does not keep for any length of time, without spoiling or becoming
rancid. The butter with which London is supplied, may be seen at every
cheesemonger's in the greatest variety of colour and quality; and it is
too often the case, that even the worst butter is compounded with better
sorts, in order to procure a sale. These practices ought to be
discountenanced, and no butter permitted to be sold but such as is of
the best quality when fresh, and well cured when salted, as there is
hardly any article more capable of exciting disgust than bad butter. To
remedy this evil, the following process is recommended, in preparing
butter for the firkin. Reduce separately to fine powder in a dry mortar,
two pounds of the whitest common salt, one pound of saltpetre, and one
pound of lump sugar. Sift these ingredients one upon another, on two
sheets of paper joined together, and then mix them well with the hands,
or with a spatula. Preserve the whole in a covered jar, placed in a dry
situation. When required to be used, one ounce of this composition is to
be proportioned to every pound of butter, and the whole is to be well
worked into the mass. The butter may then be put into pots or casks in
the usual way. The above method is practised in many parts of Scotland,
and is found to preserve the butter much better than by using common
salt alone. Any housekeeper can make the experiment, by proportioning
the ingredients to the quantity of butter; and the difference between
the two will readily be perceived. Butter cured with this mixture
appears of a rich marrowy consistency and fine colour, and never
acquires a brittle hardness, nor tastes salt, as the other is apt to do.
It should be allowed to stand three weeks or a month before it is used,
and will keep for two or three years, without sustaining the slightest
injury. Butter made in vessels or troughs lined with lead, or in glazed
earthenware pans, which glaze is principally composed of lead, is too
apt to be contaminated by particles of that deleterious metal. It is
better therefore to use tinned vessels for mixing the preservative with
the butter, and to pack it either in wooden casks, or in jars of the
Vauxhall ware, which being vitrified throughout, require no inside
glazing.
CURING HAMS. When hams are to be cured, they should hang a day or two;
then sprinkle them with a little salt, and drain them another day. Pound
an ounce and a half of saltpetre, the same quantity of bay salt, half an
ounce of sal-prunelle, and a pound of the coarsest sugar. Mix these
well, and rub them into each ham every day for four days, and turn it.
If a small one, turn it every day for three weeks: if a large one, a
week longer, but it should not be rubbed after four days. Before it is
dried, drain and cover it with bran, and smoke it ten days.--Or choose
the leg of a hog that is fat and well fed, and hang it up a day or two.
If large, put to it a pound of bay salt, four ounces of saltpetre, a
pound of the coarsest sugar, and a handful of common salt, all in fine
powder, and rub the mixture well into the ham. Lay the rind downwards,
and cover the fleshy part with the salts. Baste it frequently with the
pickle, and turn it every day for a month. Drain and throw bran over it,
then hang it in a chimney where wood is burnt, and turn it now and then
for ten days.--Another way is, to hang up the ham, and sprinkle it with
salt, and then to rub it daily with the following mixture. Half a pound
of common salt, the same of bay salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and two
ounces of black pepper, incorporated with a pound and a half of treacle.
Turn it twice a day in the pickle for three weeks; then lay it into a
pail of water for one night, wipe it quite dry, and smoke it two or
three weeks.--To give hams a high flavour, let them hang three days,
when the weather will permit. Mix an ounce of saltpetre with a quarter
of a pound of bay salt, the same quantity of common salt, and also of
coarse sugar, and a quart of strong beer. Boil them together, pour the
liquor immediately upon the ham, and turn it twice a day in the pickle
for three weeks. An ounce of black pepper, and the same quantity of
allspice, in fine powder, added to the above will give a still higher
flavour. Wipe and cover it with bran, smoke it three or four weeks; and
if there be a strong fire, it should be sewed up in a coarse
wrapper.--To give a ham a still higher flavour, sprinkle it with salt,
after it has hung two or three days, and let it drain. Make a pickle of
a quart of strong beer, half a pound of treacle, an ounce of coriander
seed, two ounces of juniper berries, an ounce of pepper, the same
quantity of allspice, an ounce of saltpetre, half an ounce of
sal-prunelle, a handful of common salt, and a head of shalot, all
pounded or cut fine. Boil these together for a few minutes, and pour
them over the ham. This quantity is sufficient for a ham of ten pounds.
Rub and turn it every day for a fortnight; then sew it up in a thin
linen bag, and smoke it three weeks. Drain it from the pickle, and rub
it in bran, before drying. In all cases it is best to lay on a
sufficient quantity of salt at first, than to add more afterwards, for
this will make the ham salt and hard. When it has lain in pickle a few
days, it would be advantageous to boil and skim the brine, and pour it
on again when cold. Bacon, pig's face, and other articles may be treated
in the same manner.
CURRANT CREAM. Strip and bruise some ripe currants, strain them through
a fine sieve, and sweeten the juice with refined sugar. Beat up equal
quantities of juice and cream, and as the froth rises put it into
glasses.
CURRANT FRITTERS. Thicken half a pint of ale with flour, and add some
currants. Beat it up quick, make the lard boil in the frying-pan, and
put in a large spoonful of the batter at a time, which is sufficient for
one fritter.
CURRANT GRUEL. Make a pint of water gruel, strain and boil it with a
table-spoonful of clean currants till they are quite plump. Add a little
nutmeg and sugar, and a glass of sweet wine. This gruel is proper for
children, or persons of a costive habit.
CURRANT JAM. Whether it be made of black, red, or white currants, let
the fruit be very ripe. Pick it clean from the stalks, and bruise it. To
every pound put three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, stir it well,
and boil it half an hour.
CURRANT JELLY. Strip the fruit, whether red or black, and put them into
a stone jar, to boil on a hot hearth, or over the fire in a saucepan of
water. Strain off the liquor, and to every pint add a pound of loaf
sugar in large lumps. Put the whole into a china or stone jar, till
nearly dissolved; then put it into a preserving pan, and skim it while
simmering on the fire. When it will turn to jelly on a plate, keep it in
small jars or glasses.
CURRANT PIE. Put a paste round the dish, fill it with fruit and good
moist sugar, add a little water, and cover it with paste. Place a
tea-cup in the dish, bottom upwards, to prevent the juice from boiling
over. Baked currants are better mixed with raspberries or damsons.
CURRANT SAUCE. To make the old sauce for venison, boil an ounce of dried
currants in half a pint of water a few minutes. Then add a small
tea-cupful of bread crumbs, six cloves, a glass of port wine, and a bit
of butter. Stir it till the whole is smooth.
CURRANT SHRUB. Strip some white currants, and prepare them in a jar as
for jelly. Strain the juice, of which put two quarts to one gallon of
rum, and two pounds of lump sugar. Strain the whole through a jelly bag.
CURRANT WINE. To every three pints of fruit, carefully picked and
bruised, add one quart of water. In twenty-four hours strain the liquor,
and put to every quart a pound of good Lisbon sugar. If for white
currants use lump sugar. It is best to put the whole into a large pan;
and when in three or four days the scum rises, take that off before the
liquor be put into the barrel. Those who make from their own gardens,
may not have fruit sufficient to fill the barrel at once; but the wine
will not be hurt by being made in the pan at different times, in the
above proportions, and added as the fruit ripens; but it must be
gathered in dry weather, and an account taken of what is put in each
time.--Another way. Put five quarts of currants, and a pint of
raspberries, to every two gallons of water. Let them soak all night,
then squeeze and break them well. Next day rub them well on a fine wire
sieve, till all the juice is obtained, and wash the skins again with
some of the liquor. To every gallon put four pounds of good Lisbon
sugar, tun it immediately, lay the bung lightly on, and leave it to
ferment itself. In two or three days put a bottle of brandy to every
four gallons, bung it close, but leave the vent peg out a few days. Keep
it three years in the cask, and it will be a fine agreeable wine; four
years would make it still better.--Black Currant Wine is made as
follows. To every three quarts of juice add the same quantity of water,
and to every three quarts of the liquor put three pounds of good moist
sugar. Tun it into a cask, reserving a little for filling up. Set the
cask in a warm dry room, and the liquor will ferment of itself. When the
fermentation is over, take off the scum, and fill up with the reserved
liquor, allowing three bottles of brandy to forty quarts of wine. Bung
it close for nine months, then bottle it; drain the thick part through a
jelly bag, till that also be clear and fit for bottling. The wine should
then be kept ten or twelve months.
CURRIES. Cut fowls or rabbits into joints; veal, lamb or sweetbreads
into small pieces. Put four ounces of butter into a stewpan; when
melted, put in the meat, and two sliced onions. Stew them to a nice
brown, add half a pint of broth, and let it simmer twenty minutes. Mix
smooth in a basin one table-spoonful of currie powder, one of flour, and
a tea-spoonful of salt, with a little cold water. Put the paste into the
stewpan, shake it well about till it boils, and let it simmer twenty
minutes longer. Just before it is dished up, squeeze in the juice of
half a lemon, and add a good table-spoonful of melted butter.
CURRIE BALLS. Take some bread crumbs, the yolk of an egg boiled hard,
and a bit of fresh butter about half the size; beat them together in a
mortar, season with a little currie powder, roll the paste into small
balls, and boil them two or three minutes. These will serve for mock
turtle, veal, poultry, and made dishes.
CURRIE OF COD. This should be made of sliced cod, that has either been
crimped, or sprinkled with salt for a day, to make it firm. Fry it of a
fine brown with onions, and stew it with a good white gravy, a little
currie powder, a bit of butter and flour, three or four spoonfuls of
rich cream, salt, and cayenne, if the powder be not hot enough.
CURRIE OF LOBSTERS. Take them from the shells, lay them into a pan with
a small piece of mace, three or four spoonfuls of veal gravy, and four
of cream. Rub smooth one or two tea-spoonfuls of currie powder, a
tea-spoonful of flour, and an ounce of butter. Simmer them together an
hour, squeeze in half a lemon, and add a little salt. Currie of prawns
is made in the same way.
CURRIE POWDER. Dry and reduce the following articles to a fine powder.
Three ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of turmeric, one ounce of
black pepper, and one of ginger; half an ounce of lesser cardamoms, and
a quarter of an ounce each of cinnamon, cummin seed, and cayenne.
Thoroughly pound and mix them together, and keep it in a well-stopped
bottle.
CURRIE SAUCE. Stir a small quantity of currie powder in some gravy,
melted butter, or onion sauce. This must be done by degrees, according
to the taste, taking care not to put in too much of the currie powder.
CURRIE SOUP. Cut four pounds of a breast of veal into small pieces, put
the trimmings into a stewpan with two quarts of water, twelve
peppercorns, and the same of allspice. When it boils, skim it clean; and
after boiling an hour and a half, strain it off. While it is boiling,
fry the bits of veal in butter, with four onions. When they are done,
add the broth to them, and put it on the fire. Let it simmer half an
hour, then mix two spoonfuls of currie powder, and the same of flour,
with a little cold water and a tea-spoonful of salt, and add these to
the soup. Simmer it gently till the veal is quite tender, and it is
ready. Or bone a couple of fowls or rabbits, and stew them in the same
manner. Instead of black pepper and allspice, a bruised shalot may be
added, with some mace and ginger.
CUSTARDS. To make a cheap and excellent custard, boil three pints of new
milk with a bit of lemon peel, a bit of cinnamon, two or three bay
leaves, and sweeten it. Meanwhile rub down smooth a large spoonful of
rice flour in a cup of cold milk, and mix with it the yolks of two eggs
well beaten. Take a basin of the boiling milk and mix with the cold,
then pour it to the boiling, stirring it one way till it begin to
thicken, and is just going to boil up; then pour it into a pan, stir it
some time, add a large spoonful of peach water, two spoonfuls of brandy,
or a little ratafia. Marbles boiled in custard, or any thing likely to
burn, will prevent it from catching if shaked about in the saucepan.--To
make a richer custard, boil a pint of milk with lemon peel and cinnamon.
Mix a pint of cream, and the yolks of five eggs well beaten. When the
milk tastes of the seasoning, sweeten it enough for the whole; pour into
the cream, stirring it well; then give the custard a simmer, till it
come to a proper thickness. Stir it wholly one way, season it as above,
but do not let it boil. If the custard is to be very rich, add a quart
of cream to the eggs instead of milk.
CUSTARD PASTE. Six ounces of butter, three spoonfuls of cream, the yolks
of two eggs, and half a pound of flour, are to be mixed well together.
Let it stand a quarter of an hour, work it well, and roll it out thin.
CUSTARD PUDDING. Mix by degrees a pint of good milk with a large
spoonful of flour, the yolks of five eggs, some orange-flower water, and
a little pounded cinnamon. Butter a bason that will just hold it, pour
in the batter, and tie a floured cloth over. Put it in when the water
boils, turn it about a few minutes to prevent the egg settling on one
side, and half an hour will boil it. Put currant jelly over the pudding,
and serve it with sweet sauce.
CUTLETS MAINTENON. Cut slices of veal three quarters of an inch thick,
beat them with a rolling-pin, and wet them on both sides with egg. Dip
them into a seasoning of bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, knotted marjoram,
pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Then put them into white
papers folded over, and broil them. Have ready some melted butter in a
boat, with a little mushroom ketchup.--Another way is to fry the
cutlets, after they have been prepared as above. Dredge a little flour
into the pan, and add a piece of butter; brown it, pour in a little
boiling water, and boil it quick. Season with pepper, salt, and ketchup,
and pour over them.--Or, prepare as before, and dress the cutlets in a
Dutch oven. Pour over them melted butter and mushrooms. Neck steaks
especially are good broiled, after being seasoned with pepper and salt;
and in this way they do not require any herbs.
CUTTING GLASS. If glass be held in one hand under water, and a pair of
scissors in the other, it may be cut like brown paper; or if a red hot
tobacco pipe be brought in contact with the edge of the glass, and
afterwards traced on any part of it, the crack will follow the edge of
the pipe.
CUTTING OF TEETH. Great care is required in feeding young children
during the time of teething. They often cry as if disgusted with food,
when it is chiefly owing to the pain occasioned by the edge of a silver
or metal spoon pressing on their tender gums. The spoon ought to be of
ivory, bone, or wood, with the edges round and smooth, and care should
be taken to keep it sweet and clean. At this period a moderate
looseness, and a copious flow of saliva, are favourable symptoms. With a
view to promote the latter, the child should be suffered to gnaw such
substances as tend to mollify the gums, and by their pressure to
facilitate the appearance of the teeth. A piece of liquorice or
marshmallow root will be serviceable, or the gums may be softened and
relaxed by rubbing them with honey or sweet oil.
D.
DAIRY. In a publication intended for general usefulness, the management
of the dairy, the source of so many comforts, demands some attention, in
addition to the information conveyed under various other articles,
connected with this interesting part of female economy. A dairy house
then ought to be so situated that the windows or lattices may front the
north, and it should at all times be kept perfectly cool and clean.
Lattices are preferable to glazed lights, as they admit a free
circulation of air; and if too much wind draws in, oiled paper may be
pasted over the lattice, or a frame constructed so as to slide backwards
and forwards at pleasure. Dairies cannot be kept too cool in the summer:
they ought therefore to be erected, if possible, near a spring of
running water. If a pump can be fixed in the place, or a stream of water
conveyed through it, it will tend to preserve a continual freshness and
purity of the air. The floor should be neatly paved with red brick, or
smooth stone, and laid with a proper descent, so that no water may
stagnate: it should be well washed every day, and all the utensils kept
with the strictest regard to cleanliness. Neither the cheese, rennet, or
cheesepress, must be suffered to contract any taint; nor should the
churns be scalded in the dairy, as the steam arising from the hot water
tends greatly to injure the milk. The utensils of the dairy should all
be made of wood: lead, copper, and brass are poisonous, and cast iron
gives a disagreeable taste to the productions of the dairy. Milk leads
in particular should be utterly abolished, and well-glazed earthen pans
used in their stead. Sour milk has a corroding tendency, and the well
known effects of the poison of lead are, bodily debility, palsy, and
death. The best of all milk vessels are flat wooden trays about three
inches deep, and wide enough to contain a full gallon of milk. These may
be kept perfectly clean with good care, and washing and scalding them
well with salt and water. As soon as the operation of churning is
performed, the butter should be washed immediately in several waters,
till thoroughly cleansed from the milk, which should be forced out with
a flat wooden ladle, or skimming dish, provided with a short handle.
This should be quickly performed, with as little working of the butter
as possible; for if it be too much beaten and turned, it will become
tough and gluey, which greatly debases its quality. To beat it up with
the hand is an indelicate practice, as the butter cannot fail to imbibe
the animal effluvia: a warm hand especially will soften it, and make it
appear greasy. If the heat of the weather should render it too soft to
receive the impression of the mould, it may be put into small vessels,
and allowed to swim in a trough of cold water, provided the butter do
not come in contact with the water, which would diminish some of its
best qualities. A little common salt must be worked up in the butter at
the time of making it, and care must be taken not to handle it too much.
Meat hung in a dairy will taint the air, and spoil the milk.--See
BUTTER, CHEESE, CHURNING, &c.
DAMP BEDS. Of all other means of taking cold, damp beds are the most
dangerous, and persons who keep them in their houses are guilty of a
species of murder, though it unfortunately happens that no housewife is
willing to acknowledge that _her_ beds were ever damp. There is however
no other effectual way of preventing the dreadful effects so often
experienced in this way, than by keeping the beds in constant use, or
causing them frequently to be slept in till they are wanted by a
stranger. In inns, where the beds are used almost every night, nothing
more is necessary than to keep the rooms well aired, and the linen quite
dry. If a bed be suspected of dampness, introduce a glass goblet between
the sheets with its bottom upwards, immediately after the warming pan
is taken out. After a few minutes, if any moisture adheres to the inside
of the glass, it is a certain sign that the bed is damp: but if only a
slight steam appears, all is safe. If a goblet be not at hand, a looking
glass will answer the purpose. The safest way in all such cases is to
take off the sheets, and sleep between the blankets.
DAMP HOUSES. Nothing is more common than for persons to hazard their
lives by inhabiting a dwelling almost as soon as the plasterer or the
painter has performed his work, and yet this ought to be guarded against
with the utmost care. The custom of sitting in a room lately washed, and
before it is thoroughly dried, is also highly injurious to health. Colds
occasioned by these means often bring on asthmas and incurable
consumptions.
DAMP WALLS. When a house has undergone repairs, the walls are apt to
become damp, as well as when it has been new built. To prevent the ill
effects, powder some glass fine, mix it with slacked lime, dry the
mixture well in an iron pot, and pass it through a flour sieve. Then
boil some tar with a little grease for a quarter of an hour, and make a
cement of the whole together. Care must be taken to prevent any moisture
from mixing with the cement, which must be used as soon as made. Lay it
on the damp part of the wall like common plaster about a foot square at
a time, or it will quickly become too hard for use: if the wall be very
wet, a second coating will be required. Common hair mortar may then be
laid on, with the addition of a little Paris plaster, which will prevent
the walls in future from becoming damp.
DAMSON CHEESE. Pick the damsons clean, bake them slowly, till they may
be rubbed through a cullender, leaving nothing but the skins and stones.
Boil the pulp and juice three hours over a slow fire, with some moist
sugar, and keep it stirring to prevent burning. Blanch the kernels, and
mix them with the jam a few minutes before it be taken off the fire. Put
it into cups, tie it down with writing paper dipped in brandy, and the
cheese will keep several years, if kept in a dry place.
DAMSON PUDDING. Line a bason with tolerably thin paste, fill with the
fruit, and cover the paste over it. Tie a cloth tight over, and boil
till the fruit is done enough.
DAMSON WINE. Take a considerable quantity of damsons and common plums
inclining to ripeness; slit them in halves, so that the stones may be
taken out, then mash them gently, and add a little water and honey. Add
to every gallon of the pulp a gallon of spring water, with a few bay
leaves and cloves: boil the mixture, and add as much sugar as will
sweeten it, skim off the froth, and let it cool. Now press the fruit,
squeezing out the liquid part; strain all through a fine cloth, and put
the water and juice together in a cask. Having allowed the whole to
stand and ferment for three or four days, fine it with white sugar,
flour, and whites of eggs. Draw it off into bottles, then cork it well:
in twelve days it will be ripe, and will taste like weak port, having a
flavour of canary.
DAMSONS PRESERVED. To keep damsons for winter pies, put them in small
stone jars, or wide-mouthed bottles; set them up to their necks in a
boiler of cold water, and scald them. Next day, when perfectly cold,
fill up the bottles with spring water, and close them down.--Another way
is to boil one third as much sugar as fruit over a slow fire, till the
juice adheres to the fruit, and forms a jam. Keep it in small jars in a
dry place. If too sweet, mix with it some of the fruit done without
sugar.--Or choose some pots of equal size top and bottom, sufficient to
hold eight or nine pounds each. Put in the fruit about a quarter up,
strew in a quarter of the sugar, then another quantity of fruit, and so
on till all of both are in. The proportion of sugar is to be three
pounds to nine pounds of fruit. Set the jars in the oven, and bake the
fruit quite through. When cold, put a piece of clean-scraped stick into
the middle of the jar, and let the upper part stand above the top. Cover
the fruit with writing paper, and pour melted mutton-suet over, full
half an inch thick. Keep the jars in a cool dry place, and use the suet
as a cover, which may be drawn up by the stick, if a forked branch be
left to prevent its slipping out.