Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches by Eliza Leslie Published: 1840
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DOMESTIC LIQUORS ETC.
SPRUCE BEER
Put into a large kettle, ten gallons of water, a quarter of a
pound of hops, and a tea-cupful of ginger. Boil them together till
all the hops sink to the bottom. Then dip out a bucket full of the
liquor, and stir into it six quarts of molasses, and three ounces
and a half of the essence of spruce. When all is dissolved, mix it
with the liquor in the kettle; strain it through a hair sieve into
a cask; and stir well into it half a pint of good strong yeast.
Let it ferment a day or two; then bung up the cask, and you may
bottle the beer the next day. It will be fit for use in a week.
For the essence of spruce, you may substitute two pounds of the
outer sprigs of the spruce fir, boiled ten minutes in the liquor.
To make spruce beer for present use, and in a smaller quantity,
boil a handful of hops in two gallons and a half of water, till
they fall to the bottom, Then strain the water, and when it is
lukewarm, stir into it a table-spoonful of ground white ginger; a
pint of molasses; a table-spoonful of essence of spruce; and half
a pint of yeast. Mix the whole well together in a stone jug, and
let it ferment for a day and a half, or two days. Then put it into
bottles, with three or four raisins in the bottom of each, to
prevent any further fermentation. It will then be fit for
immediate use.
GINGER BEER.
Break up a pound and a half of loaf-sugar, and mix with it three
ounces of strong white ginger, and the grated peel of two lemons.
Put these ingredients into a large stone jar, and pour over them
two gallons of boiling water. When it becomes milk-warm strain it,
and add the juice of the lemons and two large table-spoonfuls of
strong yeast. Make this beer in the evening and let it stand all
night. Next morning bottle it in little half pint stone bottles,
tying down the corks with twine.
MOLASSES BEER.
To six quarts of water, add two quarts of West India molasses;
half a pint of the best brewer's yeast; two table-spoonfuls of
ground ginger; and one table-spoonful of cream of tartar. Stir all
together. Let it stand twelve hours, and then bottle it, putting
three or four raisins into each bottle.
It will be much improved by substituting the juice and grated peel
of a large lemon, for one of the spoonfuls of ginger.
Molasses beer keeps good but two or three days.
SASSAFRAS BEER.
Have ready two gallons of soft water; one quart of wheat bran; a
large handful of dried apples; half a pint of molasses; a small
handful of hops; half a pint of strong fresh yeast, and a piece of
sassafras root the size of an egg.
Put all the ingredients (except the molasses and yeast) at once
into a large kettle. Boil it till the apples are quite soft. Put
the molasses into a small clean tub or a large pan. Set a hair
sieve over the vessel, and strain the mixture through it. Let it
stand till it becomes only milk-warm, and then stir in the yeast.
Put the liquor immediately into the keg or jugs, and let it stand
uncorked to ferment. Fill the jugs quite full, that the liquor in
fermenting may run over. Set them in a large tub. When you see
that the fermentation or working has subsided, cork it, and it
will be fit for use next day.
Two large table-spoonfuls of ginger stirred into the molasses will
be found an improvement.
If the yeast is stirred in while the liquor is too warm, it will
be likely to turn sour.
If the liquor is not put immediately into the jugs, it will not
ferment well.
Keep it in a cold place. It will not in warm weather be good more
than two days. It is only made for present use.
GOOSEBERRY WINE.
Allow three gallons of soft water (measured after it has boiled an
hour) to six gallons of gooseberries, which must be full ripe. Top
and tail the gooseberries; put them, a few at a time, into a
wooden dish, and with a rolling-pin or beetle break and mash every
one; transferring them, as they are done, into a large stone jar.
Pour the boiling water upon the mashed gooseberries; cover the
jar, and let them stand twelve hours. Then strain and measure the
juice, and to each quart allow three-quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar;
mix it with the liquid, and let it stand eight or nine
hours to dissolve, stirring it several times.
Then pour it into a keg of proper size for containing it, and let
it ferment at the bung-hole; filling it up as it works out with
some of the liquor reserved for that purpose. As soon as it ceases
to hiss, stop it close with a cloth wrapped round the bung. A pint
of white brandy for every gallon of the gooseberry wine may be
added on bunging it up. At the end of four or five months it will
probably be fine enough to bottle off. It is best to bottle it in
cold frosty weather. You may refine it by allowing to every gallon
of wine the whites of two eggs, beaten to a froth, with a very
small tea-spoonful of salt. When the white of egg, &c, is a stiff
froth, take out a quart of the wine, and mix them well together.
Then pour it into the cask, and in a few days it will be fine and
clear. You may begin to use it any time after it is bottled. Put
two or three raisins in the bottom of each bottle. They will tend
to keep the wine from any farther fermentation.
Fine gooseberry wine has frequently passed for champagne. Keep the
bottles in saw-dust, lying on their sides.
CURRANT WINE.
Take four gallons of ripe currants; strip them from the stalks
into a great stone jar that has a cover to it, and mash them with
a long thick stick. Let them stand twenty-four hours; then put the
currants into a large linen bag; wash out the jar, set it under
the bag, and squeeze the juice into it. Boil together two gallons
and a half of water, and five pounds and a half of the best loaf-sugar,
skimming it well. When the scum ceases to rise, mix the
syrup with the currant juice. Let it stand a fortnight or three
weeks to settle; and then transfer it to another vessel, taking
care not to disturb the lees or dregs. If it is not quite clear
and bright, refine it by mixing with a quart of the wine, (taken
out for the purpose,) the whites of two eggs beaten to a stiff
froth, and half an ounce of cream of tartar. Pour this gradually
into the vessel. Let it stand ten days, and then bottle it off.
Place the bottles in saw-dust, laying them on their sides. Take
care that the saw-dust is not from pine wood. The wine will be fit
to drink in a year, but is better when three or four years old.
You may add a little brandy to it when you make it; allowing a
quart of brandy to six gallons of wine.
RASPBERRY WINE.
Put four gallons of ripe raspberries into a stone jar, and mash
them with a round stick. Take four gallons of soft water,
(measured after it has boiled an hour,) and strain it warm over
the raspberries. Stir it well and let it stand twelve hours. Then
strain it through a bag, and to every gallon of liquor put three
pounds of loaf-sugar. Set it over a clear fire, and boil and skim
it till the scum ceases to rise. When it is cold bottle it. Open
the bottles every day for a fortnight, closing them again in a few
minutes. Then seal the corks, and lay the bottles on their sides
in saw-dust, which must not be from pine wood.
ELDERBERRY WINE.
Gather the elderberries when quite ripe; put them into a stone
jar, mash them with a round stick, and set them in a warm oven, or
in a large kettle of boiling water till the jar is hot through,
and the berries begin to simmer. Then take them out, and press and
strain them through a sieve. To every quart of juice allow a pound
of Havanna or Lisbon sugar, and two quarts of cold soft water. Put
the sugar into a large kettle, pour the juice over it, and, when
it has dissolved, stir in the water. Set the kettle over the fire,
and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise. To four gallons
of the liquor add a pint and a half of brandy. Put it into a keg,
and let it stand with the bung put in loosely for four or five
days, by which time it will have ceased to ferment. Then stop it
closely, plastering the bung with clay. At the end of six months,
draw off a little of it; and if it is not quite clear and bright,
refine it with the whites and shells of three or four eggs, beaten
to a stiff froth and stirred into a quart of the wine, taken out
for the purpose and then returned to the cask; or you may refine
it with an ounce or more of dissolved isinglass. Let it stand a
week or two, and then bottle it.
This is an excellent domestic wine, very common in England, and
deserving to be better known in America, where the elderberry tree
is found in great abundance. Elderberry wine is generally taken
mulled with spice, and warm.
ELDER FLOWER WINE.
Take the flowers or blossoms of the elder tree, and strip them
from the stalks. To every quart of flowers allow one gallon of
water, and three pounds of while sugar. Boil and skim the sugar
and water, and then pour it hot on the flowers. When cool, mix in
with it some lemon juice and some yeast; allowing to six gallons
of the liquor the juice of six lemons, and four or five table-spoonfuls
of good yeast stirred in very hard. Let it ferment for
three days in a tub covered with a double blanket. Then strain the
wine through a sieve, (add six whites of eggs beaten to a stiff
froth, or an ounce of melted isinglass,) and put it into a cask,
in the bottom of which you have laid four or five pounds of the
best raisins, stoned. Stop the cask closely, and in six months the
wine will be fit to bottle. It will much resemble Frontiniac, the
elder flowers imparting to it a very pleasant taste.
CIDER WINE.
Take sweet cider immediately from the press. Strain it through a
flannel bag into a tub, and stir into it as much honey as will
make it strong enough to bear up an egg. Then boil and skim it,
and when the scum ceases to rise, strain it again. When cool, put
it into a cask, and set it in a cool cellar till spring. Then
bottle it off; and when ripe, it will be found a very pleasant
beverage. The cider must be of the very best quality, made
entirely from good sound apples.
MEAD.
To every gallon of water put five pounds of strained honey, (the
water must be hot when you add the honey,) and boil it three
quarters of an hour, skimming it well. Then put in some hops tied
in a thin bag, (allowing an ounce or a handful to each gallon,)
and let it boil half an hour longer. Strain it into a tub, and let
it stand four days. Then put it into a cask, (or into a demijohn
if the quantity is small,) adding for each gallon of mead a jill
of brandy and a sliced lemon. If a large cask, do not bottle it
till it has stood a year.
FOX GRAPE SHRUB.
Gather the grapes when they are full grown, but before they begin
to purple. Pick from the stems a sufficient quantity to nearly
fill a large preserving kettle, and pour on them as much boiling
water as the kettle will hold. Set it over a brisk fire, and keep
it scalding hot till all the grapes have burst. Then take them
off, press out and strain the liquor, and allow to each quart a
pound of sugar stirred well in. Dissolve the sugar in the juice;
then put them together into a clean kettle, and boil and skim them
for ten minutes, or till the scum ceases to rise. When cold,
bottle it; first putting into each bottle a jill of brandy. Seal
the bottles, and keep them in a warm closet.
You may make gooseberry shrub in this manner.
CURRANT SHRUB.
Your currants must be quite ripe. Pick them from the stalks, and
squeeze them through a linen bag. To each quart of juice allow a
pound of loaf-sugar. Put the sugar and juice into a preserving
kettle, and let it melt before it goes on the fire. Boil it ten
minutes, skimming it well. When cold, add a jill of the best white
brandy to each quart of the juice. Bottle it, and set it away for
use; sealing the corks. It improves by keeping.
Raspberry shrub may be made in this manner; also strawberry.
CHERRY SHRUB.
Pick from the stalks, and stone a sufficient quantity of ripe
morellas, or other red cherries of the best and most juicy
description. Put them with all their juice into a stone jar, and
set it, closely covered, into a deep kettle of boiling water. Keep
it boiling hard for a quarter of an hour. Then pour the cherries
into a bag, and strain and press out all the juice. Allow a pound
of sugar to a quart of juice, boil them together ten minutes in a
preserving kettle, skimming them well, and when cold, bottle the
liquid; first putting a jill of brandy into each bottle.
CHERRY BOUNCE.
Mix together six pounds of ripe morellas and six pounds of large
black heart cherries. Put them into a wooden bowl or tub, and with
a pestle or mallet mash them so as to crack all the stones. Mix
with the cherries three pounds of loaf-sugar, or of sugar candy
broken up, and put them into a demijohn, or into a large stone
jar. Pour on two gallons of the best double rectified whiskey.
Stop the vessel closely, and let it stand three months, shaking it
every day during the first month. At the end of the three months
you may strain the liquor and bottle it off. It improves by age.
LEMON SYRUP.
Break up into large pieces six pounds of fine loaf-sugar. Take
twelve large ripe lemons, and (without cutting them) grate the
yellow rind upon the sugar. Then, put the sugar, with the lemon
gratings and two quarts of water, into a preserving kettle, and
let it dissolve. When it is all melted, boil it till quite thick,
skimming it till no more scum rises; it will then be done. Have
ready the juice of all the lemons, and when the syrup is quite
cold, stir in the lemon juice. Bottle it, and keep it in a cool
place.
It makes a delicious drink in summer, in the proportion of one
third lemon syrup and two thirds ice water.
LEMON CORDIAL.
Pare off very thin the yellow rind of a dozen large lemons; throw
the parings into a gallon of white brandy, and let them steep till
next day, or at least twelve hours. Break up four pounds of loaf-sugar
into another vessel, and squeeze upon it the juice of the
lemons. Let this too stand all night. Next day mix all together,
boil two quarts of milk, and pour it boiling hot into the other
ingredients. Cover the vessel, and let it stand eight days,
stirring it daily. Then strain it through a flannel bag till the
liquid is perfectly clear. Let it stand six weeks in a demijohn or
glass jar, and then bottle it.
To make it still more clear, you may filter it through a piece of
fine muslin pinned down to the bottom of a sieve, or through
blotting paper, which must be frequently renewed. It should be
white blotting paper.
ROSE CORDIAL.
Put a pound of fresh rose leaves into a tureen, with a quart of
lukewarm water. Cover the vessel, and let them infuse for twenty-four
hours. Then squeeze them through a linen bag till all the
liquid is pressed out. Put a fresh pound of rose leaves into the
tureen, pour the liquid back into it, and let it infuse again for
two days. You may repeat this till you obtain a very strong
infusion. Then to a pint of the infusion add half a pound of loaf-sugar,
half a pint of white brandy, an ounce of broken cinnamon,
and an ounce of coriander seeds. Put it into a glass jar, cover it
well, and let it stand for two weeks. Then filter it through a
fine muslin or a blotting paper (which must be white) pinned on
the bottom of a sieve; and bottle it for use.
STRAWBERRY CORDIAL.
Hull a sufficient quantity of ripe strawberries, and squeeze them
through a linen bag. To each quart of the juice allow a pint of
white brandy, and half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Put the
liquid into a glass jar or a demijohn, and let it stand a
fortnight. Then filter it through a sieve, to the bottom of which
a piece of fine muslin or blotting paper has been fastened; and
afterwards bottle it,
RASPBERRY CORDIAL.
May be made in the above manner.
QUINCE CORDIAL.
Take the finest and ripest quinces you can procure, wipe them
clean, and cut out all the defective parts. Then grate them into a
tureen or some other large vessel, leaving out the seeds and
cores. Let the grated pulp remain covered in the tureen for
twenty-four hours. Then, squeeze it through a jelly-bag or cloth.
To six quarts of the juice allow a quart of cold water, three
pounds of loaf-sugar, (broken up,) and a quart of white brandy.
Mix the whole well together, and put it into a stone jar. Have
ready three very small flannel or thick muslin bags, (not larger
than two inches square,) fill one with grated nutmeg, another with
powdered mace, and the third with powdered cloves; and pat them,
into the jar that the spice may flavour the liquor without mixing
with it. Leave the jar uncorked for a few days; reserving some of
the liquor to replace that which may flow over in the
fermentation. Whenever it has done working, bottle it off, but do
not use it for six months. If not sufficiently bright and clear,
filter it through fine muslin, pinned round the bottom of a
sieve, or through a white blotting paper fastened in the same
manner.
PEACH CORDIAL.
Take the ripest and most juicy free-stone peaches you can procure.
Cut them from the stones, and quarter them without paring. Crack
the stones, and extract the kernels, which must be blanched and
slightly pounded. Put the peaches into a large stone jar in
layers, alternately with layers of the kernels, and of powdered
loaf-sugar. When the jar is three parts full of the peaches,
kernels, and sugar, fill it up with white brandy. Set the Jar in a
large pan, and leave it uncovered for three or four days, in case
of its fermenting and flowing over at the top. Fill up what is
thus wasted with more brandy, and then close the jar tightly. Let
it stand, five or six months; then filter it, and bottle it for
use.
Cherry, apricot, and plum cordial may be made in the above manner;
adding always the kernels.
ANNISEED CORDIAL.
Melt a pound of loaf-sugar in two quarts of water. Mix it with two
quarts of white brandy, and add a table-spoonful of oil of
anniseed. Let it stand a week; then filter it through, white
blotting paper, and bottle it for use.
Clove or Cinnamon Cordial may be made in the same manner, by
mixing sugar, water and brandy, and adding oil of cinnamon or oil
of cloves. You may colour any of these cordials red by stirring in
a little powdered cochineal that has been dissolved in a small
quantity of brandy.
ROSE BRANDY.
Nearly fill a china or glass jar with freshly-gathered rose
leaves, and pour in sufficient French white brandy to fill it
quite up; and then cover it closely. Next day put the whole into a
strainer, and having squeezed and pressed the rose leaves and
drained off the liquid, throw away the leaves, put fresh ones into
the jar, and return the brandy to it. Repeat this every day while
roses are in season, (taking care to keep the jar well covered,)
and you will find the liquid much better than rose water for
flavouring cakes and puddings.
LEMON BRANDY.
When you use lemons for punch or lemonade, do not throw away the
peels, but cut them in small pieces, and put them into a glass jar
or bottle of brandy. You will find this brandy useful for many
purposes.
In the same way keep for use the kernels of peach and plum stones,
pounding them slightly before you put them into the brandy.
NOYAU.
Blanch and break up a pound of shelled bitter almonds or peach
kernels. Mix with them the grated rinds of three large lemons,
half a pint of clarified honey that has been boiled and skimmed,
and three pounds of the best double-refined loaf-sugar. Put these
ingredients into a jar or demijohn; pour in four quarts of the
best white brandy or proof spirit; stop the vessel, and let it
stand three months, shaking it every day for the first month. Then
filter it, dilute it with rose water to your taste, (you may allow
a quart of rose water to each quart of the liquor,) and bottle it
for use.
This and any other cordial may be coloured red by mixing with it
(after it is filtered) cochineal, powdered, dissolved in a little
white brandy, and strained through fine muslin.
RATAFIA.
Pound in a mortar, and mix together a pound of shelled bitter
almonds, an ounce of nutmegs, a pound of fine loaf-sugar, and one
grain (apothecaries' weight) of ambergris. Infuse these
ingredients for a week in a gallon of white brandy or proof
spirit. Then filter it, and bottle it for use.
CAPILLAIRE.
Powder eight pounds of loaf-sugar, and wet it with three pints of
water and three eggs well beaten with their shells. Stir the whole
mass very hard, and boil it twice over, skimming it well. Then
strain it, and stir in two wine glasses of orange flower water.
Bottle it, and use it for a summer draught, mixed with a little
lemon juice and water; or you may sweeten punch with it.
ORGEAT.
To make orgeat paste, blanch, mix together, and pound in a mortar
till perfectly smooth, three quarters of a pound of shelled sweet
almonds, and one quarter of a pound of shelled bitter almonds;
adding frequently a little orange flower or rose water, to keep
them from oiling; and mixing with them, as you proceed, a pound of
fine loaf-sugar that has been previously powdered by itself. When
the whole is thoroughly incorporated to a stiff paste, put it into
little pots and close them well. It will keep five or six months,
and, when you wish to use it for a beverage, allow a piece of
orgeat about the size of an egg to each half pint or tumbler of
water. Having well stirred it, strain the mixture through a
napkin.
To make liquid orgeat for present use; blanch and pound in a
mortar, with rose water, a quarter of a pound of sweet and an
ounce and a half of bitter almonds. Then sweeten three pints of
rich milk with half a pound of loaf-sugar, and stir the almonds
gradually into it. Boil it over hot coals; and as soon as it comes
to a boil, take it off and stir it frequently till it gets cold.
Then strain it, add a glass of brandy, and put it into decanters.
When you pour it out for drinking dilute it with water.
LEMONADE.
Take fine ripe lemons, and roll them under your hand on the table
to increase the quantity of juice. Then cut and squeeze them into
a pitcher, and mix the juice with loaf-sugar and cold water. To
half a pint of lemon juice you may allow a pint and a half of
water; and ten or twelve moderate sized lumps of sugar. Send it
round in little glasses with handles.
To make a tumbler of _very good_ lemonade, allow the juice of
one lemon and four or five lumps of sugar, filling up the glass
with water. In summer use ice water.
ORANGEADE.
Is made of oranges, in the same proportion as lemonade. It is very
fine when frozen.
PUNCH.
Roll twelve fine lemons under your hand on the table; then pare
off the yellow rind very thin, and boil it in a gallon of water
till all the flavour is drawn out. Break up into a large bowl, two
pounds of loaf-sugar, and squeeze the lemons over it. When the
water has boiled sufficiently, strain it from the lemon-peel, and
mix it with the lemon juice and sugar. Stir in a quart of rum or
of the best whiskey.
Two scruples of flowers of benjamin, steeped in a quart of rum,
will make an infusion which much resembles the arrack of the East
Indies. It should be kept in a bottle, and a little of it will be
found to impart a very fine and fragrant flavour to punch made in
the usual manner.
FROZEN PUNCH.
Is made as above, omitting one half of the rum or whiskey. Put it
into an ice-cream freezer, shaking or stirring it all the time,
when it is frozen, send it round immediately, in small glasses
with a tea-spoon for each.
ROMAN PUNCH.
Grate the yellow rinds of twelve lemons and two oranges upon two
pounds of loaf-sugar. Squeeze on the juice of the lemons and
oranges; cover it, and let it stand till next day. Then strain it
through a sieve, add a bottle of champagne, and the whites of
eight eggs beaten to a froth. You may freeze it or not.
MILK PUNCH.
What is commonly called milk punch, is a mixture of brandy or rum,
sugar, milk and nutmeg, with-without either lemon juice or water.
It is taken cold with a lump of ice in each tumbler.
FINE MILK PUNCH.
Pare off the yellow rind of nine large lemons, and steep it for
twenty-four hours in a quart of brandy or rum. Then mix with it
the juice of the lemons, a pound and a half of loaf-sugar, two
grated nutmegs, and a quart of water. Add a quart of rich
unskimmed milk, made boiling hot, and strain the whole through a
jelly-bag. You may either use it as soon as it is cold, or make a
larger quantity, (in the above proportions,) and bottle it. It
will keep several months.
REGENT'S PUNCH.
Take four large lemons; roll them on the table to make them more
juicy, and then pare them as thin as possible. Cut out all the
pulp, and throw away the seeds and the white part of the rind. Put
the yellow rind and the pulp into a pint of boiling water with two
tea-spoonfuls of raw green tea of the best sort. Let all boil
together about ten minutes. Then strain it through linen, and stir
in a pound of powdered loaf-sugar and a bottle of champagne, or of
any liquor suitable for punch. Set it again over the fire, and
when just ready to boil, remove it, and pour it into a china bowl
or pitcher, to be sent round in glasses.
WINE JELLY.
Clarify a pound of loaf-sugar, by mixing it with half
a pint of water and the beaten white of an egg, and then boiling
and skimming it. Put an ounce of isinglass (with as much boiling
water as will cover it) into a small sauce-pan, and set it in hot
coals till the isinglass is thoroughly dissolved. Then when the
syrup has been taken from the fire, mix the melted isinglass with
it, add a quart of white wine and stir in a table-spoonful or a
spoonful and a half of old Jamaica spirits. Stir the mixture very
hard, and pour it into a mould. When it has congealed, wrap a
cloth dipped in warm water round the outside of the mould; turn
out the jelly, and eat it with ice-cream.
BISHOP.
The day before you want to use the liquor toast four large oranges
till they are of a pale brown. You may do them either before a
clear fire or in the oven of a stove. Dissolve half a pound of
loaf-sugar in half a pint of claret. When the oranges are roasted,
quarter them without peeling, lay them in the bottom of a bowl or
a tureen, add two beaten nutmegs and some cinnamon, and pour on
them the wine and sugar. Cover it, and let it stand till next day.
Then having heated the remainder of the bottle of claret till it
nearly boils, pour it into a pitcher, and having first pressed and
mashed the pieces of orange with a spoon to bring out the juice,
put them with the sugar, &c. into a cloth, and strain the liquid
into the hot claret. Serve it warm in large glasses.
MULLED WINE.
Boil together in a pint of water two beaten nutmegs, a handful of
broken cinnamon, and a handful of cloves slightly pounded. When
the liquid is reduced to one half, strain it into a quart of port
wine, which must be set on hot coals, and taken off as soon as it
comes to a boil. Serve it up hot in a pitcher with little glass
cups round it, and a plate of fresh rusk.
MULLED CIDER.
Allow six eggs to a quart of cider. Put a handful of whole cloves
into the cider, and boil it. While it is boiling, beat the eggs in
a large pitcher; adding to them as much sugar as will make the
cider very sweet. By the time the cider boils, the eggs will be
sufficiently light. Pour the boiling liquor on the beaten egg, and
continue to pour the mixture backwards and forwards from one
pitcher to another, till it has a fine froth on it. Then pour it
warm into your glasses, and grate some nutmeg over each.
Port wine may be mulled in the same manner.
EGG NOGG.
Beat separately the yolks and whites of six eggs. Stir the yolks
into a quart of rich milk, or thin cream, and add half a pound of
sugar. Then mix in half a pint of rum or brandy. Flavour it with a
grated nutmeg. Lastly, stir in gently the beaten white of an egg.
It should be mixed in a china bowl.
SANGAREE.
Mix in a pitcher or in tumblers one-third of wine, ale, or porter,
with two-thirds of water either warm or cold. Stir in sufficient
loaf-sugar to sweeten it, and grate some nutmeg into it.
By adding to it lemon juice, you may make what is called negus.
TURKISH SHERBET.
Having washed a fore-quarter or knuckle of veal, and cracked the
bones, put it on to boil with two quarts and a pint of water. Let
it boil till the liquid is reduced to one quart, and skim it well.
Then strain it, and set it away to cool. When quite cold, mix with
it a pint and a half of clear lemon juice, and a pint and a half
of capillaire or clear sugar-syrup. If you have no capillaire
ready, boil two pounds of loaf-sugar in a pint and a half of
water, clearing it with the beaten white of an egg mixed into the
sugar and water before boiling. Serve the sherbet cold or iced, in
glass mugs at the dessert, or offer it as a refreshment at any
other time.
Sherbet may be made of the juice of various sorts of fruit.
BOTTLED SMALL BEER.
Take a quart bottle of the very best brisk porter, and mix it with
four quarts of water, a pint of molasses, and a table-spoonful of
ginger. Bottle it, and see that the corks are of the very best
kind. It will be fit for use in three or four days.
TO KEEP LEMON JUICE.
Powder a pound of the best loaf-sugar; put it into a bowl, and
strain over it a pint of lemon juice; stirring it well with a
silver spoon till the sugar has entirely melted. Then bottle it,
sealing the corks; and keep it in a dry place.
ESSENCE OF LEMON-PEEL.
Rub lumps of loaf-sugar on fine ripe lemons till the yellow rind
is all grated off; scraping up the sugar in a tea-spoon, and
putting it on a plate as you proceed. When you have enough, press
it down into a little glass or china jar, and cover it closely.
This will be found very fine to flavour puddings and cakes.
Prepare essence of orange-peel in the same manner.
CIDER VINEGAR.
Take six quarts of rye meal; stir and mix it well into a barrel of
strong hard cider of the best kind; and then add a gallon of
whiskey. Cover the cask, (leaving the bung loosely in it,) set it
in the part of your yard that is most exposed to the sun and air;
and in the course of four weeks (if the weather is warm and dry)
you will have good vinegar fit for use. When you draw off a gallon
or more, replenish the cask with the same quantity of cider, and
add about a pint of whiskey. You may thus have vinegar constantly
at hand for common purposes.
The cask should have iron hoops.
A very strong vinegar may be made by mixing cider and strained
honey, (allowing a pound of honey to a gallon of cider,) and
letting it stand five or six months. This vinegar is so powerful
that for common purposes it should be diluted with a little water.
Vinegar may be made in the same manner of sour wine.
WHITE VINEGAR.
Put into a cask a mixture composed of five gallons of water, two
gallons of whiskey, and a quart of strong yeast, stirring in two
pounds of powdered charcoal. Place it where it will ferment
properly, leaving the bung loose till the fermentation is over,
but covering the hole slightly to keep out the dust and insects.
At the end of four months draw it off, and you will have a fine
vinegar, as clear and colourless as water.
SUGAR VINEGAR.
To every gallon of water allow a pound of the best brown sugar,
and a jill or more of strong yeast. Mix the sugar and water
together, and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise. Then
pour it into a tub; and when it cools to lukewarm heat, put into
it the yeast spread on pieces of toast. Let it work two days; then
put it into an iron-hooped cask, and set it in a sunny place for
five months, leaving the bung loose, but keeping the bung-hole
covered. In five months it will be good clear vinegar, and you may
bottle it for use.
A cask that has not contained vinegar before, should have a quart
of boiling hot vinegar poured into it, shaken about frequently
till cold, and allowed to stand some hours.
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