tea spoonful of salt to a quart of water. When it is tender take it out
of the water and place it on a sieve, or in a colander, to drain. Boil
a gill of milk or cream, and add to it a tea spoonful of butter rolled
in flour, let it boil half a minute. Put your macaroni, after it is
well drained, into a stew-pan, pour this boiled cream over it, and add
to it the grated cheese. Let it get very hot, but do not let it boil,
and serve it.
INDIAN MUSH.
532. Two quarts of water,
Two tea spoonsful of salt,
As much Indian meal as will make a thick batter.
Have a pot with two quarts of boiling water, add the salt as above,
and stir in _very gradually_ as much Indian meal as will form a thick
batter. Let it boil half an hour, and beat it hard all the time it is
cooking, which will make it light when done.
This is generally eaten with new milk, or sometimes with molasses and
butter.
FRIED MUSH.
533. The mush is prepared as in the above receipt. Let it get cold, cut
it in slices, flour them on both sides, and fry them of a light brown.
WELSH RABBIT.
534. Cut some old rich cheese in very thin pieces, add to it a spoonful
of cream. Put it over a slow fire and let it stand until the cheese is
entirely dissolved.
Serve it with toast. Some like pepper and mustard.
MINT JULEP.
535. Take young mint, pick off the leaves, wash them, and to one
tumbler of leaves add one tumbler of brandy and Jamaica spirits mixed.
Pour the liquor on the mint to extract the flavor, then strain it off
on a tumbler of sugar; when the sugar is dissolved, add a tumbler of
ice finely pounded. Stir all well together.
MILK PUNCH.
536. Sweeten a half pint of rich milk to the taste. Add to this half a
table spoonful of fourth proof brandy.
COTTAGE CHEESE.
537. Put some sour milk in a warm place until the whey begins to
separate from the curd, but by no means let it get hard. Pour the curd
into a three cornered bag in the shape of a pudding bag, hang it up and
let it drain until no more water will drip from it. Then turn it out
into a pan, mash the curd very fine and smooth with a wooden spoon; add
as much good rich cream, as will make it about as thick as batter. Salt
it to your taste. Sprinkle pepper over the top if you choose.
TO PREPARE RENNET.
538. Get a dried rennet in market, wash it in lukewarm water, but do
not scrape it. Cut it up in small pieces, put them in a bottle, and
pour over them a quart of Lisbon wine. After this has stood for a week
a table spoonful of the wine will turn a quart of milk. Or if the use
of wine is objectionable, the rennet may be preserved by hanging it in
a cool dry place. And then every time you wish to use it, cut off a
piece, wash it, and soak it in warm water; the water it is soaked in
will turn the milk.
TO CURE HAMS.
539. The following is the Newbold receipt for curing hams.
Seven pounds of coarse salt,
Five pounds of brown sugar,
Half an ounce of pearl-ash, two ounces of saltpetre,
Four gallons of water.
Boil the above ingredients together, and skim the pickle when cold.
Pour it over your hams, and let them remain in it eight weeks.
The above proportions are for one hundred pounds of meat.
TO PREPARE APPLES FOR PIES.
540. Pare and core your apples, cut them in slices, and throw them into
cold water. Then take them out of the water, put them into a stew-pan;
if the apples are tender, the water which adheres to them will be
sufficient to cook them; if not, a little more may be added. Cover the
stew-pan, and place them near the fire. Let them stew till they are
soft and burst; then mash them, and add half an ounce of butter to
each pint of the stewed apple. When they get nearly cold, add sugar,
rose-water, and nutmeg to the taste.
TO CURE DRIED BEEF.
541. For one hundred pounds of beef:
Seven pounds of coarse salt,
Five pounds of brown sugar,
Half an ounce of pearl-ash,
Two ounces of saltpetre,
Four gallons of water.
Boil the sugar, salt, pearl-ash, saltpetre and water together, skim it
and pour it over the meat when it is cold. At the end of three weeks
take out your beef. This is the celebrated Newbold receipt.
TO CURE BEEF AND HAMS.
542. Half a bushel of fine salt,
Half a pound of saltpetre,
Half a gallon of molasses.
Mix the salt, saltpetre, and molasses together well with your hands,
until the mixture resembles brown sugar.
Rub the meat well with this mixture, then place it in your tubs, with
the fleshy side up; it should have a coating of the salt, &c., at least
half an inch thick. At the end of ten days, or two weeks at farthest,
take out your beef, and hang it in a dry place. Hams should remain in
the salt from five to six weeks.
Never smoke beef. Hams would be better if not smoked.
TO CURE SHAD.
543. Clean the shad nicely, place them in layers with back down, and
laid open so as the inside of the fish may be up. Sprinkle each fish
plentifully with ground salt, and let them stand twenty-four hours.
This draws out all the blood. Wipe them all dry with clean napkins.
Place them in layers in a clean tub, with the backs down as before.
For one hundred shad take half a pound of saltpetre, and two pounds of
brown sugar. Strew plenty of rock salt over them with the saltpetre and
sugar, there is no danger of putting on too much salt as they will only
absorb a certain quantity.
TO ROAST COFFEE.
544. Pick the black or imperfect grains from the coffee. Put it in
a pan, and stir it all the time it is roasting; when done it should
be the color of the hull of a ripe chestnut. It should be brown all
through, but not black. About ten minutes before it is done add to two
pounds of coffee half an ounce of butter. Whilst hot put it in a box
and cover it closely.
COFFEE.
545. Beat an egg; and to one tea cupful of ground coffee add one-third
of the beaten egg, and as much cold water as will just moisten the
coffee; do not put in much cold water, stir all well together, put
the mixture in your coffee pot, and pour over it six tea cupsful of
_boiling_ water. Let it boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. When it
begins to boil stir it frequently, and never leave it until the grounds
sink, which they will do in a few minutes after it has been on the
fire. Be careful and do not let your coffee boil over, as by that means
you lose a great deal of the grounds and consequently the coffee will
be weakened.
Rinse your pot, if it be silver or britania metal, with _boiling
water_, pour the coffee into it, and serve it hot. Coffee and tea lose
much of their flavor if served cold.
CHOCOLATE.
546. Shave down three ounces of chocolate, over this pour enough hot
water to dissolve it; mix it to a smooth paste, put it in a pipkin,
and add one quart of boiling water. Place it on the fire, stir it
occasionally, and let it boil fifteen minutes, then add one tea cupful
of rich milk or cream. Let it boil a minute or two longer, pour it off,
and send it to the table. Chocolate retains its heat longer than either
tea or coffee.
Never boil chocolate in your coffee pot as it would be likely to impart
to the coffee an unpleasant flavor.
TEA.
547. Scald your tea pot with boiling water, and allow a tea spoonful
of tea for each person and one over. Pour enough boiling water on the
tea leaves to rather more than wet them. Let it stand fifteen minutes;
pour on as much boiling water as will serve one cup to each one of
the company. As soon as the first cups are poured out, add half a tea
spoonful for each person, and pour on some boiling water. The most
convenient article for hot water is an urn with an iron heater inside
which keeps it boiling on the table. But water may be kept sufficiently
hot in an ordinary tea pot.
Some who are particular about their tea, stop the spout of the tea pot
with a cork, while the tea is drawing, to retain the aroma.
Tea and coffee pots should always be set away with the lids off.
TO MAKE YEAST.
548. Boil a tea cupful of hops in one quart of water till reduced to
one half. Strain it through a sieve, and add one wine glassful of salt.
Return the hot water into the vessel it was boiled in. Mix some flour
with cold water, and stir in so as to make it about the consistency of
thick molasses. Let it boil a few minutes, then take it off the fire,
and set it away to cool; when lukewarm, add some yeast, and when it
rises put it into a stone jar; which should not be filled, cover it,
and the following day it will be fit for use.
As the yeast is so well salted there is no necessity to put salt in the
bread.
You should always have a vessel on purpose to boil hops.
POTATO YEAST.
549. Boil some potatoes, mash them, and to six potatoes add one gill
of flour. Stir in as much water as will make the whole into a thick
batter; add some yeast and a wine glassful of salt. When it is light,
put it in your jar and cover it.
BREAD.
550. Set a sponge at night of a pound of flour, a little salt, if your
yeast should not be salt enough, a gill of yeast, and water enough to
make a thick batter. In the morning stir in as much flour as will form
a dough, knead it well, and if the weather is cold set it in a warm
place to rise. When it is light grease your pans, mould out the dough
in loaves, put them in the pans, and as soon as they rise again bake
them.
If the weather is cold, set your sponge with lukewarm water, place it
near the fire to rise. But in summer it should be set with cold water,
and not be placed near the fire. It is better in warm weather to put
the dough in your pans as soon as the flour is added to the sponge and
the dough well kneaded, as if permitted to stand it might turn sour.
Bread is much nicer baked in small loaves.
POTATO BREAD.
551. Boil some potatoes, mash them fine, and add as much warm water as
will make a mixture about as thick as cream. Pass it through a sieve
in order to extract all the lumps. When cool add a little salt, some
yeast, and as much flour as will make a very thick batter.
The next morning stir in enough flour to make a dough. Knead it well,
let it rise, when light grease your pans, mould it out gently into
loaves, put them in the pans, let them stand till they rise again, then
bake them.
This bread may be made with milk instead of water, but it is best when
eaten fresh, as it soon becomes dry.
MUSH BREAD.
552. Make some thin Indian mush, (see No. 532,) when cool add a little
salt and flour enough to make a thick batter, stir in some yeast.
Let it stand all night to rise, in the morning add flour enough to form
a dough. Knead it well, set it to rise; when light mould it out in
loaves, grease your pans, and when it gets light again bake it.
RYE BREAD.
553. This is made in the same manner as wheat, (No. 550,) only it
must have more rye flour to make a stiffer dough, and requires more
kneading. It takes rather longer to bake than wheat bread.
DYSPEPTIC BREAD.
554. This bread is made of unbolted flour instead of that in general
use.
It is made in the same manner as bread, (No. 550,) knead it very well
and be careful to have it thoroughly baked.
Toast made of this bread is very good.
FRIED BREAD.
555. Slice some bread, stale is better than fresh; pour over it enough
rich milk or cream, if you have it, to moisten it. Beat an egg, dip
each slice of the bread in the egg, and fry them brown on both sides.
Season the bread with pepper and salt to your taste.
COMMON MUSTARD.
556. One table spoonful of ground mustard,
One tea spoonful of sugar,
One salt spoonful of salt.
Mix the salt, sugar, and mustard together, and then pour on some
boiling water gradually, stir it with a horn spoon or knife till it is
quite smooth. Some like it quite thick, others prefer it so thin as to
run on the plate.
ICING FOR CAKES.
557. Beat the whites of two eggs till they are very dry, then add
gradually ten ounces of pulverized white sugar. Dredge flour over the
top of the cake and wipe it off, to make the icing adhere. Put it over
with a broad bladed knife; it should be put on quite thick. When this
coating is dry, dilute the remainder of the icing on your dish with a
little rose-water, and put another coating over the top, which will
have a glossy appearance.
TO DRY HERBS.
558. They should be picked just before the plant blossoms, wash them
to free them from the dust, place them on a sieve to drain. Then put
them in the oven after the bread has been drawn out, and let them
remain in it till they are perfectly dry. Rub them from the stalks, put
them in glass jars and cover them closely.
RASPBERRY VINEGAR.
559. Take ripe raspberries, put them in a pan, and mash them with a
large wooden spoon or masher. Strain the juice through a jelly bag,
and to each pint of juice add one pound of loaf sugar and one quart of
vinegar. When the sugar has dissolved place the whole over the fire in
a preserving kettle, and let it boil a minute or two and skim it. When
cold bottle it, cork it well, and it will be fit for use.
CELERY VINEGAR.
560. Put half a pint of celery seed into a quart of vinegar; bottle it,
and in a month it will be fit for use. It must be strained before it is
put in the castor bottle.
PEPPER VINEGAR.
561. Put the coral peppers in a bottle, and pour over vinegar enough to
cover them.
MOLASSES CANDY.
562. One quart of West India molasses,
Half a pound of brown sugar,
The juice of one lemon.
Put the molasses in a kettle with the sugar, boil it over a slow,
steady fire till it is done, which you can easily tell by dropping a
little in cold water, if done it will be crisp, if not, it will be
stringy. A good way to judge if it is boiled enough is to let it boil
till it stops bubbling. Stir it very frequently, and just before it is
taken off the fire add the lemon-juice. Butter a shallow tin pan, and
pour it in to get cold.
Molasses candy may be flavored with any thing you choose. Some flavor
with lemon, and add roasted ground-nuts, or almonds blanched.
GOOSEBERRY PIE.
563. Pick off the stems and blossoms of your gooseberries, wash them,
and pour enough boiling water over to cover them. Let them stand a few
minutes and then drain them. Line your pie-plates with paste, fill them
with the fruit, and add three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pint
of fruit. Dredge a little flour over the top and cover with a lid of
paste, leave an opening in the centre to permit the steam to escape,
and bake them.
RIPE CURRANT PIE.
564. Stem your currants and wash them. Line your pie-plates with paste,
fill them with the fruit, and add sugar in the proportion of a half a
pound to one pint of currants. Dredge some flour over the top, put on
the lid of the pie, leave an opening in the centre and bake it.
GREEN CURRANT PIE.
565. The fruit should have attained its full size before it is picked.
Stem the currants and wash them; then pour enough boiling water over
them to cover them, and let them stand while you prepare the paste.
Line the bottom of your pie-plates with paste, drain your fruit through
the colander and fill your plates, adding half a pound of sugar to a
pint of currants, or in that proportion. Dredge a little flour over
the fruit, and put on the top crust; leave an opening in the centre to
permit the steam to escape. The pie requires no water, as a sufficient
quantity will adhere to the fruit.
APPLE BUTTER.
566. Boil one barrel of cider till reduced to one half the original
quantity. Pare, core, and slice enough apples to measure two bushels
and a half when cut up. Put them in with the cider, let them boil, and
stir it all the time it is boiling. The apples must be reduced to a
pulp, which will take from nine to twelve hours. It should be boiled
till perfectly smooth and thick. Great care should be taken not to let
it scorch, as it would be entirely spoiled.
New cider is the kind used for making apple butter.
JELLY CAKE, No. 1.
567. Ten eggs,
One pound of sugar,
Three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour,
The grated rind of two, and juice of one lemon.
Beat the yelks of the eggs very light and add the sugar. Stir the yelks
and sugar very hard until they are smooth and light. Add to this the
grated rind and lemon-juice, and beat it, for a few minutes longer.
Whisk the whites to a dry froth, and stir them in very gently. Do not
beat it after the whites are in. Butter some shallow tin-plates and put
in three table spoonsful of the mixture. Bake them in a quick oven. Or
you may heat a griddle or bake-iron, grease it well with butter; grease
a tin cake-ring, place the ring on the griddle, pour in three table
spoonsful of the mixture, put the griddle in a hot oven, and bake it
without turning it. When done take it off, grease the griddle and ring
again, and proceed as before. When the cakes are cool place one on a
plate, cover the top of it with any kind of _thick_ jelly, put another
cake on the top of this, cover it with a layer of jelly, and so on.
Place the cakes evenly over each other. It is customary to ice the top
one, though it looks very nice with white sugar sifted over.
These are better to be eaten fresh.
JELLY CAKE, No. 2.
568. One pound of flour,
One pound of sugar,
Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Ten eggs,
One gill of rose-water,
One tea spoonful of grated nutmeg,
Half a tea spoonful of ground cinnamon.
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, whisk the eggs very light and
add to it; stir in the spices and rose-water, then the flour. Beat the
mixture very hard for ten minutes. Heat your griddle or bake-iron,
grease it well with butter, grease a cake-ring and place on the
griddle. Pour into the ring three table spoonsful of the mixture, place
the griddle in a hot oven and bake it quickly. These cakes are never
turned; the oven should be hot enough to bake the top.
When one is done take it out, place it on a clean napkin to cool, and
grease the griddle and ring and proceed as before. When they are all
cold spread the top of each one with thick jelly, and place them neatly
one over the other. The top cake should have no jelly on it. It may be
iced, or have white sugar sifted over it.
HONEY CAKE, No. 1.
569. Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Three-quarters of a pound of sugar,
Six eggs,
Two pounds of flour,
One table spoonful of ground cinnamon,
Half a gill of cream,
One quart of honey,
One table spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus.
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; beat the eggs and stir in with
the flour, cinnamon, cream and honey. Beat the whole for ten minutes,
then stir in the salæratus. Line your pan with several thicknesses of
paper, well buttered; pour in the mixture and bake it in a slow oven.
HONEY CAKE, No. 2.
570. Half a pound of sugar,
Half a pound of butter,
One pint of honey,
One table spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
As much flour as will form a dough.
Stir the butter and sugar together, add the nutmeg, cinnamon, honey,
and enough flour to form a dough. Knead it well, roll it out in sheets,
cut it in cakes with a cake-cutter or the rim of a tumbler, place them
on tins and bake them in a moderately hot oven. Before you set them in
the oven wash them over with a little honey and water, mixed in equal
quantities.
CITRON CAKE.
571. One pound of butter,
One pound of sugar,
One pound of flour,
One pound of citron,
Ten eggs,
Half a gill of brandy,
One tea spoonful of grated nutmeg,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon.
Grate the nutmeg, slice the citron in very thin narrow strips about
half an inch long, and flour it. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream,
whisk the eggs very light, and stir them in with the flour, brandy, and
spices. Beat the whole for several minutes; then stir in the citron.
Line your pans with several thicknesses of paper, well buttered, pour
in the mixture and bake them in a slow oven. When cold ice them.
VANILLA KISSES.
572. Half a pound of pulverized white sugar,
The whites of six eggs,
One vanilla bean.
Pound the bean in a mortar until it is completely pulverized. Whisk the
eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar very gradually, then stir in the
vanilla. Drop the mixture on white paper so as not to touch each other.
You may make them any size you choose. About a dessert spoonful makes a
pretty sized cake. Take care to have them sufficiently far apart. Place
them on tins with several thicknesses of stout paper under them, set
them in a hot oven, and as soon as they have a tinge of brown take them
out, with a broad bladed knife slip them off the paper, and place the
under sides of two together.
VANILLA CAKE.
573. Half a pound of pulverized white sugar,
The whites of four eggs,
One small vanilla bean, or half of a large one.
Pound the vanilla bean in a mortar until it is completely pulverized.
Beat the eggs to a dry froth, add the sugar very gradually; when all
the sugar is in stir in the vanilla. Drop a tea spoonful of the mixture
on thick white paper to form each cake, they must not be near enough to
touch each other. Place them in a cool oven, and as soon as they are
sufficiently dry take them out, as soon as they are cold slip the blade
of a case-knife under each one to loosen it from the paper. The oven
should not be hot enough to brown them.
GINGER POUND CAKE.
574. Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Three-quarters of a pound of sugar,
Six eggs,
One pound and a half of flour,
One pint of molasses,
The grated rind of two large oranges,
Three table spoonsful of ginger,
Two table spoonsful of cinnamon,
One table spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus, or
One large tea spoonful of dissolved carbonate of ammonia.
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Beat the eggs very light and add
to it, then stir in all the other ingredients except the salæratus or
ammonia. Beat the mixture very hard for several minutes, then stir in
the salæratus or ammonia. Butter an earthen cake mould or thick iron
pan, pour in the mixture and bake it in a moderate oven. If you bake
it in an iron pan line the pan with several thicknesses of stout paper
well buttered.
CURRANT BISCUITS.
575. One pound of sugar,
One pound of butter,
One pound and a half of flour,
Four eggs,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One pound of currants.
Beat the butter and sugar together; whisk the eggs, and add to it with
the other ingredients. Roll the dough out in sheets, cut it into cakes,
place them on tins, sift white sugar over the top, and bake them in a
moderate oven.
The currants must first be picked, washed and dried, before they are
put in the cakes.
PLAIN CRULLERS.
576. Three-quarters of a pound of pulverized white sugar,
Eight eggs,
As much flour as will make a soft dough,
One dessert spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
The grated rind of one lemon, or
Six drops of essence of lemon.
Whisk the eggs very light, stir in the sugar, and about half the flour,
spices and lemon; then add the salæratus, and as much more flour as
will make a soft dough. Do not knead it, but roll it with your hands in
round strips, cut them about three inches long, double and twist them.
Throw them into boiling lard to cook them. They require to be turned
over whilst they are boiling in the lard, in order to have them brown
on both sides. These cakes are very much liked and are very easily
made. Sift sugar over before they are sent to the table.
TO MAKE BUTTER.
577. Strain your milk and stand it in a spring-house or cellar, which
should be about 54 degrees of Fahrenheit. The spring-house should be well
ventilated. Let the milk stand about three days, then skim off the
cream with a skimmer made for the purpose, and take care to get as
little of the sour milk with it as possible. Then churn it; and after
churning, wash your butter thoroughly in clear fresh water, which
should be as cold as you can get it. Then salt it and work it well,
to get out all the remaining buttermilk. It should be dry and solid
when you have finished working it this time. After your butter has been
salted and worked thoroughly, let it stand about five or six hours, or
until every particle of salt is entirely dissolved; then work it again
in order to mix the salt more completely through the whole mass, but do
not touch it with your hands as it will make it greasy, and spoil both
its appearance and taste. Make it into pounds or small prints, and it
will be ready for use.
When more than one churning is done at a time, each churning should
be worked separately, or it will be apt to be streaked; as, if the
temperature of the cream is higher in one churning than in the other,
the butter will not mix without appearing clouded.
The above receipt was obtained from one of the best butter-makers in
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and may be confidently relied on for
its accuracy.
QUEEN CAKE.
578. One pound of butter,
One pound of sugar,
Fourteen ounces of flour,
Ten eggs,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One large table spoonful of brandy,
One table spoonful of rose water.