_Ingredients._—Strawberries, pounded sugar; to every pint of juice
allow 1¼ oz. of isinglass. _Mode._—Pick the strawberries, put them
into a pan, squeeze them well with a wooden spoon, add sufficient
pounded sugar to sweeten them nicely, and let them remain for 1 hour,
that the juice may be extracted; then add ½ pint of water to every
pint of juice. Strain the strawberry-juice and water through a bag;
measure it, and to every pint allow 1¼ oz. of isinglass, melted and
clarified in ¼ pint of water. Mix this with the juice; put the jelly
into a mould, and set the mould in ice. A little lemon-juice added to
the strawberry-juice improves the flavour of the jelly, if the fruit
is very ripe; but it must be well strained before it is put to the
other ingredients, or it will make the jelly muddy. _Time._—1 hour
to draw the juice. _Average cost_, with the best isinglass, 3_s._
_Sufficient._—Allow 1½ pint of jelly for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_
in June, July, and August.
STRAWBERRIES and CREAM.
_Ingredients._—To every pint of picked strawberries allow 1/3 pint of
cream, 2 oz. of finely-pounded sugar. _Mode._—Pick the stalks from the
fruit, place it on a glass dish, sprinkle over it pounded sugar, and
slightly stir the strawberries, that they may all be equally sweetened;
pour the cream over the top, and serve. Devonshire cream, when it can
be obtained, is exceedingly delicious for this dish; and, if very thick
indeed, may be diluted with a little thin cream or milk. _Average cost_
for this quantity, with cream at 1_s._ per pint, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for
2 persons. _Seasonable_ in June and July.
STRAWBERRIES, Preserved in Wine.
_Ingredients._—To every quart bottle allow ¼ lb. of finely-pounded
loaf sugar; sherry or Madeira. _Mode._—Let the fruit be gathered in
fine weather, and used as soon as picked. Have ready some perfectly
dry glass bottles, and some nice soft corks or bungs. Pick the stalks
from the strawberries, drop them into the bottles, sprinkling amongst
them pounded sugar in the above proportion, and when the fruit
reaches to the neck of the bottle, fill up with sherry or Madeira.
Cork the bottles down with new corks, and dip them into melted resin.
_Seasonable._—Make this in June or July.
STRAWBERRIES, to Preserve Whole.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit allow 1½ lb. of good loaf
sugar, 1 pint of red-currant juice. _Mode._—Choose the strawberries
not too ripe, of a fine large sort and of a good colour. Pick off
the stalks, lay the strawberries in a dish, and sprinkle over them
half the quantity of sugar, which must be finely pounded. Shake the
dish gently, that the sugar may be equally distributed and touch
the under-side of the fruit, and let it remain for 1 day. Then have
ready the currant-juice, drawn as for red-currant jelly; boil it with
the remainder of the sugar until it forms a thin syrup, and in this
simmer the strawberries and sugar, until the whole is sufficiently
jellied. Great care must be taken not to stir the fruit roughly, as
it should be preserved as whole as possible. Strawberries prepared in
this manner are very good served in glasses and mixed with thin cream.
_Time._—¼ hour to 20 minutes to simmer the strawberries in the syrup.
_Seasonable_ in June and July.
STRAWBERRY, Open Tart of, or any other Kind of Preserve.
_Ingredients._—Trimmings of puff-paste, any kind of jam. _Mode._—Butter
a tart-pan of the shape shown in the engraving, roll out the paste to
the thickness of ½ an inch, and line the pan with it; prick a few holes
at the bottom with a fork, and bake the tart in a brisk oven from 10 to
15 minutes. Let the paste cool a little; then fill it with preserve,
place a few stars or leaves on it, which have been previously cut out
of the paste and baked, and the tart is ready for table. By making it
in this manner, both the flavour and colour of the jam are preserved,
which would otherwise be lost, were it baked in the oven on the paste;
and, besides, so much jam is not required. _Time._—10 to 15 min.
_Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient._—1 tart for 3 persons. _Seasonable_
at any time.
[Illustration: OPEN TART.]
[Illustration: OPEN-TART MOULD.]
STURGEON, Baked.
_Ingredients._—1 small sturgeon, salt and pepper to taste, 1 small
bunch of herbs, the juice of ½ lemon, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 pint of white
wine. _Mode._—Cleanse the fish thoroughly, skin it, and split it along
the belly without separating it; have ready a large baking-dish, in
which lay the fish, sprinkle over the seasoning and herbs very finely
minced, and moisten it with the lemon-juice and wine. Place the butter
in small pieces over the whole of the fish, put it in the oven, and
baste frequently; brown it nicely, and serve with its own gravy.
_Time._—Nearly 1 hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ to 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
STURGEON, Roast.
_Ingredients._—Veal stuffing, buttered paper, the tail-end of a
sturgeon. _Mode._—Cleanse the fish, bone and skin it; make a nice veal
stuffing (_see_ Forcemeats), and fill it with the part where the bones
came from; roll it in buttered paper, bind it up firmly with tape, like
a fillet of veal, and roast it in a Dutch oven before a clear fire.
Serve with good brown gravy, or plain melted butter. _Time._—About 1
hour. _Average costs_, 1_s._ to 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_ from
August to March.
_Note._—Sturgeon maybe plainly boiled, and served with Dutch sauce. The
fish is very firm, and requires long boiling.
SUET PUDDING, to serve with Roast Meat.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, 6 oz. of finely-chopped suet, ½
saltspoonful of salt, ½ saltspoonful of pepper, ½ pint of milk or
water. _Mode._—Chop the suet very finely, after freeing it from skin,
and mix it well with the flour; add the salt and pepper (this latter
ingredient may be omitted if the flavour is not liked), and make the
whole into a smooth paste with the above proportion of milk or water.
Tie the pudding in a floured cloth, or put it into a buttered basin,
and boil from 2½ to 3 hours. To enrich it, substitute 3 beaten eggs
for some of the milk or water, and increase the proportion of suet.
_Time._—2½ to 3 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6
persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—When there is a joint roasting or baking, this pudding may be
boiled in a long shape, and then cut into slices a few minutes before
dinner is served; these slices should be laid in the dripping-pan for
a minute or two, and then browned before the fire. Most children like
this accompaniment to roast-meat.
SUGAR, to Boil, to Caramel.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of lump sugar allow 1 gill of spring water.
_Mode._—Boil the sugar and water together very quickly over a clear
fire, skimming it very carefully as soon as it boils. Keep it boiling
until the sugar snaps when a little of it is dropped in a pan of cold
water. If it remains hard, the sugar has attained the right degree;
then squeeze in a little lemon-juice, and let it remain an instant
on the fire. Set the pan into another of cold water, and the caramel
is then ready for use. The insides of well-oiled moulds are often
ornamented with this sugar, which with a fork should be spread over
them in fine threads or network. A dish of light pastry, tastefully
arranged, looks very pretty with this sugar spun lightly over it.