustration: WHEAT.]
Wheat is liable to several diseases, which affect the flour made
from it, and render it unfit for good bread. The principal of
these are the blight, mildew, and smut, which are occasioned by
microscopic fungi, which sow themselves and grow upon the stems
and ears, destroying the nutritive principles, and introducing
matter of a deleterious kind. The farmer is at the utmost pains
to keep away these intruders. Wheat, as well as all kinds of
corn, is also very liable to be injured by being stacked before
it is quite dry; in which case it will heat, and become musty in
the ricks. In wet harvests it is sometimes impossible to get it
sufficiently dried, and a great deal of corn is thus often
spoiled. It is generally reckoned that the sweetest bread is
made from wheat threshed out before it is stacked; which shows
the importance of studying the best modes of preserving it.
The erudite are not agreed as to the aboriginal country of corn:
some say it is Egypt, others Tartary; and the learned Bailly, as
well as the traveller Pallas, affirms that it grows
spontaneously in Siberia. Be that as it may, the Phocians
brought it to Marseilles before the Romans had penetrated into
Gaul. The Gauls ate the corn cooked or bruised in a mortar: they
did not know, for a long time, how to make fermented bread.
SCOTCH SHORTBREAD.
1780. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, 1/4 lb. of pounded
loaf sugar, 1/2 oz. of caraway seeds, 1 oz. of sweet almonds, a few
strips of candied orange-peel.
[Illustration: SHORTBREAD.]
_Mode_.--Beat the butter to a cream, gradually dredge in the flour, and
add the sugar, caraway seeds, and sweet almonds, which should be
blanched and cut into small pieces. Work the paste until it is quite
smooth, and divide it into six pieces. Put each cake on a separate piece
of paper, roll the paste out square to the thickness of about an inch,
and pinch it upon all sides. Prick it well, and ornament with one or two
strips of candied orange-peel. Put the cakes into a good oven, and bake
them from 25 to 30 minutes.
_Time_.--25 to 30 minutes.
_Average cost_, for this quantity, 2s.
_Sufficient_ to make 6 cakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--Where the flavour of the caraway seeds is disliked, omit them,
and add rather a larger proportion of candied peel.
SODA-CAKE.
1781. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of
currants, 1/2 lb. of moist sugar, 1 teacupful of milk, 3 eggs, 1
teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.
_Mode_.--Rub the butter into the flour, add the currants and sugar, and
mix these ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs well, stir them to
the flour, &c., with the milk, in which the soda should be previously
dissolved, and beat the whole up together with a wooden spoon or beater.
Divide the dough into two pieces, put them into buttered moulds or
cake-tins, and bake in a moderate oven for nearly an hour. The mixture
must be extremely well beaten up, and not allowed to stand after the
soda is added to it, but must be placed in the oven immediately. Great
care must also be taken that the cakes are quite done through, which may
be ascertained by thrusting a knife into the middle of them: if the
blade looks bright when withdrawn, they are done. If the tops acquire
too much colour before the inside is sufficiently baked, cover them over
with a piece of clean white paper, to prevent them from burning.
_Time_.--1 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 small cakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
SAVOY CAKE.
1782. INGREDIENTS.--The weight of 4 eggs in pounded loaf sugar, the
weight of 7 in flour, a little grated lemon-rind, or essence of almonds,
or orange-flower water.
_Mode_.--Break the 7 eggs, putting the yolks into one basin and the
whites into another. Whisk the former, and mix with them the sugar, the
grated lemon-rind, or any other flavouring to taste; beat them well
together, and add the whites of the eggs, whisked to a froth. Put in the
flour by degrees, continuing to beat the mixture for 1/4 hour, butter a
mould, pour in the cake, and bake it from 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour. This is a
very nice cake for dessert, and may be iced for a supper-table, or cut
into slices and spread with jam, which converts it into sandwiches.
_Time_.--1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 1 cake.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
SPONGE-CAKE.
I.
[Illustration: SPONGE-CAKE.]
1783. INGREDIENTS.--The weight of 8 eggs in pounded loaf sugar, the
weight of 5 in flour, the rind of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
_Mode_.--Put the eggs into one side of the scale, and take the weight of
8 in pounded loaf sugar, and the weight of 5 in good _dry_ flour.
Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs; beat the former, put
them into a saucepan with the sugar, and let them remain over the fire
until _milk-warm,_ keeping them well stirred. Then put them into a
basin, add the grated lemon-rind mixed with the brandy, and stir these
well together, dredging in the flour very gradually. Whisk the whites of
the eggs to a very stiff froth, stir them to the flour, &c., and beat
the cake well for 1/4 hour. Put it into a buttered mould strewn with a
little fine sifted sugar, and bake the cake in a quick oven for 1-1/2
hour. Care must be taken that it is put into the oven immediately, or it
will not be light. The flavouring of this cake may be varied by adding a
few drops of essence of almonds instead of the grated lemon-rind.
_Time_.--1-1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 1s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 1 cake.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN WHEAT.]
The Egyptian, or Mummy Wheat, is not grown to any great extent,
owing to its inferior quality; but it is notable for its large
produce, and is often cultivated on allotment grounds and on
small farms, where quantity rather than quality is desired. At
Wix, in Essex, the seed of this wheat has produced, without
artificial assistance, four thousandfold; some of the ears have
had eleven offshoots, and have contained, altogether, eleven
grains in one ear.
II.
1784. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, not quite 1/4 pint of water,
5 eggs, 1 lemon, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/4 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.
_Mode_.--Boil the sugar and water together until they form a thick
syrup; let it cool a little, then pour it to the eggs, which should be
previously well whisked; and after the eggs and syrup are mixed
together, continue beating them for a few minutes. Grate the lemon-rind,
mix the carbonate of soda with the flour, and stir these lightly to the
other ingredients; then add the lemon-juice, and, when the whole is
thoroughly mixed, pour it into a buttered mould, and bake in rather a
quick oven for rather more than 1 hour. The remains of sponge or Savoy
cakes answer very well for trifles, light puddings, &c.; and a very
stale one (if not mouldy) makes an excellent tipsy-cake.
_Time_.--Rather more than 1 hour.
_Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ to make 1 cake.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
TO MAKE SMALL SPONGE-CAKES.
1785. INGREDIENTS.--The weight of 5 eggs in flour, the weight of 8 in
pounded loaf sugar; flavouring to taste.
_Mode_.--Let the flour be perfectly dry, and the sugar well pounded and
sifted. Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, and beat the
latter up with the sugar; then whisk the whites until they become rather
stiff, and mix them with the yolks, but do not stir them more than is
just necessary to mingle the ingredients well together. Dredge in the
flour by degrees, add the flavouring; batter the tins well, pour in the
batter, sift a little sugar over the cakes, and bake them in rather a
quick oven, but do not allow them to take too much colour, as they
should be rather pale. Remove them from the tins before they get cold,
and turn them on their faces, where let them remain until quite cold,
when store them away in a closed tin canister or wide-mouthed glass
bottle.
_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes in a quick oven.
_Average cost_, 1d. each.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
TEA-CAKES.
1786. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of flour, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 lb. of
butter or lard, 1 egg, a piece of German yeast the size of a walnut,
warm milk.
_Mode_.--Put the flour (which should be perfectly dry) into a basin mix
with it the salt, and rub in the butter or lard; then beat the egg well,
stir to it the yeast, and add these to the flour with as much warm milk
as will make the whole into a smooth paste, and knead it well. Let it
rise near the fire, and, when well risen, form it into cakes; place them
on tins, let them rise again for a few minutes before putting them into
the oven, and bake from 1/4 to 1/2 hour in a moderate oven. These are
very nice with a few currants and a little sugar added to the other
ingredients: they should be put in after the butter is rubbed in. These
cakes should be buttered, and eaten hot as soon as baked; but, when
stale, they are very nice split and toasted; or, if dipped in milk, or
even water, and covered with a basin in the oven till hot, they will be
almost equal to new.
_Time_.--1/4 to 1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 10d.
_Sufficient_ to make 8 tea-cakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
TO TOAST TEA-CAKES.
[Illustration: TEA-CAKES.]
1787. Cut each tea-cake into three or four slices, according to its
thickness; toast them on both sides before a nice clear fire, and as
each slice is done, spread it with butter on both sides. When a cake is
toasted, pile the slices one on the top of the other, cut them into
quarters, put them on a very hot plate, and send the cakes immediately
to table. As they are wanted, send them in hot, one or two at a time,
as, if allowed to stand, they spoil, unless kept in a muffin-plate over
a basin of boiling water.
A NICE YEAST-CAKE.
1788. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 pint of
milk, 1-1/2 tablespoonful of good yeast, 3 eggs, 3/4 lb. of currants,
1/2 lb. of white moist sugar, 2 oz. of candied peel.
_Mode_.--Put the milk and butter into a saucepan, and shake it round
over a fire until the butter is melted, but do not allow the milk to get
very hot. Put the flour into a basin, stir to it the milk and butter,
the yeast, and eggs, which should be well beaten, and form the whole
into a smooth dough. Let it stand in a warm place, covered with a cloth,
to rise, and, when sufficiently risen, add the currants, sugar, and
candied peel cut into thin slices. When all the ingredients are
thoroughly mixed, line 2 moderate-sized cake-tins with buttered paper,
which should be about six inches higher than the tin; pour in the
mixture, let it stand to rise again for another 1/2 hour, and then bake
the cakes in a brisk oven for about 1-1/2 hour. If the tops of them
become too brown, cover them with paper until they are done through. A
few drops of essence of lemon, or a little grated nutmeg, may be added
when the flavour is liked.
_Time_.--From 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 moderate-sized cakes.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXXVI.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON BEVERAGES.
1789. Beverages are innumerable in their variety; but the ordinary
beverages drunk in the British isles, may be divided into three
classes:--1. Beverages of the simplest kind not fermented. 2. Beverages,
consisting of water, containing a considerable quantity of carbonic
acid. 3. Beverages composed partly of fermented liquors. Of the first
class may be mentioned,--water, toast-and-water, barley-water, eau
sucre, lait sucre, cheese and milk whey, milk-and-water, lemonade,
orangeade, sherbet, apple and pear juice, capillaire, vinegar-and-water,
raspberry vinegar and water.
1790. Of the common class of beverages, consisting of water impregnated
with carbonic acid gas, we may name soda-water, single and double,
ordinary effervescing draughts, and ginger-beer.
1791. The beverages composed partly of fermented liquors, are hot spiced
wines, bishop, egg-flip, egg-hot, ale posset, sack posset, punch, and
spirits-and-water.
1792. We will, however, forthwith treat on the most popular of our
beverages, beginning with the one which makes "the cup that cheers but
not inebriates."
1793. The beverage called tea has now become almost a necessary of life.
Previous to the middle of the 17th century it was not used in England,
and it was wholly unknown to the Greeks and Romans. Pepys says, in his
Diary,--"September 25th, 1661.--I sent for a cup of tea (a China drink),
of which I had never drunk before." Two years later it was so rare a
commodity in England, that the English East-India Company bought 2 lbs.
2 oz. of it, as a present for his majesty. In 1666 it was sold in London
for sixty shillings a pound. From that date the consumption has gone on
increasing from 5,000 lbs. to 50,000,000 lbs.
1794. Linnaeus was induced to think that there were two species of
tea-plant, one of which produced the black, and the other the green
teas; but later observations do not confirm this. When the leaves of
black and green tea are expanded by hot water, and examined by the
botanist, though a difference of character is perceived, yet this is not
sufficient to authorize considering them as distinct species. The
tea-tree flourishes best in temperate regions; in China it is
indigenous. The part of China where the best tea is cultivated, is
called by us the "tea country." The cultivation of the plant requires
great care. It is raised chiefly on the sides of hills; and, in order to
increase the quantity and improve the quality of the leaves, the shrub
is pruned, so as not to exceed the height of from two to three feet,
much in the same manner as the vine is treated in France. They pluck the
leaves, one selecting them according to the kinds of tea required; and,
notwithstanding the tediousness of the operation, each labourer is able
to gather from four to ten or fifteen pounds a day. When the trees
attain to six or seven years of age, the produce becomes so inferior
that they are removed to make room for a fresh succession, or they are
cut down to allow of numerous young shoots. Teas of the finest flavour
consist of the youngest leaves; and as these are gathered at four
different periods of the year, the younger the leaves the higher
flavoured the tea, and the scarcer, and consequently the dearer, the
article.
1795. The various names by which teas are sold in the British market are
corruptions of Chinese words. There are about a dozen different kinds;
but the principal are Bohea, Congou, and Souchong, and signify,
respectively, inferior, middling, and superior. Teas are often perfumed
and flavoured with the leaves of different kinds of plants grown on
purpose. Different tea-farms in China produce teas of various qualities,
raised by skilful cultivation on various soils.
1796. Tea, when chemically analyzed, is found to contain woody fibre,
mucilage, a considerable quantity of the astringent principle, or
tannin, a narcotic principle, which is, perhaps, connected with a
peculiar aroma. The tannin is shown by its striking a black colour with
sulphate of iron, and is the cause of the dark stain which is always
formed when tea is spilt upon buff-coloured cottons dyed with iron. A
constituent called _Theine_ has also been discovered in tea, supposed to
be identical with _Caffeine_, one of the constituents of coffee. Liebig
says, "Theine yields, in certain processes of decomposition, a series of
most remarkable products, which have much analogy with those derived
from uric acid in similar circumstances. The infusion of tea differs
from that of coffee, by containing iron and manganese. We have in tea,
of many kinds, a beverage which contains the active constituents of the
most powerful mineral springs, and, however small the amount of iron may
be which we daily take in this form, it cannot be destitute of influence
on the vital processes."
1797. Chinese tea has frequently been adulterated in this country, by
the admixture of the dried leaves of certain plants. The leaves of the
sloe, white thorn, ash, elder, and some others, have been employed for
this purpose; such as the leaves of the speedwell, wild germander, black
currants, syringa, purple-spiked willow-herb, sweet-brier, and
cherry-tree. Some of these are harmless, others are to a certain degree
poisonous; as, for example, are the leaves of all the varieties of the
plum and cherry tribe, to which the sloe belongs. Adulteration by means
of these leaves is by no means a new species of fraud; and several acts
of parliament, from the time of George II., have been passed, specifying
severe penalties against those guilty of the offence, which,
notwithstanding numerous convictions, continues to the present time.
1798. In the purchase of tea, that should be chosen which possesses an
agreeable odour and is as whole as possible, in order that the leaf may
be easily examined. The greatest care should be taken that it has not
been exposed to the air, which destroys its flavour.
1799. It would be impossible, in the space at our command, to enumerate
the various modes adopted in different countries for "making coffee;"
that is, the phrase commonly understood to mean the complete preparation
of this delicious beverage for drinking. For performing this operation,
such recipes or methods as we have found most practical will be inserted
in their proper place; but the following facts connected with coffee
will be found highly interesting.
1800. The introduction of coffee into this country is comparatively of
recent date. We are assured by Bruce that the coffee-tree is a native of
Abyssinia, and it is said to have been cultivated in that country from
time immemorial.
1801. It appears that coffee was first introduced into England by Daniel
Edwards, a Turkey merchant, whose servant, Pasqua, a Greek, understood
the manner of roasting it. This servant, under the patronage of Edwards,
established the first coffee-house in London, in George Yard, Lombard
Street. Coffee was then sold at four or five guineas a pound, and a duty
was soon afterwards laid upon it of fourpence a gallon, when made into a
beverage. In the course of two centuries, however, this berry, unknown
originally as an article of food, except to some savage tribes on the
confines of Abyssinia, has made its way through the whole of the
civilized world. Mahommedans of all ranks drink coffee twice a day; it
is in universal request in France; and the demand for it throughout the
British isles is daily increasing, the more especially since so much
attention has been given to mechanical contrivances for roasting and
grinding the berry and preparing the beverage.
1802. Of the various kinds of coffee the Arabian is considered the best.
It is grown chiefly in the districts of Aden and Mocha; whence the name
of our Mocha coffee. Mocha coffee has a smaller and rounder bean than
any other, and likewise a more agreeable smell and taste. The next in
reputation and quality is the Java and Ceylon coffee, and then the
coffees of Bourbon and Martinique, and that of Berbice, a district of
the colony of British Guiana. The Jamaica and St. Domingo coffees are
less esteemed.
1803. A considerable change takes place in the arrangement of the
constituents of coffee by the application of heat in roasting it.
Independently of one of the objects of roasting, namely, that of
destroying its toughness and rendering it easily ground, its tannin and
other principles are rendered partly soluble in water; and it is to the
tannin that the brown colour of the decoction of coffee is owing. An
aromatic flavour is likewise developed during torrefaction, which is not
perceived in the raw berry, and which is not produced in the greatest
perfection until the heat has arrived at a certain degree of
temperature; but, if the heat be increased beyond this, the flavour is
again dissipated, and little remains but a bitter and astringent matter
with carbon.
1804. The roasting of coffee in the best manner requires great nicety,
and much of the qualities of the beverage depends upon the operation.
The roasting of coffee for the dealers in London and Paris has now
become a separate branch of business, and some of the roasters perform
the operation on a great scale, with considerable skill. Roasted coffee
loses from 20 to 30 per cent, by sufficient roasting, and the powder
suffers much by exposure to the air; but, while raw, it not only does
not lose its flavour for a year or two, but improves by keeping. If a
cup of the best coffee be placed upon a table boiling hot, it will fill
the room with its fragrance; but the coffee, when warmed again after
being cold, will be found to have lost most of its flavour.
1805. To have coffee in perfection, it should be roasted and ground just
before it is used, and more should not be ground at a time than is
wanted for immediate use, or, if it be necessary to grind more, it
should be kept closed from the air. Coffee readily imbibes exhalations
from other substances, and thus often acquires a bad flavour: brown
sugar placed near it will communicate a disagreeable flavour. It is
stated that the coffee in the West Indies has often been injured by
being laid in rooms near the sugar-works, or where rum is distilled; and
the same effect has been produced by bringing over coffee in the same
ships with rum and sugar. Dr. Moseley mentions that a few bags of
pepper, on board a ship from India, spoiled a whole cargo of coffee.
1806. With respect to the quantity of coffee used in making the
decoction, much depends upon the taste of the consumer. The greatest and
most common fault in English coffee is the too small quantity of the
ingredient. Count Rumford says that to make good coffee for drinking
after dinner, a pound of good Mocha coffee, which, when roasted and
ground, weighs only thirteen ounces, serves to make fifty-six full cups,
or a little less than a quarter of an ounce to a coffee-cup of moderate
size.
RECIPES.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
TO MAKE CHOCOLATE.
1807. INGREDIENTS.--Allow 1/2 oz. of chocolate to each person; to every
oz. allow 1/2 pint of water, 1/2 pint of milk.
_Mode_.--Make the milk-and-water hot; scrape the chocolate into it, and
stir the mixture constantly and quickly until the chocolate is
dissolved; bring it to the boiling-point, stir it well, and serve
directly with white sugar. Chocolate prepared with in a mill, as shown
in the engraving, is made by putting in the scraped chocolate, pouring
over it the boiling milk-and-water, and milling it over the fire until
hot and frothy.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1/2 oz. of cake chocolate to each person.
[Illustration: MILL.]
CHOCOLATE AND COCOA.--Both these preparations are made from the
seeds or beans of the cacao-tree, which grows in the West Indies
and South America. The Spanish, and the proper name, is cacao,
not cocoa, as it is generally spelt. From this mistake, the tree
from which the beverage is procured has been often confounded
with the palm that produces the edible cocoa-nuts, which are the
produce of the cocoa-tree (_Cocos nucifera_), whereas the tree
from which chocolate is procured is very different (the
_Theobroma cacao_). The cocoa-tree was cultivated by the
aboriginal inhabitants of South America, particularly in Mexico,
where, according to Humboldt, it was reared by Montezuma. It was
transplanted thence into other dependencies of the Spanish
monarchy in 1520; and it was so highly esteemed by Linnaeus
receive from him the name now conferred upon it, of Theobroma, a
term derived from the Greek, and signifying "_food for gods_."
Chocolate has always been a favourite beverage among the
Spaniards and Creoles, and was considered here as a great luxury
when first introduced, after the discovery of America; but the
high duties laid upon it, confined it long almost entirely to
the wealthier classes. Before it was subjected to duty, Mr.
Bryan Edwards stated that cocoa plantations were numerous in
Jamaica, but that the duty caused their almost entire ruin. The
removal of this duty has increased their cultivation. (For
engraving of cocoa-bean, _see_ No. 1816.)
TO MAKE ESSENCE OF COFFEE.
1808. INGREDIENTS.--To every 1/4 lb. of ground coffee allow 1 small
teaspoonful of powdered chicory, 3 small teacupfuls, or 1 pint, of
water.
_Mode_.--Let the coffee be freshly ground, and, if possible, freshly
roasted; put it into a percolater, or filter, with the chicory, and pour
_slowly_ over it the above proportion of boiling water. When it has all
filtered through, warm the coffee sufficiently to bring it to the
simmering-point, but do not allow it to boil; then filter it a second
time, put it into a clean and dry bottle, cork it well, and it will
remain good for several days. Two tablespoonfuls of this essence are
quite sufficient for a breakfast-cupful of hot milk. This essence will
be found particularly useful to those persons who have to rise extremely
early; and having only the milk to make boiling, is very easily and
quickly prepared. When the essence is bottled, pour another 3
tea-cupfuls of _boiling_ water slowly on the grounds, which, when
filtered through, will be a very weak coffee. The next time there is
essence to be prepared, make this weak coffee boiling, and pour it on
the ground coffee instead of plain water: by this means a better coffee
will be obtained. Never throw away the grounds without having made use
of them in this manner; and always cork the bottle well that contains
this preparation, until the day that it is wanted for making the fresh
essence.
_Time_.--To be filtered once, then brought to the boiling-point, and
filtered again.
_Average cost_, with coffee at 1s. 8d. per lb., 6d.
_Sufficient'_-Allow 2 tablespoonfuls for a breakfast-cupful of hot milk.
TO ROAST COFFEE.
(_A French Recipe_.)
1809. It being an acknowledged fact that French coffee is decidedly
superior to that made in England, and as the roasting of the berry is of
great importance to the flavour of the preparation, it will be useful
and interesting to know how they manage these things in France. In
Paris, there are two houses justly celebrated for the flavour of their
coffee,--_La Maison Corcellet_ and _La Maison Royer de Chartres_; and to
obtain this flavour, before roasting they add to every 3 lbs. of coffee
a piece of butter the size of a nut, and a dessert-spoonful of powdered
sugar: it is then roasted in the usual manner. The addition of the
butter and sugar develops the flavour and aroma of the berry; but it
must be borne in mind, that the quality of the butter must be of the
very best description.
TO MAKE COFFEE.
1810. INGREDIENTS.--Allow 4 oz., or 1 tablespoonful, of ground coffee to
each person; to every oz. of coffee allow 1/3 pint of water.
_Mode_.--To make coffee good, _it should never be boiled_, but the
boiling water merely poured on it, the same as for tea. The coffee
should always be purchased in the berry,--if possible, freshly roasted;
and it should never be ground long before it is wanted for use. There
are very many new kinds of coffee-pots, but the method of making the
coffee is nearly always the same; namely, pouring the boiling water on
the powder, and allowing it to filter through. Our illustration shows
one of Loysel's Hydrostatic Urns, which are admirably adapted for making
good and clear coffee, which should be made in the following,
manner:--Warm the urn with boiling water, remove the lid and movable
filter, and place the ground coffee at the bottom of the urn. Put the
movable filter over this, and screw the lid, inverted, tightly on the
end of the centre pipe. Pour into the inverted lid the above proportion
of boiling water, and when all the water so poured has disappeared from
the funnel, and made its way down the centre pipe and up again through
the ground coffee by _hydrostatic pressure_, unscrew screw the lid and
cover the urn. Pour back direct into the urn, _not through the funnel_,
one, two, or three cups, according to the size of the percolater, in
order to make the infusion of uniform strength; the contents will then
be ready for use, and should run from the tap strong, hot, and clear.
The coffee made in these urns generally turns out very good, and there
is but one objection to them,--the coffee runs rather slowly from the
tap. This is of no consequence where there is a small party, but tedious
where there are many persons to provide for. A remedy for this objection
may be suggested; namely, to make the coffee very strong, so that not
more than 1/3 of a cup would be required, as the rest would be filled up
with milk. Making coffee in filters or percolaters does away with the
necessity of using isinglass, white of egg, and various other
preparations to clear it. Coffee should always be served very hot, and,
if possible, in the same vessel in which it is made, as pouring it from
one pot to another cools, and consequently spoils it. Many persons may
think that the proportion of water we have given for each oz. of coffee
is rather small; it is so, and the coffee produced from it will be very
strong; 1/3 of a cup will be found quite sufficient, which should be
filled with nice hot milk, or milk and cream mixed. This is the 'cafe au
lait' for which our neighbours over the Channel are so justly
celebrated. Should the ordinary method of making coffee be preferred,
use double the quantity of water, and, in pouring it into the cups, put
in more coffee and less milk.
[Illustration: LOYSEL'S HYDROSTATIC URN.]
_Sufficient_.--For very good coffee, allow 1/2 oz., or 1 tablespoonful,
to each person.
A VERY SIMPLE METHOD OF MAKING COFFEE.
1811. INGREDIENTS.--Allow 1/2 oz., or 1 tablespoonful, of coffee to each
person; to every oz. allow 1 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Have a small iron ring made to fit the top of the coffee-pot
inside, and to this ring sew a small muslin bag (the muslin for the
purpose must not be too thin). Fit the bag into the pot, pour some
boiling water in it, and, when the pot is well warmed, put the ground
coffee into the bag; pour over as much boiling water as is required,
close the lid, and, when all the water has filtered through, remove the
bag, and send the coffee to table. Making it in this manner prevents the
necessity of pouring the coffee from one vessel to another, which cools
and spoils it. The water should be poured on the coffee gradually, so
that the infusion may be stronger; and the bag must be well made, that
none of the grounds may escape through the seams, and so make the coffee
thick and muddy.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 tablespoonful, or 1/2 oz., to each person.
[Illustration: COFFEE.]
THE COFFEE PLANT grows to the height of about twelve or fifteen
feet, with leaves not unlike those of the common laurel,
although more pointed, and not so dry and thick. The blossoms
are white, much like those of jasmine, and issue from the angles
of the leaf-stalks. When the flowers fade, they are succeeded by
the coffee-bean, or seed, which is inclosed in a berry of a red
colour, when ripe resembling a cherry. The coffee-beans are
prepared by exposing them to the sun for a few days, that the
pulp may ferment and throw off a strong acidulous moisture. They
are then gradually dried for about three weeks, and put into a
mill to separate the husk from the seed.
CAFE AU LAIT.
1812. This is merely very strong coffee added to a large proportion of
good hot milk; about 6 tablespoonfuls of strong coffee being quite
sufficient for a breakfast-cupful of milk. Of the essence No. 1808,
which answers admirably for 'cafe an lait', so much would not be
required. This preparation is infinitely superior to the weak watery
coffee so often served at English tables. A little cream mixed with the
milk, if the latter cannot be depended on for richness, improves the
taste of the coffee, as also the richness of the beverage.
_Sufficient_.--6 tablespoonfuls of strong coffee, or 2 tablespoonfuls of
the essence, to a breakfast-cupful of milk.
TEA AND COFFEE.--It is true, says Liebig, that thousands have
lived without a knowledge of tea and coffee; and daily
experience teaches us that, under certain circumstances, they
may be dispensed with without disadvantage to the merely animal
functions; but it is an error, certainly, to conclude from this
that they may be altogether dispensed with in reference to their
effects; and it is a question whether, if we had no tea and no
coffee, the popular instinct would not seek for and discover the
means of replacing them. Science, which accuses us of so much in
these respects, will have, in the first place, to ascertain
whether it depends on sensual and sinful inclinations merely,
that every people of the globe have appropriated some such means
of acting on the nervous life, from the shore of the Pacific,
where the Indian retires from life for days in order to enjoy
the bliss of intoxication with koko, to the Arctic regions,
where Kamtschatdales and Koriakes prepare an intoxicating
beverage from a poisonous mushroom. We think it, on the
contrary, highly probable, not to say certain, that the instinct
of man, feeling certain blanks, certain wants of the intensified
life of our times, which cannot be satisfied or filled up by
mere quantity, has discovered, in these products of vegetable
life the true means of giving to his food the desired and
necessary quality.
CAFE NOIR.
1813. This is usually handed round after dinner, and should be drunk
well sweetened, with the addition of a little brandy or liqueurs, which
may be added or not at pleasure. The coffee should be made very strong,
and served in very small cups, but never mixed with milk or cream. Cafe
noir may be made of the essence of coffee No. 1808, by pouring a
tablespoonful into each cup, and filling it up with boiling water. This
is a very simple and expeditious manner of preparing coffee for a large
party, but the essence for it must be made very good, and kept well
corked until required for use.
TO MAKE TEA.
1814. There is very little art in making good tea; if the water is
boiling, and there is no sparing of the fragrant leaf, the beverage will
almost invariably be good. The old-fashioned plan of allowing a
teaspoonful to each person, and one over, is still practised. Warm the
teapot with boiling water; let it remain for two or three minutes for
the vessel to become thoroughly hot, then pour it away. Put in the tea,
pour in from 1/2 to 3/4 pint of boiling water, close the lid, and let it
stand for the tea to draw from 5 to 10 minutes; then fill up the pot
with water. The tea will be quite spoiled unless made with water that is
actually 'boiling', as the leaves will not open, and the flavour not be
extracted from them; the beverage will consequently be colourless and
tasteless,--in fact, nothing but tepid water. Where there is a very
large party to make tea for, it is a good plan to have two teapots
instead of putting a large quantity of tea into one pot; the tea,
besides, will go farther. When the infusion has been once completed, the
addition of fresh tea adds very little to the strength; so, when more is
required, have the pot emptied of the old leaves, scalded, and fresh tea
made in the usual manner. Economists say that a few grains of carbonate
of soda, added before the boiling water is poured on the tea, assist to
draw out the goodness: if the water is very hard, perhaps it is a good
plan, as the soda softens it; but care must be taken to use this
ingredient sparingly, as it is liable to give the tea a soapy taste if
added in too large a quantity. For mixed tea, the usual proportion is
four spoonfuls of black to one of green; more of the latter when the
flavour is very much liked; but strong green tea is highly pernicious,
and should never be partaken of too freely.
_Time_.--2 minutes to warm the teapot, 5 to 10 minutes to draw the
strength from the tea.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 teaspoonful to each person, and one over.
TEA.--The tea-tree or shrub belongs to the class and order of
Monadelphia polyandria in the Linnaean system, and to the
natural order of Aurantiaceae in the system of Jussieu. Lately
it has been made into a new order, the Theasia, which includes
the Camellia and some other plants. It commonly grows to the
height of from three to six feet; but it is said, that, in its
wild or native state, it reaches twenty feet or more. In China
it is cultivated in numerous small plantations. In its general
appearance, and the form of its leaf, it resembles the myrtle.
The blossoms are white and fragrant, not unlike those of the
wild rose, but smaller; and they are succeeded by soft green
capsules, containing each from one to three white seeds. These
capsules are crushed for oil, which is in general use in China.
[Illustration: TEA.]
AN EXCELLENT SUBSTITUTE FOR MILK OR CREAM IN TEA OR COFFEE.
1815. INGREDIENTS.--Allow 1 new-laid egg to every large breakfast-cupful
of tea or coffee.
_Mode_.--Beat up the whole of the egg in a basin, put it into a cup (or
a portion of it, if the cup be small), and pour over it the tea or
coffee very hot. These should be added very gradually, and stirred all
the time, to prevent the egg from curdling. In point of nourishment,
both these beverages are much improved by this addition.
_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or
coffee.
TO MAKE COCOA.
1816. INGREDIENTS.--Allow 2 teaspoonfuls of the prepared cocoa to 1
breakfast-cup; boiling milk and boiling water.
[Illustration: COCOA-BEAN.]
_Mode_.--Put the cocoa into a breakfast-cup, pour over it sufficient
cold milk to make it into a smooth paste; then add equal quantities of
boiling milk and boiling water, and stir all well together. Care must be
taken not to allow the milk to get burnt, as it will entirely spoil the
flavour of the preparation. The above directions are usually given for
making the prepared cocoa. The rock cocoa, or that bought in a solid
piece, should be scraped, and made in the same manner, taking care to
rub down all the lumps before the boiling liquid is added.
_Sufficient_--2 teaspoonfuls of prepared cocoa for 1 breakfast-cup, or
1/4 oz. of the rock cocoa for the same quantity.
COWSLIP WINE.
1817. INGREDIENTS.--To every gallon of water allow 3 lbs. of lump sugar,
the rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 1, the rind and juice of 1 Seville
orange, 1 gallon of cowslip pips. To every 4-1/2 gallons of wine allow 1
bottle of brandy.
_Mode_.--Boil the sugar and water together for 1/2 hour, carefully
removing all the scum as it rises. Pour this boiling liquor on the
orange and lemon-rinds, and the juice, which should be strained; when
milk-warm, add the cowslip pips or flowers, picked from the stalks and
seeds; and to 9 gallons of wine 3 tablespoonfuls of good fresh brewers'
yeast. Let it ferment 3 or 4 days; then put all together in a cask with
the brandy, and let it remain for 2 months, when bottle it off for use.
_Time_.--To be boiled 1/2 hour; to ferment 3 or 4 days; to remain in the
cask 2 months.
_Average cost_, exclusive of the cowslips, which may be picked in the
fields, 2s. 9d. per gallon.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in April or May.
ELDER WINE.
1818. INGREDIENTS.--To every 3 gallons of water allow 1 peck of
elderberries; to every gallon of juice allow 3 lbs. of sugar, 1/2 oz. of
ground ginger, 6 cloves, 1 lb. of good Turkey raisins; 1/2 pint of
brandy to every gallon of wine. To every 9 gallons of wine 3 or 4
tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast.
_Mode_.--Pour the water, quite boiling, on the elderberries, which
should be picked from the stalks, and let these stand covered for 24
hours; then strain the whole through a sieve or bag, breaking the fruit
to express all the juice from it. Measure the liquor, and to every
gallon allow the above proportion of sugar. Boil the juice and sugar
with the ginger, cloves, and raisins for 1 hour, skimming the liquor the
whole time; let it stand until milk-warm, then put it into a clean dry
cask, with 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of good fresh yeast to every 9 gallons
of wine. Let it ferment for about a fortnight; then add the brandy, bung
up the cask, and let it stand some months before it is bottled, when it
will be found excellent. A bunch of hops suspended to a string from the
bung, some persons say, will preserve the wine good for several years.
Elder wine is usually mulled, and served with sippets of toasted bread
and a little grated nutmeg.
_Time_.--To stand covered 24 hours; to be boiled 1 hour.
_Average cost_, when made at home, 3s. 6d. per gallon.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in September.
[Illustration: ELDER-BERRIES.]
ELDER-BERRY WINE.--The elder-berry is well adapted for the
production of wine; its juice contains a considerable portion of
the principle necessary for a vigorous fermentation, and its
beautiful colour communicates a rich tint to the wine made from
it. It is, however, deficient in sweetness, and therefore
demands an addition of sugar. It is one of the very best of the
genuine old English wines; and a cup of it mulled, just previous
to retiring to bed on a winter night, is a thing to be "run
for," as Cobbett would say: it is not, however, agreeable to
every taste.
GINGER WINE.
1819. INGREDIENTS.--To 9 gallons of water allow 27 lbs. of loaf sugar, 9
lemons, 12 oz. of bruised ginger, 3 tablespoonfuls of yeast, 2 lbs. of
raisins stoned and chopped, 1 pint of brandy.
_Mode_.--Boil together for 1 hour in a copper (let it previously be well
scoured and beautifully clean) the water, sugar, _lemon-rinds_, and
bruised ginger; remove every particle of scum as it rises, and when the
liquor is sufficiently boiled, put it into a large tub or pan, as it
must not remain in the copper. When nearly cold, add the yeast, which
must be thick and very fresh, and, the next day, put all in a dry cask
with the strained lemon-juice and chopped raisins. Stir the wine every
day for a fortnight; then add the brandy, stop the cask down by degrees,
and in a few weeks it will be fit to bottle.
_Average cost_, 2s. per gallon. _Sufficient_ to make 9 gallons of wine.
_Seasonable_.--The best time for making this wine is either in March or
September.
_Note_.--Wine made early in March will be fit to bottle in June.
GOOSEBERRY VINEGAR.
(_An Excellent Recipe_.)
1820. INGREDIENTS.--2 pecks of crystal gooseberries, 6 gallons of water,
12 lbs. of foots sugar of the coarsest brown quality.
_Mode_.--Mash the gooseberries (which should be quite ripe) in a tub
with a mallet; put to them the water nearly milk-warm; let this stand 24
hours; then strain it through a sieve, and put the sugar to it; mix it
well, and tun it. These proportions are for a 9-gallon cask; and if it
be not quite full, more water must be added. Let the mixture be stirred
from the bottom of the cask two or three times daily for three or four
days, to assist the melting of the sugar; then paste a piece of linen
cloth over the bunghole, and set the cask in a warm place, _but not in
the sun_; any corner of a warm kitchen is the best situation for it. The
following spring it should be drawn off into stone bottles, and the
vinegar will be fit for use twelve months after it is made. This will be
found a most excellent preparation, greatly superior to much that is
sold under the name of the best white wine vinegar. Many years'
experience has proved that pickle made with this vinegar will keep, when
bought vinegar will not preserve the ingredients. The cost per gallon is
merely nominal, especially to those who reside in the country and grow
their own gooseberries; the coarse sugar is then the only ingredient to
be purchased.
_Time_.--To remain in the cask 9 months.
_Average cost_, when the gooseberries have to be purchased, 1s. per
gallon; when they are grown at home, 6d. per gallon.
_Seasonable_.--This should be made the end of June or the beginning of
July, when gooseberries are ripe and plentiful.
EFFERVESCING GOOSEBERRY WINE.
1821. INGREDIENTS.--To every gallon of water allow 6 lbs. of green
gooseberries, 3 lbs. of lump sugar.
_Mode_.--This wine should be prepared from unripe gooseberries, in order
to avoid the flavour which the fruit would give to the wine when in a
mature state. Its briskness depends more upon the time of bottling than
upon the unripe state of the fruit, for effervescing wine can be made
from fruit that is ripe as well as that which is unripe. The fruit
should be selected when it has nearly attained its full growth, and
consequently before it shows any tendency to ripen. Any bruised or
decayed berries, and those that are very small, should be rejected. The
blossom and stalk ends should be removed, and the fruit well bruised in
a tub or pan, in such quantities as to insure each berry being broken
without crushing the seeds. Pour the water (which should be warm) on the
fruit, squeeze and stir it with the hand until all the pulp is removed
from the skin and seeds, and cover the whole closely for 24 hours; after
which, strain it through a coarse bag, and press it with as much force
as can be conveniently applied, to extract the whole of the juice and
liquor the fruit may contain. To every 40 or 50 lbs. of fruit one gallon
more of hot water may be passed through the marc, or husks, in order to
obtain any soluble matter that may remain, and be again pressed. The
juice should be put into a tub or pan of sufficient size to contain all
of it, and the sugar added to it. Let it be well stirred until the sugar
is dissolved, and place the pan in a warm situation; keep it closely
covered, and let it ferment for a day or two. It must then be drawn off
into clean casks, placed a little on one side for the scum that arises
to be thrown out, and the casks kept filled with the remaining "must,"
that should be reserved for that purpose. When the active fermentation
has ceased, the casks should be plugged upright, again filled, if
necessary, the bungs be put in loosely, and, after a few days, when the
fermentation is a little more languid (which may be known, by the
hissing noise ceasing), the bungs should be driven in tight, and a
spile-hole made, to give vent if necessary. About November or December,
on a clear fine day, the wine should he racked from its lees into clean
casks, which may be rinsed with brandy. After a month, it should be
examined to see if it is sufficiently clear for bottling; if not, it
must be fined with isinglass, which may be dissolved in some of the
wine: 1 oz. will be sufficient for 9 gallons. In March or April, or when
the gooseberry bushes begin to blossom, the wine must be bottled, in
order to insure its being effervescing.
_Seasonable_.--Make this the end of May or beginning of June, before the
berries ripen.
LEMON SYRUP.
1822. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 2 pints of water, 1 oz. of
citric acid, 12 drachm of essence of lemon.
_Mode_.--Boil the sugar and water together for 1/4 hour, and put it into
a basin, where let it remain till cold. Beat the citric acid to a
powder, mix the essence of lemon with it, then add these two ingredients
to the syrup; mix well, and bottle for use. Two tablespoonfuls of the
syrup are sufficient for a tumbler of cold water, and will be found a
very refreshing summer drink.
_Sufficient_--2 tablespoonfuls of syrup to a tumbler-ful of cold water.
LEMON WINE.
1823. INGREDIENTS.--To 4-1/2 gallons of water allow the pulp of 50
lemons, the rind of 25, 16 lbs. of loaf sugar,--1/2 oz. of isinglass, 1
bottle of brandy.
_Mode_.--Peel and slice the lemons, but use only the rind of 25 of them,
and put them into the cold water. Let it stand 8 or 9 days, squeezing
the lemons well every day; then strain the water off and put it into a
cask with the sugar. Let it work some time, and when it has ceased
working, put in the isinglass. Stop the cask down; in about six months
put in the brandy and bottle the wine off.
_Seasonable_.--The best time to make this is in January or February,
when lemons are best and cheapest.
MALT WINE.
1824. INGREDIENTS.--5 gallons of water, 28 lbs. of sugar, 6 quarts of
sweet-wort, 6 quarts of tun, 3 lbs. of raisins, 1/2 lb. of candy, 1 pint
of brandy.
_Mode_.--Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; skim it well,
and put the liquor into a convenient-sized pan or tub. Allow it to cool;
then mix it with the sweet-wort and tun. Let it stand for 3 days, then
put it into a barrel; here it will work or ferment for another three
days or more; then bung up the cask, and keep it undisturbed for 2 or 3
months. After this, add the raisins (whole), the candy, and brandy, and,
in 6 months' time, bottle the wine off. Those who do not brew, may
procure the sweet-wort and tun from any brewer. Sweet-wort is the liquor
that leaves the mash of malt before it is boiled with the hops; tun is
the new beer after the whole of the brewing operation has been
completed.
_Time_.--To be boiled 10 minutes; to stand 3 days after mixing; to
ferment 3 days; to remain in the cask 2 mouths before the raisins are
added; bottle 6 months after.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in March or October.
HOME-MADE NOYEAU.
1825. INGREDIENTS.--2 oz. of bitter almonds, 1 oz. of sweet ditto, 1 lb.
of loaf sugar, the rinds of 3 lemons, 1 quart of Irish whiskey or gin, 1
tablespoonful of clarified honey, 4 pint of new milk.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds, and mix with them the sugar,
which should also be pounded. Boil the milk; let it stand till quite
cold; then mix all the ingredients together, and let them remain for 10
days, shaking them every day. Filter the mixture through blotting-paper,
bottle off for use in small bottles, and seal the corks down. This will
be found useful for flavouring many sweet dishes.
_Average cost_, 2s. 9d.
_Sufficient_ to make about 24 pints of Noyeau.
_Seasonable_.--May be made at any time.
ORANGE BRANDY.
(_Excellent_.)
1826. INGREDIENTS.--To every 1 gallon of brandy allow 3/4 pint of
Seville orange-juice, 1-1/4 lb. of loaf sugar.
_Mode_.--To bring out the full flavour of the orange-peel, rub a few
lumps of the sugar on 2 or 3 unpared oranges, and put these lumps to the
rest. Mix the brandy with the orange-juice, strained, the rinds of 6 of
the oranges pared very thin, and the sugar. Let all stand in a
closely-covered jar for about 3 days, stirring it 3 or 4 times a day.
When clear, it should be bottled and closely corked for a year; it will
then be ready for use, but will keep any length of time. This is a most
excellent stomachic when taken pure in small quantities; or, as the
strength of the brandy is very little deteriorated by the other
ingredients, it may be diluted with water.
_Time_.--To be stirred every day for 3 days.
_Average cost_, 7s.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 quarts. _Seasonable_.--Make this in March.
A VERY SIMPLE AND EASY METHOD OF MAKING A VERY SUPERIOR ORANGE WINE.
1827. INGREDIENTS.--90 Seville oranges, 32 lbs. of lump sugar, water.
_Mode_.--Break up the sugar into small pieces, and put it into a dry,
sweet 9-gallon cask, placed in a cellar or other storehouse, where it is
intended to be kept. Have ready close to the cask two large pans or
wooden keelers, into one of which put the peel of the oranges pared
quite thin, and into the other the pulp after the juice has been
squeezed from it. Strain the juice through a piece of double muslin, and
put it into the cask with the sugar. Then pour about 1-1/2 gallon of
cold spring water on both the peels and pulp; let it stand for 24 hours,
and then strain it into the cask; add more water to the peels and pulp
when this is done, and repeat the same process every day for a week: it
should take about a week to fill up the cask. Be careful to apportion
the quantity as nearly as possible to the seven days, and to stir the
contents of the cask each day. On the ''third' day after the cask is
full,--that is, the 'tenth' day after the commencement of making,--the
cask may be securely bunged down. This is a very simple and easy method,
and the wine made according to it will be pronounced to be most
excellent. There is no troublesome boiling, and all fermentation takes
place in the cask. When the above directions are attended to, the wine
cannot fail to be good. It should be bottled in 8 or 9 months, and will
be fit for use in a twelve month after the time of making. Ginger wine
may be made in precisely the same manner, only, with the 9-gallon cask
for ginger wine, 2 lbs. of the best whole ginger, 'bruised', must be put
with the sugar. It will be found convenient to tie the ginger loosely in
a muslin bag.
_Time_.--Altogether, 10 days to make it.
_Average cost_, 2s. 6d. per gallon. _Sufficient_ for 9 gallons.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in March, and bottle it the following January.
RASPBERRY VINEGAR.
1828. INGREDIENTS.--To every 3 pints of the best vinegar allow 4-1/2
pints of freshly-gathered raspberries; to each pint of liquor allow 1
lb. of pounded loaf sugar, 1 wineglassful of brandy.
_Mode_.--Let the raspberries be freshly gathered; pick them from the
stalks, and put 1-1/2 pint of them into a stone jar; pour 3 pints of the
best vinegar over them, and let them remain for 24 hours; then strain
the liquor over another 1-1/2 pint of fresh raspberries. Let them remain
another 24 hours, and the following day repeat the process for the third
time; then drain off the liquor without pressing, and pass it through a
jelly-bag (previously wetted with plain vinegar), into a stone jar. Add
to every pint of the liquor 1 lb. of pounded loaf sugar; stir them
together, and, when the sugar is dissolved, cover the jar; set it upon
the fire in a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil for an hour,
removing the scum as fast as it rises; add to each pint a glass of
brandy, bottle it, and seal the corks. This is an excellent drink in
cases of fevers and colds: it should be diluted with cold water,
according to the taste or requirement of the patient.
_Time_.--To be boiled 1 hour. Average cost_, 1s. per pint.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 quarts.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in July or August, when raspberries are most
plentiful.
RHUBARB WINE.
1829. INGREDIENTS.--To every 5 lbs. of rhubarb pulp allow 1 gallon of
cold spring water; to every gallon of liquor allow 3 lbs. of loaf sugar,
1/2 oz. of isinglass, the rind of 1 lemon.
_Mode_.--Gather the rhubarb about the middle of May; wipe it with a wet
cloth, and, with a mallet, bruise it in a large wooden tub or other
convenient means. When reduced to a pulp, weigh it, and to every 5 lbs.
add 1 gallon of cold spring water; let these remain for 3 days, stirring
3 or 4 times a day; and, on the fourth day, press the pulp through a
hair sieve; put the liquor into a tub, and to every gallon put 3 lbs. of
loaf sugar; stir in the sugar until it is quite dissolved, and add the
lemon-rind; let the liquor remain, and, in 4, 5, or 6 days, the
fermentation will begin to subside, and a crust or head will be formed,
which should be skimmed off, or the liquor drawn from it, when the crust
begins to crack or separate. Put the wine into a cask, and if, after
that, it ferments, rack it off into another cask, and in a fortnight
stop it down. If the wine should have lost any of its original
sweetness, add a little more loaf sugar, taking care that the cask is
full. Bottle it off in February or March, and in the summer it should be
fit to drink. It will improve greatly by keeping; and, should a very
brilliant colour be desired, add a little currant-juice.
_Seasonable_.--Make this about the middle of May.
WELSH NECTAR.
1830. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of raisins, 3 lemons, 2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 2
gallons of boiling water.
_Mode_.--Cut the peel of the lemons very thin, pour upon it the boiling
water, and, when cool, add the strained juice of the lemons, the sugar,
and the raisins, stoned and chopped very fine. Let it stand 4 or 5 days,
stirring it every day; then strain it through a jelly-bag, and bottle it
for present use.
_Time_.--4 or 5 days. _Average cost_, 1s. 9d.
_Sufficient_ to make 2 gallons.
CLARET-CUP.
[Illustration: CLARET CUP.]
1831. INGREDIENTS.--1 bottle of claret, 1 bottle of soda-water, about
1/2 lb. of pounded ice, 4 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 1/4
teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 liqueur-glass of Maraschino, a sprig of
green borage.
_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients into a silver cup, regulating the
proportion of ice by the state of the weather: if very warm, a larger
quantity would be necessary. Hand the cup round with a clean napkin
passed through one of the handles, that the edge of the cup may be wiped
after each guest has partaken of the contents thereof.
_Seasonable_ in summer.
CLARETS.--All those wines called in England clarets are the
produce of the country round Bordeaux, or the Bordelais; but it
is remarkable that there is no pure wine in France known by the
name of claret, which is a corruption of _clairet_, a term that
is applied there to any red or rose-coloured wine. Round
Bordeaux are produced a number of wines of the first quality,
which pass under the name simply of _vins de Bordeaux_, or have
the designation of the particular district where they are made;
as Lafitte, Latour, &c. The clarets brought to the English
market are frequently prepared for it by the wine-growers by
mixing together several Bordeaux wines, or by adding to them a
portion of some other wines; but in France the pure wines are
carefully preserved distinct. The genuine wines of Bordeaux are
of great variety, that part being one of the most distinguished
in France; and the principal vineyards are those of Medoc,
Palus, Graves, and Blanche, the product of each having
characters considerably different.
CHAMPAGNE-CUP.
1832. INGREDIENTS.--1 quart bottle of champagne, 2 bottles of
soda-water, 1 liqueur-glass of brandy or Curacoa, 2 tablespoonfuls of
powdered sugar, 1 lb. of pounded ice, a sprig of green borage.
_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients into a silver cup; stir them together,
and serve the same as claret-cup No. 1831. Should the above proportion
of sugar not be found sufficient to suit some tastes, increase the
quantity. When borage is not easily obtainable, substitute for it a few
slices of cucumber-rind.
_Seasonable_.--Suitable for pic-nics, balls, weddings, and other festive
occasions.
CHAMPAGNE.--This, the most celebrated of French wines, is the
produce chiefly of the province of that name, and is generally
understood in England to be a brisk, effervescing, or sparkling
white wine, of a very fine flavour; but this is only one of the
varieties of this class. There is both red and white champagne,
and each of these may be either still or brisk. There are the
sparkling wines (mousseux), and the still wines (non-mousseux).
The brisk are in general the most highly esteemed, or, at least,
are the most popular in this country, on account of their
delicate flavour and the agreeable pungency which they derive
from the carbonic acid they contain, and to which they owe their
briskness.
GINGER BEER.
1833. INGREDIENTS.--2-1/2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 1-1/2 oz. of bruised
ginger, 1 oz. of cream of tartar, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, 3
gallons of boiling water, 2 large tablespoonfuls of thick and fresh
brewer's yeast.
_Mode_.--Peel the lemons, squeeze the juice, strain it, and put the peel
and juice into a large earthen pan, with the bruised ginger, cream of
tartar, and loaf sugar. Pour over these ingredients 3 gallons of boiling
water; let it stand until just warm, when add the yeast, which should be
thick and perfectly fresh. Stir the contents of the pan well, and let
them remain near the fire all night, covering the pan over with a cloth.
The next day skim off the yeast, and pour the liquor carefully into
another vessel, leaving the sediment; then bottle immediately, and tie
the corks down, and in 3 days the ginger beer will be fit for use. For
some tastes, the above proportion of sugar may be found rather too
large, when it may be diminished; but the beer will not keep so long
good.
_Average cost_ for this quantity, 2s.; or 1/2d. per bottle.
_Sufficient_ to fill 4 dozen ginger-beer bottles.
_Seasonable_.--This should be made during the summer months.
LEMONADE.
1834. INGREDIENTS--The rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 3 large or 4 small
ones, 1 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 quart of boiling water.
_Mode_.--Rub some of the sugar, in lumps, on 2 of the lemons until they
have imbibed all the oil from them, and put it with the remainder of the
sugar into a jug; add the lemon-juice (but no pips), and pour over the
whole a quart of boiling water. When the sugar is dissolved, strain the
lemonade through a fine sieve or piece of muslin, and, when cool, it
will be ready for use. The lemonade will be much improved by having the
white of an egg beaten up in it; a little sherry mixed with it, also,
makes this beverage much nicer.
_Average cost_, 6d. per quart.
LEMONADE--"There is a current opinion among women" says Brillat
Savarin "which every year causes the death of many young
women,--that acids, especially vinegar, are preventives of
obesity. Beyond all doubt, acids have the effect of destroying
obesity; but they also destroy health and freshness. Lemonade
is, of all acids, the most harmless; but few stomachs can resist
it long. I knew, in 1776, at Dijon, a young lady of great
beauty, to whom I was attached by bonds of friendship, great,
almost as those of love. One day, when she had for some time
gradually grown pale and thin (previously she had a slight
embonpoint), she told me in confidence, that as her young
friends had ridiculed her for being fat, she had, to counteract
the tendency, been in the habit every day of drinking a large
glass of vinaigre. She died at eighteen years of age, from the
effects of these potions."
TO MAKE NEGUS.
1835. INGREDIENTS.--To every pint of port wine allow 1 quart of boiling
water, 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste.
_Mode_.--As this beverage is more usually drunk at children's parties
than at any other, the wine need not be very old or expensive for the
purpose, a new fruity wine answering very well for it. Put the wine into
a jug, rub some lumps of sugar (equal to 1/4 lb.) on the lemon-rind
until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the
juice, and strain it. Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port wine,
with the grated nutmeg; pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug,
and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use.
Negus may also be made of sherry, or any other sweet white wine, but is
more usually made of port than of any other beverage.
_Sufficient_--Allow 1 pint of wine, with the other ingredients in
proportion, for a party of 9 or 10 children.
A PLEASANT DRINK FOR WARM WEATHER.
1836. INGREDIENTS.--To every 1-1/2 pint of good ale allow 1 bottle of
ginger beer. _Mode_.--For this beverage the ginger beer must be in an
effervescing state, and the beer not in the least turned or sour. Mix
them together, and drink immediately. The draught is refreshing and
wholesome, as the ginger corrects the action of the beer. It does not
deteriorate by standing a little, but, of course, is better when taken
fresh.
FOR A SUMMER DRAUGHT.
1837. INGREDIENTS.--The juice of 1 lemon, a tumbler-ful of cold water,
pounded sugar to taste, 4 small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.
_Mode_.--Squeeze the juice from the lemon; strain, and add it to the
water, with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. When
well mixed, put in the soda, stir well, and drink while the mixture is
in an effervescing state.
TO MULL WINE.
1838. INGREDIENTS.--To every pint of wine allow 1 large cupful of water,
sugar and spice to taste.
_Mode_.--In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to
give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what
quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful.
Boil the spice in the water until the flavour is extracted, then add the
wine and sugar, and bring the whole to the boiling-point, when serve
with strips of crisp dry toast, or with biscuits. The spices usually
used for mulled wine are cloves, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace.
Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually
selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large
proportion of sugar. The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be
delicately clean, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose. Small
tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than
saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they will spoil
the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour. These warmers
should be used for no other purposes.
TO MAKE HOT PUNCH.
1839. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of rum, 1/2 pint of brandy, 1/4 lb. of
sugar, 1 large lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of nutmeg, 1 pint of boiling
water.
[Illustration: PUNCH-BOWL AND LADLE.]
_Mode_.--Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the
yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punchbowl; add the
lemon-juice (free from pips), and mix these two ingredients well
together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the
rum, brandy, and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to
serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the
ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the
processes of mixing must be diligently attended to.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a quart for 4 persons; but this information must be
taken _cum grano salis_; for the capacities of persons for this kind of
beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.
PUNCH is a beverage made of various spirituous liquors or wine,
hot water, the acid juice of fruits, and sugar. It is considered
to be very intoxicating; but this is probably because the
spirit, being partly sheathed by the mucilaginous juice and the
sugar, its strength does not appear to the taste so great as it
really is. Punch, which was almost universally drunk among the
middle classes about fifty or sixty years ago, has almost
disappeared from our domestic tables, being superseded by wine.
There are many different varieties of punch. It is sometimes
kept cold in bottles, and makes a most agreeable summer drink.
In Scotland, instead of the Madeira or sherry generally used in
its manufacture, whiskey is substituted, and then its insidious
properties are more than usually felt. Where fresh lemons cannot
be had for punch or similar beverages, crystallized citric acid
and a few drops of the essence of lemon will be very nearly the
same thing. In the composition of "Regent's punch," champagne,
brandy, and _veritable Martinique_ are required; "Norfolk punch"
requires Seville oranges; "Milk punch" may be extemporized by
adding a little hot milk to lemonade, and then straining it
through a jelly-bag. Then there are "Wine punch," "Tea punch,"
and "French punch," made with lemons, spirits, and wine, in
fantastic proportions. But of all the compounds of these
materials, perhaps, for a _summer_ drink, the North-American
"mint julep" is the most inviting. Captain Marryat gives the
following recipe for its preparation:--"Put into a tumbler about
a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint; upon them put a
spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and
common brandy, so as to fill up one third, or, perhaps, a little
less; then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler.
Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh
pineapple; and the tumbler itself is very often encrusted
outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink."
The Virginians, say Captain Marryat, claim the merit of having
invented this superb compound; but, from a passage in the
"Comus" of Milton, he claims it for his own country.
WHISKEY CORDIAL.
1840. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of ripe white currants, the rind of 2 lemons,
1/4 oz. of grated ginger, 1 quart of whiskey, 1 lb. of lump sugar.
_Mode_.--Strip the currants from the stalks; put them into a large jug;
add the lemon-rind, ginger, and whiskey; cover the jug closely, and let
it remain covered for 24 hours. Strain through a hair sieve, add the
lump sugar, and let it stand 12 hours longer; then bottle, and cork
well.
_Time_.--To stand 24 hours before being strained; 12 hours after the
sugar is added.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in July.
[Illustration]
INVALID COOKERY.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
A FEW RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN COOKING FOR INVALIDS.
1841. LET all the kitchen utensils used in the preparation of invalids'
cookery be delicately and 'scrupulously clean;' if this is not the case,
a disagreeable flavour may be imparted to the preparation, which flavour
may disgust, and prevent the patient from partaking of the refreshment
when brought to him or her.
1842. For invalids, never make a large quantity of one thing, as they
seldom require much at a time; and it is desirable that variety be
provided for them.
1843. Always have something in readiness; a little beef tea, nicely made
and nicely skimmed, a few spoonfuls of jelly, &c. &c., that it may be
administered as soon almost as the invalid wishes for it. If obliged to
wait a long time, the patient loses the desire to eat, and often turns
against the food when brought to him or her.
1844. In sending dishes or preparations up to invalids, let everything
look as tempting as possible. Have a clean tray-cloth laid smoothly over
the tray; let the spoons, tumblers, cups and saucers, &c., be very clean
and bright. Gruel served in a tumbler is more appetizing than when
served in a basin or cup and saucer.
1845. As milk is an important article of food for the sick, in warm
weather let it be kept on ice, to prevent its turning sour. Many other
delicacies may also be preserved good in the same manner for some little
time.
1846. If the patient be allowed to eat vegetables, never send them up
undercooked, or half raw; and let a small quantity only be temptingly
arranged on a dish. This rule will apply to every preparation, as an
invalid is much more likely to enjoy his food if small delicate pieces
are served to him.
1847. Never leave food about a sick room; if the patient cannot eat it
when brought to him, take it away, and bring it to him in an hour or
two's time. Miss Nightingale says, "To leave the patient's untasted food
by his side, from meal to meal, in hopes that he will eat it in the
interval, is simply to prevent him from taking any food at all." She
says, "I have known patients literally incapacitated from taking one
article of food after another by this piece of ignorance. Let the food
come at the right time, and be taken away, eaten or uneaten, at the
right time, but never let a patient have 'something always standing' by
him, if you don't wish to disgust him of everything."
1848. Never serve beef tea or broth with the _smallest particle_ of fat
or grease on the surface. It is better, after making either of these, to
allow them to get perfectly cold, when _all the fat_ may be easily
removed; then warm up as much as may be required. Two or three pieces of
clean whity-brown paper laid on the broth will absorb any greasy
particles that may be floating at the top, as the grease will cling to
the paper.
1849. Roast mutton, chickens, rabbits, calves' feet or head, game, fish
(simply dressed), and simple puddings, are all light food, and easily
digested. Of course, these things are only partaken of, supposing the
patient is recovering.
1850. A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed, and broiled to a turn, is a
dish to be recommended for invalids; but it must not be served _with all
the fat_ at the end, nor must it be too thickly cut. Let it be cooked
over a fire free from smoke, and sent up with the gravy in it, between
two very hot plates. Nothing is more disagreeable to an invalid than
_smoked_ food.
1851. In making toast-and-water, never blacken the bread, but toast it
only a nice brown. Never leave toast-and-water to make until the moment
it is required, as it cannot then be properly prepared,--at least, the
patient will be obliged to drink it warm, which is anything but
agreeable.
1852. In boiling eggs for invalids, let the white be just set; if boiled
hard, they will be likely to disagree with the patient.
1853. In Miss Nightingale's admirable "Notes on Nursing," a book that no
mother or nurse should be without, she says,--"You cannot be too careful
as to quality in sick diet. A nurse should never put before a patient
milk that is sour, meat or soup that is turned, an egg that is bad, or
vegetables underdone." Yet often, she says, she has seen these things
brought in to the sick, in a state perfectly perceptible to every nose
or eye except the nurse's. It is here that the clever nurse
appears,--she will not bring in the peccant article; but, not to
disappoint the patient, she will whip up something else in a few
minutes. Remember, that sick cookery should half do the work of your
poor patient's weak digestion.
1854. She goes on to caution nurses, by saying,--"Take care not to spill
into your patient's saucer; in other words, take care that the outside
bottom rim of his cup shall be quite dry and clean. If, every time he
lifts his cup to his lips, he has to carry the saucer with it, or else
to drop the liquid upon and to soil his sheet, or bedgown, or pillow,
or, if he is sitting up, his dress, you have no idea what a difference
this minute want of care on your part makes to his comfort, and even to
his willingness for food."
RECIPES.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
TO MAKE ARROWROOT.
1855. INGREDIENTS.--Two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, 3 tablespoonfuls of
cold water, 1/2 pint of boiling water.
_Mode_.--Mix the arrowroot smoothly in a basin with the cold water, then
pour on it the _boiling_ water, _stirring_ all the time. The water must
be _boiling_ at the time it is poured on the mixture, or it will not
thicken; if mixed with hot water only, it must be put into a clean
saucepan, and boiled until it thickens; but this is more trouble, and
quite unnecessary if the water is boiling at first. Put the arrowroot
into a tumbler, sweeten it with lump sugar, and flavour it with grated
nutmeg or cinnamon, or a piece of lemon-peel, or, when allowed, 3
tablespoonfuls of port or sherry. As arrowroot is in itself flavourless
and insipid, it is almost necessary to add the wine to make it
palatable. Arrowroot made with milk instead of water is far nicer, but
is not so easily digested. It should be mixed in the same manner, with 3
tablespoonfuls of cold water, the boiling milk then poured on it, and
well stirred. When made in this manner, no wine should be added, but
merely sugar, and a little grated nutmeg or lemon-peel.
_Time_.--If obliged to be boiled, 2 minutes. _Average cost_, 2d. per
pint.
_Sufficient_ to make 1/2 pint of arrowroot.
MISS NIGHTINGALE says, in her "Notes on Nursing," that arrowroot
is a grand dependence of the nurse. As a vehicle for wine, and
as a restorative quickly prepared, it is all very well, but it
is nothing but starch and water; flour is both more nutritive
and less liable to ferment, and is preferable wherever it can be
used.
BARLEY GRUEL.
1856. INGREDIENTS.--2 oz. of Scotch or pearl barley, 1/2 pint of port
wine, the rind of 1 lemon, 1 quart and 1/2 pint of water, sugar to
taste.
_Mode_.--After well washing the barley, boil it in 1/2 pint of water for
1/4 hour; then pour this water away; put to the barley the quart of
fresh boiling water, and let it boil until the liquid is reduced to
half; then strain it off. Add the wine, sugar, and lemon-peel; simmer
for 5 minutes, and put it away in a clean jug. It can be warmed from
time to time, as required.
_Time_.--To be boiled until reduced to half. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
_Sufficient_ with the wine to make 1-1/2 pint of gruel.
TO MAKE BARLEY-WATER.
1857. INGREDIENTS.--2 oz. of pearl barley, 2 quarts of boiling water, 1
pint of cold water.
_Mode_.--Wash the barley in cold water; put it into a saucepan with the
above proportion of cold water, and when it has boiled for about 1/4
hour, strain off the water, and add the 2 quarts of fresh boiling water.
Boil it until the liquid is reduced one half; strain it, and it will be
ready for use. It may be flavoured with lemon-peel, after being
sweetened, or a small piece may be simmered with the barley. When the
invalid may take it, a little lemon-juice gives this pleasant drink in
illness a very nice flavour.
_Time_.--To boil until the liquid is reduced one half.
_Sufficient_ to make 1 quart of barley-water.
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