foregoing Number, divide it in two equal parts, roll these out either
round or square, place one of the flats on a tin baking-dish, wet all
round the edge of the paste, spread some of the mince-meat about half an
inch thick all over the paste to within an inch of its edge, then cover
all in by laying the other flat of paste evenly upon the whole, press
all round the edge of the pie with your thumb to secure the mince-meat
from running out at the sides, score the pie neatly over the surface, in
the form of reversed strokes, and bake it for an hour.
No. 103. JAM TART.
Prepare some paste, as in No. 101, and use this to make a jam tart, as
directed for making a mince-pie, using any kind of common jam, instead
of mince-meat, for the purpose.
No. 104. BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, four ounces of chopped suet, half a
pint of water, a pinch of salt, eight or ten large apples peeled. With
the above ingredients prepare some suet paste, as directed in No. 97;
divide the paste into about eight equal parts, first make these into
balls with the hand, and then roll them out with a rolling-pin to the
size of a large saucer, envelop an apple in each flat of paste, and,
wetting the edges with water, gather them round in a purse-like form,
and twist the ends tightly together to fasten them securely. The
dumplings, thus formed, must be placed on the twisted end, at equal
distances of three inches apart from each other, upon a tin baking-dish,
and baked in the oven for about three-quarters of an hour.
No. 105. PANCAKES FOR SHROVE TUESDAY.
Ingredients, twelve ounces of flour, three eggs, one pint of milk, a
tea-spoonful of salt, a little grated nutmeg, and chopped lemon-peel.
First, put the flour into a basin, hollow out the centre, add the salt,
nutmeg, lemon-peel, and a drop of milk, to dissolve them; then break in
the eggs, work all together, with a spoon, into a smooth soft paste, add
the remainder of the milk, and work the whole vigorously until it forms
a smooth liquid batter. Next, set a frying-pan on the fire, and, as soon
as it gets hot, wipe it out clean with a cloth, then run about a
tea-spoonful of lard all over the bottom of the hot frying-pan, pour in
half a small tea-cupful of the batter, place the pan over the fire, and,
in about a minute or so, the pancake will have become set sufficiently
firm to enable you to turn it over in the frying-pan, in order that it
may be baked on the other side also; the pancake done on both sides,
turn it out on its dish, and sprinkle a little sugar over it: proceed to
use up the remaining batter in the same manner.
No. 106. RAISINET--A PRESERVE FOR WINTER.
Ingredients, twelve pounds of fruit, consisting of peeled apples, pears,
plums, and blackberries, in equal proportion; six pounds of raw sugar,
at 4-1/2_d._ per pound; one quart of water. Bake three hours in a slack
or slow oven. First, prepare the fruit, and put it in mixed layers of
plums, pears, berries, apples, alternating each other, in stone jars.
Next, put the six pounds of sugar in a clean saucepan, with the quart of
water, and stir it with a spoon on the fire till it comes to a gentle
boil; remove the dirty scum from the surface of the sugar; and, after
allowing it to boil for ten minutes, pour it in equal proportions into
the jar or jars containing the fruits, and place them in a moderate heat
to bake slowly for three hours at least. When boiling the sugar for this
purpose, remember that it is most prudent to use a saucepan capable of
containing double the quantity, as sugar is very liable to boil over and
waste. When the fruit is nearly dissolved, the raisinet will be done; it
must then be removed to a cool place until it has become thoroughly cold
and partially set firm; the jars should then be tied down with thick
paper, or bladder, and kept in the cellar for winter use, either for
making puddings or tarts, or for spreading on bread for the children.
No. 107. CURRANT JAM.
Ingredients, twelve pounds of picked currants, either red, black, or
white, or, if agreeable, mixed; eight pounds of raw sugar, three pints
of water. If you could borrow what is called a preserving-pan from a
neighbour, it would suit the purpose better than a pot; but, failing the
preserving-pan, put the eight pounds of sugar in a four-gallon iron pot,
with the three pints of water; stir these on the fire till the sugar
boils; remove the scum from the surface, and, when it has boiled for
about ten minutes, add the currants, and keep stirring the jam, while it
boils for half an hour; and then, if it presents the appearance of being
rather thick, and the currants partly dissolved, it will be ready to
pour into stone jars, which, after being allowed to cool all night, are
to be tied down with paper, and kept in a cold place for winter's use.
All kinds of seed fruit can be prepared in the same manner, as well as
all kinds of plums.
No. 108. HOW TO PRESERVE RHUBARB.
Free the rhubarb from leaves, cut it up in inch lengths, wash and drain
it in a sieve or colander. Next, put the rhubarb into a sufficiently
large pot, or preserving-pan, with a little water--say a pint of water
to ten pounds of rhubarb, and put this on the fire, with the lid on, to
boil until dissolved to a pulp, stirring it occasionally; as soon as all
the rhubarb is dissolved, add six pounds of moist sugar, and stir the
whole continuously on the fire while boiling fast, until reduced to a
rather stiff paste or marmalade--this will require about half an hour's
boiling; the preserve or jam must then be immediately put into jars, or
gallipots, and, when cold, is to be covered with stiff paper, and tied
round with string. Keep the jam in a cold place, for use.
No. 109. HOW TO MAKE GOOSEBERRY JAM.
Pick ten pounds of ripe gooseberries, put them in a covered pot, with a
pint of water, and set them on the fire to boil to a pulp, stirring them
frequently, and, when they are thoroughly dissolved, add six pounds of
sugar, and stir the whole continuously while boiling on the fire, until
the jam is reduced to a rather stiff paste; it must then be poured into
gallipots, and, when cold, is to be covered with paper, and tied round
with string.
No. 110. BAKED PEARS.
Put the pears, standing up side by side in rows, with their stalks
uppermost, in an earthenware baking dish; add a sprinkle of moist
sugar, a few cloves, and a pint of cider or water, and bake them until
they are done. The time for cooking them depends upon their size and
kind.
No. 111. BAKED APPLES.
Put the apples on a baking-dish, with a sprinkle of sugar, and a drop of
cider or water, and set them in the oven to bake. Baked apples or pears,
with bread, form a cheap, wholesome, and proper kind of supper for
children.
No. 112. TO MAKE ELDER WINE.
Ingredients, two gallons of elderberries, two quarts of damsons, eight
pounds of raw sugar, at 4-1/2_d._ per pound, two gallons of water, two
ounces of ginger, one ounce of cloves, and half a pint of fresh yeast.
To make this quantity of elder wine, you must have a copper, a tub, a
large canvas or loose flannel bag, and a five-gallon barrel. First,
crush the elderberries and damsons thoroughly in the pot or copper in
which they are to be boiled; then add the water, and keep stirring all
together as it boils, until the fruit is well dissolved; then use a
wooden bowl or a basin to pour the whole into a loose flannel bag,
steadily fixed across two stout sticks, resting safely on two chairs,
or, if you have one, a large coarse sieve instead. When all the liquor
has passed through into the tub, put the dregs back into the copper, to
be boiled up with a couple of quarts of water, and then to be strained
to the other liquor. The next part of the process is to put the whole of
the elderberry juice back into the clean pot or copper, with the sugar,
and the spice, well bruised with a hammer; stir all together, on the
fire, and allow the wine to boil gently for half an hour, then pour it
into the clean tub to cool; the half-pint of yeast must then be added,
and thoroughly mixed by stirring. At the end of two days, skim off the
yeast which, by that time, will have risen to the surface. The elder
wine must now be put into the barrel, and kept in the cellar with the
bung-hole left open for a fortnight; at the end of this time, a stiff
brown paper should be pasted over the bung-hole, and after standing for
a month or six weeks, the wine will be ready for use. To be obliged to
buy all the ingredients for making elder wine, would render it a matter
of great difficulty--perhaps, in some cases, an impossibility; but,
remember, that when living in the country, where in some parts
elderberries grow in the hedge-rows, you may have them for the trouble
of gathering them, in which case the elder wine would be cheaper, and
more easily within your means.
No. 113. VEGETABLE PORRIDGE.
Scrape and peel the following vegetables:--six carrots, six turnips, six
onions, three heads of celery, and three parsnips; slice up all these
very thinly, and put them into a two-gallon pot, with four ounces of
butter, a handful of parsley, ditto of chervil, and a good sprig of
thyme, and fill up with water or pot liquor, if you happen to have any;
season with pepper and salt, and put the whole to boil very gently on
the fire for two hours; at the end of this time the vegetables will be
done to a pulp, and the whole must be rubbed through a colander with a
wooden spoon, and afterwards put back into the pot and stirred over the
fire, to make it hot for dinner.
No. 114. PUMPKIN PORRIDGE.
I am aware that pumpkins are not generally grown in this country as an
article of food for the poorer classes, and more is the pity, for they
require but little trouble to rear, and yield an abundance of nutritious
and cooling food, at a small cost; the chief reason for the short
supply is, I imagine, the want of knowledge for turning the pumpkin to
good account as an article of food. I am now about to supply easy
instruction to convey that knowledge to whomsoever may stand in need of
it. Peel and slice up as much pumpkin as will produce about eight ounces
for each person, and put this into a boiling pot, with two ounces of
butter, and a quart of water; set the whole to boil very gently on the
fire, until the pumpkin is reduced to a pulp, and then add half-a-pint
of buttermilk, or skim milk, to every person who is to partake of the
porridge. You then stir the porridge over the fire for about fifteen
minutes longer, taking care that it does not boil over; season with salt
and a little nutmeg, and eat it with toasted bread for breakfast, or any
other meal.
No. 115. RICE-MILK FOR SIX PERSONS.
Put one pound of Patna rice into a boiling pot with two ounces of
butter, two quarts of water, a small bit of cinnamon or lemon-peel, and
a little salt; put the lid on, and set the rice to boil very gently
indeed close to the hob, until the rice is done quite soft; this will
take about one hour and a quarter; then add three pints of skim milk,
and after having stirred the rice-milk over the fire for ten minutes
longer, it may be sweetened with a little honey or sugar, and will
produce an excellent breakfast for at least six persons.
No. 116. KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND RICE.
A small knuckle, or scrag-end of neck of veal, is sometimes to be
purchased very cheap; I will therefore suppose that you may, once in a
way, provide such a thing, and this is the way you should cook it to the
best advantage. Put the knuckle of veal into a boiling pot, with a pound
of bacon, two pounds of rice, six onions, three carrots cut in pieces,
some peppercorns, and salt in moderation on account of the bacon; add
three or four quarts of water, and set the whole to stew very gently
over a moderate fire for about three hours. This will produce a good
substantial dinner for at least ten persons.
No. 117. IRISH STEW.
Inferior parts of any kind of meat make a good Irish stew. Let the meat
be cut in pieces the size of an egg, well rubbed all over with pepper
and salt, and placed in a good-sized pot or saucepan; add peeled onions
in the proportion of six to the pound of meat, and enough water just to
cover in the whole. Next, set the stew on the fire to boil very gently
for an hour and a-half, then add such quantity of peeled and split
potatoes as you may think will suffice for the number of persons about
to dine off the stew, and put the whole back on the fire to boil briskly
until the potatoes are thoroughly done soft; the Irish stew will then be
ready to eat.
No. 118. FISH SOUP.
Cod-fish cuttings, Dutch plaice, skate, dabs, haddocks, cod's-heads,
cod's-tails, or any fresh-water fish you may happen to catch when
fishing, conger eels cut in slices, and almost any kind of fish which
may come within reach of your means, are all more or less fit for making
a good mess of soup for a meal. First, chop fine some onions, and put
them into a pot with enough water to furnish about half a pint for each
person to be provided for, and set this on the fire to boil for ten
minutes; then add your pieces of fish, of about four ounces each; season
with thyme, pepper, and salt, and boil the soup for about fifteen
minutes longer, when it will be ready for dinner. Some well-boiled
potatoes will prove a welcome addition to this soup.
_Note._--This kind of fish soup will prove the more advantageous near
the sea-coast, where inferior kinds of fish are always very cheap.
No. 119. SOUSED MACKEREL.
When mackerel are to be bought at six for a shilling, this kind of fish
forms a cheap dinner. On such occasions, the mackerel must be placed
heads and tails in an earthen dish or pan, seasoned with chopped onions,
black pepper, a pinch of allspice, and salt; add sufficient vinegar and
water in equal proportions to cover the fish. Bake in your own oven, if
you possess one, or send them to the baker's.
_Note._--Herrings, sprats, or any other cheap fish, are soused in the
same manner.
No. 120. A DINNER OF RED HERRINGS.
The cheaper sort of red herrings are always too salty, and unpleasantly
strong-flavoured, and are therefore an indifferent kind of food, unless
due precaution is taken to soak them in water for an hour before they
are cooked. First, soak the red herrings in water for an hour; wipe, and
split them down the back; toast or broil them on both sides for two or
three minutes, and having placed them on a dish, put a bit of butter and
some chopped onion upon each herring; pour a little vinegar over all,
and this will make a cheap and savoury dish to be eaten with well-boiled
potatoes.
No. 121. TO FRY FISH.
For this purpose you must have some kind of fat. Either lard, butter, or
dripping fat, would be excellent; but they must be bought, and cost a
little money. True; but then, if you can afford yourselves a bit of
meat occasionally, by dint of good thrift you should save the fat from
the boiled meat, or the dripping from your baked meats, and thus furnish
yourselves with fat for frying your fish twice a-week; and let me tell
you that by introducing fish as an occasional part of your daily food,
your health, as well as your pockets, would feel the benefit of such a
system of economy. Suppose, then, that you have bought some cheap kind
of fish, such as herrings, large flounders, plaice, small soles, or any
other small or flat fish. First of all, let the fish be washed and wiped
dry, and rubbed all over with a little flour. Next, put about two ounces
of fat, free from water, in a frying-pan on the fire, and, as soon as it
is hot, put the fish in to fry, one or two at a time, according to their
size, as, unless they have room enough in the frying-pan they do not fry
well; this must be carefully attended to, and when the fish is a little
browned on one side, turn it over with a tin fish-slice, that it may be
fried on the other side also; and, as soon as done, place the fried fish
on a dish and then fry the others. When all your fish are fried, with
what fat remains in the pan fry some onions, and place them round the
fish, and, by way of adding an extra relish to your meal, just throw a
few table-spoonfuls of vinegar, some pepper and salt, into the
frying-pan, give it a boil up, and pour this round the fish.
No. 122. SALT FISH WITH PARSNIPS.
Salt fish must always be well soaked in plenty of cold water the whole
of the night before it is required for the following day's dinner. The
salt fish must be put on to boil in plenty of cold water, without any
salt, and when thoroughly done, should be well-drained free from any
water, and placed on a dish with plenty of well-boiled parsnips. Some
sauce may be poured over the fish, which is to be made as follows:
viz.--Mix two ounces of butter with three ounces of flour, pepper and
salt, a small glassful of vinegar, and a good half-pint of water. Stir
this on the fire till it boils. A few hard-boiled eggs, chopped up and
mixed in this sauce, would render the dish more acceptable.
No. 123. BAKED FISH.
Wash and wipe the fish, and lay it, heads and tails, in a baking-dish,
the bottom of which has been spread all over with a little butter or
dripping, add a little vinegar and water, and, when procurable, some
mushroom ketchup. Season with chopped onions and parsley, shake plenty
of raspings of bread all over the top of the fish, and bake it in your
oven, or send it to the baker's.
No. 124. BAKED COD'S HEAD.
First, make some stuffing with one pound of bruised crumb of bread,
mixed with six ounces of chopped suet, two eggs, chopped parsley, onions
and thyme, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Put this stuffing inside
the cod's head, and place it in a baking-dish with two ounces of butter,
a gill of vinegar, and a pint and a half of water. Spread a little of
the butter all over the cod's head, and then a thick coating of
bread-raspings all over it; bake it for an hour in the oven. A few
oysters would be an improvement.
No. 125. BOUILLABAISSE SOUP.
Put the following ingredients into a saucepan to boil on the fire:--four
onions and six tomatoes, or red love-apples, cut in thin slices, some
thyme and winter savory, a little salad-oil, a wine-glassful of vinegar,
pepper and salt, and a pint of water to each person. When the soup has
boiled fifteen minutes, throw in your fish, cut in pieces or slices,
and, as soon as the fish is done, eat the soup with some crusts of
bread or toast in it. All kinds of fish suit this purpose.
No. 126. TO BOIL FISH.
Put the fish on in sufficient water to cover it, add a small handful of
salt, and, providing that the fish is not larger than mackerel, soles,
or whiting, it will be cooked by the time that the water boils. Yet it
is always best to try whether it requires to boil a little longer, as
underdone fish is unwholesome. Boiled fish requires some kind of sauce.
Try the following, viz:--
No. 127. PARSLEY SAUCE.
Chop a handful of parsley and mix it in a stewpan with two ounces of
butter, two ounces of flour, pepper and salt; moisten with half a pint
of water and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Stir the parsley-sauce on the
fire till it boils, and then pour it over the fish, drained free from
water, on its dish.
No. 128. ANCHOVY SAUCE.
Mix two ounces of butter with two ounces of flour, in a saucepan. Add a
spoonful of essence of anchovy, and half a pint of water. Stir the sauce
on the fire till it boils.
No. 129. BAKED SKATE.
Chop three onions, and fry them of a light-brown colour in two ounces of
butter, then add half a pint of vinegar, pepper and salt, and allow the
whole to boil on the fire for five minutes. Put the skate in a baking
dish, pour the sauce over it, and also just enough water to reach to its
surface. Strew a thick coating of bread-raspings on the fish, and bake
it for an hour and a half at rather moderate heat.
No. 130. HOW TO BREW YOUR OWN BEER.
The first preparatory step towards brewing is to gather your necessary
plant together in proper working order, and thoroughly clean. Your plant
or utensils must consist of the following articles, viz.:--A
thirty-gallon copper, two cooling-tubs capable of holding each about
thirty gallons; a mash-tub of sufficient size to contain fifty-four
gallons, and another tub of smaller size, called an underback; a bucket
or pail, a wooden hand-bowl, a large wooden funnel, a mash-stirrer, four
scraped long stout sticks, a good-sized loose-wrought wicker basket for
straining the beer, and another small bowl-shaped wicker basket, called
a tapwaist, to fasten inside the mash-tub on to the inner end of the
spigot and faucet, to keep back the grains when the wort is being run
off out of the mash-tub. You will also require some beer barrels, a
couple of brass or metal cocks, some vent-pegs, and some bungs. I do not
pretend to assert that the whole of the foregoing articles are
positively indispensable for brewing your own beer. I merely enumerate
what is most proper to be used; leaving the manner and means of
replacing such of these articles as may be out of your reach very much
to your intelligence in contriving to use such as you possess, or can
borrow from a neighbour, instead. Spring water, from its hardness, is
unfit for brewing; fresh fallen rain water, caught in clean tubs, or
water fetched from a brook or river, are best adapted for brewing; as,
from the fact of their being free from all calcareous admixture, their
consequent softness gives them the greater power to extract all the
goodness and strength from the malt and hops.