Pickling.
The best vinegar should always be used for pickling; in all cases it
should be boiled and strained.
The articles to be pickled should first be parboiled or soaked in
brine, which should have about six ounces of salt to one quart of
water.
The spices used for pickling are whole pepper, long peppers, allspice,
mace, mustard-seed, and ginger, the last being first bruised.
The following is a good proportion of spice: to one quart of vinegar
put half an ounce of ginger, the same quantity of whole-pepper and
allspice, and one ounce of mustard-seed; four shalots, and one clove
of garlic.
Pickles should be kept secure from the air, or they soon become
soft; the least quantity of water, or a wet spoon, put into a jar of
pickles, will spoil the contents.
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TO PICKLE GHERKINS AND FRENCH BEANS.
These are, of all vegetables, the most difficult to pickle, so that
their green colour and freshness may be preserved. Choose some fine
fresh gherkins, and set them to soak in brine for a week; then drain
them, and pour over boiling vinegar, prepared with the usual spices,
first having covered them with fresh vine leaves. If they do not
appear to be of a fine green, pour off the vinegar, boil it up again,
cover the gherkins with fresh green vine leaves, and pour over the
vinegar again. French beans are pickled exactly the same.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE CAULIFLOWERS.
Remove the stalks and leaves, break the flower into pieces, parboil
them in brine, then drain them, and lay them in a jar, and pour over
boiling spiced vinegar.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE MELON MANGOES.
Cut the melons in half, remove the pulpy part and the seeds, soak
the halves for a week in strong brine, then fill them with the
usual spices, mustard-seed and garlic, and tie them together with
packthread; put them in jars, and pour over boiling spiced vinegar.
Large cucumbers may be pickled in the same way.
* * * * *
PICCALILI.
Pickle gherkins, French beans, and cauliflower, separately, as already
directed; the other vegetables used are carrots, onions, capsicums,
white cabbage, celery, and, indeed almost any kind may be put into
this pickle, except walnuts and red cabbage. They must be cut in small
pieces, and soaked in brine, the carrots only, requiring to be boiled
in it to make them tender; then prepare a liquor as follows: into
half a gallon of vinegar put two ounces of ginger, one of whole black
pepper, one of whole allspice, and one of bruised chillies, three
ounces of shalots, and one ounce of garlic; boil together nearly
twenty minutes; mix a little of it in a basin, with two ounces of
flour of mustard and one ounce of turmeric, and stir it in gradually
with the rest; then pour the liquor over the vegetables.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE MUSHROOMS.
Choose small button mushrooms, clean and wipe them, and throw them
into cold water, then put into a stewpan with a little salt, and cover
them with distilled vinegar, and simmer a few minutes. Put them in
bottles with a couple of blades or so of mace, and when cold, cork
them closely.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE ONIONS.
Choose all of a size and soak in boiling brine, when cold, drain them
and put them in bottles, and fill up with hot distilled vinegar; if
they are to be _white_, use white wine vinegar; if they are to be
_brown_, use the best distilled vinegar, adding, in both cases, a
little mace, ginger, and whole pepper.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE WHITE AND RED CABBAGE.
Take off the outside leaves, cut out the stalk, and shred the cabbage
into a cullender, sprinkle with salt, let it remain for twenty-four
hours, then drain it. Put it into jars, and fill up with boiling
vinegar, prepared with the usual spices; if the cabbage is red, a
little cochineal powdered, or a slice or two of beet-root is necessary
to make the pickle a fine colour; if it is white cabbage, add instead,
a little turmeric powder.
* * * * *
TO PICKLE WALNUTS.
Soak in brine for a week, prick them, and simmer in brine, then let
them lay on a sieve to drain, and to turn black, after which place
them in jars, and pour over boiling spiced vinegar.
* * * * *
AN OLD WAY OF PICKLING CUCUMBERS.
Cut the cucumbers in small pieces, length ways, with the peel left
on; lay them in salt for twenty-four hours, then dry the pieces with
a cloth, lay them in a deep dish, and pour over the following mixture:
some vinegar boiled with cayenne pepper, whole ginger, a little
whole pepper, and mustard seed, a few West India pickles are by some
considered an improvement. This mixture should stand till nearly cold
before covering the cucumbers, which should then be bottled. This
pickle is fit for eating a few days after it is made, and will also
keep good in a dry place as long as may be required.