SAUCES
AND DRESSINGS.
*
* *
DRAWN
BUTTER.
MELTED butter is the foundation
of most of the common sauces. Have a covered saucepan for this
purpose. One lined with porcelain will be best. Take a quarter of a
pound of the best fresh butter, cut it up, and mix with it about one
tablespoonful of flour. When it is thoroughly mixed, put it into the
saucepan, and add to it half a teacupful of hot water. Cover the
saucepan and set it in a large tin pan of boiling water. Shake it
round continually (always moving it the same way) till it is entirely
melted and begins to simmer. Then let it rest till it boils up. If
you set it on too hot a fire it will be oily.
If
the butter and flour are not
well mixed, it will be lumpy.
If
you put in too much water, it
will be thin and poor. All these defects are to be carefully avoided.
In
melting butter for sweet or
pudding sauce, you may use milk instead of water.
TARTARE
SAUCE.
THE raw yolks of two eggs, half
a teacupful of pure olive oil, three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one
of made mustard, one teaspoonful of sugar, a quarter of a teaspoonful
of pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, one of onion juice, one
tablespoonful of chopped capers, one of chopped cucumber pickle. Put
together the same as mayonnaise dressing, adding the chopped
ingredients the last thing.
This
sauce is good for fried or
boiled fish, boiled tongue, fish salad, and may be used with fried
and broiled meats.
EGG
SAUCE, OR WHITE SAUCE.
Mix two tablespoonfuls of sifted
flour with half a teacup of warm butter. Place over the fire a
saucepan containing a pint of sweet milk and a salt-spoon of salt,
and a dash of white pepper; when it reaches the boiling point, add
the butter and flour, stirring briskly until it thickens and becomes
like cream. Have ready three cold hard-boiled eggs, sliced and
chopped, add them to the sauce; let them heat through thoroughly, and
serve in a boat. If you have plenty of cream, use it and omit the
butter. By omitting the eggs, you have the same as "White
Sauce."
OYSTER
SAUCE.
TAKE a pint of oysters and heat
them in their own liquor long enough to come to a boil, or until they
begin to ruffle. Skim out the oysters into a warm dish, put into the
liquor a teacup of milk or cream, two tablespoonfuls of cold butter,
a pinch of cayenne and salt; thicken with a tablespoonful of flour
stirred to a paste, boil up and then add the oysters.
Oyster
sauce is used for fish,
boiled turkey, chickens and boiled white meats of most kinds.
LOBSTER
SAUCE.
PUT the coral and spawn of a
boiled lobster into a mortar with a tablespoonful of butter; pound it
to a smooth mass, then rub it through a sieve; melt nearly a quarter
of a pound of sweet butter, with a wineglass of water or vinegar; add
a teaspoonful of made mustard, stir in the coral and spawn, and a
little salt and pepper; stir it until it is smooth and serve. Some of
the meat of the lobster may be chopped fine and stirred into it.
SAUCE
FOR SALMON AND OTHER FISH.
ONE cupful of milk heated to a
boil and thickened with a tablespoonful of cornstarch previously wet
up with cold water, the liquor from the salmon, one great spoonful of
butter, one raw egg beaten light, the juice of half a lemon, mace and
cayenne pepper to taste. Add the egg to thickened milk when you have
stirred in the butter and liquor; take from the fire, season and let
it stand in hot water three minutes, covered. Lastly put in lemon
juice and turn out immediately. Pour it all over and around the
salmon.
SAUCE
FOR BOILED COD.
TO ONE gill of boiling water add
as much milk; stir into this while boiling two tablespoonfuls of
butter gradually, one tablespoonful of flour wet up with cold water;
as it thickens, the chopped yolk of one boiled egg, and one raw egg
beaten light. Take directly from the fire, season with pepper, salt,
a little chopped parsley and the juice of one lemon, and set covered
in boiling water (but not over fire) five minutes, stirring
occasionally. Pour part of the sauce over fish when dished; the rest
in a boat. Serve mashed potatoes with it.
FISH
SAUCE. No. 1.
MAKE a pint of drawn butter, add
one tablespoonful of pepper sauce or Worcestershire sauce, a little
salt and six hard-boiled eggs chopped fine. Pour over boiled fish and
garnish with sliced lemon.
Very
nice.
FISH
SAUCE. No. 2.
HALF a cupful of melted butter,
half a cupful of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, salt,
and a tablespoonful of made mustard. Boil ten minutes.
CELERY
SAUCE.
Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour
with half a teacupful of butter; have ready a pint of boiling milk;
stir the flour and butter into the milk; take three heads of celery,
cut into small bits, and boil for a few minutes in water, which
strain off; put the celery into the melted butter, and keep it
stirred over the fire for five or ten minutes. This is very nice with
boiled fowl or turkey. Another way to make celery sauce is: Boil a
head of celery until quite tender, then put it through a sieve; put
the yolk of an egg in a basin, and beat it well with the strained
juice of a lemon; add the celery and a couple of spoonfuls of liquor
in which the turkey was boiled; salt and pepper to taste.
CAPER
SAUCE.
CHOP the capers a very little,
unless quite small; make half a pint of drawn butter, to which add
the capers, with a large spoonful of the juice from the bottle in
which they are sold; let it just simmer and serve in a tureen.
Nasturtiums much resemble capers in taste, though larger, and may be
used, and, in fact, are preferred by many. They are grown on a
climbing vine, and are cultivated for their blossom and for pickling.
When used as capers they should be chopped more. If neither capers
nor nasturtiums are at hand, some pickles chopped up form a very good
substitute in the sauce.
BREAD
SAUCE.
ONE cup of stale bread crumbs,
one onion, two ounces of butter, pepper and salt, a little mace. Cut
the onion fine, and boil it in milk till quite soft; then strain the
milk on to the stale bread crumbs, and let it stand an hour. Put it
in a saucepan with the boiled onion, pepper, salt and mace. Give it a
boil, and serve in sauce tureen. This sauce can also be used for
grouse, and is very nice. Roast partridges are nice served with bread
crumbs, fried brown in butter, with cranberry or currant jelly laid
beside them in the platter.
TOMATO
SAUCE.
TAKE a quart can of tomatoes,
put it over the fire in a stewpan, put in one slice of onion and two
cloves, a little pepper and salt; boil about twenty minutes; then
remove from the fire and strain it through a sieve. Now melt in
another pan an ounce of butter, and as it melts, sprinkle in a
tablespoonful of flour; stir it until it browns and froths a little.
Mix the tomato pulp with it, and it is ready for the table.
Excellent
for mutton chops,
roast beef, etc.
ONION
SAUCE.
WORK together until light a
heaping tablespoonful of flour and half a cupful of butter, and
gradually add two cups of boiling milk; stir constantly until it come
to a boil; then stir into that four tender boiled onions that have
been chopped fine. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with boiled veal,
poultry or mutton.
CHILI
SAUCE.
BOIL together two dozen ripe
tomatoes, three small green peppers, or a half teaspoonful of cayenne
pepper, one onion cut fine, half a cup of sugar. Boil until thick;
then add two cups of vinegar; then strain the whole, set back on the
fire and add a tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful each of
ginger, allspice, cloves and cinnamon; boil all five minutes, remove
and seal in glass bottles. This is very nice.
MINT
SAUCE.
TAKE fresh young spearmint
leaves stripped from the stems; wash and drain them, or dry on a
cloth. Chop very fine, put in a gravy boat, and to three
tablespoonfuls of mint put two of white sugar; mix and let it stand a
few minutes, then pour over it six tablespoonfuls of good cider or
white-wine vinegar. The sauce should be made some time before it is
to be used, so that the flavor of the mint may be well extracted.
Fine with roast lamb.
SHARP
BROWN SAUCE.
PUT in a saucepan one
tablespoonful of chopped onion, three tablespoonfuls of good cider
vinegar, six tablespoonfuls of water, three of tomato catsup, a
little pepper and salt, half a cup of melted butter, in which stir a
tablespoonful of sifted flour; put all together and boil until it
thickens. This is most excellent with boiled meats, fish and poultry.
BECHAMEL
SAUCE.
PUT three tablespoonfuls of
butter in a saucepan; add three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour,
quarter of a teaspoonful of nutmeg, ten peppercorns, a teaspoonful of
salt; beat all well together; then add to this three slices of onion,
two slices of carrot, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a bay leaf
and half a dozen mushrooms cut up. Moisten the whole with a pint of
stock or water and a cup of sweet cream. Set it on the stove and cook
slowly for half an hour, watching closely that it does not burn; then
strain through a sieve. Most excellent with roast Veal, meats and
fish.
St.
Charles Hotel, New
Orleans.
MAITRE
D'HOTEL SAUCE.
MAKE a teacupful of drawn
butter; add to it the juice of a lemon, two tablespoonfuls of minced
onion, three tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of
powdered thyme or summer savory, a pinch of cayenne and salt. Simmer
over the fire and stir well. Excellent with all kinds of fish.
WINE
SAUCE FOR GAME.
HALF a glass of currant jelly,
half a glass of port wine, half a glass of water, a tablespoonful of
cold butter, a teaspoonful of salt, the juice of half a lemon, a
pinch of cayenne pepper and three cloves. Simmer all together a few
minutes, adding the wine after it is strained. A few spoonfuls of the
gravy from the game may be added to it. This sauce is especially nice
with venison.
Taber
House, Denver.
HOLLANDAISE
SAUCE.
HALF a teacupful of butter, the
juice of half a lemon, the yolk of two eggs, a speck of cayenne
pepper, half a cupful of boiling water, half a teaspoonful of salt;
beat the butter to a cream, add the yolks of eggs one by one; then
the lemon juice, pepper and salt, beating all thoroughly; place the
bowl in which is the mixture in a saucepan of boiling water; beat
with an egg-beater until it begins to thicken which will be in about
a minute; then add the boiling water, beating all the time; stir
until it begins to thicken like soft custard; stir a few minutes
after taking from the fire; be careful not to cook it too long. This
is very nice with baked fish.
Miss
Parioa.
CURRANT
JELLY SAUCE.
THREE tablespoonfuls of butter,
one onion, one bay leaf, one sprig of celery, two tablespoonfuls of
vinegar, half a cupful of currant jelly, one tablespoonful of flour,
one pint of stock, salt, pepper. Cook the butter and onion until the
latter begins to color. Add the flour and herbs. Stir until brown;
add the stock, and simmer twenty minutes. Strain and skim off all the
fat. Add the jelly and stir over the fire until it is melted. Serve
with game.
BROWN
SAUCE.
DELICIOUS sauce for meats is
made in this way: Slice a large onion and fry in butter till it is
brown; then cover the onion with rich brown gravy, which is left from
roast beef; add mustard, salt and pepper, and if you choose a
tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce; let this boil up, and if too
thick, thin it with a little stock or gravy, or even a little hot
water with butter. Pour this when done through a fine sieve. Of
course a larger quantity can be prepared at once than is mentioned
here.
MUSHROOM
SAUCE.
WASH a pint of small button
mushrooms, remove the stems and outside skins, stew them slowly in
veal gravy or milk or cream, adding an onion, and seasoning with
pepper, salt and a little butter rolled in flour. Their flavor will
be heightened by salting a few the night before, to extract the
juice. In dressing mushrooms only those of a dull pearl color on the
outside and the under part tinged with pale pink should be selected.
If there is a poisonous one among them, the onion in the sauce will
turn black. In such a case throw the whole away. Used for poultry,
beef or fish.
APPLE
SAUCE.
WHEN you wish to serve apple
sauce with meat prepare it in this way: Cook the apples until they
are very tender, then stir them thoroughly so there will be no lumps
at all; add the sugar and a little gelatine dissolved in warm water,
a tablespoonful in a pint of sauce; pour the sauce into bowls, and
when cold it will be stiff like jelly, and can be turned out on a
plate. Cranberry sauce can be treated in the same way. Many prefer
this to plain stewing.
Apples
cooked in the following
way look very pretty on a tea-table, and are appreciated by the
palate. Select firm, round greenings; pare neatly and cut in halves;
place in a shallow stewpan with sufficient boiling water to cover
them, and a cupful of sugar to every six apples. Each half should
cook on the bottom of the pan, and be removed from the others so as
not to injure its shape. Stew slowly until the pieces are very
tender; remove to a dish carefully; boil the syrup half an hour
longer; pour it over the apples and eat cold. A few pieces of lemon
boiled in the syrup adds to the flavor. These sauces are a fine
accompaniment to roast pork or roast goose.
CIDER
APPLE SAUCE.
BOIL four quarts of new cider
until it is reduced to two quarts; then put into it enough pared and
quartered apples to fill the kettle; let the whole stew over a
moderate fire four hours; add cinnamon if liked. This sauce is very
fine with almost any kind of meat.
OLD-FASHIONED
APPLE SAUCE.
PARE and chop a dozen
medium-sized apples, put them in a deep pudding-dish; sprinkle over
them a heaping coffee-cupful of sugar and one of water. Place them in
the oven and bake slowly two hours or more, or until they are a deep
red brown; quite as nice as preserves.
CRANBERRY
SAUCE.
ONE quart of cranberries, two
cupfuls of sugar and a pint of water. Wash the cranberries, then put
them on the fire with the water, but in a covered saucepan. Let them
simmer until each cranberry bursts open; then remove the cover of the
saucepan, add the sugar and let them all boil twenty minutes without
the cover. The cranberries must never be stirred from the time they
are placed on the fire. This is an unfailing recipe for a most
delicious preparation of cranberries. Very fine with turkey and game.
APPLE
OMELET.
APPLE omelet, to be served with
broiled sparerib or roast pork, is very delicate. Take nine large,
tart apples, four eggs, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of
butter; add cinnamon or other spices to suit your taste; stew the
apples till they are very soft; mash them so that there will be no
lumps; add the butter and sugar while they are still warm; but let
them cool before putting in the beaten eggs; bake this till it is
brown; you may put it all in a shallow pudding-dish or in two tin
plates to bake. Very good.
FLAVORED
VINEGARS.
ALMOST all the flavorings used
for meats and salads may be prepared in vinegar with little trouble
and expense, and will be found useful to impart an acid to flavors
when lemons are not at hand.
Tarragon,
sweet basil, burnet,
green mint, sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, etc., may be prepared by
putting three ounces of either of these herbs, when in blossom, into
one gallon of sharp vinegar, let stand ten days, strain off clear,
and bottle for use. Celery and cayenne may be prepared, using three
ounces of the seed as above.
CUCUMBER
VINEGAR.
Ingredients.
— Ten large cucumbers, or twelve smaller ones, one quart of
vinegar, two onions, two shallots, one tablespoonful of salt, two
tablespoonfuls of pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne.
Mode.
— Pare and slice the cucumbers, put them in a stone jar, or
wide-mouthed bottle, with the vinegar; slice the onions and shallots,
and add them, with all the other ingredients, to the cucumbers. Let
it stand four or five days; boil it all up, and when cold, strain the
liquor through a piece of muslin, and store it away in small bottles
well sealed. This vinegar is a very nice addition to gravies, hashes,
etc., as well as a great improvement to salads, or to eat with cold
meat.
CURRY
POWDER.
TO MAKE curry powder, take one
ounce of ginger, one ounce of mustard, one ounce of pepper, three
ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of turmeric, half an ounce of
cardamoms, one-quarter ounce of cayenne pepper, one-quarter ounce of
cinnamon, and one-quarter ounce of cumin seed. Pound all these
ingredients very fine in a mortar; sift them and cork tight in a
bottle.
This
can be had ready prepared
at most druggists, and it is much less trouble to purchase it than to
make it at home.
CURRY
SAUCE.
ONE tablespoonful of butter, one
of flour, one teaspoonful of curry powder, one large slice of onion,
one large cupful of stock, salt and pepper to taste. Cut the onion
fine, and fry brown in the butter. Add the flour and curry powder.
Stir for one minute, add the stock and season with the salt and
pepper.* Simmer five minutes; then strain and serve. This sauce can
be served with a broil or sauté of meat or fish.
TO
BROWN BUTTER.
PUT a lump of butter into a hot
frying pan and toss it about until it browns. Stir brown flour into
it until it is smooth and begins to boil. Use it for coloring
gravies, and sauces for meats.
TO
BROWN FLOUR.
SPREAD flour upon a tin
pie-plate, set it upon the stove or in a very hot oven, and stir
continually, after it begins to color, until it is brown all through.
Keep
it always on hand; put away
in glass jars covered closely. It is excellent for coloring and
thickening many dishes.
TO
MAKE MUSTARD.
BOIL some vinegar; take four
spoonfuls of mustard, half of a teaspoonful of sugar, a salt-spoonful
of salt, a tablespoonful of melted butter; mix well.
FRENCH
MUSTARD.
THREE tablespoonfuls of mustard,
one tablespoonful of granulated sugar, well worked together, then
beat in an egg until it is smooth; add one teacupful of vinegar, a
little at a time, working it all smooth; then set on the stove and
cook three or four minutes, stirring all the time; when cool, add one
tablespoonful of the best olive oil, taking care to get it all
thoroughly worked in and smooth. You will find this very nice.
Mrs.
D. Riegel
KITCHEN
PEPPER.
Mix one ounce of ground ginger,
half an ounce each of black pepper, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and
allspice, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, and six ounces of salt.
Keep in a tightly corked bottle.
the
Caterer.
PREPARED
COCOANUT. (For Pies, Puddings, etc.)
TO PREPARE cocoanut for future
use, first cut a hole through the meat at one of the holes in the
end, draw off the milk, then loosen the meat by pounding the nut well
on all sides. Crack the nut and take out the meat, and place the
pieces of meat in a cool open oven over night, or for a few hours, to
dry; then grate it. If there is more grated than is needed for
present use, sprinkle it with sugar, and spread out in a cool dry
place. When dry enough put away in dry cans or bottles. Will keep for
weeks.
SPICES.
GINGER is the root of a shrub
first known in Asia, and now cultivated in the West Indies and Sierra
Leone. The stem grows three or four feet high and dies every year.
There are two varieties of ginger — the white and black — caused
by taking more or less care in selecting and preparing the roots,
which are always dug in winter, when the stems are withered. The
white is the best.
Cinnamon
is the inner bark of a beautiful tree, a native of Ceylon, that grows
from twenty to thirty feet in height and lives to be centuries old.
Cloves.
— Native to the Molucca Islands, and so called from resemblance to
a nail (clavis). The East Indians call them "changkek,"
from the Chinese "techengkia" (fragrant nails). They grow
on a straight, smooth-barked tree, about forty feet high. Cloves are
not fruits, but blossoms, gathered before they are quite unfolded.
Allspice.
— A berry so called because it combines the flavor of several
spices grows abundantly on the allspice or bayberry tree; native of
South America and the West Indies. A single tree has been known to
produce one hundred and fifty pounds of berries. They are purple when
ripe.
Black
pepper
is made by grinding the dried berry of a climbing vine, native to the
East Indies. White pepper is obtained from the same berries, freed
from their husk or rind. Red or cayenne pepper is obtained by
grinding the scarlet pod or seed-vessel of a tropical plant that is
now cultivated in all parts of the world.
Nutmeg
is the kernel of a small, smooth, pear-shaped fruit that grows on a
tree in the Molucca Islands, and other parts of the East. The trees
commence bearing in the seventh year, and continue fruitful until
they are seventy or eighty years old. Around the nutmeg or kernel is
a bright, brown shell. This shell has a soft, scarlet covering,
which, when flattened out and dried, is known as mace. The best
nutmegs are solid, and emit oil when pricked with a pin.
HERBS
FOR WINTER.
TO PREPARE herbs for winter use,
such as sage, summer savory, thyme, mint or any of the sweet herbs,
they should be gathered fresh in their season, or procure them from
the market. Examine them well, throwing out all poor sprigs; then
wash and shake them; tie into small bundles, and tie over the bundles
a piece of netting or old lace (to keep off the dust); hang up in a
warm, dry place, the leaves downward. In a few days the herb will be
thoroughly dry and brittle. Or you may place them in a cool oven and
let them remain in it until perfectly dry. Then pick off all the
leaves and the tender tops of the stems; put them in a clean,
large-mouthed bottle that is perfectly dry. When wanted for use, rub
fine, and sift through a sieve. It is much better to put them in
bottles as soon as dried, as long exposure to the air causes them to
lose strength and flavor.
MEATS
AND THEIR ACCOMPANIMENTS.
WITH roast beef: tomato sauce,
grated horse-radish, mustard, cranberry sauce, pickles. With roast
pork: apple sauce, cranberry sauce.
With
roast veal: tomato sauce,
mushroom sauce, onion sauce and cranberry sauce. Horse-radish and
lemons are good.
With
roast mutton: currant
jelly, caper sauce.
With
boiled mutton: onion sauce,
caper sauce.
With
boiled fowls: bread sauce,
onion sauce, lemon sauce, cranberry sauce, jellies. Also cream sauce.
With
roast lamb: mint sauce.
With
roast turkey: cranberry
sauce, currant jelly.
With
boiled turkey: oyster
sauce.
With
venison or wild ducks:
cranberry sauce, currant jelly, or currant jelly warmed with port
wine.
With
roast goose: apple sauce,
cranberry sauce, grape or currant jelly.
With
boiled fresh mackerel:
stewed gooseberries. With boiled blue fish: white cream sauce, lemon
sauce. With broiled shad: mushroom sauce, parsley or egg sauce. With
fresh salmon: green peas, cream sauce.
Pickles
are good with all roast
meats, and in fact are suitable accompaniments to all kinds of meats
in general.
Spinach
is the proper
accompaniment to veal; green peas to lamb.
Lemon
juice makes a very
grateful addition to nearly all the insipid members of the fish
kingdom. Slices of lemon cut into very small dice and stirred into
drawn butter and allowed to come to the boiling point, served with
fowls, is a fine accompaniment.
VEGETABLES
APPROPRIATE TO DIFFERENT DISHES.
POTATOES are good with all
meats. With fowls they are nicest mashed. Sweet potatoes are most
appropriate with roast meats, as also are onions, winter squash,
cucumbers and asparagus.
Carrots,
parsnips, turnips,
greens and cabbage are generally eaten with boiled meat, and corn,
beets, peas and beans are appropriate to either boiled or roasted
meat. Mashed turnip is good with roast pork and with boiled meats.
Tomatoes are good with almost every kind of meats, especially with
roasts.
WARM
DISHES FOR BREAKFAST.
THE following of hot breakfast
dishes may be of assistance in knowing what to provide for the
comfortable meal called breakfast.
Broiled
beefsteak, broiled
chops, broiled chicken, broiled fish, broiled quail on toast, fried
pork tenderloins, fried pig's feet, fried oysters, fried clams, fried
liver and bacon, fried chops, fried pork, ham and eggs fried, veal
cutlets breaded, sausages, fricasseed tripe, fricasseed kidneys,
turkey or chicken hash, corn beef hash, beef croquettes, codfish
balls, creamed codfish, stewed meats on toast, poached eggs on toast,
omelettes, eggs boiled plain, and eggs cooked in any of the various
styles.
VEGETABLES
FOR BREAKFAST.
POTATOES in any of the various
modes of cooking, also stewed tomatoes, stewed corn, raw radishes,
cucumbers sliced, tomatoes sliced raw, water cress, lettuce.
To be
included with the
breakfast dishes: oatmeal mush, cracked wheat, hominy or corn-meal
mush, these with cream, milk and sugar or syrup.
Then
numberless varieties of
bread can be selected, in form of rolls, fritters, muffins, waffles,
corn-cakes, griddle-cakes, etc., etc.
For
beverages, coffee, chocolate
and cocoa, or tea if one prefers it; these are all suitable for the
breakfast table.
When
obtainable always have a
vase of choice flowers on the breakfast table; also some fresh fruit,
if convenient.
SALADS.
EVERYTHING
in the make-up of a
salad should be of the freshest material, the vegetables crisp and
fresh, the oil or butter the very best, meats, fowl and fish well
cooked, pure cider or white wine vinegar — in fact, every
ingredient first class, to insure success.
The
vegetables used in salad
are: Beet-root, onions, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, celery,
cucumbers, lentils, haricots, winter cress, peas, French beans,
radish, cauliflower — all these may be used judiciously in salad,
if properly seasoned, according to the following directions.
Chervil
is a delicious salad
herb, invariably found in all salads prepared by a French gourmet. No
man can be a true epicure who is unfamiliar with this excellent herb.
It may be procured from the vegetable stands at Fulton and Washington
markets the year round. Its leaves resemble parsley, but are more
divided, and a few of them added to a breakfast salad give a
delightful flavor.
Chervil
Vinegar.
— A few drops of this vinegar added to fish sauces or salads is
excellent, and well repays the little trouble taken in its
preparation. Half fill a bottle with fresh or dry chervil leaves;
fill the bottle with good vinegar and heat it gently by placing it in
warm water, which bring to boiling point; remove from the fire; when
cool cork, and in two weeks it will be ready for use.
MAYONNAISE
DRESSING.
PUT the yolks of four fresh raw
eggs, with two hard-boiled ones, into a cold bowl. Rub these as
smooth as possible before introducing the oil; a good measure of oil
is a tablespoonful to each yolk of raw egg. All the art consists in
introducing the oil by degrees, a few drops at a time. You can never
make a good salad without taking plenty of time. When the oil is well
mixed, and assumes the appearance of jelly, put in two heaping
teaspoonfuls of dry table salt, one of pepper and one of made
mustard. Never put in salt and pepper before this stage of the
process, because the salt and pepper would coagulate the albumen of
the eggs, and you could not get the dressing smooth. Two
tablespoonfuls of vinegar added gradually.
The Mayonnaise
should be the thickness of thick cream when finished, but if it looks
like curdling when mixing it, set in the ice-box or in a cold place
for about forty minutes or an hour, then mix it again. It is a good
idea to place it in a pan of cracked ice while mixing.
For
lobster salad, use the
coral, mashed and pressed through a sieve, then add to the above.
Salad
dressing should be kept in
a separate bowl in a cold place, and not mixed with the salad until
the moment it is to be served, or it may lose its crispness and
freshness.
DRESSING
FOR COLD SLAW. (Cabbage Salad.)
Beat up two eggs with two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, add a piece of butter the size of half an
egg, a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper, and lastly a teacup
of vinegar. Put all of these ingredients into a dish over the fire
and cook like a soft custard. Some think it improved by adding half a
cupful of thick sweet cream to this dressing; in that case use less
vinegar. Either way is very fine.
SALAD
CREAM DRESSING. No. 1.
ONE cup fresh cream, one
spoonful fine flour, the whites of two eggs beaten stiff, three
spoonfuls of vinegar, two spoonfuls of salad oil or soft butter, two
spoonfuls of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful salt, one-half
teaspoonful pepper, one teaspoonful of made mustard. Heat cream
almost to boiling; stir in the flour, previously wet with cold milk;
boil two minutes, stirring all the time; add sugar and take from
fire. When half cold, beat in whipped whites of egg; set aside to
cool. When quite cold, whip in the oil or butter, pepper, mustard and
salt; if the salad is ready, add vinegar and pour at once over it.
CREAM
DRESSING. No. 2.
Two tablespoonfuls of whipped
sweet cream, two of sugar and four of vinegar; beat well and pour
over the cabbage, previously cut very fine and seasoned with salt.
FRENCH
SALAD DRESSING.
Mix one salt-spoon of pepper
with one of ^salt; add three tablespoonfuls of olive oil and one even
tablespoonful of onion scraped fine; then one tablespoonful of
vinegar; when well mixed, pour the mixture over your salad and stir
all till well mingled.
The
merit of a salad is that it
should be cool, fresh and crisp. For vegetables use only the delicate
white stalks of celery, the small heart-leaves of lettuce, or
tenderest stalks and leaves of the white cabbage. Keep the vegetable
portion crisp and fresh until the time for serving, when add the
meat. For chicken and fish salads use the "Mayonnaise dressing."
For simple vegetable salads the French dressing is most appropriate,
using onion rather than garlic.
MIXED
SUMMER SALAD.
THREE heads of lettuce, two
teaspoonfuls of green mustard leaves, a handful of water cresses,
five tender radishes, one cucumber, three hard-boiled eggs, two
teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful
of pepper, one teaspoonful of made mustard, one teacupful of vinegar,
half a teacupful of oil.
Mix
all well together, and serve
with a lump of ice in the middle.
"Common
Sense in the
Household."
CHICKEN
SALAD.
BOIL the fowls tender and remove
all the fat, gristle and skin; mince the meat in small pieces, but do
not hash it. To one chicken put twice and a half its weight in
celery, cut in pieces of about one-quarter of an inch; mix thoroughly
and set it in a cool place the ice chest.
In
the meantime prepare a
"Mayonnaise dressing," and when ready for the table pour
this dressing over the chicken and celery, tossing and mixing it
thoroughly. Set it in a cool place until ready to serve. Garnish with
celery tips, or cold hard-boiled eggs, lettuce leaves, from the
heart, cold boiled beets or capers, olives.
Crisp
cabbage is a good
substitute for celery; when celery is not to be had use celery
vinegar in the dressing. Turkey makes a fine salad.
LOBSTER
SALAD. No. 1.
PREPARE a sauce with the coral
of a fine, new lobster, boiled fresh for about half an hour. Pound
and rub it smooth, and mix very gradually with a dressing made from
the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, a tablespoonful of made mustard,
three of salad oil, two of vinegar, one of white powdered sugar, a
small teaspoonful of salt, as much black pepper, a pinch of cayenne
and yolks of two fresh eggs. Next fill your salad bowl with some
shred lettuce, the better part of two leaving the small curled centre
to garnish your dish with. Mingle with this the flesh of your
lobster, torn, broken or cut into bits seasoned with salt and pepper
and a small portion of the dressing. Pour over the whole the rest of
the dressing; put your lettuce-hearts down the centre and arrange
upon the sides slices of hard-boiled eggs.
LOBSTER
SALAD. No. 2.
USING canned lobsters, take a
can, skim off all the oil on the surface, and chop the meat up
coarsely on a flat dish. Prepare the same way six heads of celery;
mix a teaspoonful of mustard into a smooth paste with a little
vinegar; add yolks of two fresh eggs; a tablespoonful of butter,
creamed, a small teaspoonful of salt, the same of pepper, a quarter
of a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, a gill of vinegar, and the mashed
yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix a small portion of the dressing
with the celery and meat, and turn the remainder over all. Garnish
with the green tops of celery and a hard-boiled egg. cut into thin
rings.
FISH
SALAD.
TAKE a fresh white fish or
trout, boil and chop it, but not too fine; put with the same quantity
of chopped cabbage, celery or lettuce; season the same as chicken
salad. Garnish with the tender leaves of the heart of lettuce.
OYSTER
SALAD.
DRAIN the liquor from a quart of
fresh oysters. Put them in hot vinegar enough to cover them placed
over the fire; let them remain until plump, but not cooked; then drop
them immediately in cold water, drain off, and mix with them two
pickled cucumbers cut fine, also a quart of celery cut in dice
pieces, some seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix all well together,
tossing up with a silver fork. Pour over the whole a "
Mayonnaise dressing." Garnish with celery tips and slices of
hard-boiled eggs arranged tastefully.
DUTCH
SALAD.
WASH, split and bone a dozen
anchovies, and roll each one up; wash, split and bone one herring,
and cut it up into small pieces; cut up into dice an equal quantity
of Bologna or Lyons sausage, or of smoked ham and sausages; also, an
equal quantity of the breast of cold roast fowl, or veal; add
likewise, always in the same quantity, and cut into dice, beet-roots,
pickled cucumbers, cold boiled potatoes cut in larger dice, and in
quantity according to taste, but at least thrice as much potato as
anything else; add a tablespoonful of capers, the yolks and whites of
some hard-boiled eggs, minced separately, and a dozen stoned olives;
mix all the ingredients well together, reserving the olives and
anchovies to ornament the top of the bowl; beat up together oil and
Tarragon vinegar with white pepper and French mustard to taste; pour
this over the salad and serve.
HAM
SALAD.
TAKE cold boiled ham, fat and
lean together, chop it until it is thoroughly mixed and the pieces
are about the size of peas; then add to this an equal quantity of
celery cut fine, if celery is out of season, lettuce may be
substituted. Line a dish thickly with lettuce leaves and fill with
the chopped ham and celery. Make a dressing, the same as for cold
slaw and turn over the whole. Very fine.
CRAB
SALAD.
BOIL three dozen hard-shell
crabs twenty-five minutes; drain and let them cool gradually; remove
the upper shell and the tail, break the remainder apart and pick out
the meat carefully. The large claws should not be forgotten, for they
contain a dainty morsel, and the creamy fat attached to the upper
shell should not be overlooked. Line a salad bowl with the small
white leaves of two heads of lettuce, add the crab meat, pour over it
a " Mayonnaise" garnish with crab claws, hard-boiled eggs
and little mounds of cress leaves, which may be mixed with the salad
when served.
COLD
SLAW.
SELECT the finest head of
bleached cabbage — that is to say one of the finest and most
compact of the more delicate varieties; cut up enough into shreds to
fill a large vegetable dish or salad bowl — that to be regulated by
the size of the cabbage and the quantity required; shave very fine
and after that chop up, the more thoroughly the better. Put this into
a dish in which it is to be served, after seasoning it well with salt
and pepper. Turn over it a dressing made as for cold slaw; mix it
well and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs.
PLAIN
COLD SLAW.
SLICE cabbage very fine; season
with salt, pepper and a little sugar; pour over vinegar and mix
thoroughly. It is nice served in the centre of a platter with fried
oysters around it.
HOT
SLAW.
CUT the cabbage as for cold
slaw; put it into a stewpan and set it on the top of the stove for
half an hour, or till hot all through; do not let it boil. Then make
a dressing the same as for cold slaw, and, while hot, pour it over
the hot cabbage. Stir it until well mixed and the cabbage looks
coddled. Serve immediately.
TOMATO
SALAD.
PEEL and slice twelve good,
sound, fresh tomatoes; the slices about a quarter of an inch thick.
Set them on the ice or in a refrigerator while you make the dressing.
Make the same as " Mayonnaise," or you may use " Cream
dressing." Take one head of the broad-leaved variety of lettuce,
wash, and arrange them neatly around the sides of a salad bowl. Place
the cold, sliced tomatoes in the centre. Pour over the dressing and
serve.
ENDIVE.
THIS ought to be nicely blanched
and crisp, and is the most wholesome of all salads. Take two, cut
away the root, remove the dark green leaves, and pick off all the
rest; wash and drain well, add a few chives. Dress with "
Mayonnaise dressing."
Endive
is extensively cultivated
for the adulteration of coffee; is also a fine relish, and has broad
leaves. Endive is of the same nature as chicory, the leaves being
curly.
CELERY
SALAD.
PREPARE the dressing the same as
for tomato salad; cut the celery into bits half an inch long, and
season. Serve at once before the vinegar injures the crispness of the
vegetables.
LETTUCE
SALAD.
TAKE the yolks of three
hard-boiled eggs, and salt and mustard to taste; mash it fine; make a
paste by adding a dessertspoonful of olive oil or melted butter (use
butter always when it is difficult to get fresh
oil); mix thoroughly, and then dilute by adding gradually
a teacupful of vinegar, and pour over the lettuce. Garnish by slicing
another egg and laying over the lettuce. This is sufficient for a
moderate-sized dish of lettuce.
POTATO
SALAD, HOT.
PARE six or eight large
potatoes, and boil till done, and slice thin while hot; peel and cut
up three large onions into small bits and mix with the potatoes; cut
up some breakfast bacon into small bits, sufficient to fill a teacup
and fry it a light brown; remove the meat, and into the grease stir
three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, making a sour gravy, which with the
bacon pour over the potato and onion; mix lightly. To be eaten when
hot.
POTATO
SALAD, COLD.
CHOP cold boiled potatoes fine,
with enough raw onions to season nicely; make a dressing as for
lettuce salad, and pour over it.
BEAN
SALAD.
STRING young beans; break into
half -inch pieces or leave whole; wash and cook soft in salt water;
drain well; add finely chopped onions, pepper, salt and vinegar; when
cool, add olive oil or melted butter.
TO
DRESS CUCUMBERS RAW.
THEY should be as fresh from the
vine as possible, few vegetables being more unwholesome when long
gathered. As soon as they are brought in lay them in cold water. Just
before they are to go to the table take them out, pare them and slice
them into a pan of fresh cold water. When they are all sliced,
transfer them to a deep dish; season them with a little salt and
black pepper, and pour over them some of the best vinegar. You may
mix with them a small quantity of sliced onions, not to be eaten, but
to communicate a slight flavor of onion to the vinegar.
CELERY
UNDRESSED.
CELERY is sometimes sent to the
table without dressing. Scrape the outside stalks, and cut off the
green tops and the roots; lay it in cold water until near the time to
serve, then change the water, in which let it stand three or four
minutes; split the stalks in three, with a sharp knife, being careful
not to break them, and serve in goblet-shaped salad glasses.
To
crisp celery, let it lie in
ice-water two hours before serving; to fringe the stalks, stick
several coarse needles into a cork, and draw the stalk half way from
the top through the needles several times and lay in the refrigerator
to curl and crisp.
RADISHES.
ALL the varieties are generally
served in the same manner, by scraping and placing on the table in
glasses containing some cold water to keep them fresh looking.
PEPPERGRASS
AND CRESS.
THESE are used mostly as an
appetizer, served simply with salt, Cresses are occasionally used in
making salad.
HORSE-RADISH.
HORSE-RADISH is an agreeable
relish, and has a particularly fresh taste in the spring; is scraped
fine or grated, and set on the table in a small covered cup; much
that is bottled and sold as horse-radish is adulterated with grated
turnip.
LETTUCE.
WASH each leaf separately,
breaking them from the head; crisp in ice-water and serve the leaves
whole, to be prepared at table, providing hard-boiled eggs cut in
halves or slices, oil and other ingredients, to be mixed at table to
individual taste.
CATSUPS.
TOMATO
CATSUP. No. 1.
PUT into two quarts of tomato
pulp (or two cans of canned tomatoes) one onion, cut fine, two
tablespoonfuls of salt and three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar. Boil
until quite thick; then take from the fire and 'strain it through a
sieve, working it until it is all through but the seeds. Put it back
on the stove, and add two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one of allspice,
one of black pepper and one of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of ground
cloves, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one grated nutmeg, one
pint of good vinegar; boil it until it will just run from the mouth
of a bottle. It should be watched, stirred of ten, that it does not
burn. If sealed tight while hot, in large-mouthed bottles, it will
keep good for years.
TOMATO
CATSUP. No. 2.
COOK one gallon of choice ripe
tomatoes; strain them, and cook again until they become quite thick.
About fifteen minutes before taking up put into them a small level
teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one tablespoonful of mustard seed,
half a tablespoonful of whole cloves, one tablespoonful of whole
allspice, all tied in a thin muslin bag. At the same time, add one
heaping tablespoonful of sugar, and one teacupful of best vinegar and
salt to suit the taste. Seal up air-tight, either in bottles or jugs.
This is a valuable Southern recipe.
GREEN
TOMATO CATSUP.
ONE peck of green tomatoes and
two large onions sliced. Place them in layers, sprinkling salt
between; let them stand twenty-four hours and then drain them. Add a
quarter of a pound of mustard seed, one ounce allspice, one ounce
cloves, one ounce ground mustard, one ounce ground ginger, two
tablespoonfuls black pepper, two teaspoonfuls celery seed, a quarter
of a pound of brown sugar. Put all in preserving-pan, cover with
vinegar and boil two hours; then strain through a sieve and bottle
for use.
WALNUT
CATSUP.
ONE hundred walnuts, six ounces
of shallots, one head of garlic, half a pound of salt, two quarts of
vinegar, two ounces of anchovies, two ounces of pepper, a quarter of
an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves; beat in a large mortar a
hundred green walnuts until they are thoroughly broken; then put them
into a jar with six ounces of shallots cut into pieces, a head of
garlic, two quarts of vinegar and the half pound of salt; let them
stand for a fortnight, stirring them twice a day. Strain off the
liquor, put into a stewpan with the anchovies, whole pepper, half an
ounce of cloves and a quarter of an ounce of mace; boil it half an
hour, skimming it well. Strain it off, and, when cold, pour it clear
from any sediment into small bottles, cork it down closely and store
it in a dry place. The sediment can be used for flavoring sauces.
OYSTER
CATSUP.
ONE pint of oyster meats, one
teacupful of sherry, a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of
cayenne pepper, the same of powdered mace, a gill of cider vinegar.
Procure
the oysters very fresh
and open sufficient to fill a pint measure; save the liquor and scald
the oysters in it with the sherry; strain the oysters and chop them
fine with the salt, cayenne and mace, until reduced to a pulp; then
add it to the liquor in which they were Scalded; boil it again five
minutes and skim well; rub the whole through a sieve, and, when cold,
bottle and cork closely. The corks should be sealed.
MUSHROOM
CATSUP.
USE the larger kind known as
umbrellas or "flaps." They must be very fresh and not
gathered in very wet weather, or the catsup will be less apt to keep.
Wash and cut them in two to four pieces, and place them in a wide,
flat jar or crock in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt, and let
them stand for twenty-four hours; take them out and press out the
juice, when bottle and cork; put the mushrooms back again, and in
another twenty-four hours press them again; battle and cork; repeat
this for the third time, and then mix together all the juice
extracted; add to it pepper, allspice, one or more cloves according
to quantity, pounded together; boil the whole, and skim as long as
any scum rises; bottle when cool; put in each bottle two cloves and a
pepper-corn. Cork and seal, put in a dry place, and it will keep for
years.
GOOSEBERRY
CATSUP.
TEN pounds of fruit gathered
just before ripening, five pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, two
tablespoonfuls each of ground black pepper, allspice and cinnamon.
Boil the fruit in vinegar until reduced to a pulp, then add sugar and
the other seasoning. Seal it hot.
Grape
catsup is made in the same
manner.
CUCUMBER
CATSUP.
TAKE cucumbers suitable for the
table; peel and grate them, salt a little, and put in a bag to drain
over night; in the morning season to taste with salt, pepper and
vinegar, put in small jars and seal tight for fall or winter use.
CURRANT
CATSUP.
FOUR pounds of currants, two
pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of cloves, a
tablespoonful of cinnamon, pepper and allspice. Boil in a porcelain
saucepan until thoroughly cooked. Strain through a sieve all but the
skins; boil down until just thick enough to run freely from the mouth
of a bottle when cold. Cork and set aside.
APPLE
CATSUP.
PEEL and quarter a dozen sound,
tart apples; stew them until soft in as little water as possible,
then pass them through a sieve. To a quart of the sifted apple, add a
teacupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of pepper, one of cloves, one of
mustard, two of cinnamon, and two medium-sized onions, chopped very
fine. Stir all together, adding a tablespoonful of salt and a pint of
vinegar. Place over the fire and boil one hour, and bottle while hot;
seal very tight. It should be about as thick as tomato catsup, so
that it will just run from the bottle.
CELERY
VINEGAR.
A QUART of fresh celery, chopped
fine, or a quarter of a pound of celery seed; one quart of best
vinegar; one tablespoonful of salt, and one of white sugar. Put the
celery or seed into a jar, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt; pour it
boiling hot over the celery, let it cool, cover it tightly and set
away. In two weeks strain and bottle.
SPICED
VINEGAR.
TAKE one quart of cider vinegar,
put into it half an ounce of celery seed, one-third of an ounce of
dried mint, one-third of an ounce of dried parsley, one garlic, three
small onions, three whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole
pepper-corns, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, salt to taste and a
tablespoonful of sugar; add a tablespoonful of good brandy. Put all
into a jar, and cover it well; let it stand for three weeks, then
strain and bottle it well. Useful for flavoring salad and other
dishes.
PICKLES.
PICKLES
should never be put into
vessels of brass, copper or tin, as the action of the acid on such
metals often results in poisoning the pickles. Porcelain or
granite-ware is the best for such purposes.
Vinegar
that is used for
pickling should be the best cider or white-wine, and should never be
boiled more than five or six minutes, as it reduces its strength. In
putting away pickles, use stone or glass jars; the glazing on common
earthenware is rendered injurious by the action of the vinegar. When
the jar is nearly filled with the pickles, the vinegar should
completely cover them, and if there is any appearance of their not
doing well, turn off the vinegar, cover with fresh vinegar and
spices. A him in small quantities is useful in making them firm and
crisp. In using ground spices, tie them up in muslin bags.
To
green pickles, put green
grape-vine leaves or green cabbage leaves between them when heating.
Another way is to heat them in strong ginger tea. Pickles should be
kept closely covered, put into glass jars and sealed tightly.
"Turmeric"
is India
saffron, and is used very much in pickling as a coloring.
A
piece of horse-radish put into
a jar of pickles will keep the vinegar from losing its strength, and
the pickles will keep sound much longer, especially tomato pickles.
CUCUMBER
PICKLES.
SELECT the medium, small-sized
cucumbers. For one bushel make a brine that will bear up an egg; heat
it boiling hot and pour it over the cucumbers; let them stand
twenty-four hours, then wipe them dry; heat some vinegar boiling hot
and pour over them, standing again twenty-four hours. . Now change
the vinegar, putting on fresh vinegar, adding one quart of brown
sugar, a pint of white mustard seed, a small handful of whole cloves,
the same of cinnamon sticks, a piece of alum the size of an egg, half
a cup of celery seed; heat it all boiling hot and pour over the
cucumbers.
SLICED
CUCUMBER PICKLE.
TAKE one gallon of medium-sized
cucumbers, put them into a jar or pail. Put into enough boiling
water to cover them a small handful of salt, turn it over them and
cover closely; repeat this three mornings, and the fourth morning
scald enough cider vinegar to cover them, putting into it a piece of
alum as large as a walnut, a teacup of horseradish root cut up fine;
then tie up in a small muslin bag, one teaspoonful of mustard, one of
ground cloves, and one of cinnamon. Slice up the cucumbers half of an
inch thick, place them in glass jars and pour the scalding vinegar
over them. Seal tight and they will keep good a year or more.
Mrs.
Lydia, C. Wright, South
Vernon, Vermont.
CUCUMBER
PICKLES. (For Winter Use.)
A GOOD way to put down
cucumbers, a few at a time: —
]When
gathered from the vines,
wash, and put in a firkin or half barrel layers or cucumbers and
rock-salt alternately, enough salt to make sufficient brine to cover
them, no water; cover with a cloth; keep them under the brine with a
heavy board; take off the cloth, and rinse it every time you put in
fresh cucumbers, as a scum will rise and settle upon it. Use plenty
of salt and it will keep a year. To prepare pickles for use, soak in
hot water, and keep in a warm place until they are fresh enough, then
pour spiced vinegar over them and let them stand over night, then
pour that off and put on fresh.
GREEN
TOMATO PICKLES. (Sweet.)
ONE peck of green tomatoes,
sliced the day before you are ready for pickling, sprinkling them
through and through with salt, not too heavily; in the morning drain
off the liquor that will drain from them. Have a dozen good-sized
onions rather coarsely sliced; take a suitable kettle and put in a
layer of the sliced tomatoes, then of onions, and between each layer
sprinkle the following spices: Six red peppers chopped coarsely, one
cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of ground allspice, one tablespoonful
of ground cinnamon, a teaspoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of
mustard. Turn over three pints of good vinegar, or enough to
completely cover them; boil until tender. This is a choice recipe.
If
the flavor of onions is
objectionable, the pickle is equally as good without them.
GREEN
TOMATO PICKLES. (Sour.)
WASH and slice, without peeling,
one peck of sound green tomatoes, put them into a jar in layers with
a slight sprinkling of salt between. This may be done over night; in
the morning drain off the liquor that has accumulated. Have two dozen
medium-sized onions peeled and sliced, also six red peppers chopped
fine. Make some spiced vinegar by boiling for half an hour a quart of
cider vinegar with whole spices in it. Now take a porcelain kettle
and place in it some of the sliced tomatoes, then some of the sliced
onions; shake in some black pepper and some of the chopped red
peppers; pour over some of the spiced vinegar; then repeat with the
tomatoes, onions, etc., until the kettle is full; cover with cold,
pure cider vinegar and cook until tender, but not too soft. Turn into
a jar well covered and set in a cool place.
PICKLED
MUSHROOMS.
SUFFICIENT vinegar to cover the
mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms two blades pounded mace, one
ounce ground pepper, salt to taste. Choose some nice young button
mushrooms for pickling and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel
and salt, and cut off the stalks; if very large, take out the red
inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them in a
stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the
above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor
flows and keep them there until it is all dried up again; then add as
much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for one minute
and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold tie down with
bladder and keep in a dry place; they will remain good for a length
of time, and are generally considered excellent for flavoring stews
and other dishes.
PICKLED
CABBAGE. (Purple.)
Cut a sound cabbage into
quarters, spread it on a large flat platter or dish and sprinkle
thickly with salt; set it in a cool place for twenty-four hours; then
drain off the brine, wipe it dry and lay it in the sun two hours, and
cover with cold vinegar for twelve hours. Prepare a pickle by
seasoning enough vinegar to cover the cabbage with equal quantities
of mace, allspice, cinnamon and black pepper, a cup of sugar to every
gallon of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of celery seed to every pint.
Pack the cabbage in a stone jar; boil the vinegar and spices five
minutes and pour on hot. Cover and set away in a cool, dry place. It
will be good in a month. A few slices of beet-root improves the
color.
PICKLED
WHITE CABBAGE.
THIS recipe recommends itself as
of a delightful flavor yet easily made, and a convenient substitute
for the old-fashioned, tedious method of pickling the same vegetable.
Take a peck of quartered cabbage, put a layer of cabbage and one of
salt, let it remain over night; in the morning squeeze them and put
them on the fire, with four chopped onions covered with vinegar; boil
for half an hour, then add one ounce of turmeric, one gill of black
pepper, one gill of celery seed, a few cloves, one tablespoonful of
allspice, a few pieces of ginger, half an ounce of mace, and two
pounds of brown sugar. Let it boil half an hour longer, and when cold
it is fit for use. Four tablespoonfuls of made mustard should be
added with the other ingredients.
PICKLED
CAULIFLOWER.
BREAK the heads into small
pieces and boil ten or fifteen minutes in salt and water; remove from
the water and drain carefully. When cold, place in a jar, and pour
over it hot vinegar, in which has been scalded a liberal supply of
whole cloves, pepper, allspice and white mustard. Tie the spices in a
bag, and, on removing the vinegar from the fire, stir into each quart
of it two teaspoonfuls of French mustard, and half a cup of white
sugar. Cover tightly and be sure to have the vinegar cover the
pickle.
PICKLED
GREEN PEPPERS.
TAKE two dozen large, green,
bell peppers, extract the seeds by cutting a slit in the side (so as
to leave them whole). Make a strong brine and pour over them; let
them stand twenty-four hours. Take them out of the brine, and soak
them in water for a day and a night; now turn off this water and
scald some vinegar, in which put a small piece of alum, and pour over
them, letting them stand three days. Prepare a stuffing of two hard
heads of white cabbage, chopped fine, seasoned slightly with salt and
a cup of white mustard seed; mix it well and stuff the peppers hard
and full; stitch up, place them in a stone jar, and pour over spiced
vinegar scalding hot. Cover tightly.
GREEN
PEPPER MANGOES.
SELECT firm, sound, green
peppers, and add a few red ones as they are ornamental and look well
upon the table. With a sharp knife remove the top, take out the seed,
soak over night in salt water, then fill with chopped cabbage and
green tomatoes, seasoned with salt, mustard seed and ground cloves.
Sew on the top. Boil vinegar sufficient to cover them, with a cup of
brown sugar, and pour over the mangoes. Do this three mornings, then
seal.
CHOWCHOW.
(Superior English Recipe.)
THIS excellent pickle is seldom
made at home, as we can get the imported article so much better than
it can be made from the usual recipes. This we vouch for being as
near the genuine article as can be made: One quart of young, tiny
cucumbers, not over two inches long, two quarts of very small white
onions, two quarts of tender string beans, each one cut in halves,
three quarts of green tomatoes, sliced and chopped very coarsely, two
fresh heads of cauliflower, cut into small pieces, or two heads of
white, hard cabbage.
After
preparing these articles,
put them in a stone jar, mix them together, sprinkling salt between
them sparingly. Let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain off all
the brine that has accumulated. Now put these vegetables in a
preserving kettle over the fire, sprinkling through them an ounce of
turmeric for coloring, six red peppers, chopped coarsely, four
tablespoonfuls of mustard seed, two of celery seed, two of whole
allspice, two of whole cloves, a coffee cup of sugar, and two-thirds
of a teacup of best ground mixed mustard. Pour on enough of the best
cider vinegar to cover the whole well; cover tightly and simmer all
well until it is cooked all through and seems tender, watching and
stirring it often. Put in bottles or glass jars. It grows better as
it grows older, especially if sealed when hot.
PICKLED
ONIONS.
PEEL small onions until they are
white. Scald them in salt and water until tender, then take them up,
put them into wide-mouthed bottles, and pour over them hot spiced
vinegar; when cold cork them close. Keep in a dry, dark place. A
tablespoonful of sweet oil may be put in the bottles before the cork.
The best sort of onions for pickling are the small white buttons.
PICKLED
MANGOES.
LET the mangoes, or young
musk-melons, lie in salt water, strong enough to bear an egg, for two
weeks; then soak them in pure water for two days, changing the water
two or three times; then remove the seeds and put the mangoes in a
kettle, first a layer of grape leaves, then mangoes, and so on until
all are in, covering the top with leaves; add a lump of alum the size
of a hickory nut; pour vinegar over them and boil them ten or fifteen
minutes; remove the leaves and let the pickles stand in this vinegar
for a week; then stuff them with the following mixture: One pound of
ginger soaked in brine for a day or two, and cut in slices, one ounce
of black pepper, one of mace, one of allspice, one of turmeric, half
a pound of garlic, soaked for a day or two in brine and then dried;
one pint grated horse-radish, one of black mustard seed and one of
white mustard seed; bruise all the spices and mix with a teacup of
pure olive oil; to each mango add one teaspoonful of brown sugar; cut
one solid head of cabbage fine; add one pint of small onions, a few
small cucumbers and green tomatoes; lay them in brine a day and a
night, then drain them well and add the imperfect mangoes chopped
fine and the spices; mix thoroughly, stuff the mangoes and tie them;
put them in a stone jar and pour over them the best cider vinegar;
set them in a bright, dry place until they are canned. In a month add
three pounds of brown sugar or if this is not sufficient, add more
until agreeable to taste. This is for four dozen mangoes.
PICKLE
OF RIPE CUCUMBERS.
THIS is a French recipe and is
the most excellent of all the high-flavored condiments; it is made by
sun-drying
thirty
old,
full grown cucumbers, which have first been pared and split, had the
seeds taken out, been salted and let stand twenty-four hours. The sun
should be permitted to dry,
not simply drain them. When they are moderately dry, wash them with
vinegar and place them in layers in a jar, alternating them with a
layer of horse-radish, mustard seed, garlic and onions for each layer
of cucumbers. Boil in one quart of vinegar, one ounce of race ginger,
half an ounce of allspice and the same of turmeric; when cool pour
this over the cucumbers, tie up tightly and set away. This pickle
requires several months to mature it, but is delicious when old,
keeps admirably, and only a little is needed as a relish.
PICKLED
OYSTERS.
ONE gallon of oysters; wash them
well in their own liquor; carefully clear away the particles of
shell, then put them into a kettle, strain the liquor over them, add
salt to your taste, let them just come to the boiling point, or until
the edges curl up; then skim them out and lay in a dish to cool; put
a sprig of mace and a little cold pepper and allow the liquor to boil
some time, skimming it now and then so long as any scum rises. Pour
it into a pan and let it cool. When perfectly cool, add a half pint
of strong vinegar, place the oysters in a jar and pour the liquor
over them.
RIPE
CUCUMBER PICKLES. (Sweet.)
PARE and seed ripe cucumbers.
Slice each cucumber lengthwise into four pieces, or cut it into fancy
shapes, as preferred. Let them stand twenty-four hours covered with
cold vinegar. Drain them; then put them into fresh vinegar, with two
pounds of sugar and one ounce of cassia buds to one quart of vinegar,
and a tablespoonful of salt. Boil all together twenty minutes. Cover
them closely in a jar.
PICCALILLI.
ONE peck of green tomatoes;
eight large onions chopped fine, with one cup of salt well stirred
in. Let it stand over night; in the morning drain off all the liquor.
Now take two quarts of water and one of vinegar, boil all together
twenty minutes. Drain all through a sieve or colander. Put it back
into the kettle again; turn over it two quarts of vinegar, one pound
of sugar, half a pound of white mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls of
ground pepper, two of cinnamon, one of cloves, two of ginger, one of
allspice, and half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper. Boil all together
fifteen minutes or until tender. Stir it often to prevent scorching.
Seal in glass jars.
A
most delicious accompaniment
for any kind of meat or fish.
Mrs.
St. Johns.
PICKLED
EGGS.
PICKLED eggs are very easily
prepared and most excellent as an accompaniment for cold meats. Boil
quite hard three dozen eggs, drop in cold water and remove the
shells, and pack them when entirely cold in a wide-mouthed jar, large
enough to let them in or out without breaking. Take as much vinegar
as you think will cover them entirely and boil it in white pepper,
allspice, a little root ginger; pack them in stone or wide-mouthed
glass jars, occasionally putting in a tablespoonful of white and
black mustard seed mixed, a small piece of race ginger, garlic, if
liked, horse-radish ungrated, whole cloves, and a very little
allspice. Slice two of three green peppers, and add in very small
quantities. They will be fit for use in eight or ten days.
AN
ORNAMENTAL PICKLE.
BOIL fresh eggs half an hour,
then put them in cold water. Boil red beets until tender, peel and
cut in dice form, and cover with vinegar, spiced; shell the eggs and
drop into the pickle jar.
EAST
INDIA PICKLE.
LAY in strong brine for two
weeks, or until convenient to use them, small cucumbers, very small
common white onions, snap beans, gherkins, hard white cabbage
quartered, plums, peaches, pears, lemons, green tomatoes and anything
else you may wish. When ready, take them out of the brine and simmer
in pure water until tender enough to stick a straw through — if
still too salt, soak in clear water; drain thoroughly and lay them in
vinegar in which is dissolved one ounce of turmeric to the gallon.
For five gallons of pickle, take two ounces of mace, two of cloves,
two of cinnamon, two of allspice, two of celery seed, a quarter of a
pound of white race ginger, cracked fine, half a pound of white
mustard seed, half a pint of small red peppers, quarter of a pound of
grated horse-radish, half a pint of flour mustard, two ounces of
turmeric, half a pint of garlic, if you like; soak in two gallons of
cider vinegar for two weeks, stirring daily. After the pickles have
lain in the turmeric vinegar for a week, take them out and put in
jars or casks, one layer of pickle and one of spice out of the
vinegar, till all is used. If the turmeric vinegar is still good and
strong, add it and the spiced vinegar. If the turmeric vinegar be
much diluted do not use it, but add enough fresh to the spiced to
cover the pickles; put it on the fire with a pound of brown sugar to
each gallon; when boiling, pour over the pickle. Repeat this two or
three times as your taste may direct.
MIXED
PICKLES.
SCALD in salt water until tender
cauliflower heads, small onions, peppers, cucumbers cut in dice,
nasturtiums and green beans; then drain until dry and pack into
wide-mouthed bottles. Boil in each pint of cider vinegar one
tablespoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt and two
tablespoonfuls of mustard; pour over the pickle and seal carefully.
Other spices may be added if liked.
BLUEBERRY
PICKLES.
FOR blueberry pickles, old jars
which have lost their covers, or whose edges have been broken so that
the covers will not fit tightly, serve an excellent purpose as these
pickles must not be kept air-tight.
Pick
over your berries, using
only sound ones; fill your jars or wide-mouthed bottles to within an
inch of the top, then pour in molasses enough to settle down into all
the spaces; this cannot be done in a moment, as molasses does not run
very freely. Only lazy people will feel obliged to stand by and watch
its progress. As it settles, pour in more until the berries are
covered. Then tie over the top a piece of cotton cloth to keep the
flies and other insects out and set away in the preserve closet.
Cheap molasses is good enough, and your pickles will soon be "sharp."
Wild grapes may be pickled in the same manner.
PICKLED
BUTTERNUTS AND WALNUTS.
THESE nuts are in the best state
for pickling when the outside shell can be penetrated by the head of
a pin. Scald them and rub off the outside skin, put them in a strong
brine for six days, changing the water every other day, keeping them
closely covered from the air. Then drain and wipe them (piercing each
nut through in several places with a large needle) and prepare the
pickle as follows: For a hundred large nuts, take of black pepper and
ginger root each an ounce; and of cloves, mace and nutmeg, each a
half ounce. Pound all the spices to powder and mix them well
together, adding two large spoonfuls of mustard seed. Put the nuts
into jars (having first stuck each of them through in several places
with a large needle), strewing the powdered seasoning between every
layer of nuts. Boil for five minutes a gallon of the very best cider
vinegar and pour it boiling hot upon the nuts. Secure the jars
closely with corks. You may begin to eat the nuts in a fortnight.
WATERMELON
PICKLE.
TEN pounds of watermelon rind
boiled in pure water until tender; drain the water off, and make a
syrup of two pounds of white sugar, one quart of vinegar, half an
ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon. The syrup to be poured over
the rind boiling hot three days in succession.
SWEET
PICKLE FOR FRUIT.
MOST of the recipes for making a
sweet pickle for fruit, such as cling-stone peaches, damsons, plums,
cherries, apricots, etc., are so similar, that we give that which is
most successfully used.
To
every quart of fruit, allow a
cup of white sugar and a large pint of good cider vinegar, adding
half an ounce of stick cinnamon, one tablespoonful of whole cloves,
the same of whole allspice. Let it come to a boil, and pour it hot
over the fruit; repeat this two or three days in succession; then
seal hot in glass jars if you wish to keep it for a long time
The fruit,
not the liquor, is to be eaten, and used the same as any pickle. Some
confound this with "Spiced Fruit," which is not treated the
same, one being a pickle, the other a spiced preserve boiled down
thick.
Damsons
and plums should be
pricked with a needle, and peaches washed with a weak lye, and then
rubbed with a coarse cloth to remove the fur.
PEAR
PICKLE.
SELECT small, sound ones, remove
the blossom end, stick them with a fork, allow to each quart of pears
one pint of cider vinegar and one cup of sugar, put in a teaspoonful
allspice, cinnamon and cloves to boil with the vinegar; then add the
pears and boil, and seal in jars.
SPICED
CURRANTS.
SEVEN pounds of fruit, four
pounds of sugar, one pint of good cider vinegar, one tablespoonful of
ground cinnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves. Put into a kettle and
boil until the fruit is soft; then skim out the fruit, putting it on
dishes until the syrup is boiled down thick. Turn the fruit back into
the syrup again, so as to heat it all through; then seal it hot in
glass jars, and set it in a cool, dark place.
Any
tart fruit may be put up in
this way, and is considered a very good embellishment for cold meats.
SPICED
PLUMS.
SEVEN pounds of plums, one pint
of cider
vinegar, four pounds of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of broken cinnamon
bark, half as much of whole cloves and the same of broken nutmeg;
place these in a muslin bag and simmer them in a little vinegar and
water for half an hour; then add it all to the vinegar and sugar, and
bring to a boil; add the plums and boil carefully until they are
cooked tender. Before cooking the plums they should be pierced with a
darning needle several times; this will prevent the skins bursting
while cooking.
SPICED
GRAPES.
TAKE the pulp from the grapes,
preserving the skins. Boil the pulp and rub through a colander to get
out the seeds; then add the skins to the strained pulp and boil with
the sugar, vinegar and spices. To every seven pounds of grapes use
four and one-half pounds of sugar, one pint of good vinegar. Spice
quite highly with ground cloves and allspice, with a little cinnamon.
PICKLED
CHERRIES.
SELECT sound, large cherries, as
large as you can get them; to every quart of cherries allow a large
cupful of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a dozen whole cloves,
and half a dozen blades of mace; put the vinegar and sugar on to heat
with the spices; boil five minutes, turn out into a covered stoneware
vessel; cover and let it get perfectly cold; pack the cherries into
jars, and pour the vinegar over them when cold; cork tightly and set
away; they are fit for use almost immediately.
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