cloth before the approach of hard weather: woollen will not answer the
purpose. In this manner they are kept in Germany and in America, during
the severest winters; and it is probable that potatoes might be
preserved in the same way. Apples may also be kept till the following
summer by putting them into a dry jar, with a few pebbles at the bottom
to imbibe the moisture which would otherwise destroy the fruit, and then
closing up the jar carefully with a lid, and a little fresh water round
the edge.
APPLES DRIED. Put them in a cool oven six or seven times; and when soft
enough to bear it, let them be gently flattened by degrees. If the oven
be too warm they will waste; and at first it should be very cool. The
biffin, the minshul crab, or any tart apples, are the best for drying.
APPLE DUMPLINGS. Pare and slice some apples, line a bason with a thin
paste, fill it with the fruit, and close the paste over. Tie a cloth
tight over, and boil the dumpling till the fruit is done. Currant and
damson puddings are prepared in the same way.
APPLE FOOL. Stew some apples in a stone jar on a stove, or in a saucepan
of water over the fire: if the former, a large spoonful of water should
be added to the fruit. When reduced to a pulp, peel and press them
through a cullendar; boil a sufficient quantity of new milk, and a
tea-cupful of raw cream, or an egg instead of the latter, and leave the
liquor to cool. Then mix it gradually with the pulp, and sweeten the
whole with fine moist sugar.
APPLE FRITTERS. Pare some apples, and cut them into thin slices; put a
spoonful of light batter into a frying-pan, then a layer of apples, and
another spoonful of batter. Fry them to a light brown, and serve with
grated sugar over them.
APPLE JELLY. Prepare twenty golden pippins, boil them quite tender in a
pint and a half of spring water, and strain the pulp through a
cullendar. To every pint add a pound of fine sugar, with grated orange
or lemon peel, and then boil the whole to a jelly. Or, having prepared
the apples by boiling and straining them through a coarse sieve, get
ready an ounce of isinglass boiled to a jelly in half a pint of water,
and mix it with the apple pulp. Add some sugar, a little lemon juice and
peel; boil all together, take out the peel, and put the jelly into a
dish, to serve at table.--When apple jelly is required for preserving
apricots, or any sort of sweetmeats, a different process is observed.
Apples are to be pared, quartered and cored, and put into a stewpan,
with as much water as will cover them. Boil them to a mash as quick as
possible, and add a quantity of water; then boil half an hour more, and
run it through a jelly bag. If in summer, codlins are best: in autumn,
golden rennets or winter pippins.--Red apples in jelly are a different
preparation. These must be pared and cored, and thrown into water; then
put them in a preserving pan, and let them coddle with as little water
as will only half cover them. Observe that they do not lie too close
when first put in; and when the under side is done, turn them. Mix some
pounded cochineal with the water, and boil with the fruit. When
sufficiently done, take them out on the dish they are to be served in,
the stalk downwards. Make a rich jelly of the water with loaf sugar,
boiling them with the thin rind and juice of a lemon. When cold, spread
the jelly over the apples; cut the lemon peel into narrow strips, and
put them across the eye of the apple. The colour should be kept fine
from the first, or the fruit will not afterwards gain it; and use as
little of the cochineal as will serve, lest the syrup taste bitter.
APPLE MARMALADE. Scald some apples till they come to a pulp; then take
an equal weight of sugar in large lumps, just dip them in water, and
boil the sugar till it can be well skimmed, and is reduced to a thick
syrup. Put it to the pulp, and simmer it on a quick fire a quarter of an
hour. Grate a little lemon peel before boiling, but if too much it will
be bitter.
APPLE PASTY. Make a hot crust of lard or dripping, roll it out warm,
cover it with apples pared and sliced, and a little lemon peel and moist
sugar. Wet the edges of the crust, close it up well, make a few holes in
the top, and bake it in a moderate oven. Gooseberries may be done in the
same way.
APPLE PIE. Pare and core the fruit, after being wiped clean; then boil
the cores and parings in a little water, till it tastes well. Strain the
liquor, add a little sugar, with a bit of bruised cinnamon, and simmer
again. Meantime place the apples in a dish, a paste being put round the
edge; when one layer is in, sprinkle half the sugar, and shred lemon
peel; squeeze in some of the juice, or a glass of cider, if the apples
have lost their spirit. Put in the rest of the apples, the sugar, and
the liquor which has been boiled. If the pie be eaten hot, put some
butter into it, quince marmalade, orange paste or cloves, to give it a
flavour.
APPLE POSTILLA. Bake codlins, or any other sour apples, but without
burning them; pulp them through a sieve into a bowl, and beat them for
four hours. Sweeten the fruit with honey, and beat it four hours more;
the longer it is beaten the better. Pour a thin layer of the mixture on
a cloth spread over a tray, and bake it in a slow oven, with bits of
wood placed under the tray. If not baked enough on one side, set it
again in the oven; and when quite done, turn it. Pour on it a fresh
layer of the mixture, and proceed with it in like manner, till the whole
is properly baked. Apple postilla is also made by peeling the apples and
taking out the cores after they are baked, sweetening with sugar, and
beating it up with a wooden spoon till it is all of a froth. Then put it
on two trays, and bake it for two hours in an oven moderately hot. After
this another layer of the beaten apples is added, and pounded loaf sugar
spread over. Sometimes a still finer sort is made, by beating yolks of
eggs to a froth, and then mixing it with the apple juice.
APPLE PUDDING. Butter a baking dish, put in the batter, and the apples
whole, without being cut or pared, and bake in a quick oven. If the
apples be pared, they will mix with the batter while in the oven, and
make the pudding soft. Serve it up with sugar and butter. For a superior
pudding, grate a pound of pared apples, work it up with six ounces of
butter, four eggs, grated lemon peel, a little sugar and brandy. Line
the dish with good paste, strew over it bits of candied peel, put in the
pudding, and bake it half an hour. A little lemon juice may be added, a
spoonful of bread crumbs, or two or three Naples biscuits. Another way
is, to pare and quarter four large apples, boil them tender, with the
rind of a lemon, in so little water that it may be exhausted in the
boiling. Beat the apples fine in a mortar, add the crumb of a small
roll, four ounces of melted butter, the yolks of five and the whites of
three eggs, the juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste. Beat all
together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out, after baking.
APPLE PUFFS. Pare the fruit, and either stew them in a stone jar on a
hot hearth, or bake them. When cold, mix the pulp of the apple with
sugar and lemon peel shred fine, taking as little as possible of the
apple juice. Bake them in thin paste, in a quick oven: if small, a
quarter of an hour will be sufficient. Orange or quince marmalade is a
great improvement; cinnamon pounded, or orange flower-water, will make
an agreeable change.
APPLE SAUCE. Pare, core, and slice some apples; put them in a stone jar,
into a saucepan of water, or on a hot hearth. If the latter, put in a
spoonful or two of water, to prevent burning. When done, mash them up,
put in a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and a little brown sugar.
Serve it in a sauce tureen, for goose and roast pork.
APPLE TRIFLE. Scald some apples, pass them through a sieve, and make a
layer of the pulp at the bottom of a dish; mix the rind of half a lemon
grated, and sweeten with sugar. Or mix half a pint of milk, half a pint
of cream, and the yolk of an egg. Scald it over the fire, and stir it
all the time without boiling; lay it over the apple pulp with a spoon,
and put on it a whip prepared the day before.
APPLE WATER. Cut two large apples in slices, and pour a quart of boiling
water on them, or on roasted apples. Strain it well, and sweeten it
lightly. When cold, it is an agreeable drink in a fever.
APPLE WINE. To every gallon of apple juice, immediately as it comes from
the press, add two pounds of lump sugar; boil it as long as any scum
rises, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool. Add some yeast,
and stir it well; let it work in the tub for two or three weeks, or till
the head begins to flatten; then skim off the head, draw off the liquor
clear, and tun it. When made a year, rack it off, and fine it with
isinglass. To every eight gallons add half a pint of the best rectified
spirits of wine, or a pint of brandy.
APRICOTS DRIED. Pare thin and halve four pounds of apricots, put them in
a dish, and strew among them three pounds of fine loaf-sugar powdered.
When the sugar melts, set the fruit over a stove to do very gently; as
each piece becomes tender, take it out, and put it into a china bowl.
When all are done, and the boiling heat a little abated, pour the syrup
over them. In a day or two remove the syrup, leaving only a little in
each half. In a day or two more turn them, and so continue daily till
quite dry, in the sun or in a warm place. Keep the apricots in boxes,
with layers of fine paper.
APRICOTS PRESERVED. There are various ways of doing this: one is by
steeping them in brandy. Wipe, weigh, and pick the fruit, and have ready
a quarter of the weight of loaf sugar in fine powder. Put the fruit into
an ice-pot that shuts very close, throw the sugar over it, and then
cover the fruit with brandy. Between the top and cover of the pot, fit
in a piece of thick writing paper. Set the pot into a saucepan of water,
and heat it without boiling, till the brandy be as hot as you can bear
your finger in it. Put the fruit into a jar, and pour the brandy on it.
When cold, put a bladder over, and tie it down tight.--Apricots may also
be preserved in jelly. Pare the fruit very thin, and stone it; weigh an
equal quantity of sugar in fine powder, and strew over it. Next day boil
very gently till they are clear, remove them into a bowl, and pour in
the liquor. The following day, mix it with a quart of codlin liquor,
made by boiling and straining, and a pound of fine sugar. Let it boil
quickly till it comes to a jelly; put the fruit into it, give it one
boil, skim it well, and distribute into small pots.--A beautiful
preserve may also be made in the following manner. Having selected the
finest ripe apricots, pare them as thin as possible, and weigh them. Lay
them in halves on dishes, with the hollow part upwards. Prepare an equal
weight of loaf sugar finely pounded, and strew it over them; in the mean
time break the stones, and blanch the kernels. When the fruit has lain
twelve hours, put it into a preserving pan, with the sugar and juice,
and also the kernels. Let it simmer very gently till it becomes clear;
then take out the pieces of apricot singly as they are done, put them
into small pots, and pour the syrup and kernels over them. The scum must
be taken off as it rises, and the pots covered with brandy paper.--Green
apricots are preserved in a different way. Lay vine or apricot leaves at
the bottom of the pan, then fruit and leaves alternately till full, the
upper layer being thick with leaves. Then fill the pan with spring
water, and cover it down, that no steam may escape. Set the pan at a
distance from the fire, that in four or five hours the fruit may be
soft, but not cracked. Make a thin syrup of some of the water, and drain
the fruit. When both are cold, put the fruit into the pan, and the syrup
to it; keep the pan at a proper distance from the fire till the
apricots green, but on no account boil or crack them. Remove the fruit
very carefully into a pan with the syrup for two or three days, then
pour off as much of it as will be necessary, boil with more sugar to
make a rich syrup, and add a little sliced ginger to it. When cold, and
the thin syrup has all been drained from the fruit, pour the thick over
it. The former will serve to sweeten pies.
APRICOT CHEESE. Weigh an equal quantity of pared fruit and sugar, wet
the latter a very little, and let it boil quickly, or the colour will be
spoiled. Blanch the kernels and add them to it: twenty or thirty minutes
will boil it. Put it in small pots or cups half filled.
APRICOT JAM. When the fruit is nearly ripe, pare and cut some in halves;
break the stones, blanch the kernels, and put them to the fruit. Boil
the parings in a little water, and strain it: to a pound of fruit add
three quarters of a pound of fine sifted sugar, and a glass of the water
in which the parings were boiled. Stir it over a brisk fire till it
becomes rather stiff: when cold, put apple jelly over the jam, and tie
it down with brandy paper.
APRICOT PUDDING. Halve twelve large apricots, and scald them till they
are soft. Meanwhile pour on the grated crumbs of a penny loaf a pint of
boiling cream; when half cold, add four ounces of sugar, the yolks of
four beaten eggs, and a glass of white wine. Pound the apricots in a
mortar, with some or all of the kernels; then mix the fruit and other
ingredients together, put a paste round a dish, and bake the pudding in
half an hour.
AROMATIC VINEGAR. Mix with common vinegar a quantity of powdered chalk
or whiting, sufficient to destroy the acidity; and when the white
sediment is formed, pour off the insipid liquor. The powder is then to
be dried, and some oil of vitriol poured upon it, as long as white acid
fumes continue to ascend. This substance forms the essential ingredient,
the fumes of which are particularly useful in purifying rooms and places
where any contagion is suspected.
ARROW ROOT. This valuable article has often been counterfeited: the
American is the best, and may generally be known by its colour and
solidity. If genuine, the arrow root is very nourishing, especially for
weak bowels. Put into a saucepan half a pint of water, a glass of
sherry, or a spoonful of brandy, grated nutmeg, and fine sugar. Boil it
up once, then mix it by degrees into a dessert-spoonful of arrow root,
previously rubbed smooth with two spoonfuls of cold water. Return the
whole into the saucepan, stir and boil it three minutes.
ARSENIC. The fatal effects of mineral poisons are too often experienced,
and for want of timely assistance but seldom counteracted. Arsenic and
other baleful ingredients, if used for the destruction of vermin, should
never be kept with common articles, or laid in the way of children. But
if, unfortunately, this deadly poison should by some mistake be taken
inwardly, the most effectual remedy will be a table-spoonful of powdered
charcoal, mixed with honey, butter, or treacle, and swallowed
immediately. Two hours afterwards, take an emetic or an opening draught,
to cleanse away the whole from the stomach and bowels. The baneful
effects of verdigris, from the use of copper boilers and saucepans, may
be counteracted by the same means, if resorted to in time, and no remedy
is so likely to become effectual.
ARTICHOKES. Soak them in cold water, wash them well, and boil them
gently in plenty of water. If young, they will be ready in half an hour;
if otherwise, they will not be done in twice that time. The surest way
to know when they are boiled enough is to draw out a leaf, and see
whether they be tender; but they cannot be properly boiled without much
water, which tends also to preserve their colour. Trim and drain them on
a sieve, serve with melted butter, pepper and salt, and small cups.
ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS, if dried, must be well soaked, and stewed in weak
gravy. Or they may be boiled in milk, and served with cream sauce, or
added to ragouts, French pies, &c. If intended to keep in the winter,
the bottoms must be slowly dried, and put into paper bags.
ASPARAGUS. Having carefully scraped the stalks till they appear white,
and thrown them into cold water, tie them up in small bundles with tape,
and cut the stalks of an equal length. Put them into a stewpan of
boiling water a little salted, and take them up as soon as they begin to
be tender, or they will lose both their taste and colour. Meanwhile make
toasts well browned for the bottom of the dish, moisten them in the
asparagus liquor, place them regularly, and pour on some melted butter.
Then lay the asparagus on the toasts round the dish, with the heads
united at the centre, but pour no butter over them. Serve with melted
butter in a sauce tureen, and separate cups, that the company may season
with salt and pepper to their taste.--As this vegetable is one of the
greatest delicacies which the garden affords, no person should be
unacquainted with the means of producing it in constant succession.
Toward the end of July, the stalks of the asparagus are to be cut down,
and the beds forked up and raked smooth. If the weather be dry, they
should be watered with the drain of a dunghill, and left rather hollow
in the middle to retain the moisture. In about a fortnight the stalks
will begin to appear, and the watering should be continued once a week
if the weather be dry. Asparagus may thus be cut till near the end of
September, and then by making five or six hot-beds during the winter, a
regular succession may be provided for almost every month in the year.
To obviate the objection of cutting the same beds twice a year, two or
three others may be left uncut in the spring, and additional beds made
for the purpose. The seed is cheap, and in most places the dung may be
easily procured. There is no need to continue the old beds when they
begin to fail; it is better to make new ones, and to force the old roots
by applying some rotten dung on the tops of the beds, and to sow seed
every year for new plants.
ASSES' MILK, so beneficial in consumptive cases, should be milked into a
glass that is kept warm, by being placed in a bason of hot water. The
fixed air that it contains sometimes occasions pain in the stomach; at
first therefore a tea-spoonful of rum may be taken with it, but should
only be put in the moment it is to be swallowed. The genuine milk far
surpasses any imitation of it that can be made; but a substitute may be
found in the following composition. Boil a quart of water with a quart
of new milk, an ounce of white sugar-candy, half an ounce of
eringo-root, and half an ounce of conserve of roses, till the quantity
be half wasted. As this is an astringent, the doses must be proportioned
accordingly, and the mixture is wholesome only while it remains
sweet.--Another way. Mix two spoonfuls of boiling water, two of milk,
and an egg well beaten. Sweeten with white sugar-candy pounded: this may
be taken twice or thrice a day. Or, boil two ounces of hartshorn-shavings,
two ounces of pearl barley, two ounces of candied eringo-root, and one
dozen of snails that have been bruised, in two quarts of water till
reduced to one. Mix with an equal quantity of new milk, when taken,
twice a day.
ASTHMA. As this complaint generally attacks aged people, the best mode
of relief will be to attend carefully to diet and exercise, which should
be light and easy, and to avoid as much as possible an exposure to cold
and frosty air. The temperature of the apartment should be equalised to
moderate summer's heat by flues and stoves, and frequently ventilated. A
dish of the best coffee, newly ground and made very strong, and taken
frequently without milk or sugar, has been found highly beneficial. An
excellent diet drink may be made of toast and water, with the addition
of a little vinegar, or a few grains of nitre. Tar water is strongly
recommended, and also the smoking of the dried leaves of stramonium,
commonly called the thorn-apple.
ASTRINGENT BOLUS, proper to be taken in female complaints, arising from
excessive evacuations. Fifteen grains of powdered alum, and five grains
of gum kino, made into a bolus with a little syrup, and given every four
or five hours till the discharge abates.
ASTRINGENT MIXTURE, in case of dysentery, may be made of three ounces of
cinnamon water, mixed with as much common water, an ounce and a half of
spirituous cinnamon-water, and half an ounce of japonic confection. A
spoonful or two of this mixture may be taken every four hours, after the
necessary evacuations have been allowed, and where the dysentery has not
been of long standing, interposing every second or third day a dose of
rhubarb.
B.
BACON, though intended to be a cheap article of housekeeping, is often,
through mismanagement, rendered one of the most expensive. Generally
twice as much is dressed as need be, and of course there is a deal of
waste. When sent to table as an accompaniment to boiled poultry or veal,
a pound and a half is plenty for a dozen people. Bacon will boil better,
and swell more freely, if the rind is taken off before it is dressed;
and when excessively salt, it should be soaked an hour or two in warm
water. If the bacon be dried, pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim
it neatly on the under side, and scrape the rind as clean as possible.
Or take it up when sufficiently boiled, scrape the under side, and cut
off the rind: grate a crust of bread over it, and place it a few minutes
before the fire to brown. Two pounds will require to be boiled gently
about an hour and a half, according to its thickness: the hock or gammon
being very thick, will take more. See DRIED BACON.
BAKING. This mode of preparing a dinner is undoubtedly one of the
cheapest and most convenient, especially for a small family; and the
oven is almost the only kitchen which the poor man possesses. Much
however depends on the care and ability of the baker: in the country
especially, where the baking of dinners is not always considered as a
regular article of business, it is rather a hazardous experiment to send
a valuable joint to the oven; and more is often wasted and spoiled by
the heedless conduct of the parish cook, than would have paid for the
boiling or roasting at home. But supposing the oven to be managed with
care and judgment, there are many joints which may be baked to great
advantage, and will be found but little inferior to roasting.
Particularly, legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal,
and other joints, if the meat be fat and good, will be eaten with great
satisfaction, when they come from the oven. A sucking pig is also well
adapted to the purpose, and is equal to a roasted one, if properly
managed. When sent to the baker, it should have its ears and tail
covered with buttered paper fastened on, and a bit of butter tied up in
a piece of linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to
blister. A goose should be prepared the same as for roasting, placing it
on a stand, and taking care to turn it when it is half done. A duck the
same. If a buttock of beef is to be baked, it should be well washed,
after it has been in salt about a week, and put into a brown earthen pan
with a pint of water. Cover the pan tight over with two or three
thicknesses of writing paper, and give it four or five hours in a
moderate oven. Brown paper should never be used with baked dishes; the
pitch and tar which it contains will give the meat a smoky bad taste.
Previously to baking a ham, soak it in water an hour, take it out and
wipe it, and make a crust sufficient to cover it all over; and if done
in a moderate oven, it will cut fuller of gravy, and be of a finer
flavour, than a boiled one. Small cod-fish, haddock, and mackarel will
bake well, with a dust of flour and some bits of butter put on them.
Large eels should be stuffed. Herrings and sprats are to be baked in a
brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and tied over with paper.
These and various other articles may be baked so as to give full
satisfaction, if the oven be under judicious management.
BAKED CARP. Clean a large carp, put in a Portuguese stuffing, and sow
it up. Brush it all over with the yolk of an egg, throw on plenty of
crumbs, and drop on oiled butter to baste with. Place the carp in a deep
earthen dish, with a pint of stock, a few sliced onions, some bay
leaves, a bunch of herbs, such as basil, thyme, parsley, and both sorts
of marjoram; half a pint of port wine, and six anchovies. Cover over the
pan, and bake it an hour. Let it be done before it is wanted. Pour the
liquor from it, and keep the fish hot while you heat up the liquor with
a good piece of butter rolled in flour, a tea-spoonful of mustard, a
little cayenne, and a spoonful of soy. Serve it on the dish, garnished
with lemon and parsley, and horse-radish, and put the gravy into the
sauce tureen.