flour the weight of six eggs. Beat the yolks with the flour, and the
whites alone, to a very stiff froth. Mix by degrees the whites and the
flour with the other ingredients, beat them well half an hour, and bake
the cake an hour in a quick oven.--Another, without butter. Dry a pound
of flour, and a pound and a quarter of sugar. Grate a lemon, add a
spoonful of brandy, and beat the whole together with the hand for an
hour. Bake the cake in a buttered pan, in a quick oven. Sweetmeats may
be added if approved.
SPOONMEATS FOR INFANTS. It is something more than a human axiom, that
milk is for babes; and as this forms the basis of nearly all the food
from which their nourishment is derived, it is necessary to observe,
that the best way of using it is without either skimming or boiling it.
The cream is the most nutritious balsamic part of milk, and to deprive
it of this is to render it less nourishing, and less easy of digestion,
than in its pure state. In some particular cases skimmed milk may be
preferable, but it may be adopted as a general rule, that new milk is
the wholesomest and the best. If it stands any time before it is used,
instead of taking off the cream, it should be mixed in with the milk.
Boiling the milk, if it be only a little, fixes it, and entirely alters
its qualities. As a proof of this, it will not afterwards afford any
cream, but merely a thin skin. In this state it is hard of digestion,
and therefore apt to occasion obstructions. It is most proper for food
in its natural state, or when only scalded.--One of the first and
simplest preparations for infants is Bread Pap, made by pouring scalding
water on thin slices of good white bread, and letting it stand uncovered
till it cools. The water is then drained off, the bread bruised fine,
and mixed with as much new milk as will make it of a tolerable
consistence. It is then warm enough for use, without setting it upon the
fire. Sugar is very commonly put into this pap, but it is much better
without it. The palate of the child will not require sugar in any kind
of food, till habit makes it familiar.--Egg Pap is another suitable
article for young children. Set a quart of spring water on a clear brisk
fire. Mix two spoonfuls of fresh fine flour with the yolks of two or
three eggs well beaten, adding a little cold water. When the water is
ready to boil, stir in the batter before it boils, till of a sufficient
thickness. Then take it off the fire, add a little salt, pour it into a
basin, and let it cool of itself till it become about as warm as milk
from the cow. If eggs cannot be procured, a small piece of butter may be
added with the salt, and stirred in gently till well mixed, to prevent
its oiling. Eggs however are to be preferred. This food is extremely
wholesome, affords real nourishment, opens all the passages, breeds good
blood and lively spirits, is pleasant to the palate, and grateful to the
stomach. The frequent use of it purifies the blood and all the humours,
prevents windy distempers and griping pain, both of the stomach and
bowels. From all the ingredients bearing a resemblance to each other, no
predominant quality prevails, so that it may justly claim the first
place amongst all spoonmeats or paps, and as food for infants it is next
to the milk of the breast. In some cases it is much better, on account
of the various diseases to which suckling women are subject, and the
improper food in which they too frequently indulge. No other ingredients
should however be added to this kind of food, such as sugar, spices, or
fruits, which tend only to vitiate the diet, and to render it less
nutritious. This and other sorts of spoonmeat should be made rather thin
than otherwise, and abounding with liquid, whether milk or water. All
porridges and spoonmeats that are made thin, and quickly prepared, are
sweeter, brisker on the palate, and easier of digestion, than those
which are thick, and long in preparing. Food should never be given to
children more than milk warm, and the proper way to cool it is by
letting it stand uncovered to cool itself; for much stirring alters the
composition, and takes off the sweetness. Covering it down too, keeps in
the fumes that ought to go off, and by excluding the air, renders it
less pure.--Flour Pap. To two thirds of new milk, after it has stood
five or six hours from the time of milking, add one third of spring
water, and set it on a quick clear fire. Make a batter of milk and fine
flour, and just as the milk and water is ready to boil, pour in the
batter, and stir it a few minutes. When it is ready to boil again, take
it off, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. A good spoonful of
flour is sufficient to thicken a pint of milk, or milk and water. This
will make it about the thickness of common milk porridge, which is what
will eat the sweetest, and be the easiest of digestion. This kind of
food affords substantial nourishment, it neither binds nor loosens the
body, but keeps it in proper order, nourishes the blood, and tends to
produce a lively disposition. Pap prepared in this way is far more
friendly to nature than in the common way of boiling, and may be
constantly eaten with much better effect, and without ever tiring or
cloying the stomach.--Oatmeal Pap. Mix a pint of milk and water, in the
proportion of two thirds milk and one third water, with a good spoonful
of oatmeal, but it is best not to be too thick. Set it in a saucepan
upon a quick clear fire, and when it is near boiling take it off. Pour
it from one basin into another, backwards and forwards seven or eight
times, which will bring out the fine flour of the oatmeal, and
incorporate it with the milk. Then return it into the saucepan, set it
upon the fire, and when it is again ready to boil take it off, and let
it stand in the saucepan a little to fine, for the husky part of the
oatmeal will sink to the bottom. When settled, pour it off into a basin,
add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. This is an excellent pap,
very congenial to a weak constitution, affording good nourishment, and
easy of digestion.--Water Gruel. Take a spoonful and a half of fresh
ground oatmeal, mix with it gradually a quart of spring water, and set
it on a clear fire. When ready to boil take it off, pour it from one
basin into another, backwards and forwards five or six times, and set it
on the fire again. Take it off again just before it boils, and let it
stand a little time in the saucepan, that the coarse husks of the
oatmeal may sink to the bottom. Then pour it out, add a little salt, and
let it stand to cool. When water gruel is made with grots, it must boil
gently for some time. The longer it boils the more it will jelly; but
moderation must be observed in this respect, for if it be very long
boiled and becomes very thick, it will be flat and heavy. A mistaken
idea very generally prevails, that water gruel is not nourishing; on the
contrary, it is a light, cleansing, nourishing food, good either in
sickness or in health, both for old and young.--Milk Porridge. Make some
water gruel, and when it has stood awhile to cool, add to it about one
third part of new milk without boiling. It may be eaten with or without
salt. Milk porridge is exceedingly cleansing and easy of digestion, and
is agreeable to the weakest stomach. There is also another way of making
it, which some prefer. Stir a pint of water gradually into three large
spoonfuls of fresh oatmeal, let it stand till clear, and then pour off
the water. Put a pint of fresh water to the oatmeal, stir it up well,
and leave it till the next day. Strain off the liquor through a fine
sieve, and set it in a saucepan over a clear brisk fire. Add about half
the quantity of milk gradually while it is warming, and when it is just
ready to boil take it off, pour it into a basin, add a little salt, and
let it stand to cool. This as well as the former porridge is very light,
and proper for weak stomachs.--Indian Arrow Root is another excellent
preparation for children. Put a dessert-spoonful of the powdered root
into a basin, and mix with it as much cold new milk as will make it
into a paste. Pour upon this half a pint of milk scalding-hot, stirring
it briskly to keep it smooth. Set it on the fire till it is ready to
boil, then take it off, pour it into a basin, and let it cool. This may
be made with water instead of milk, and some cold milk mixed with it
afterwards; or if the stomach be very weak, it will be best without any
milk at all. Great care must be taken to procure the genuine arrow root,
which makes a very strengthening and excellent food for infants or
invalids.--Sago Jelly. Soak a large spoonful of sago for an hour in cold
water, then pour off the water, add a pint of fresh water to the sago,
and stew it gently till it is reduced to about half the quantity. When
done, pour it into a basin, and let it cool.--Sago with Milk. Prepare a
large spoonful of sago by soaking it for an hour in cold water, but
instead of adding water afterwards, put in a pint and a half of new
milk. Boil it gently till reduced to about half the quantity, then pour
it into a basin, and let it cool.--Tapioca Jelly. Wash two good
spoonfuls of the large sort of tapioca in cold water, and then soak it
in a pint and a half of water for four hours. Stew it gently in the same
water till it is quite clear. Let it stand to cool after it is poured
out of the saucepan, and use it either with or without the addition of a
little new milk.--Pearl Barley Gruel. Put two ounces of pearl barley,
after it has been well washed, into a quart of water. Simmer it gently
till reduced to a pint, then strain it through a sieve, and let it
cool.--Rice Gruel. Soak two large spoonfuls of rice in cold water for an
hour. Pour off the water, and put a pint and a quarter of new milk to
the rice. Stew it gently till the rice is sufficiently tender to pulp it
through a sieve, and then mix the pulp into the milk that the rice was
stewed in. Simmer it over the fire for ten minutes, and if it appear
too thick, gradually add a little more milk, so as not to damp it from
simmering. When done, pour it into a basin to cool.--Rice Milk. To four
large spoonfuls of whole rice, washed very clean in cold water, add a
quart of new milk, and stew them together very gently for three hours.
Let it stand in a basin to cool before it is used. Another way of making
rice milk is boiling the rice first in water, then pouring off the
water, and boiling the rice with milk. A better way perhaps is, after
washing the rice well, setting it over the fire for half an hour with a
little water to break it. Add a little at a time some warm milk, till it
is sufficiently done, and of a proper thickness. Let it simmer slowly,
and season it with salt and sugar; but for children the sugar had better
be omitted.--Ground Rice Milk. Mix a large spoonful of ground rice into
a batter, with two or three spoonfuls of new milk. Set a pint of new
milk on the fire, and when it is scalding hot, stir in the batter, and
keep it on the fire till it thickens, but it must not boil. It should be
carefully stirred to prevent its burning, and cooled by standing by in a
basin.--Millet Milk. Wash three spoonfuls of millet seed in cold water,
and put it into a quart of new milk. Simmer it gently till it becomes
moderately thick, and cool it in a basin till wanted for use. All those
preparations which require some time in doing, also require the
precaution of being carefully stirred, to prevent their burning.--Drinks
for young children, in addition to their diet, are best made of milk and
water, whey, barley water, pearl barley water, apple water, and toast
and water. For Milk and Water, put one third of new milk to two thirds
of spring water. This is best drunk cold; but if it must be warmed, it
should be by putting warm water to cold milk. It ought not to be made
more than milk warm. For Whey, take a quart of new milk before it is
cold, and put in as much rennet as will turn it to a clear whey. Let it
stand till it is properly turned, and pour it off through a cheesecloth
without pressing the curd, that the whey may be the purer. It may be
drunk cold, or just warmed by setting it before the fire for a little
while. If new milk cannot be had, other milk must be warmed to the
degree of new milk.--Barley Water is made of a handful of common barley
well washed, and simmered in three pints of water, till of a proper
thickness for use; but the longer the barley boils, the thinner the
liquor will become. Pearl Barley Water is made of an ounce of pearl
barley, heated in half a pint of water over the fire in order to clean
it. The water is then poured off, and a quart of fresh water added to
the pearl barley. Simmer it half an hour, and if it appears too thick,
add more water, but let it be kept warm, as any quantity of cold water
would damp it too suddenly, and thus tend to spoil it. Both this and
barley water may be used cold, or milk warm.--Apple Water. Slice into a
jug two or three sound ripe apples, and pour on them a quart of scalding
hot water. Let it stand to cool, and it will be fit for use. The apples
should not be pared, as it takes off their spirit.--Toast and Water is
made of a slice of white bread toasted quite dry, and of a dark brown
colour. It is then put into a jug, and spring water poured upon it.
After an hour it is fit for use. As all these preparations, both of
drinks and spoonmeats, become flat and good for little by long standing,
it is better to make only such quantities of them at a time as will soon
be used. When they are warmed up, no more should be done at once than is
just sufficient for the occasion, as repeated warming injures the
nutritious quality of every thing. When it can be avoided it is better
not to set things on the fire to warm them up, but to place them before
or on the side of the fire. Care however must be taken not to let them
dry and scorch, as it makes them very strong and unwholesome. Some
earthenware vessel should be used for this purpose, as less liable to
produce an injurious effect. A very good method of warming things is by
setting them in a basin over boiling water, or by placing them in it.
SPRAINS. These generally proceed from some external injury, attended
with pain, swelling, and inflammation. A fomentation of vinegar, or
camphorated spirits of wine, if applied immediately, will generally be
sufficient: if not, a few drops of laudanum should be added. The
fomentation should be frequently renewed, and the sprained part kept in
a state of rest and relaxation.
SPRATS. When quite good and fresh, their gills are of a fine red, their
eyes and whole body beautifully bright. After being scaled and cleaned,
they should be fastened in rows by a skewer run through the heads; then
broiled, and served up hot and hot.
SPRATS LIKE ANCHOVIES. Salt them well, and let the salt drain from them.
In twenty-four hours wipe them dry, but do not wash them. Mix four
ounces of common salt, an ounce of bay salt, an ounce of saltpetre, a
quarter of an ounce of sal-prunella, and half a tea-spoonful of
cochineal, all in the finest powder. Sprinkle it amongst three quarts of
the fish, and pack them in two stone jars. Keep them in a cool place,
fastened down with a bladder. These artificial anchovies are pleasant on
bread and butter, but the genuine should be used for sauce.
SPRING FRUIT PUDDING. Peel and wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, put
them into the stewpan with a lemon, a little cinnamon, and sweeten the
whole with moist sugar. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a
marmalade. Pass it through a hair sieve, add the yolks of four eggs and
one white, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, half a nutmeg, and the
peel of a lemon grated. Beat all well together, line the inside of a pie
dish with good puff paste, put in the pudding, and bake it half an hour.
SPRING SOUP. Put a pint of peas into a saucepan with some chervil,
purslain, lettuce, sorrel, parsley, three or four onions, and a piece of
butter. Shake them over the fire a few minutes, add warm water in
proportion to the vegetables, and stew them till they are well done.
Strain off the soup, and pulp the vegetables through a tammis or sieve.
Heat the pulp with three parts of the soup, mix six yolks of eggs with
the remainder of it, and thicken it over the fire. When ready to serve,
add this to the soup, and season the whole with salt.
SPROUTS. Before the sprouts of greens are boiled, trim and wash them
very nicely, and drain them in a cullender. Then put them into boiling
water, with some salt thrown in, and sprinkle a little more upon the
sprouts. Boil them very fast, and clear off any scum that may arise.
When the stalks are quite tender, drain the sprouts off directly into a
cullender, or they will lose both their flavour and colour. Serve them
up laid neatly in the dish with a fork, as that will not break them like
a spoon. Borecole and Brussel sprouts, like all the cabbage species,
should be boiled in plenty of water, changing it when about half done,
and boiling them well.
SPRUCE BEER. Pour sixteen gallons of warm water into a barrel, with
twelve pounds of molasses, and half a pound of the essence of spruce.
When cool, add a pint of yeast, stir it well for two or three days, and
put it into stone bottles. Wire down the corks, pack the bottles in saw
dust, and the liquor will ripen in about a fortnight.
SQUAB PIE. Prepare apples as for other pies, and lay them in rows with
mutton chops. Shred some onion, and sprinkle it among them, and also
some sugar.--Another. Make a good crust, and sheet your dish all over;
lay a layer of pippins, and strew sugar over them; cut a loin of mutton
into steaks, season them with pepper and salt; lay a layer of steaks,
then pippins; then lay some onions sliced thin on the apples, then the
rest of your mutton, and apples and onions over all; pour in a pint of
water, and lid your pye; let it be well baked.
STAFFORDSHIRE BEEF STEAKS. Beat them a little with a rollingpin, then
flour and season, and fry them of a fine light brown, with sliced
onions. Lay the steaks into a stewpan, and pour over them as much
boiling water as will serve for sauce. Stew them very gently for half an
hour, and add a spoonful of ketchup or walnut liquor, before they are
served up.
STAFFORDSHIRE SYLLABUB. Put into a bowl a pint of cider, and a glass of
brandy, with sugar and nutmeg. Pour into it some warm milk, from a large
tea-pot, held up high, and moved over it.
STAINS BY ACIDS. Wet the injured part, and lay on some salt of wormwood;
then rub it, without diluting it with more water. Or let the cloth
imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted
match at a due distance. The spots will be removed by the sulphureous
gas. Another way is to tie up some pearl ash in the stained part, then
scrape some soap into cold soft water to make a lather, and boil the
linen till the stain disappears.
STAINS IN MAHOGANY. If any kind of furniture get stained with ink,
dilute half a tea-spoonful of oil of vitriol with a large spoonful of
water, and touch the stained part with a feather dipped in the liquid.
It must be watched, and not suffered to remain too long, or it will
leave a white mark. It is better to rub it quick, and to moisten it
again, if the stain be not entirely removed.
STAINING OF BONE. This article must first be prepared, by being steeped
for several days in a mixture of roche alum, vitriol, verdigris, and
copper filings, infused in white wine vinegar. When the ingredients are
dissolved, the mixture may be boiled with the bone in it, and it will
take a fine green colour. By infusing brazil wood, French berries, or
indigo in the vinegar, with a little roche alum, either red, yellow, or
blue may be produced. Either bone, ivory, or wood, may be coloured in
this manner.
STAINING OF PARCHMENT. Paper or parchment may be stained of a green
colour, by gradually dissolving some copper filings in aqua-fortis, or
the spirits of salt, putting in the filings till the ebullition ceases.
A solution of verdigris in vinegar, or the crystals of verdigris in
water, will answer the same purpose. A fine crimson stain may be
produced by a tincture of the Indian lake, made by infusing the lake
several days in spirits of wine, and pouring off the tincture from the
dregs. A beautiful yellow may be formed from the tincture of turmeric,
made in the same way. If the colours be wanted of a deeper cast, arnatto
or dragon's blood may be added to the tincture.
STAINING OF WOOD. To stain wood of a mahogany colour, put it into a
mixture of oil of turpentine and pounded dragon's blood, and let it
stand an hour over a slow fire. When taken off the fire, the wood may
remain in the liquor all night. The dye may be made stronger or weaker,
by using more or less of dragon's blood, and by a greater or less degree
of digestion and boiling. The best wood for this purpose is plane tree,
because it may easily be sawn and polished, and is beautifully veined
and spotted. To stain wood a fine black, drop a little oil of vitriol
into a small quantity of water, rub it on the wood, and hold it to the
fire. It will then become a fine black, and receive a beautiful polish.
STALKS OF BEET LEAVES. Trim and well wash the stalks of green and white
beet leaves, and boil them in water, moving them frequently, to prevent
the upper ones from turning black. When done enough, drain them in a
cullender. Make a white sauce with a little flour and water, a piece of
butter, some pepper and salt, and a taste of vinegar. Thicken this over
the fire, and put in the stalks to stew gently for a few minutes, to
give them a flavour. If the butter oils, it is a sign that the sauce is
too thick. In this case add another spoonful or two of water, and shake
the stewpan till the sauce recovers it appearance.