it is only necessary to lay them on the surface of some skim milk, free
from cream and grease; and then taking off the drawing expeditiously,
and hanging it up by one corner to dry. A thin wash of isinglass will
also answer the same purpose.
PEPPER POT. To three quarts of water, put any approved vegetables; in
summer, peas, lettuce, spinach, and two or three onions; in winter,
carrot, turnip, onions, and celery. Cut them very small, and stew them
with two pounds of neck of mutton, and a pound of pickled pork. Half an
hour before serving, clear a lobster or crab from the shell, and put it
into the stew, adding a little salt and cayenne. Some people choose very
small suet dumplings, boiled in the above, or fowl may be used instead
of mutton. A pepper pot may indeed be made of various things, and is
understood to consist of a proper mixture of fish, flesh, fowl,
vegetables, and pulse. A small quantity of rice should be boiled with
the whole.
PEPPERMINT DROPS. Pound and sift four ounces of double-refined sugar,
and beat it with the whites of two eggs till perfectly smooth. Then add
sixty drops of oil of peppermint; beat it well, drop it on white paper,
and dry it at a distance from the fire.
PERCH. When of a good size, as in Holland, they are a remarkably fine
fresh-water fish, though not so delicate as carp or tench. Clean them
carefully, and if to be boiled, put them into a fish-kettle, with as
much cold spring water as will cover them, and add a handful of salt.
Set them on a quick fire till they boil, and then place them on one side
to boil gently for about ten minutes, according to their size. If to be
fried, wipe them on a dry cloth, after they have been well cleaned and
washed, and flour them lightly all over. Fry them about ten minutes in
hot lard or dripping, lay them on a hair sieve to drain, and send them
up on a hot dish. Garnish with sprigs of green parsley, and serve them
with anchovy sauce.
PERFUMERY. Oil of lavender and other essences are frequently adulterated
with a mixture of the oil of turpentine, which may be discovered by
dipping a piece of paper or rag into the oil to be tried, and holding it
to the fire. The fine scented oil will quickly evaporate, and leave the
smell of the turpentine distinguishable, if the essence has been
adulterated with this ingredient.
PERMANENT INK. This useful article for marking linen is composed of
nitrate of silver, or lunar caustic, and the tincture or infusion of
galls; in the proportion of one dram of the former in a dry state, to
two drams of the latter. The linen, cotton, or other fabric, must be
first wetted with the following liquid; namely, an ounce of the salt of
tartar, dissolved in an ounce and a half of water; and must be perfectly
dry before any attempt is made to write upon it.
PETTITOES. Boil them very gently in a small quantity of water, along
with the liver and the heart. Then cut the meat fine, split the feet,
and simmer them till they are quite tender. Thicken with a bit of
butter, a little flour, a spoonful of cream, and a little pepper and
salt. Give it a boil up, pour the liquor over a sippets of bread, and
place the feet on the mince.
PEWTER AND TIN. Dish covers and pewter requisites should be wiped dry
immediately after being used, and kept free from steam or damp, which
would prevent much of the trouble in cleaning them. Where the polish is
gone off, let the articles be first rubbed on the outside with a little
sweet oil laid on a piece of soft linen cloth. Then clear it off with
pure whitening on linen cloths, which will restore the polish.
PHEASANTS. The cock bird is reckoned the best, except when the hen is
with egg. If young, its spurs are short and blunt; but if old, they are
long and sharp. A large pheasant will require three quarters of an hour
to boil; if small, half an hour. If for roasting, it should be done the
same as a turkey. Serve it up with a fine gravy, including a very small
piece of garlic, and bread sauce or fried bread crumbs instead. When
cold the meat may be made into excellent patties, but its flavour should
not be overpowered with lemon. For the manner of trussing a pheasant or
partridge, see Plate.
PHOSPHORIC MATCH BOTTLE. Two thirds of calcined oyster shells, and one
third of sulphur, put into a hot crucible for an hour, and afterwards
exposed to the air for half an hour, become phosphorus. This is put into
a bottle, and when used to procure a light, a very small quantity is
taken out on the point of a common match, and rubbed upon a cork, which
produces an immediate flame. If a small piece of phosphorus be put into
a vial, and a little boiling oil poured upon it, a luminous bottle will
be formed; for on taking out the cork, to admit the atmospheric air, the
empty space in the vial will become luminous; and if the bottle be well
closed, it will preserve its illuminative power for several months.
PICKLE. For hams, tongues, or beef, a pickle may be made that will keep
for years, if boiled and skimmed as often as it is used. Provide a deep
earthen glazed pan that will hold four gallons, having a cover that will
fit close. Put into it two gallons of spring water, two pounds of coarse
sugar, two pounds of bay salt, two pounds and a half of common salt, and
half a pound of salt petre. Keep the beef or hams as long as they will
bear, before they are put into the pickle; sprinkle them with coarse
sugar in a pan, and let them drain. Then rub them well with the pickle,
and pack them in close, putting as much as the pan will hold, so that
the pickle may cover them. The pickle is not to be boiled at first. A
small ham may be fourteen days, a large one three weeks, a tongue twelve
days, and beef in proportion to its size. They will eat well out of the
pickle without drying. When they are to be dried, let each be drained
over the pan; and when it will drop no longer, take a clean sponge and
dry it thoroughly. Six or eight hours will smoke them, and there should
be only a little saw-dust and wet straw used for this purpose; but if
put into a baker's chimney, they should be sown up in a coarse cloth,
and hang a week.
PICKLES. The free or frequent use of pickles is by no means to be
recommended, where any regard is paid to health. In general they are the
mere vehicles for taking a certain portion of vinegar and spice, and in
the crisp state in which they are most admired are often indigestible,
and of course pernicious. The pickle made to preserve cucumbers and
mangoes, is generally so strongly impregnated with garlic, mustard, and
spice, that the original flavour of the vegetable, is quite overpowered,
and the vegetable itself becomes the mere absorbent of these foreign
ingredients. But if pickles must still be regarded for the sake of the
palate, whatever becomes of the stomach, it will be necessary to watch
carefully the proper season for gathering and preparing the various
articles intended to be preserved. Frequently it happens, after the
first week that walnuts come in season, that they become hard and
shelled, especially if the weather be hot and dry; it is therefore
necessary to purchase them as soon as they first appear at market; or in
the course of a few months after being pickled, the nuts may be found
incased in an impenetrable shell. The middle of July is generally the
proper time to look for green walnuts. Nasturtiums are to be had about
the same. Garlic and shalots, from Midsummer to Michaelmas. Onions of
various kinds for pickling, are in season by the middle of July, and for
a month after. Gherkins, cucumbers, melons, and mangoes, are to be had
by the middle of July, and for a month after. Green, red, and yellow
capsicums, the end of July, and following month. Chilies, tomatas,
cauliflowers, and artichokes, towards the end of July, and throughout
August. Jerusalem artichokes for pickling, July and August, and for
three months after. French beans and radish pods, in July. Mushrooms,
for pickling and for ketchup, in September. Red cabbage, and samphire,
in August. White cabbage, in September and October. Horseradish,
November and December.--Pickles, when put down, require to be kept with
great care, closely covered. When wanted for use they should be taken
out of the jar with a wooden spoon, pierced with holes, the use of metal
in this case being highly improper. Pickles should be well kept from the
air, and seldom opened. Small jars should be kept for those more
frequently in use, that what is not eaten may be returned into the jar,
and the top kept closely covered. In preparing vinegar for pickles, it
should not be boiled in metal saucepans, but in a stone jar, on a hot
hearth, as the acid will dissolve or corrode the metal, and infuse into
the pickle an unwholesome ingredient. For the same reason pickles should
never be put into glazed jars, as salt and vinegar will penetrate the
glaze, and render it poisonous.
PICKLED ASPARAGUS. Cut some asparagus, and lay it in an earthen pot.
Make a brine of salt and water, strong enough to bear an egg; pour it
hot on the asparagus, and let it be closely covered. When it is to be
used, lay it for two hours in cold water; boil and serve it up on a
toast, with melted butter over it. If to be used as a pickle, boil it as
it comes out of the brine, and lay it in vinegar.
PICKLED BACON. For two tolerable flitches, dry a stone of salt over the
fire, till it is scalding hot. Beat fine two ounces of saltpetre, and
two pounds of bay salt well dried, and mix them with some of the heated
salt. Rub the bacon first with that, and then with the rest; put it into
a tub, and keep it close from the air.
PICKLED BEET ROOT. Boil the roots till three parts done, or set them
into a cool oven till they are softened. Cut them into slices of an inch
thick, cover them with vinegar, adding some allspice, a few cloves, a
little mace, black pepper, horseradish sliced, some onions, shalots, a
little pounded ginger, and some salt. Boil these ingredients together
twenty minutes, and when cold, add to them a little bruised cochineal.
Put the slices of beet into jars, pour the pickle upon them, and tie the
jars down close.
PICKLED CABBAGE. Slice a hard red cabbage into a cullender, and sprinkle
each layer with salt. Let it drain two days, then put it into a jar,
cover it with boiling vinegar, and add a few slices of red beet-root.
The purple red cabbage makes the finest colour. Those who like the
flavour of spice, will boil some with the vinegar. Cauliflower cut in
branches, and thrown in after being salted, will look of a beautiful
red.
PICKLED CARROTS. Half boil some middle sized yellowish carrots, cut them
into any shape, and let them cool. Take as much vinegar as will cover
them, boil it with a little salt, and a pennyworth of saffron tied in a
piece of muslin. Put the carrots into a jar; when the pickle is cold,
pour it upon them, and cover the jar close. Let it stand all night, then
pour off the pickle, and boil it with Jamaica pepper, mace, cloves, and
a little salt. When cold, pour it upon the carrots, and tie them up for
use.
PICKLED CUCUMBERS. Cut them into thick slices, and sprinkle salt over
them. Next day drain them for five or six hours, then put them into a
stone jar, pour boiling vinegar over them, and keep them in a warm
place. Repeat the boiling vinegar, and stop them up again instantly, and
so on till quite green. Then add peppercorns and ginger, and keep them
in small stone jars. Cucumbers are best pickled with sliced onions.
PICKLED GHERKINS. Select some sound young cucumbers, spread them on
dishes, salt and let them lie a week. Drain and put them in a jar,
pouring boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the fire, covered with
plenty of vine leaves. If they do not come to a tolerably good green,
pour the vinegar into another jar, set it on a hot hearth, and when the
vinegar boils, pour it over them again, and cover them with fresh
leaves. Repeat this operation as often as is necessary, to bring the
pickle to a good colour. Too many persons have made pickles of a very
fine green, by using brass or bellmetal kettles; but as this is highly
poisonous, the practice ought never to be attempted.
PICKLED HAM. After it has been a week in the pickle, boil a pint of
vinegar, with two ounces of bay salt. Pour it hot on the ham, and baste
it every day; it may then remain in the brine two or three weeks.
PICKLED HERRING. Procure them as fresh as possible, split them open,
take off the heads, and trim off all the thin parts. Put them into salt
and water for one hour, drain and wipe the fish, and put them into jars,
with the following preparation, which is enough for six dozen herrings.
Take salt and bay salt one pound each, saltpetre and lump sugar two
ounces each, and powder and mix the whole together. Put a layer of the
mixture at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of fish with the skin
side downwards; so continue alternately till the jar is full. Press it
down, and cover it close: in two or three months they will be fit for
use.
PICKLED LEMONS. They should be small, and with thick rinds. Rub them
with a piece of flannel, and slit them half down in four quarters, but
not through to the pulp. Fill the openings with salt hard pressed in,
set them upright in a pan for four or five days, until the salt melts,
and turn them thrice a day in their own liquor till quite tender. Make
enough pickle to cover them, of rape vinegar, the brine of the lemons,
peppercorns, and ginger. Boil and skim it; when cold put it to the
lemons, with two ounces of mustard seed, and two cloves of garlic to six
lemons. When the lemons are to be used, the pickle will be useful in
fish or other sauces.
PICKLED MACKAREL. Clean and divide the fish, and cut each side into
three; or leave them undivided, and cut each side into five or six
pieces. To six large mackarel, take nearly an ounce of pepper, two
nutmegs, a little mace, four cloves, and a handful of salt, all finely
powdered. Mix them together, make holes in each bit of fish, put the
seasoning into them, and rub some of it over each piece. Fry them brown
in oil, and when cold put them into a stone jar, and cover them with
vinegar. Thus prepared, they will keep for months; and if to be kept
longer, pour oil on the top. Mackarel preserved this way are called
Caveach. A more common way is to boil the mackarel after they are
cleaned, and then to boil up some of the liquor with a few peppercorns,
bay leaves, and a little vinegar; and when the fish is cold, the liquor
is poured over them. Collared mackarel are prepared the same way as
collared eel.
PICKLED MELONS. Take six melons, cut a slice out of them, and scrape out
the seeds and pulp quite clean. Put them into a tin stewpan with as much
water as will cover them; add a small handful of salt, and boil them
over a quick fire. When they boil take them off the fire, put them into
an earthen pan with the water, and let them stand till the next day. The
melons must then be taken out and wiped dry, both within and without.
Put two small cloves of garlic into each, a little bit of ginger, and
bruised mustard seed, enough to fill them. Replace the slice that was
cut out, and tie it on with a thread. Boil some cloves, mace, ginger,
pepper, and mustard seed, all bruised, and some garlic, in as much
vinegar as will cover them. After a little boiling, pour the whole,
boiling-hot, upon the melons. They must be quite covered with the
pickle, and tied down close, when cold, with a bladder and leather. They
will not be fit for use in less than three or four months, and will keep
two or three years.
PICKLED MUSHROOMS. Rub the buttons with a piece of flannel, and salt.
Take out the red inside of the larger ones, and when old and black they
will do for pickling. Throw some salt over, and put them into a stewpan
with mace and pepper. As the liquor comes out, shake them well, and keep
them over a gentle fire till all of it be dried into them again. Then
put as much vinegar into the pan as will cover them, give it one warm,
and turn all into a glass or stone jar. Mushrooms pickled in this way
will preserve their flavour, and keep for two years.
PICKLED NASTURTIUM. Take the buds fresh off the plants when they are
pretty large, but before they grow hard, and put them into some of the
best white wine vinegar, boiled up with such spices as are most
agreeable. Keep them in a bottle closely stopped, and they will be fit
for use in a week or ten days.
PICKLED ONIONS. In the month of September, choose the small white round
onions, take off the brown skin, have ready a very nice tin stewpan of
boiling water, and throw in as many onions as will cover the top. As
soon as they look clear on the outside, take them up with a slice as
quick as possible, and lay them on a clean cloth. Cover them close with
another cloth, and scald some more, and so on. Let them lie to be cold,
then put them in a jar or wide-mouthed glass bottles, and pour over them
the best white-wine vinegar, just hot, but not boiling, and cover them
when cold. They must look quite clear; and if the outer skin be
shriveled, peel it off.
PICKLED OYSTERS. Open four dozen large oysters, wash them in their own
liquor, wipe them dry, and strain off the liquor. Add a dessert-spoonful
of pepper, two blades of mace, a table-spoonful of salt, if the liquor
require it; then add three spoonfuls of white wine, and four of vinegar.
Simmer the oysters a few minutes in the liquor, then put them into
small jars, boil up the pickle, and skim it. When cold, pour the liquor
over the oysters, and cover them close.--Another way. Open the oysters,
put them into a saucepan with their own liquor for ten minutes, and
simmer them very gently. Put them into a jar one by one, that none of
the grit may stick to them; and when cold, cover them with the pickle
thus made. Boil the liquor with a bit of mace, lemon peel, and black
peppers; and to every hundred of these corns, put two spoonfuls of the
best undistilled vinegar. The pickle should be kept in small jars, and
tied close with bladder, for the air will spoil them.
PICKLED PIGEONS. Bone them, turn the inside out, and lard it. Season
with a little salt and allspice in fine powder; then turn them again,
and tie the neck and rump with thread. Put them into boiling water; when
they have boiled a minute or two to make them plump, take them out and
dry them well. Then put them boiling hot into the pickle, which must be
made of equal quantities of white wine and white-wine vinegar, with
white pepper and allspice, sliced ginger and nutmeg, and two or three
bay leaves. When it boils up, put in the pigeons. If they are small, a
quarter of an hour will do them; if large, twenty minutes. Then take
them out, wipe them, and let them cool. When the pickle is cold, take
the fat from it, and put them in again. Keep them in a stone jar, tied
down with a bladder to keep out the air. Instead of larding, put into
some a stuffing made of yolks of eggs boiled hard, and marrow in equal
quantities, with sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and mace.
PICKLED PORK. The hams and shoulders being cut off, take for pickling
the quantities proportioned to the middlings of a pretty large hog. Mix
and pound fine, four ounces of salt petre, a pound of coarse sugar, an
ounce of salprunel, and a little common salt. Sprinkle the pork with
salt, drain it twenty four hours, and then rub it with the above
mixture. Pack the pieces tight in a small deep tub, filling up the
spaces with common salt. Place large pebbles on the pork, to prevent it
from swimming in the pickle which the salt will produce. If kept from
the air it will continue very fine for two years.
PICKLED ROSES. Take two pecks of damask rose buds, pick off the green
part, and strew in the bottom of a jar a handful of large bay salt. Put
in half the roses, and strew a little more bay salt upon them. Strip
from the stalk a handful of knotted marjoram, a handful of lemon thyme,
and as much common thyme. Take six pennyworth of benjamin, as much of
storax, six orris roots, and a little suet; beat and bruise them all
together, and mix them with the stripped herbs. Add twenty cloves, a
grated nutmeg, the peel of two Seville oranges pared thin, and of one
lemon shred fine. Mix them with the herbs and spices, strew all on the
roses, and stir them once in two days till the jar is full. More sweets
need not be added, but only roses, orange flowers, or single pinks.
PICKLED SALMON. After scaling and cleaning, split the salmon, and divide
it into convenient pieces. Lay it in the kettle to fill the bottom, and
as much water as will cover it. To three quarts add a pint of vinegar, a
handful of salt, twelve bay-leaves, six blades of mace, and a quarter of
an ounce of black pepper. When the salmon is boiled enough, drain and
lay it on a clean cloth; then put more salmon into the kettle, and pour
the liquor upon it, and so on till all is done. After this, if the
pickle be not smartly flavoured with the vinegar and salt, add more, and
boil it quick three quarters of an hour. When all is cold, pack the
dish in a deep pot, well covered with the pickle, and kept from the air.
The liquor must be drained from the fish, and occasionally boiled and
skimmed.
PICKLED SAMPHIRE. Clear the branches of the samphire from the dead
leaves, and lay them into a large jar, or small cask. Make a strong
brine of white or bay salt, skim it clean while it is boiling, and when
done let it cool. Take the samphire out of the water, and put it into a
bottle with a broad mouth. Add some strong white-wine vinegar, and keep
it well covered down.
PICKLED STURGEON. The following is an excellent imitation of pickled
sturgeon. Take a fine large turkey, but not old; pick it very nicely,
singe, and make it extremely clean. Bone and wash it, and tie it across
and across with a piece of mat string washed clean. Put into a very nice
tin saucepan a quart of water, a quart of vinegar, a quart of white
wine, not sweet, and a large handful of salt. Boil and skim it well, and
then boil the turkey. When done enough, tighten the strings, and lay
upon it a dish with a weight of two pounds over it. Boil the liquor half
an hour; and when both are cold, put the turkey into it. This will keep
some months, and eats more delicately than sturgeon. Vinegar, oil, and
sugar, are usually eaten with it. If more vinegar or salt should be
wanted, add them when cold. Garnish with fennel.
PICKLED TONGUES. To prepare neats' tongues for boiling, cut off the
roots, but leave a little of the kernel and fat. Sprinkle some salt, and
let it drain from the slime till next day. Then for each tongue mix a
large spoonful of common salt, the same of coarse sugar and about half
as much of salt petre; rub it in well, and do so every day. In a week
add another spoonful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be
ready in a fortnight; but if only turned in the pickle daily, it will
keep four or five weeks without being too salt. When tongues are to be
dried, write the date on a parchment, and tie it on. Tongues may either
be smoked, or dried plain. When a tongue is to be dressed, boil it five
hours till it is quite tender. If done sooner, it is easily kept hot for
the table. The longer it is kept after drying, the higher it will be;
and if hard, it may require soaking three or four hours.--Another way.
Clean and prepare as above; and for two tongues allow an ounce of salt
petre, and an ounce of salprunella, and rub them in well. In two days
after well rubbing, cover them with common salt, turn them every day for
three weeks, then dry them, rub bran over, and smoke them. Keep them in
a cool dry place, and in ten days they will be fit to eat.