CURRANTS, RAISINS, FIGS, RICE, SUGAR, SUGAR CANDY, &C., SAGO,
MILLET, GINGER, NUTMEG, MACE, PIMENTO OR ALLSPICE, PEPPER, AND CAYENNE
PEPPER.
What are Currants?
A kind of small raisins or dried grapes.
Whence are they brought?
From several islands of the Archipelago, particularly Zante and
Cephalonia; and from the Isthmus of Corinth, in Greece.
Do they grow on bushes like our Currants?
No, on vines like other grapes, except that the leaves are somewhat
thicker, and the grapes much smaller: they have no pips, and are of a
deep red, or rather black color.
When are they gathered, and how are they dried?
They are gathered in August, and laid on the ground in heaps till dry;
they are then cleaned, and put into magazines, from which they are
taken and packed in barrels for exportation.
What do you mean by Exportation?
The act of conveying goods for sale from one country to another.
What are Raisins?
Grapes prepared by drying them in the sun, or by the heat of an oven.
Raisins of Damascus, so called from the capital city of Syria, near
which they are cultivated, are very large, flat, and wrinkled on the
surface; soft and juicy inside, and nearly an inch long. Raisins of
the sun, or jar raisins, so called from being imported in jars, are
all dried by the heat of the sun; they are of a reddish blue color,
and are the produce of Spain, whence the finest and best raisins are
brought. There are several other sorts, named either from the place in
which they grow, or the kind of grape of which they are made, as those
of Malaga, Valencia, &c.
In what manner are they dried?
The common way of drying grapes for raisins, is to tie two or three
bunches of them together while yet on the vine, and dip them into a
lye made of hot wood-ashes, mixed with a little olive oil. This makes
them shrink and wrinkle: after this they are cut from the branches
which supported them, but left on the vine for three or four days,
separated on sticks, in an upright position, to dry at leisure.
Different modes, however, are adopted, according to the quality of the
grape. The commonest kinds are dried in hot ovens, but the best way is
that in which the grapes are cut when fully ripe, and dried by the
heat of the sun, on a floor of hard earth or stone.
_Lye_, a liquor made from wood-ashes; of great use in
medicine, bleaching, sugar works, &c.
What are Figs?
A soft, luscious fruit, the produce of the fig-tree. The best figs are
brought from Turkey, but they are also imported from Italy, Spain, and
the southern part of France. The islands of the Archipelago yield an
inferior sort in great abundance. In this country they are sometimes
planted in a warm situation in gardens, but, being difficult to ripen,
they do not arrive at perfection. The figs sent from abroad are dried
by the heat of the sun, or in furnaces for the purpose.
_Luscious_, sweet to excess, cloying.
What is Rice?
A useful and nutritious grain, cultivated in immense quantities in
India, China, and most eastern countries; in the West Indies, Central
America, and the United States; and in southern Europe. It forms the
principal food of the people of eastern and southern Asia, and is more
extensively consumed than any other species of grain, not even
excepting wheat.
_Nutritious_, wholesome, good for food.
Does it not require a great deal of moisture?
Yes, it is usually planted in moist soils, and near rivers, where the
ground can be overflowed after it is come up. The Chinese water their
rice-fields by means of movable mills, placed as occasion requires,
upon any part of the banks of a river; the water is raised in buckets
to a proper height, and afterwards conveyed in channels to the
destined places.
What is Sugar?
A sweet, agreeable substance, manufactured chiefly from the Sugar
Cane,[1] a native of the East and West Indies, South America and the
South Sea Islands; it is much cultivated in all tropical countries.
The earliest authentic accounts of sugar, are about the time of the
Crusades,[2] when it appears to have been purchased from the Saracens,
and imported into Europe.
[Footnote 1: Most of the sugar in Europe is made from beets.]
[Footnote 2: See Chapter XVII., article Navigation.]
_Authentic_, true, certain.
_Crusades_, holy wars.
_Saracens_, Turks or Arabs.
How is it prepared?
The canes are crushed between large rollers in a mill, and the juice
collected into a large vessel placed to receive it; it is then boiled,
and placed in pans to cool, when it becomes imperfectly crystallized,
in which state we use it. This is called raw or soft sugar: loaf
sugar, or the hard white sugar, is the raw brown sugar, prepared by
refining it till all foreign matter is removed.
Is the Sugar Cane the only vegetable that produces Sugar?
All vegetables contain more or less sugar, but the plant in which it
most abounds is the sugar-cane. In the United States, a large quantity
of sugar is prepared from the sap of the Sugar Maple Tree. The trees
are tapped at the proper season by a cut being made in the bark, and
the juice runs into a vessel placed to receive it; it is then prepared
in the same manner as the juice of the sugar cane.
What is Sugar Candy?
Sugar purified and crystallized.
What is Barley Sugar?
Sugar boiled till it is brittle, and cast on a stone anointed with oil
of sweet almonds, and then formed into twisted sticks.
What is Sago?
A substance prepared from the pith of the Sago Palm, which grows
naturally in various parts of Africa and the Indies. The pith, which
is even eatable in its natural state, is taken from the trunk of the
tree, and thrown into a vessel placed over a horse-hair sieve; water
is then thrown over the mass, and the finer parts of the pith pass
through the sieve; the liquor thus obtained is left to settle. The
clear liquor is then drawn off, and what remains is formed into
grains by being passed through metal dishes, with numerous small
holes; it is next dried by the action of heat, and in this state it is
exported. The Sago Palm also produces sugar.
What is Millet, and in what countries does it grow?
Millet is an esculent grain, originally brought from the Eastern
countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe, but most
extensively in Egypt, Syria, China, and Hindostan, whence we are
furnished with it, it being rarely cultivated among us, except as a
curiosity.
_Esculent_, good for food.
For what is Millet used?
It is in great request amongst the Germans for puddings; for which it
is sometimes used amongst us. The Italians make loaves and cakes of
it.
What is Ginger?
The root of a plant cultivated in the East and West Indies, and in
America; it is a native of South-eastern Asia and the adjoining
islands.
Describe its nature and use.
It is a warm aromatic, much used in medicine and cookery. The Indians
eat the root when green as a salad, chopping it small with other
herbs; they also make a candy of it with sugar. The ginger sold in the
shops here is dried, which is done by placing the roots in the heat of
the sun or in ovens, after being dug out of the ground. Quantities not
only of the dried root, but also of the candied sugar, are imported.
What are Nutmegs?
A delicate aromatic fruit or spice, brought from the East Indies. The
nutmeg tree greatly resembles our pear tree, and produces a kind
of nut, which bears the same name as the tree.
[Illustration: GLASS BLOWING AT THE GLASS-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA.]
What is the appearance of the Nutmeg?
Its form is round, and its smell agreeable. The nutmeg is inclosed
in four different covers; the first, a thick fleshy coat, (like our
walnut,) which opens of itself when ripe; under this lies a thin
reddish network, of an agreeable smell and aromatic taste, called
mace; this wraps up the shell, which opens as the fruit grows. The
shell is the third cover, which is hard, thin, and blackish; under
this is a greenish film of no use; and in the last you find the
nutmeg, which is the kernel of the fruit.
What are its uses?
The nutmeg is much used in our food, and is of excellent virtue as a
medicine. It also yields an oil of great fragrance.
Is the Mace used as a spice?
Yes, it is separated from the shell of the nutmeg, and dried in the
sun. It is brought over in flakes of a yellow color, smooth and
net-like, as you see it in the shops. Its taste is warm, bitterish,
and rather pungent; its smell, aromatic. It is used both in food and
medicine, as the nutmeg, and also yields an oil.
_Pungent_, of a hot, biting taste.
What is Pimento or Allspice?
The dried unripe berry or fruit of a tree growing in great abundance
in Jamaica, particularly on the northern side of that island, on hilly
spots, near the coast; it is also a native of both Indies. The Pimento
Tree is a West Indian species of Myrtle; it grows to the height of
twenty or thirty feet; the leaves are all of a deep, shining green,
and the blossom consists of numerous branches of small, white,
aromatic flowers, which render its appearance very striking; there is
scarcely in the vegetable world any tree more beautiful than a young
Pimento about the month of July, when it is in full bloom.
When is the time to gather the spice?
About the month of September, not long after the blossoms are fallen,
the berries are gathered by the hand; one laborer on the tree,
employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to
three below (who are generally women and children) in picking the
berries. They are then spread out thinly, and exposed to the sun at
its rising and setting for some days; when they begin to dry, they are
frequently winnowed, and laid on cloths to preserve them better from
rain and dew; by this management they become wrinkled, and change from
green to a deep reddish brown color. Great quantities are annually
imported.
What are its uses?
It forms a pleasant addition to flavor food; it also yields an
agreeable essential oil, and is accounted the best and mildest of
common spices.
_Essential_, pure; extracted so as to contain all the
virtues of the spice in a very small compass.
Why is it called Allspice?
Because it has been supposed to combine the flavor of cloves, nutmegs,
and cinnamon; the French call it _round clove_, from its round shape,
and the taste being somewhat like that spice.
What is Pepper?
The product of a creeping shrub, growing in several parts of the East
Indies, Asia, and America.
In what manner does Pepper grow, and what part of the shrub is used?
Pepper is the fruit of this shrub, and grows in bunches or clusters,
at first green; as it ripens it becomes reddish, until having been
exposed for some time to the heat of the sun, (or probably gathered
before perfectly ripe,) it becomes black, as in the condition we have
it. There are two sorts, the black and the white.
What is the White Pepper?
The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For
this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets
to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose,
near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the
ground. In any of these situations, they swell and burst their skins,
from which, when dry, they are carefully separated by rubbing between
the hands, or fanning.
What is Cayenne Pepper?
The dried fruit of a plant called bird pepper, a native of both
Indies. It is more pungent than the other sorts.