Pickled Blueberries.
Nearly fill a jar with ripe berries, and fill up with good molasses.
Cover, and set away. In a few weeks they will be ready to use.
Sweet Melons.
Use ripe citron melons. Pare them, cut them in slices and remove the
seeds. To five pounds of melon allow two and one-half pounds of sugar
and one quart of vinegar. The vinegar and sugar must be heated to the
boiling point and poured over the fruit six times, or once on each of
six successive days. In the last boiling of the syrup add half an
ounce of stick cinnamon, half an ounce of white ginger root and a few
cloves. When the syrup boils, put in the melon, and boil ten minutes;
then put in jars. Skim the syrup clear and pour it over the melon.
Peaches, Pears and Sweet Apples.
For six pounds of fruit use three of sugar, about five dozen cloves
and a pint of vinegar. Into each apple, pear or peach, stick two
cloves. Have the syrup hot, and cook until tender.
Sweet Tomato Pickle.
One peck of green tomatoes and six large onions, sliced. Sprinkle with
one cupful of salt, and let them stand over night. In the morning
drain. Add to the tomatoes two quarts of water and one quart of
vinegar. Boil fifteen minutes; then drain again, and throw this
vinegar and water away. Add to the pickle two pounds of sugar, two
quarts of vinegar, two table-spoonfuls of clove, two of allspice, two
of ginger, two of mustard, two of cinnamon, and one teaspoonful of
cayenne, and boil fifteen minutes.
Spiced Currants.
Make a syrup of three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, two table-
spoonfuls of cinnamon, two table-spoonfuls of clove, and half a
teaspoonful of salt. Add six pounds of currants, and boil half an
hour.
Spiced Plums.
Make a syrup, allowing one pound of sugar to one of plums, and to
every three pounds of sugar, a scant pint of vinegar. Allow one ounce
each of ground cinnamon, cloves, mace and allspice, to a peck of
plums. Prick the plums. Add the spices to the syrup, and pour,
boiling, over the plums. Let these stand three days; then skim them
out, and boil down the syrup until it is quite thick, and pour hot
over the plums in the jar in which they are to be kept. Cover closely.
Pickled Cucumbers.
Six hundred small cucumbers, two quarts of peppers, two quarts of
small onions. Make enough brine to cover the pickles, allowing one
pint of salt to four quarts of water, and pour it, boiling, over the
pickles. Let them stand until the next morning; then pour off the
brine, throw it away, make a new one, and scald again. The third
morning scald this same brine and pour it over again. The fourth
morning rinse the pickles well in cold water, and cover them with
boiling vinegar. Add a little piece of alum and two table-spoonfuls
each of whole cloves and allspice, tied in a bit of muslin, if you
like the spice.
Pickled Cucumbers, No. 2.
Wash and wipe six hundred small cucumbers and two quarts of peppers.
Put them in a tub with one and a half cupfuls of salt and a piece of
alum as large as an egg. Heat to the boiling point three gallons of
cider vinegar and three pints of water. Add a quarter of a pound each
of whole cloves, whole allspice and stick cinnamon, and two ounces of
white mustard seed, and pour over the pickles. Cover with cabbage
leaves.
Stuffed Peppers.
Get large bell peppers. Cut around the stem, remove it, and take out
all the seeds. For the stuffing use two quarts of chopped cabbage, a
cupful of white mustard seed, three table-spoonfuls of celery seed,
two table-spoonfuls of salt, half a cupful of grated horse-radish.
Fill each pepper with part of this mixture, and into each one put a
small onion and a little cucumber. Tie the stem on again, put the
peppers in a jar, and cover with cold vinegar.
Mangoes.
Get small green musk-melons or cantelopes. Cut a small square from the
side of each one, and, with a teaspoon, scrape out all the seeds. Make
a brine of one pint of salt to a gallon of water. Cover the mangoes
with it while it boils. Let them stand two days; then drain them, and
stuff with the same mixture as is used for peppers. Pour boiling
vinegar over them, using in it a bit of alum.
Chopped Pickle.
One peck of green tomatoes, two quarts of onions and two of peppers.
Chop all fine, separately, and mix, adding three cupfuls of salt. Let
them stand over night, and in the morning drain well. Add half a pound
of mustard seed, two table-spoonfuls of ground allspice, two of ground
cloves and one cupful of grated horse-radish. Pour over it three
quarts of boiling vinegar.
Pickled Tomato.
One peck of green tomatoes, a dozen onions, sliced thin; two cupfuls
of salt, a small (quarter of a pound) box of mustard, one quarter of a
pound of mustard seed, one ounce each of ground allspice, clove and
pepper. Cut the tomatoes in thin slices, sprinkle with the salt, and
let them stand two days; then drain them. Mix the spices. Put layers
of tomato, onion and spice in the kettle, and cover with vinegar. Cook
slowly until the tomato looks clear--about half an hour.
Pickled Cauliflowers.
Two cauliflowers, cut up; one pint of small onions, three medium-sized
red peppers. Dissolve half a pint of salt in water enough to cover the
vegetables, and let these stand over night. In the morning drain them.
Heat two quarts of vinegar with four table-spoonfuls of mustard, until
it boils. Add the vegetables, and boil for about fifteen minutes, or
until a fork can be thrust through the cauliflower.
Tomato Ketchup.
Twelve ripe tomatoes, peeled; two large onions, four green peppers,
chopped fine; two table-spoonfuls of salt, two of brown sugar, two of
ginger, one of cinnamon, one of mustard, a nutmeg, grated; four
cupfuls of vinegar. Boil all together till thoroughly cooked (about
three hours), stirring frequently. Bottle while hot.
Tomato Ketchup, No, 2.
Skin the tomatoes, and cook them well. Press them through a sieve, and
to each five pints add three pints of good cider vinegar. Boil slowly
a long while (about two hours), until it begins to thicken; then add
one table-spoonful of ground clove, one of allspice, one of cinnamon
and one of pepper, and three grated nutmegs. Boil until very thick
(between six and eight hours), and add two table-spoonfuls of fine
salt. When thoroughly cold, bottle, cork and seal it.
Barberry Ketchup.
Three quarts of barberries, stewed and strained; four quarts of
cranberries, one cupful of raisins, a large quince and four small
onions, all stewed with a quart of water, and strained. Mix these
ingredients with the barberries, and add half a cupful of vinegar,
three-fourths of a cupful of salt, two cupfuls of sugar, one dessert-
spoonful of ground dove and one of ground allspice, two table-
spoonfuls of black pepper, two of celery seed, and one of ground
mustard, one tea-spoonful of cayenne, one of cinnamon and one of
ginger, and a nutmeg. Let the whole boil one minute. If too thick, add
vinegar or water. With the quantities given, about three quarts of
ketchup can be made.