variety, Coe’s Golden Drop, keep an astonishingly long period under
certain favourable conditions. The best-preserved samples we ever
saw of this variety were suspended to footstalks on lines stretched
across a dry room; and if we remember rightly, they have been kept
in that condition for 2 months. Some wrap the fruit in dry paper,
and, if we are not mistaken, Reeves has somewhere stated that he has
eaten them in good condition 12 months after they were gathered when
preserved in that way. Considering what an excellent dessert variety
Coe’s Golden Drop is, it is a wonder it has not long ago became the
subject of special culture, under glass if necessary, just like the
peach and nectarine--it is well worth a house to itself. Another
excellent keeping plum of the same breed as Coe’s Golden Drop is the
Ickworth Impératrice, which hangs on the tree till it shrivels, and
keeps for a long while in the fruit room. Knight, who raised it,
states in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society that he has
kept fruit of it, wrapped in blotting-paper and kept in a dry room,
till the end of March. Blue Impératrice is also said to be a good
keeper; and the old damson, so useful for tarts and preserving, is
not one of the worst, as it will keep for several weeks if the fruit
is spread out thinly on the shelves as soon as gathered. None of the
plums keep well after they have been basketed and stored, even for a
short time. They get bruised, and, no matter how carefully they are
kept afterwards, they soon rot. Everything depends on gathering them
before they get dead ripe, and storing properly at once.
Roots.--The action of frost is not thoroughly understood by farmers
generally. This is shown by the way clamps are covered with manure
on the top and half-way down the sides. The singular fact, however,
is, that the top of a clamp is never injured--that is, unless the
frost is so severe and prolonged that the whole mass is frozen--if
the clamp be fairly covered with straw and earth at starting. The
severity of an attack of frost begins and continues from the outer
soil at the base of a clamp or brick store, as a barn or other
building. Whether this is because a gentle fermentation of the roots
or potatoes goes on, the warmth thus caused rising to the top, or
whether it is because the lowest temperature is nearest the immediate
surface of the earth, has not been decided; but the result invariably
is that, if a body of roots or potatoes be partly injured, the
rotten ones will be found at the bottom. If the clamp be broadside
to the north or east wind, the rotten ones will be found in the form
of a triangle on the side where the wind has blown, the base of
the triangle being at the bottom; if, however, the clamp had been
situated with the end to the wind, the rotten roots will be found
at that end in the form of an inverted M, that is, there will be a
decayed triangle on each side. The length and depth to which this
decay would extend along the clamp would of course depend on the
severity and length of the frost.
The required precaution is therefore shown. In the case of clamps
after several days of severe frost, with a prospect of its
continuing, long manure, straw, hedge-trimming, or whatever may be
at hand, should be packed 1 ft. or more thick, and 1 yd. or so wide
on the surface soil at the base of the clamp, at the side on which
the blast is impinging. It is the same with a brick building. If a
bed or heap of potatoes or mangold be stored in a barn, either all
over a bay or in one or more corners, and the same be well covered
with straw, there will be no fear of the top or outer side of the
heap being frozen. But the part of the heaps which are near to the
wall will be found to have been frozen in the form of a triangle,
as mentioned. The fact is the frost rises, so to express it, from
the foundation of the brickwork being communicated with from the
surface soil outside. This shows the importance of packing a body of
long manure or a quantity of straw on the surface soil outside the
brickwork.
Rowan Berries.--(_a_) Fill a large earthenware jar with strong salt
and water. Put in the berries; tie it down. They will keep in this
way till Christmas, (_b_) Gum them well all over so as to make them
adhere to their stalks, and sealing-wax the ends where cut from the
tree, and keep them in a tin box till required for use.
Tomatoes.--(_a_) Cut up a number of tomatoes, and let them simmer
gently in a stewpan over a slow fire until reduced to a pulp. From
this squeeze all the juice by pressing it through a fine hair sieve;
boil it until it thickens, and then pour it into small bottles. Stand
these in a large fish-kettle or boiler, filling it with cold water,
and putting some hay between the bottles and against the sides of
the boiler, to prevent them from touching it or each other. Set the
boiler on the fire, and let all boil for ¼ hour after the water comes
to the boil. Let the bottles get cold in the water after taking the
boiler off the fire. Then cork and seal them, and keep them in a dry
place. Take care that none of the water gets into the bottles while
boiling.
(_b_) If these are not to be packed for travelling, stone jars are
better for their preservation than tins. Gather the tomatoes when
perfectly ripe, and discard all that have blemishes. Pack them
lightly till the jar is full, then entirely cover with strong vinegar
and water in equal parts; add a few whole cloves and a sprinkling
of sugar. Cover with a piece of flannel, letting it sink into the
vinegar, then tie over with thick paper or bladder.
Truffles.--To keep truffles till required for use choose the
blackest, let them be fresh gathered; when thoroughly washed and
brushed, peel them carefully with a sharp knife, and reject all that
are not perfectly sound; put them into bottles as close as they will
lie, cork them tightly, and boil them for an hour in the bain-marie.
Vegetable Marrows.--(_a_) To preserve these for winter use, choose
such as are fully ripe--turned yellow. When cut, arrange them in a
dry place, resting on the flower end, with the stalk end upwards.
They will then keep good the whole winter. (_b_) Cut them when fully
grown, lay them on the pantry floor, and turn them twice a week, or
put 2 pieces of tape or listing round them, and suspend them from a
ceiling. The marrow improves in flavour, becoming quite nutty; they
will keep in this way far into spring.
Walnuts.--(_a_) Walnuts intended for keeping should be suffered
to fall of themselves from the trees, and be afterwards laid in a
dry, open, and airy place, till they become thoroughly dried. Then
pack them in jars, boxes, or casks, in alternate layers with fine
clear sand, which has previously been well dried in the sun, in an
oven, or before the fire; set them in a dry place, but not where it
is too hot, and they will keep good till the latter end of April.
Before they are sent to table wipe the sand off, and if they have
become shrivelled steep them in milk and water for 6-8 hours; this
will make them plump and fine, as well as cause them to peel easily.
(_b_) Place them, fresh gathered and unwashed, in earthen jars, tied
down with stiff glazed brown paper, and keep them on the floor of
the wine-cellar. They are perfectly good until the new ones come in
again, (_c_) Put the new walnuts in earthen jars with salt; cover
them close, and leave them in a damp cellar. When you want to use
them, wash them in cold water. At Christmas they will peel and eat
like fresh fruit.
(_c_) _Curing foods for lengthened preservation._
This branch of the subject may be conveniently divided into several
sections, according to the means employed for rendering the foods
less susceptible to change under the influence of the air. The most
important agents are smoke and salt in the case of flesh, sugar for
fruits, and vinegar for vegetables.
[Illustration: 66. Smoking Apparatus.]
_Smoking._--Professor W. R. Brooks, in _Rural New Yorker_, gives
the following simple but very effective smoking arrangement for all
kinds of meats, especially hams, shoulders, and bacon. The smoking
is effected in a very thorough manner and in a short time, about six
hours sufficing for breakfast ham. The arrangement can be made by
any one without the least trouble, and it is sure to “work” every
time. The sketch almost explains itself. The device consists of the
barrel _a_ (Fig. 66) of any suitable size. An ordinary flour or apple
barrel will smoke four or five moderate sized hams or shoulders. Both
heads are removed and a movable cover is provided for the top. This
may be of boards, or an old oil-cloth or tight blanket will answer.
A short trench is dug, in which is laid a length of old stove pipe
_b_. A larger excavation _c_ is then made, in which a pan of burning
corn cobs or chips can be placed. This is covered by a tightly
fitting plank _d_. One end of the stove pipe communicates with this
excavation; over the other end the barrel is placed, the earth banked
up around the bottom of the barrel and over the stove pipe, to keep
all tight, as plainly shown in Fig. 66. The meat may be suspended
from a stick laid across the top of the barrel, and then all covered
tight with an oil-cloth or blanket. On placing a pan of smoking cobs
or chips in the place provided, the smoke passes through the stove
pipe into the barrel, filling it with a dense, cool smoke. Should
the support of the hams, &c., break, the latter cannot be hurt by
coming in contact with the fire or ashes, as sometimes happens in the
regular smoke-house.
The ordinary smoking-chimney is described by Robinson as
follows:--“It should be placed in some outhouse or shed, or even in
a yard, so that no annoyance may be caused to the inmates of the
dwelling, by even the smallest escape of smoke. It should be built of
brick, and carried up to the height of 8 ft. at least from a brick
or stone floor, 1 yd. wide and 2 ft. deep inside measure, and at the
height of 3 ft. from the floor there should be a door frame reaching
to the top of the chimney, or nearly so, on which a door, well
jointed and fitted, must be hung. A small door of 1½ ft. square, of
sheet iron, must also be made on the floor, through which the embers
from the fire may be raked, and fuel or sawdust added from time to
time, as the process of smoking goes on. A false floor, of sheet
iron, perforated all over with holes, ¾ in. in diameter and 4 in.
apart, must be placed (not fixed) inside the brickwork, on a level
with the bottom of the wooden door-frame, viz. 3 ft. from the floor;
this will serve to scatter the smoke equally in its ascent--be a
preventive to danger from flame, if any should arise--and receive any
small fish that may fall off the frames on which they are suspended.
Four strong iron rods, with movable hooks on them, must be inserted
in the brickwork near the top of the chimney, from which may be
suspended sides of bacon, hams, heavy salmon, &c. &c. An outlet for
the smoke must be made at or near the top, and a wooden pipe, 4 in.
square, with a slide or valve in it (to confine or dismiss the smoke
at pleasure), will completely rid the premises of any unpleasant
odour. On each side of the chimney inside, and above the false floor,
a framework of inch-square scantling must be fixed, with bars of wood
of the same size nailed across to rest the rods and frames on; the
bars must be fixed 11 in. above each other, and be continued until
they come to the iron rods.
“The wooden rods or spits on which herrings are to be hung should be
perfectly round, 3 ft. in length, ½-¾ in. in diameter, and pointed a
little at one end that they may more easily be run through the gills
of the fish. They may be of deal or any other tough wood, and 16
herrings will smoke conveniently on each rod.
“Frames for sprats and other small fish must be made thus:--The
rims or outsides may be of deal, ¾ in. thick, and 2 in. wide: the
whole frame must be 3 ft. high, and 2 ft. 9 in. wide, that it may
fit into the chimney without trouble; and on each end of the top bar
must be screwed a small plate of thin iron, projecting beyond the
side of the frame 1 in., which will serve to hang the frames upon
with the bars that are fixed up the sides of the chimney. Then take
small deal rods ½ in. square, and with a bradawl or sprig-bit insert
32 sprigs, at equal distances from each other, in each rod, which,
of course, will be 2 ft. 9 in. long; and if the sprigs be driven
through on each side, it will be seen that each rod will carry at
this rate 64 fish. These must be nailed on to the outside frame at
the distance of 4½ in. from each other, and consequently each frame,
when completed, will have 8 bars holding 64 fish each, or 512 on each
frame. Wrought-iron sprigs may be used, which (being more than an
inch long, and driven up to the head) will project ½ in. on the other
side, and thus serve to hang small fish on; but this is left to the
choice of the party making the frames; and if they are driven in with
the points directed upwards, it will be easy to loosen the fish, when
smoked, from the nails by turning the frames upside down, and shaking
them over a sheet laid on the floor.
“A horse or frame of wood of 2 in. square scantling, with ribs 1 in.
square nailed across the sides, and 11 in. apart, will be requisite
to hang the herring rods on, along with the frames, when they are
drawn from the chimney; and for the purpose of cooling the fish, it
should be placed in a draught of air. Mackerel, or any other fish
that will not suit the frames so well, may easily be suspended from
the herring rods by small wire hooks made to run on them.
“The draught of smoke in the chimney may be increased or diminished
at any time by opening more widely the iron door at the bottom; and
if you want to inspect the articles while they are smoking, you may
smother the smoke entirely for a few minutes by scattering sufficient
sawdust over the embers: only take care that the sawdust is perfectly
dry before attempting to use it.
“In putting the rods and frames into the chimney, be careful that
the fish do not touch each other, but rather place them so that a
free current of smoke may ascend between them; for instance, 3 in.
apart. As to fuel, the fire may be lighted with shavings and chips of
deal; but oak sawdust should be used generally, mixed sometimes with
beech, birch, and other woods. I decidedly prefer the small branches
of the oak, such as charcoal is made from, after it has been peeled
for the tanners’ bark: for these emit a much milder smoke than the
sawdust of adult wood. They should be procured in the proper season,
and stored in a dry room or shed. Never use old oak or other slabs
(which are often little more than sap), nor old barrels, not knowing
what their contents have been. As a general rule I would direct that,
when delicate articles are to be smoked, you should make use of the
milder woods, and dust mixed with oak; but for hams, bloaters, &c.,
the stronger flavour is the best. The embers must never be disturbed
while any goods are smoking, as dust would ascend and spoil their
appearance.” (‘Art of Curing.’)
_Salting._ Bacon.--(1) Lay a middle of pork (a side with the hand
and ham removed), with the ribs in, in a trough with salt for 12-14
hours; wipe dry, wash out the trough, and replace the side; boil for
10 minutes 1 gal. soft water, 2 lb. each common and bay salt, 2 oz.
saltpetre, 2 lb. sugar, and a handful of chopped bay leaves; skim,
pour on cold, rub in twice daily, and turn often for a fortnight;
wipe dry, hang in the air for 24 hours, and smoke at least 3 weeks.
(2) Spiced. Remove all bones from a middle or side and soak for 12
hours in renewed pans of water to extract all blood; pickle for
16 days in 1 gal. water, 1 lb. each salt and sugar, and ¼ lb. sal
prunelle; wipe dry, and strew one side with powdered sage, bay leaves
and white pepper; roll tightly and tie at every 3 inches; smoke for
14 days.
Bath Chaps.--Select cheeks from pigs not exceeding 8 score; split,
and remove all offal; for each stone of meat mix 1 lb. each of coarse
sugar and bay or rock salt and 1 oz. each of pepper and saltpetre;
rub well daily for a week; turn in the pickle for another fortnight;
wipe dry, coat with warmed coarse oatmeal, and hang dry for a week;
smoke for a month, preferably with oak and turf.
Beef, Collared.--Take 14-16 lb. of the flank of a well-fed beast;
cut square or oblong and take off the inner skin; make a brine of
bay salt and water to float an egg, and let the meat lie covered in
it for one week; take out, dry well, and rub all over with finely
powdered saltpetre; let remain for a week longer in the former
pickle, then wipe it completely dry, and beat 1 oz. powdered white
pepper, 1½ oz. grated nutmeg, 1 oz. mace, 1 oz. cloves, and four
shallots, shredded fine, into a paste (in a mortar); spread evenly
and completely over the inner side of the meat; roll up the beef as
closely as possible, tie tightly round with tape, and hang up to
smoke for a fortnight.
Beef, Corned.--The following is a very old and excellent recipe for
corning beef, called “Pocock pickle”; 4 gal. fresh water, 1½ lb.
coarse brown sugar, 2 oz. saltpetre, 7 lb. common salt; put all into
a boiler, take off the scum as it rises, and when well boiled let it
remain to get cold. Have sufficient to cover the meat, lay a cloth
over it, and keep the meat pressed down by means of bricks or any
weight. The same pickle may be used again by re-boiling and adding a
small quantity of each ingredient fresh.
Beef Hams.--Take the leg of a prime young heifer, rub well with
common salt, and let lie a day and night to extract the blood; wipe
dry, and put under a press to flatten; cut in the shape of a common
ham. For every 12 lb. of beef, allow 1 lb. each coarse sugar, common
salt, and bay salt, and 1 oz. saltpetre; rub this mixture in well, in
all parts, for a month, turning the meat every day, at least; take
out of pickle, rub dry, and give a good coat of coarse oatmeal and
bran mixed, which will adhere by friction with the hand; smoke as
hams, not less than a month.
Beef, Potted.--2 lb. lean beef, 6 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful each
pepper, salt, and mace. Free the beef from all skin and gristle, and
put it into an earthenware jar with 1 gill water; cover, and place
it in a deep stewpan full of boiling water, and simmer slowly for 5
hours. Take out the beef, mince it very finely, and pound it in a
mortar with the above-named seasoning; when smooth, add the butter.
Press the mixture into small pots, pour clarified butter over the top
when cool, tie down, and keep in a cool place.
Beef, Spiced.-½ lb. common salt, 1 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. bay salt,
3 oz. moist sugar, ¼ oz. whole pepper, ¼ oz. long pepper, 2 blades
mace, ¼ oz. whole allspice, 2 bay leaves, 5 or 6 sprigs of thyme,
ditto marjoram, 2 stalks basil, 4 or 5 of white savoury. The whole
to be boiled in 3 pints water for ½ hour, the saltpetre and bay salt
to be pounded. The beef to be rubbed all over with a little salt
previous to its being put in the pickle, when that is cold; 14-15
days to remain in pickle, turned often. This quantity of pickle is
for a piece or hand of beef of 8 lb.
Bloaters, Potted.--Put 8 or 10 large bloaters (soft-roed ones are
best) into a dish or tin, and cook them in an oven about 15-20
minutes; then, if thoroughly cooked, remove all the bones and skin,
and put the fish into a mortar with a piece of butter (about 2
oz.), some cayenne pepper, a very little mixed spice, and salt if
necessary. Pound all together till the paste may be spread, then put
into pots and cover the top of each pot of the paste with mutton suet
melted or good salt butter.
Boar’s Head.--Take head of large bacon pig; open, and remove gullet,
tongue, eyes, small bones, brain, &c., and cleanse out thoroughly
with salt and water; wipe dry, rub with salt, and drain for 24 hours;
boil together for ¼ hour 1 gal. water, 2 lb. each treacle and bay
salt, 3 oz. sal prunelle, 2 oz. each juniper berries and pepper, 1
oz. shallots, and ½ oz. chopped garlic; skim, and pour cold over the
head and tongue lying in deep stoneware vessel; turn on alternate
days for a month; at end of first 2 weeks remove the tongue, boil up
the pickle with 1 lb. more salt, and pour on again cold; on removing
from pickle, wipe dry, and score lines 2 in. apart in the skin
running from nose to base of head; cut off any superfluous fat, and
rub all over with dried oatmeal, skin the tongue and place it in the
mouth, holding it with a skewer; close the sides with twine and smoke
for 3 weeks in brown paper, using 3 parts birch and beech chips, 2
parts oak sawdust, and 1 part grass or fern; store in malt coomb and
bake for table.
Brawn.--The head, feet, tongue, and ears of a pig, having been
salted, are boiled with the outside skin of a loin, also salted for
a few days. Boil very gently for a long time, till the bones will
easily slip out. Take great care that every one is carefully picked
out. Keep the skin of the loin whole, but cut the rest into pieces
about 2 in. square. Line the brawn mould with the skin, then roll
each piece lightly in mixed spice and powdered herbs, flavoured to
taste. Pack them tightly in the brawn tin, put on the top, and press
it with a heavy weight 24 hours. It is then ready for turning out.
Keep it in the following pickle: Take a sufficient quantity of water
(more than will be enough to cover your brawn); add to every gallon
of water 2 handfuls whole malt, and salt enough to give it a strong
relish. Let the mixture boil for 1 hour; then strain it into a clean
vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into another vessel, keeping
back the white sediment; then put in your brawn. A little vinegar
maybe added, if liked. Fresh pickle should be made about once in
8 days, if the brawn is to be kept long. A common brawn tin is a
cylinder of tin without top or bottom, but with 2 round pieces of tin
which fit loosely inside it. The tin is about 5 in. diameter and 1
ft. in height. A heavy weight must fit inside it. Slack’s fruit or
meat press answers admirably.
Char, Potted.--The following is an old family recipe: When in high
season choose a dozen fine fish; clean and scale them; wash them
twice, drying with a fresh cloth each time. Rub into them 1 oz.
Jamaica pepper, 1 oz. saltpetre, 1 oz. common salt, all in the finest
powder; lay the fish on a board, raised at one side, and let them
drain for 12 hours. Then carefully wipe off the spice and salt, and
season again with 48 cloves, 14 blades mace, 2 large nutmegs, ¼ oz.
pepper, and 1 oz. common salt, all finely powdered. As each fish is
seasoned, lay it carefully into the pan, which should be just large
enough to hold the 12 fish; lay butter over them, cover with one
white and several brown papers, tie down close, and bake 4-5 hours in
a moderately quick oven. When a little cooled, drain the liquor from
the fish, and lay them round a potting or char pan, backs upwards, as
close as they will lie without breaking, and finish packing them in
the centre. Smooth the surface with the bowl of a large spoon, that
there be no cavities to absorb the butter, which must not be put on
till the next day; then let it be ½ in. thick. The gravy, in small
proportions, is an excellent addition to soups or made dishes.
Hamburgh Beef.--Take a piece of meat from the bed, or other fleshy
part; scatter common salt under and over it, and let lie 24 hours
to void the blood; then put into a pickle made with 1 gal. water
that has been boiled, 1 lb. common salt, 1½ lb. coarse sugar, 2 oz.
saltpetre, ½ pint vinegar; simmer until all are melted, and pour the
liquor over the meat placed in a deep narrow pan, so that it may be
covered completely; it will be ready for smoking in 3 weeks; well dry
with a cloth, and rub pea meal all over it until you have got a coat
on it; if well smoked, it will come out bright yellow, and will keep
any length of time. (Robinson.)
Hams.--(1) Four days after being killed, rub them all over with
common rough salt, particularly about the hip-bone and knuckle
joints. Having brushed off the salt (which should remain on for a day
and night), and dried the hams with a coarse cloth, rub thoroughly
and equally into each, 1 oz. finely powdered saltpetre, and let it
lie for 24 hours, then take 1 oz. saltpetre, ½ lb. common salt, ¼
lb. bay salt, 1 lb. coarse sugar. Make them hot in a pan--but be
careful not to melt them--and rub them well in, while hot, all over
the fleshy and rind sides, and finish with ½ lb. more of common salt.
Let them lie thus until a brine appears, and then with plenty of bay
leaves, strewed both under and over, turn them every day, and rub
and baste them well with the brine for the space of 3 weeks; then
take them out of pickle and immerse them in cold spring water for 24
hours; let them drip; wipe them well with a cloth; rub hog’s blood,
that has coagulated, all over them, and put them to smoke for a week,
well smothered. (Robinson.)
(2) Three days after killing rub well with 1 oz. saltpetre, ½ lb.
bay salt, 1 lb. treacle, and a handful each of bay leaves, marjoram,
and thyme, chopped fine; keep on rubbing and basting for a week,
turning over each day; next strew salt on an inch thick, and let
remain till the salt and brine are well mixed; boil the pickle, and
pour it hot (not scalding) over the meat; let lie for 14 days; smoke,
without wiping, for a week in gentle heat for the first 6 hours and
afterwards cool.
(3) Take a leg of pork about 20 lb. and rub all over with 3 oz.
saltpetre; let lie 14 hours; then boil 2 qt. stale beer or porter, 2
lb. salt, 2 lb. coarse sugar, 1 lb. pounded bay salt, skim well, and
pour hot over the meat; let lie a month, rubbing and turning every
alternate day; take out, rub dry, and roll for ½ hour in malt-dust or
oatmeal; when well covered, smoke for 3 weeks; and immediately wash
over with a hot paste of quicklime and water; leave for a week, and
hang in cool dry place.