Take very young oval shaped musk-melons. Cut a round piece out of the
top or side of each, (saving the piece to put on again,) and extract
the seeds. Then (having tied on the pieces with packthread) put them
into strong salt and water for two days. Afterwards drain and wipe
them, put them into a kettle with vine leaves or cabbage leaves under
and over them, and a little piece of alum, and hang them on a slow fire
to green; keeping them closely covered to retain the steam, which will
greatly accelerate the greening. When they are quite green, have ready
the stuffing, which must be a mixture of scraped horseradish, white
mustard seed, mace and nutmeg pounded, race ginger cut small, pepper,
tumeric and sweet oil. Fill your mangoes with this mixture, putting
a small clove of garlic into each, and replacing the pieces at the
openings; tie them with a packthread crossing backwards and forwards
round the mango. Put them into stone jars, pour boiling vinegar over
them, and cover them well. Before you put them on the table remove the
packthread.
NASTURTIANS.--Have ready a stone or glass jar of the best cold vinegar.
Take the green seeds of the nasturtian after the flower has gone off.
They should be full-grown but not old. Pick off the stems, and put the
seeds into the vinegar. No other preparation is necessary, and they
will keep a year with nothing more than sufficient cold vinegar to
cover them. With boiled mutton they are an excellent substitute for
capers.
MORELLA CHERRIES.--See that all your cherries are perfect. Remove the
stems, and put the cherries into a jar or glass with sufficient vinegar
to cover them well. They will keep perfectly in a cool dry place.
They are very good, always retaining the taste of the cherry. If you
cannot procure morellas, the large red pie-cherries may be substituted.
PEACHES.--Take fine large peaches (either cling or free stones) that
are not too ripe. Wipe off the down with a clean flannel, and put the
peaches whole into a stone jar. Cover them with cold vinegar of the
best kind, in which you have dissolved a little of salt, allowing a
tea-spoonful to a quart of vinegar. Put a cork in the jar and tie
leather or oil-cloth over it.
Plums and grapes may be pickled thus in cold vinegar, but without salt.
BARBERRIES.--Have ready a jar of cold vinegar, and put into it ripe
barberries in bunches. They make a pretty garnish for the edges of
dishes.