Book of Household Management — 086 - Recipes. Chapter 37. Part 2.

1822. INGREDIENTS.

--2 lbs.

of loaf sugar, 2 pints of water, 1 oz.

of citric acid, 12 drachm of essence of lemon.

_Mode_.

--Boil the sugar and water together for 1/4 hour, and put it into a basin, where let it remain till cold.

Beat the citric acid to a powder, mix the essence of lemon with it, then add these two ingredients to the syrup; mix well, and bottle for use.

Two tablespoonfuls of the syrup are sufficient for a tumbler of cold water, and will be found a very refreshing summer drink.

_Sufficient_--2 tablespoonfuls of syrup to a tumbler-ful of cold water.

LEMON WINE.

1823. INGREDIENTS.

--To 4-1/2 gallons of water allow the pulp of 50 lemons, the rind of 25, 16 lbs.

of loaf sugar,--1/2 oz.

of isinglass, 1 bottle of brandy.

_Mode_.

--Peel and slice the lemons, but use only the rind of 25 of them, and put them into the cold water.

Let it stand 8 or 9 days, squeezing the lemons well every day; then strain the water off and put it into a cask with the sugar.

Let it work some time, and when it has ceased working, put in the isinglass.

Stop the cask down; in about six months put in the brandy and bottle the wine off.

_Seasonable_.

--The best time to make this is in January or February, when lemons are best and cheapest.

MALT WINE.

1824. INGREDIENTS.

--5 gallons of water, 28 lbs.

of sugar, 6 quarts of sweet-wort, 6 quarts of tun, 3 lbs.

of raisins, 1/2 lb.

of candy, 1 pint of brandy.

_Mode_.

--Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; skim it well, and put the liquor into a convenient-sized pan or tub.

Allow it to cool;

then mix it with the sweet-wort and tun.

Let it stand for 3 days, then put it into a barrel; here it will work or ferment for another three days or more; then bung up the cask, and keep it undisturbed for 2 or 3 months.

After this, add the raisins (whole), the candy, and brandy, and, in 6 months' time, bottle the wine off.

Those who do not brew, may procure the sweet-wort and tun from any brewer.

Sweet-wort is the liquor that leaves the mash of malt before it is boiled with the hops; tun is the new beer after the whole of the brewing operation has been completed.

_Time_.

--To be boiled 10 minutes; to stand 3 days after mixing; to ferment 3 days; to remain in the cask 2 mouths before the raisins are added; bottle 6 months after.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this in March or October.

HOME-MADE NOYEAU.

1825. INGREDIENTS.

--2 oz.

of bitter almonds, 1 oz.

of sweet ditto, 1 lb.

of loaf sugar, the rinds of 3 lemons, 1 quart of Irish whiskey or gin, 1 tablespoonful of clarified honey, 4 pint of new milk.

_Mode_.

--Blanch and pound the almonds, and mix with them the sugar, which should also be pounded.

Boil the milk; let it stand till quite cold; then mix all the ingredients together, and let them remain for 10 days, shaking them every day.

Filter the mixture through blotting-paper, bottle off for use in small bottles, and seal the corks down.

This will be found useful for flavouring many sweet dishes.

_Average cost_, 2s.

9d.

_Sufficient_ to make about 24 pints of Noyeau.

_Seasonable_.

--May be made at any time.

ORANGE BRANDY.

(_Excellent_.

) 1826. INGREDIENTS.

--To every 1 gallon of brandy allow 3/4 pint of Seville orange-juice, 1-1/4 lb.

of loaf sugar.

_Mode_.

--To bring out the full flavour of the orange-peel, rub a few lumps of the sugar on 2 or 3 unpared oranges, and put these lumps to the rest.

Mix the brandy with the orange-juice, strained, the rinds of 6 of the oranges pared very thin, and the sugar.

Let all stand in a closely-covered jar for about 3 days, stirring it 3 or 4 times a day.

When clear, it should be bottled and closely corked for a year; it will then be ready for use, but will keep any length of time.

This is a most excellent stomachic when taken pure in small quantities; or, as the strength of the brandy is very little deteriorated by the other ingredients, it may be diluted with water.

_Time_.

--To be stirred every day for 3 days.

_Average cost_, 7s.

_Sufficient_ to make 2 quarts.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this in March.

A VERY SIMPLE AND EASY METHOD OF MAKING A VERY SUPERIOR ORANGE WINE.

1827. INGREDIENTS.

--90 Seville oranges, 32 lbs.

of lump sugar, water.

_Mode_.

--Break up the sugar into small pieces, and put it into a dry, sweet 9-gallon cask, placed in a cellar or other storehouse, where it is intended to be kept.

Have ready close to the cask two large pans or wooden keelers, into one of which put the peel of the oranges pared quite thin, and into the other the pulp after the juice has been squeezed from it.

Strain the juice through a piece of double muslin, and put it into the cask with the sugar.

Then pour about 1-1/2 gallon of cold spring water on both the peels and pulp; let it stand for 24 hours, and then strain it into the cask; add more water to the peels and pulp when this is done, and repeat the same process every day for a week: it should take about a week to fill up the cask.

Be careful to apportion the quantity as nearly as possible to the seven days, and to stir the contents of the cask each day.

On the ''third' day after the cask is full,--that is, the 'tenth' day after the commencement of making,--the cask may be securely bunged down.

This is a very simple and easy method, and the wine made according to it will be pronounced to be most excellent.

There is no troublesome boiling, and all fermentation takes place in the cask.

When the above directions are attended to, the wine cannot fail to be good.

It should be bottled in 8 or 9 months, and will be fit for use in a twelve month after the time of making.

Ginger wine may be made in precisely the same manner, only, with the 9-gallon cask for ginger wine, 2 lbs.

of the best whole ginger, 'bruised', must be put with the sugar.

It will be found convenient to tie the ginger loosely in a muslin bag.

_Time_.

--Altogether, 10 days to make it.

_Average cost_, 2s.

6d.

per gallon.

_Sufficient_ for 9 gallons.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this in March, and bottle it the following January.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR.

1828. INGREDIENTS.

--To every 3 pints of the best vinegar allow 4-1/2 pints of freshly-gathered raspberries; to each pint of liquor allow 1 lb.

of pounded loaf sugar, 1 wineglassful of brandy.

_Mode_.

--Let the raspberries be freshly gathered; pick them from the stalks, and put 1-1/2 pint of them into a stone jar; pour 3 pints of the best vinegar over them, and let them remain for 24 hours; then strain the liquor over another 1-1/2 pint of fresh raspberries.

Let them remain another 24 hours, and the following day repeat the process for the third time; then drain off the liquor without pressing, and pass it through a jelly-bag (previously wetted with plain vinegar), into a stone jar.

Add to every pint of the liquor 1 lb.

of pounded loaf sugar; stir them together, and, when the sugar is dissolved, cover the jar; set it upon the fire in a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil for an hour, removing the scum as fast as it rises; add to each pint a glass of brandy, bottle it, and seal the corks.

This is an excellent drink in cases of fevers and colds: it should be diluted with cold water, according to the taste or requirement of the patient.

_Time_.

--To be boiled 1 hour.

Average cost, 1s.

per pint.

_Sufficient_ to make 2 quarts.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this in July or August, when raspberries are most plentiful.

RHUBARB WINE.

1829. INGREDIENTS.

--To every 5 lbs.

of rhubarb pulp allow 1 gallon of cold spring water; to every gallon of liquor allow 3 lbs.

of loaf sugar, 1/2 oz.

of isinglass, the rind of 1 lemon.

_Mode_.

--Gather the rhubarb about the middle of May; wipe it with a wet cloth, and, with a mallet, bruise it in a large wooden tub or other convenient means.

When reduced to a pulp, weigh it, and to every 5 lbs.

add 1 gallon of cold spring water; let these remain for 3 days, stirring 3 or 4 times a day; and, on the fourth day, press the pulp through a hair sieve; put the liquor into a tub, and to every gallon put 3 lbs.

of loaf sugar; stir in the sugar until it is quite dissolved, and add the lemon-rind; let the liquor remain, and, in 4, 5, or 6 days, the fermentation will begin to subside, and a crust or head will be formed, which should be skimmed off, or the liquor drawn from it, when the crust begins to crack or separate.

Put the wine into a cask, and if, after that, it ferments, rack it off into another cask, and in a fortnight stop it down.

If the wine should have lost any of its original sweetness, add a little more loaf sugar, taking care that the cask is full.

Bottle it off in February or March, and in the summer it should be fit to drink.

It will improve greatly by keeping; and, should a very brilliant colour be desired, add a little currant-juice.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this about the middle of May.

WELSH NECTAR.

1830. INGREDIENTS.

--1 lb.

of raisins, 3 lemons, 2 lbs.

of loaf sugar, 2 gallons of boiling water.

_Mode_.

--Cut the peel of the lemons very thin, pour upon it the boiling water, and, when cool, add the strained juice of the lemons, the sugar, and the raisins, stoned and chopped very fine.

Let it stand 4 or 5 days, stirring it every day; then strain it through a jelly-bag, and bottle it for present use.

_Time_.

--4 or 5 days.

_Average cost_, 1s.

9d.

_Sufficient_ to make 2 gallons.

CLARET-CUP.

[Illustration: CLARET CUP.

] 1831. INGREDIENTS.

--1 bottle of claret, 1 bottle of soda-water, about 1/2 lb.

of pounded ice, 4 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 liqueur-glass of Maraschino, a sprig of green borage.

_Mode_.

--Put all the ingredients into a silver cup, regulating the proportion of ice by the state of the weather: if very warm, a larger quantity would be necessary.

Hand the cup round with a clean napkin passed through one of the handles, that the edge of the cup may be wiped after each guest has partaken of the contents thereof.

_Seasonable_ in summer.

CLARETS.

--All those wines called in England clarets are the produce of the country round Bordeaux, or the Bordelais; but it is remarkable that there is no pure wine in France known by the name of claret, which is a corruption of _clairet_, a term that is applied there to any red or rose-coloured wine.

Round Bordeaux are produced a number of wines of the first quality, which pass under the name simply of _vins de Bordeaux_, or have the designation of the particular district where they are made;

as Lafitte, Latour, &c. The clarets brought to the English market are frequently prepared for it by the wine-growers by mixing together several Bordeaux wines, or by adding to them a portion of some other wines; but in France the pure wines are carefully preserved distinct.

The genuine wines of Bordeaux are of great variety, that part being one of the most distinguished in France; and the principal vineyards are those of Medoc, Palus, Graves, and Blanche, the product of each having characters considerably different.

CHAMPAGNE-CUP.

1832. INGREDIENTS.

--1 quart bottle of champagne, 2 bottles of soda-water, 1 liqueur-glass of brandy or Curaçoa, 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, 1 lb.

of pounded ice, a sprig of green borage.

_Mode_.

--Put all the ingredients into a silver cup; stir them together, and serve the same as claret-cup No. 1831. Should the above proportion of sugar not be found sufficient to suit some tastes, increase the quantity.

When borage is not easily obtainable, substitute for it a few slices of cucumber-rind.

_Seasonable_.

--Suitable for pic-nics, balls, weddings, and other festive occasions.

CHAMPAGNE.

--This, the most celebrated of French wines, is the produce chiefly of the province of that name, and is generally understood in England to be a brisk, effervescing, or sparkling white wine, of a very fine flavour; but this is only one of the varieties of this class.

There is both red and white champagne, and each of these may be either still or brisk.

There are the sparkling wines (mousseux), and the still wines (non-mousseux).

The brisk are in general the most highly esteemed, or, at least, are the most popular in this country, on account of their delicate flavour and the agreeable pungency which they derive from the carbonic acid they contain, and to which they owe their briskness.

GINGER BEER.

1833. INGREDIENTS.

--2-1/2 lbs.

of loaf sugar, 1-1/2 oz.

of bruised ginger, 1 oz.

of cream of tartar, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, 3 gallons of boiling water, 2 large tablespoonfuls of thick and fresh brewer's yeast.

_Mode_.

--Peel the lemons, squeeze the juice, strain it, and put the peel and juice into a large earthen pan, with the bruised ginger, cream of tartar, and loaf sugar.

Pour over these ingredients 3 gallons of boiling water; let it stand until just warm, when add the yeast, which should be thick and perfectly fresh.

Stir the contents of the pan well, and let them remain near the fire all night, covering the pan over with a cloth.

The next day skim off the yeast, and pour the liquor carefully into another vessel, leaving the sediment; then bottle immediately, and tie the corks down, and in 3 days the ginger beer will be fit for use.

For some tastes, the above proportion of sugar may be found rather too large, when it may be diminished; but the beer will not keep so long good.

_Average cost_ for this quantity, 2s.

; or 1/2d.

per bottle.

_Sufficient_ to fill 4 dozen ginger-beer bottles.

_Seasonable_.

--This should be made during the summer months.

LEMONADE.

1834. INGREDIENTS--The rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 3 large or 4 small ones, 1 lb.

of loaf sugar, 1 quart of boiling water.

_Mode_.

--Rub some of the sugar, in lumps, on 2 of the lemons until they have imbibed all the oil from them, and put it with the remainder of the sugar into a jug; add the lemon-juice (but no pips), and pour over the whole a quart of boiling water.

When the sugar is dissolved, strain the lemonade through a fine sieve or piece of muslin, and, when cool, it will be ready for use.

The lemonade will be much improved by having the white of an egg beaten up in it; a little sherry mixed with it, also, makes this beverage much nicer.

_Average cost_, 6d.

per quart.

LEMONADE--"There is a current opinion among women" says Brillat Savarin "which every year causes the death of many young women,--that acids, especially vinegar, are preventives of obesity.

Beyond all doubt, acids have the effect of destroying obesity; but they also destroy health and freshness.

Lemonade is, of all acids, the most harmless; but few stomachs can resist it long.

I knew, in 1776, at Dijon, a young lady of great beauty, to whom I was attached by bonds of friendship, great, almost as those of love.

One day, when she had for some time gradually grown pale and thin (previously she had a slight embonpoint), she told me in confidence, that as her young friends had ridiculed her for being fat, she had, to counteract the tendency, been in the habit every day of drinking a large glass of vinaigre.

She died at eighteen years of age, from the effects of these potions."

TO MAKE NEGUS.

1835. INGREDIENTS.

--To every pint of port wine allow 1 quart of boiling water, 1/4 lb.

of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste.

_Mode_.

--As this beverage is more usually drunk at children's parties than at any other, the wine need not be very old or expensive for the purpose, a new fruity wine answering very well for it.

Put the wine into a jug, rub some lumps of sugar (equal to 1/4 lb.

) on the lemon-rind until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the juice, and strain it.

Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port wine, with the grated nutmeg; pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug, and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use.

Negus may also be made of sherry, or any other sweet white wine, but is more usually made of port than of any other beverage.

_Sufficient_--Allow 1 pint of wine, with the other ingredients in proportion, for a party of 9 or 10 children.

A PLEASANT DRINK FOR WARM WEATHER.

1836. INGREDIENTS.

--To every 1-1/2 pint of good ale allow 1 bottle of ginger beer.

_Mode_.

--For this beverage the ginger beer must be in an effervescing state, and the beer not in the least turned or sour.

Mix

them together, and drink immediately.

The draught is refreshing and wholesome, as the ginger corrects the action of the beer.

It does not deteriorate by standing a little, but, of course, is better when taken fresh.

FOR A SUMMER DRAUGHT.

1837. INGREDIENTS.

--The juice of 1 lemon, a tumbler-ful of cold water, pounded sugar to taste, 4 small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.

_Mode_.

--Squeeze the juice from the lemon; strain, and add it to the water, with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely.

When well mixed, put in the soda, stir well, and drink while the mixture is in an effervescing state.

TO MULL WINE.

1838. INGREDIENTS.

--To every pint of wine allow 1 large cupful of water, sugar and spice to taste.

_Mode_.

--In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful.

Boil the spice in the water until the flavour is extracted, then add the wine and sugar, and bring the whole to the boiling-point, when serve with strips of crisp dry toast, or with biscuits.

The spices usually used for mulled wine are cloves, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace.

Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large proportion of sugar.

The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be delicately clean, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose.

Small tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they will spoil the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour.

These warmers should be used for no other purposes.

TO MAKE HOT PUNCH.

1839. INGREDIENTS.

--1/2 pint of rum, 1/2 pint of brandy, 1/4 lb.

of sugar, 1 large lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of nutmeg, 1 pint of boiling water.

[Illustration: PUNCH-BOWL AND LADLE.

] _Mode_.

--Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punchbowl; add the lemon-juice (free from pips), and mix these two ingredients well together.

Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy, and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve.

It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to.

_Sufficient_.

--Allow a quart for 4 persons; but this information must be taken _cum grano salis_; for the capacities of persons for this kind of beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.

PUNCH is a beverage made of various spirituous liquors or wine, hot water, the acid juice of fruits, and sugar.

It is considered to be very intoxicating; but this is probably because the spirit, being partly sheathed by the mucilaginous juice and the sugar, its strength does not appear to the taste so great as it really is.

Punch, which was almost universally drunk among the middle classes about fifty or sixty years ago, has almost disappeared from our domestic tables, being superseded by wine.

There are many different varieties of punch.

It is sometimes kept cold in bottles, and makes a most agreeable summer drink.

In Scotland, instead of the Madeira or sherry generally used in its manufacture, whiskey is substituted, and then its insidious properties are more than usually felt.

Where fresh lemons cannot be had for punch or similar beverages, crystallized citric acid and a few drops of the essence of lemon will be very nearly the same thing.

In the composition of "Regent's punch," champagne, brandy, and _veritable Martinique_ are required; "Norfolk punch" requires Seville oranges; "Milk punch" may be extemporized by adding a little hot milk to lemonade, and then straining it through a jelly-bag.

Then there are "Wine punch," "Tea punch," and "French punch," made with lemons, spirits, and wine, in fantastic proportions.

But of all the compounds of these materials, perhaps, for a _summer_ drink, the North-American "mint julep" is the most inviting.

Captain Marryat gives the following recipe for its preparation:--"Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint; upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill up one third, or, perhaps, a little less; then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler.

Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pineapple; and the tumbler itself is very often encrusted outside with stalactites of ice.

As the ice melts, you drink."

The Virginians, say Captain Marryat, claim the merit of having invented this superb compound; but, from a passage in the "Comus" of Milton, he claims it for his own country.

WHISKEY CORDIAL.

1840. INGREDIENTS.

--1 lb.

of ripe white currants, the rind of 2 lemons, 1/4 oz.

of grated ginger, 1 quart of whiskey, 1 lb.

of lump sugar.

_Mode_.

--Strip the currants from the stalks; put them into a large jug;

add the lemon-rind, ginger, and whiskey; cover the jug closely, and let it remain covered for 24 hours.

Strain through a hair sieve, add the lump sugar, and let it stand 12 hours longer; then bottle, and cork well.

_Time_.

--To stand 24 hours before being strained; 12 hours after the sugar is added.

_Seasonable_.

--Make this in July.

[Illustration] INVALID COOKERY.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.