best quality, with a smooth rind and fine color. Cut out from the stem
end of each, a piece not quite the size of a quarter dollar, and with a
small knife scoop out all the inside, keeping the rind as whole as
possible. Put the pulp and juice into a large bowl, and clear it from
the strings and seeds. Lay the skins in a tureen of cold ice water, and
change it twice during the day, (fresh water and fresh ice); and at
bedtime put ice only. Next morning boil the skins slowly in a porcelain
kettle with plenty of water, keeping them well covered. Continue to boil
till they are tender all through, and can easily be pierced with a
splinter skewer. Then drain them, and lay them in cold water
immediately. Take care to boil with them the small round pieces that
come out of the top. Make a thick jelly or marmalade of the pulp and
juice of these, and some additional fruit, allowing to a pint of juice a
pound of loaf sugar. When the jelly has been boiled till clear and firm
when held in the air, fill with it the skins so as to swell them out
into a good shape. Replace the small circular pieces that have been cut
off the top of the fruit, and tie them on securely with packthread, so
as to keep in the jelly. Next make a thin syrup, allowing to a pound of
broken-up loaf sugar half a pint of fresh juice, and the beaten white of
an egg. Boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Then having put the
oranges into large glass jars rather more than half full, pour the syrup
on them, filling up to the top.
_To Green Small Lemons or Limes._--Boil them first in a little hard
water, placing them in a porcelain kettle with a thick bed of fresh vine
leaves under them and a thick cover of vine leaves over them. Boil them
till green and tender in two or three waters, putting entirely fresh
vine leaves whenever you change the water, and persisting till they are
well greened. Then make holes in the stem end, and extract the pulp,
strings, and seeds, and proceed as directed in the last receipt. The
skins, as soon as empty, being laid in cold water, and then filled and
shaped out with lemon jelly, and the jars filled up warm with lemon
syrup. Or by putting a larger portion of sugar, and boiling the syrup
longer, you may candy it all over the surface of the fruit.
Green limes are preserved in the above manner, filling the skins with
lemon jelly. To candy the syrup use a double portion of sugar, and boil
it till it bubbles and sparkles in the kettle.
PEACHES PRESERVED.--Take the finest ripe free-stone peaches. Pare them,
cut them in half, and remove the stones. To every pound of peaches allow
a pound of double refined loaf sugar, and half the white of an egg
(slightly beaten) with half a pint of very clear soft water. Put the
sugar into a porcelain preserving kettle, mix it with the water and
white of egg, and when it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire,
and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise, which will be very
soon, if the sugar is as good as it should be. There is no economy in
using inferior sugar for sweetmeats, as much of it will be lost in
skimming and sediment. In the mean time, boil in a little sauce-pan a
bunch of fresh green peach leaves that have been cleared from all dust;
or a handful of broken-up peach kernels. When the flavor is well
extracted, strain this water and mix it with the syrup. Then put in the
halved peaches, and boil them (uncovered) till quite clear and soft, but
not till they break. While warm, put them up with the syrup in glass or
white-ware jars.
Apricots are preserved in the same way.
_Preserved Green Gages._--Get the largest and ripest green gages, or egg
plums. Scald them in boiling water to make them peel easily; the skins
of all sorts of plums becoming very hard and tough when preserved.
Remove the stems; they are no ornament, and render them troublesome to
eat. Make a syrup in the usual way, allowing to each pound of plums a
pound of the finest loaf sugar, half a pint of water, and half a white
of egg. When well skimmed and boiled put in the plums, and boil them
gently till quite clear and soft, but not till broken. All plums may be
done in this manner. If not as ripe as possible, they will require to
each pound of fruit a pound and a half of the best sugar.
BRANDY PEACHES.--Take large juicy _free-stone_ peaches, not so ripe as
to burst or mash on being handled. Rub off the down from every one with
a clean thick flannel. Prick every peach down to the stone with a large
silver fork, and score them all along the seam or cleft. To _each_ pound
of peaches allow a pound of double-refined loaf sugar, broken-up small,
and a half pint of water mixed with half a white of egg, slightly
beaten. Put the sugar into a porcelain kettle, and pour the water upon
it. When it is quite melted give it a stirring, set it over the fire,
and boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Next put in the peaches,
and let them cook (uncovered) in the syrup till they look clear, or for
about half an hour, or till a straw will penetrate them. Then take the
kettle off the fire. Having allotted a pint of the very best white
brandy to each pound of peaches, mix it with the syrup, after taking out
the fruit with a wooden spoon, and draining it over the kettle. Put the
peaches into a large tureen. Let the syrup remain in the kettle a little
longer. Mix the brandy with it, and boil them together ten minutes, or
more. Transfer the peaches to large glass jars, (two thirds full,) and
pour the brandy and syrup over them, filling quite up to the top. When
cool, cover them closely, and tie some bladder over the lids.
_Green Gages_--Are brandied in the same manner. Also, large egg-plums.
Pears also, having first peeled them. To pear sweetmeats always add
lemon rind grated, and lemon juice.
PRESERVED TOMATOS.--This is an excellent and popular sweetmeat, when
flavored well with lemon, which is indispensable to making it palatable.
Also, it should be well penetrated with sugar, therefore it is best not
to attempt preserving tomatos whole. The best time for doing them is in
the height of the lemon season. The most convenient for preserving are
those with smooth even surfaces. If fluted or cleft they are difficult
to peel when scalded, as the skins do not strip off so easily. Having
weighed the tomatos, (which must be full-grown and quite ripe) allow to
every two pounds, two pounds of the best _brown_ sugar, a large spoonful
of ground ginger, and the juice and grated yellow rind of one large ripe
lemon, rolled awhile under your hand. Having scalded and peeled all the
tomatos, and mixed with the sugar a little beaten white of egg, put them
into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, (uncovered,) and add,
gradually, the sugar. Boil the tomatos and sugar _slowly_ together, till
the scum ceases to appear. Then add, gradually, the lemons, (peel and
juice,) and boil slowly for an hour or more. The tomatos must all have
bursted, otherwise they will not keep, from the sugar not getting
sufficiently into them. When done, take them off the fire, and transfer
to glass jars the tomatos with their syrup.
For yellow preserves take yellow tomatos, scald and peel them, and prick
each with a silver fork. Lay them in a porcelain preserving kettle with
plenty of fresh vine leaves under and over them. Boil them with the vine
leaves till they become a finer yellow. Then wash out the kettle and
boil the tomatos, as above, with the _white_ sugar, and add the lemon.
_Green Tomatos Preserved._--Take green tomatos when they are full grown,
but have not yet begun to turn in the least red. Scald and peel them,
and lay them in a porcelain kettle with plenty of fresh vine leaves at
the bottom. Cover them thickly with another layer of vine leaves at the
top. Boil them very slowly with the vine leaves till they have all
turned yellow. Then take them out, and spread them on large dishes. Wash
the kettle, put in fresh vine leaves under and over the tomatos. They
should become a fine green with the second boiling in vine leaves;
otherwise repeat the greening. Then take them out, wash the kettle
again, and return the tomatos to it with _a pound and a half of white
sugar_ to each pound of tomatos. Boil and skim, till all is clear and
nice. Then add the grated yellow rind and the juice of one large lemon
to every pound of tomatos, and boil slowly an hour longer. All the
tomatos should burst, that the sugar may thoroughly enter the inside.
Before you cover the jars, stir into each an additional quarter or half
pound of powdered sugar. Green tomatos require a high flavoring of
lemon, as they have no peculiar taste of their own.
PRESERVED QUINCES.--Take the largest and ripest yellow quinces; after
they have remained on the trees till the first frost. Wipe them clean,
and boil them whole till they are tender all through, and can be easily
penetrated with a splinter skewer. Save and strain the water in which
they were boiled. When cool, pare and core the quinces, and carefully
remove the blemishes. To every pound of fruit allow a pound of the best
double-refined loaf sugar. Make a syrup of the water in which the
quinces were boiled, allowing half a pint of this water to every pound
of sugar. When melted, set it in a porcelain kettle over a moderate
fire, and boil and skim it till no more scum appears. Then put in the
fruit, either whole or quartered, or cut into circular slices about half
an inch thick; and boil it uncovered. When the quinces are quite clear
and soft, (but not the least broken) take them out, and spread them on
large flat dishes. Afterwards transfer them to large glass jars, rather
more than half filled; pour the syrup warm over them; and when cool
cover the jars, and tie pieces of bladder over the covers. You may boil,
by themselves, the cores and parings, in as much water as will cover
them well, till they are entirely dissolved. Then strain them through a
linen bag, and while hot stir in as much powdered loaf sugar as will
form a thick jelly. If the quinces have been preserved whole, fill up
with this jelly the holes left by the cores; or if sliced, spread the
jelly over the slices. Quinces soon become very hard and tough, unless
they have been well boiled by themselves, before putting them into the
sugar. Merely scalding or coddling them is not sufficient. If you have
not jelly for filling up the holes, substitute marmalade. To keep
quinces well, requires plenty of rich syrup.
PRESERVED CRAB-APPLES.--Take the finest Siberian crab-apples, which
being always red, and having a pleasant acid, are the only sort now used
for preserving. Rub each crab-apple with a dry clean flannel, and then
prick every one in several places with a large needle to prevent their
bursting. To every pound of fruit allow a pound and a half of
double-refined loaf sugar, and a pint of water. First make a syrup of
the sugar and water, boiling it in a porcelain kettle, and skimming it
till perfectly clear. Put in the crab-apples, adding for each pound the
juice and grated yellow rind of a large lemon. The lemon is
indispensable to this sweetmeat. Simmer them slowly in this syrup till
tender all through, so that they can be pierced with a twig of
broom-corn; but do not allow them to break. When done, put them up warm
in glass jars more than half full, and the syrup over them. You may
heighten the fine red color with a little prepared cochineal--that is,
cochineal powder kept in a bottle after being boiled with alum and cream
of tartar.
_Bellflower Apples or Large Pippins_--May be preserved whole in the
above manner. They look handsomely on a supper table, covered all over
with a thick meringue or icing flavored with lemon or rose, and spread
smoothly over every apple with a real rose-bud stuck in the top of each.
You may color the icing a beautiful pink, by mixing with it a little
prepared cochineal.
PRESERVED CHERRIES.--No cherries are worth preserving except morellas,
or the large Virginia red, or carnation cherries. Stem and stone them
carefully, saving the juice; and strew them thickly with powdered white
sugar. To a quart of cherries allow a pound of the best loaf sugar. Make
a syrup, allowing half a pint of water to a pound of sugar. Boil and
skim it, and when the scum has ceased to rise put in the cherries and
their juice, and give them a slow boil up. Put them up warm in glass or
white-ware jars, and tie bladder over the lids.
FINE PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.--Have ready two sorts of strawberries, one
half being of the largest and finest scarlet sort, (not too ripe,) the
other smaller and less expensive, but quite ripe and perfectly fresh and
nice. Put the smaller ones into a porcelain kettle, having allowed three
quarters of a pound of double-refined loaf sugar to every quart of
fruit. Boil the sugar and small strawberries together; skimming well,
and stirring down to the bottom after every skimming, and mashing it to
a jam. When done, set it to cool in a large pan; wash the kettle clean,
or take another one, and make in it a clear syrup, allowing to each
pound of the best loaf sugar a _small_ half pint of water. When melted
set it over the fire, and boil and skim till the scum ceases to rise.
Put the large strawberries in this, and give them one boil up. If boiled
too long they will break. As soon as they have come to a boil take them
(one at a time,) with a silver tea-spoon, and lay them separately on
large flat dishes. Then mix the syrup with the jam thoroughly together,
and boil it a quarter of an hour. Put the large strawberries, one at a
time, into glass jars, (more than half full,) and fill up to the top
with the hot jam. When cool lay a round of brandy paper on the surface,
and secure the lids by tying pieces of bladder over them.
STRAWBERRIES IN WINE.--Put a small quart of fine large scarlet
strawberries into a glass jar, having sprinkled among them a quarter of
a pound of the best loaf sugar. Fill up the jar with madeira or sherry.
They are served at parties in small glass saucers, heaped on the top
with whipped cream, or with white ice cream. What is sold by many
confectioners as strawberry ice cream, has in reality no strawberries
about it; as may be known by its beautiful rose color, such as
strawberry juice never produces, particularly after being preserved with
sugar. This fine delicate pink tinge comes in reality from alkanet. Most
of what is called strawberry cordial, is in reality alcohol colored with
that elegant dye.
STRAWBERRY WINE.--Fill four glass jars holding each a quart, with fine
ripe strawberries that have been hulled or picked clean. Cover them;
set them in a large kettle of cold water, and place it in a moderate
heat till it gradually comes to a boil. Then let it boil but five
minutes. Cork the jars, and seal them closely before you take them out
of the water. Use the cement of two-thirds resin and one-third beeswax.
Keep the jar for four weeks in a dry cool place. By that time you will
find the strawberries with a thick white scum at the top, and a clear
juice at the bottom. Pour it into clean bottles, through a funnel with a
fine straining cloth. Cork the bottles, but do not drive the corks hard
down, lest the bottles should burst if too tight. Arrange the bottles on
the kitchen mantleshelf, where they may have some heat from the fire.
You will see when a vinous fermentation takes place. It may continue a
week. When it has entirely subsided, and is very clear, strain off the
liquid from the sediment into fresh bottles, and cork them tightly. When
you put them away, lay the bottles on their sides. This is a delicious
cordial, and requires no brandy in it.
_Preserved Gooseberries._--Top and tail the gooseberries, which should
be of two sorts, and as ripe as you can get. The best kind quite ripe,
large, and of a light amber color. Wash the others, and boil them in a
porcelain kettle with barely water enough to keep them from burning.
When they are soft and broken, mash the pulp through a sieve, or squeeze
it through a linen bag. Measure it, and to each pint allow a large pound
of powdered loaf sugar. Boil the sugar with the pulp, skimming and
stirring it till it begins to jelly. Then put in the large gooseberries,
and give them one boil up. When done take them out separately, and
spread them on a large flat dish. Continue to boil the syrup a while
longer, till you find it congeals well on holding out a spoonful in the
open air. Then put the large gooseberries into jars, and pour the syrup
over them while still hot and liquid. Put them up warm.
_Raspberries_--May be preserved as above, reserving the finest for
putting whole into the jelly. The large white raspberries make a fine
sweetmeat, done whole in jelly or jam of white currants.
Black currants should always be made into jelly or jam. They require
less sugar than other sweetmeats, (a quarter of a pound less) their
juice being naturally very thick.
COUNTRY PLUMS.--Gather your plums when perfectly ripe, and ready to fall
from the trees. Split them with a knife, and remove the stones. Spread
them out on large dishes, so as not to touch, and set them in the hot
sun on a sunny roof or balcony; taking them in every evening before
dark, and not putting them out till after the dew is off in the morning.
Repeat this for three or four days. Then pack them down in stone jars
with a large quantity of the best brown sugar, a layer of plums and a
layer of sugar alternately, (sugar being at the bottom and top) and
cover the jars closely. Let them remain undisturbed till February or
March. When opened, you will have plenty of rich syrup among them. They
make good spring pies, and will be prized for family use at that season.
_Country Grapes._--The little wild grapes have a very pleasant taste
after the first frost in the autumn, and should not be gathered till
that time. Until frosted, they are too sour to eat. To keep them all
winter, strip them from the stems and put them in stone jars with layers
of good brown sugar, till the jars are three parts full. Then fill up to
the top with West India molasses. They will make good winter pies, when
cranberries, dried peaches, and dried apples are scarce.
_Persimmon Jam._--Do not gather persimmons till late in the fall, when
they are well sweetened with the frost. They are unfit to eat till all
the leaves are off the trees, and till they are ripe enough to mash.
Then pack them in jars with plenty of brown sugar. Maple sugar will do.
In the back-woods they will be valued. When cooked they will be improved
by the addition of a little _sweet_ cider.
PICKLES.
For pickles the articles should all be fine and freshly gathered. They
are generally too hard to be cut or eaten conveniently, and there is too
much unnecessary fear of pickles proving soft. It is not now customary
to keep them for weeks in salt and water; two or three days will be
sufficient for this part of the process, and some kinds do not require
it at all. The arts of both preserving and pickling are of late years
much simplified. All pickles have nearly the same taste, and there is no
use (and much trouble) in multiplying varieties, when a few sorts of the
very best will be found amply sufficient for any table. One important
point to be always observed, is to use none but the most wholesome
vinegar, (the genuine cider,) as all that is made of drugs is
unwholesome to the eater and destructive to the pickles. On no
consideration boil them in brass, copper, or bell-metal--things which
fortunately are now nearly exploded from all kitchens; iron lined with
Delft, (called porcelain,) being universally substituted.
To green pickles boil them with a thick bed of fresh vine leaves, both
under and over them. This will first render them yellow; then boil them
again in a clean kettle with fresh vine leaves. If not green enough when
you think they are done, repeat the boiling again, with fresh vine
leaves and fresh water. Avoid eating pickles that are of a fine
verdigris green. They are greened with copper, and are poisonous.
If you cannot obtain vine leaves, you may green pickles by boiling them
with fresh cabbage leaves under and over. The first boiling will turn
them yellow, the second with new leaves should render them green. But
vine leaves are better and more certain. Put them up warm in stone or,
glass jars with broad flat corks; and tie kid leather over them.
INDIA PICKLE.--For this pickle you may use a variety of _young_ fruits
and vegetables. For instance, red cherries, grapes, plums, apricots,
young peaches, or lemons, limes, button-tomatos, cauliflowers sliced,
white cabbage sliced, hard-boiled eggs sliced, little onions,
nasturtions, small cucumbers, &c. Having nicely prepared these things,
put them all together into a large porcelain kettle, and scald them in a
strong brine made in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of fine salt
to a quart of boiling water. Pour it hot over the pickles, and let them
remain in it till next day. Then take them out, and drain off all the
brine through a sieve. Spread them out (so as not to touch,) on large
flat dishes or old japan servers, and set them in the hot sun for three
or four days; carefully taking them in at evening, and if the weather
becomes damp or cloudy. Afterwards put them into a cullender or sieve,
wash them well through cold water, and then wipe them all dry with a
coarse cloth. Put them into a large pan. Mix together a quarter pound of
grated horse-radish, sliced; two cloves of garlic; half a hundred small
white onions; two ounces of mace; a quarter of a pound of ground ginger;
two nutmegs, powdered; two pounds of powdered loaf sugar; half a bottle
of the best ground mustard; half a pound of yellow mustard seed, and an
ounce of turmeric powder, which must on no account be omitted, as a
yellow tinge is indispensable to this pickle. Mix all the seasoning with
sufficient excellent cider vinegar to render it liquid, and pour it over
the pickles in the pan, and then stir them up from the bottom. Let the
whole rest till cold. Then transfer it to stone jars. Have ready some
more vinegar, pour it boiling hot on the pickles, &c., but do not fill
up to the top, as they expand and rise.
PICKLED PEACHES.--Take eight fine large free-stone peaches, (white or
yellow,) when nearly but not quite ripe. Wipe off the down with a clean
flannel, and put them into a brine strong enough to bear up an egg. In
two days take them out, and drain them for several hours on an inverted
sieve. Tie in a piece of thin muslin one ounce of whole white pepper;
one of broken-up ginger; eight blades of mace, and two ounces of mustard
seed. Boil this seasoning for ten minutes in a quart of the best cider
vinegar. Lay the peaches in a broad-mouthed stone jar, with the bag of
spice at the bottom, and pour the vinegar boiling hot upon them. At the
top add a table-spoonful of salad oil. Put them up warm, and secure them
with broad flat corks, and rounds of leather tied on carefully.
_Peach Mangoes._--The above sort of peaches are best for mangoes. Steep
them in brine for two days. Cut a small piece out of each, and carefully
loose the stones from the inside with a small sharp knife. It will then
be easy to thrust them out of free-stone peaches, and none others should
be used, either for pickling or preserving. Make a filling for the
places that were occupied by the stones. For this purpose, use fresh
mustard seed moistened with vinegar; scraped horse-radish, powdered
ginger, a clove of garlic, or a minced shalot or very small onion, and a
very little chilli or red pepper minced very small. Also a little
powdered mace, and a little chopped peach. With this mixture stuff the
peaches hard. Replace the bits that were cut off, and tie them on firmly
with fine packthread, crossing the peach. Boil a quart of the best
vinegar, seasoned with white spices and mustard seed, tied up in muslin;
and when it has boiled ten minutes, pour it hot over the peach mangoes
in a stone jar. Add at the top a table-spoonful of salad oil; cork the
jar immediately, and tie leather over it. Where there is no dislike to
cloves, you may stick half a dozen into the outside of each peach; but
we think a few small bits of mace will be preferable, as the clove
taste will overpower every thing else.
MELON MANGOES.--Take the small green melons, used only for this purpose,
and let them lie in a strong brine for two days. Take them out and drain
them well. Cut a small square bit out of one side, and through this hole
extract all the seeds and filaments. Have ready a stuffing made of
grated horse-radish, white mustard seed, minced shalot, or a clove of
garlic chopped fine; a very little chilli or red pepper, and a little
powdered mace. Wet this stuffing well with vinegar, and then fill with
it the cavity of the mango. Replace the bit that was cut out, and tie it
in with packthread, crossing all over the melon. Then place the mangoes
in a stone jar. Have ready a sufficiency of the best vinegar, (a large
quart or more, for eight or ten mangoes,) boiled ten minutes, with a
seasoning of mustard seed, ginger, mace, grated horse-radish, and
chopped shalot or little onion, or a clove of garlic minced very
small--all tied in a bit of muslin. Pour the vinegar boiling hot over
the mangoes, having placed among them the bag of seasoning. Finish with
sweet oil at the top of the jar.