English Housewifery Part 23

407. _To pickle_ MUSHROOMS _another Way_.

Take mushrooms and wash them with a flannel, throw them into water as you wash them, only pick the small from the large, put them into a pot, throw over them a little salt, stop up your pot close with a cloth, boil them in a pot of water as you do currans when you make a jelly, give them a shake now and then; you may guess when they are enough by the quant.i.ty of liquor that comes from them; when you think they are enough strain from them the liquor, put in a little white wine vinegar, and boil it in a little mace, white pepper, Jamaica pepper, and slic'd ginger; then it is cold put it to the mushrooms, bottle 'em and keep 'em for use.

They will keep this way very well, and have more of the taste of mushrooms, but they will not be altogether so white.

408. _To pickle_ POTATOE CRABS.

Gather your crabs when they are young, and about the bigness of a large cherry, lie them in a strong salt and water as you do other pickles, let them stand for a week or ten days, then scald them in the same water they lie in twice a day whilst green; make the same pickle for them as you do for cuc.u.mbers; be sure you scald them twice or thrice in the pickle and they will keep the better.

409. _To pickle large_ b.u.t.tONS.

Take your b.u.t.tons, clean 'em and cut 'em in three or four pieces, put them into a large sauce-pan to stew in their own liquor, put to them a little Jamaica and whole pepper, a blade or two of mace, and a little salt, cover it up, let it stew over a slow fire whilst you think they are enough, then strain from them their liquor, and put to it a little white wine vinegar or alegar, which you please, give it a boil together, and when it is cold put it to your mushrooms, and keep them for use.

You may pickle flaps the same way.

410. _To make_ CATCHUP.

Take large mushrooms when they are fresh gathered, cut off the dirty ends, break them small in your hands, put them in a stone-bowl with a handful or two of salt, and let them stand all night; if you don't get mushrooms enough at once, with a little salt they will keep a day or two whilst you get more, so put 'em in a stew-pot, and set them in an oven with household bread; when they are enough strain from 'em the liquor, and let it stand to settle, then boil it with a little mace, Jamaica and whole black pepper, two or three shalots, boil it over a slow fire for an hour, when it is boiled let it stand to settle, and when it is cold bottle it; if you boil it well it will keep a year or two; you must put in spices according to the quant.i.ty of your catchup; you must not wash them, nor put to them any water.

411. _To make_ MANGO _of_ CUc.u.mBERS _or_ SMALL MELONS.

Gather cuc.u.mbers when they are green, cut a bit off the end and take out all the meat; lie them in a strong salt and water, let them lie for a week or ten days whilst they be yellow, then scald them in the same salt and water they lie in whilst green, then drain from them the water; take a little mustard-seed, a little horse-radish, some sc.r.a.ped and some shred fine, a handful of shalots, a claw or two of garlick if you like the taste, and a little shred mace; take six or eight cuc.u.mbers shred fine, mix them amongst the rest of the ingredients, then fill your melons or cuc.u.mbers with the meat, and put in the bits at the ends, tie them on with a string, so as will well cover them, and put into it a little Jamaica and whole pepper, a little horse-radish and a handful or two of mustard-seed, then boil it, and pour it upon your mango; let it stand in the corner end two or three days, scald them once a day, and then tie them up for use.

412. _To pickle_ GARKINS.

Take garkins of the first growth, pick 'em clean, put 'em in a strong salt and water, let 'em lie a week or ten days whilst they be throughly yellow, then scald them in the same salt and water they lie in, scald them once a day, and let them lie whilst they are green, the set them in the corner end close cover'd.

413. _To make_ PICKLE _for your_ Cuc.u.mbers.

Take a little alegar, (the quant.i.ty must be equal to the quant.i.ty of your cuc.u.mbers, and so must your seasoning) a little pepper, a little Jamaica and long pepper, two or three shalots, a little horse-radish sc.r.a.ped or sliced, and little salt and a bit of allum, boil them altogether, and scald your cuc.u.mbers two or three times with your pickle, so tie them up for use.

414. _To pickle_ COLLIFLOWER _white_.

Take the whitest colliflower you can get, break it in pieces the bigness of a mushroom; take as much distill'd vinegar as will cover it, and put to it a little white pepper, two or three blades of mace, and a little salt, then boil it and pour it on your colliflowers three times, let it be cold, then put it into your gla.s.ses or pots, and wet a bladder to tie over it to keep out the air.

415. _To pickle_ Red Cabbage.

Take a red cabbage, chuse it a purple red, for the light red never proves a good colour; so take your cabbage and shred it in very thin slices, season it with pepper and salt very well, let it lie all night upon a broad tin, or a dripping-pan; take a little alegar, put to it a little Jamaica pepper, and two or three rases of ginger, boil them together, and when it is cold pour it upon your cabbage, and in two or three days time it will be fit for use.

You may throw a little colliflower among it, and it will turn red.

416. _To pickle_ Colliflower _another Way_.

Take the colliflower and break it in pieces the bigness of a mushroom, but leave on a short stalk with the head; take some white wine vinegar, into a quart of vinegar, put six-pennyworth of cochineal beat well, also a little Jamaica and whole pepper, and a little salt, boil them in vinegar, pour it over the colliflower hot, and let it stand two or three days close covered up; you may scald it once in three days whilst it be red, when it is red take it out of pickle, and wash the cochineal off in the pickle, so strain it through a hair sieve, and let it stand a little to settle, then put it to your colliflower again, and tie it up for use; the longer it lies in the pickle the redder it will be.

417. _To pickle_ WALNUTS _white_.

Take walnuts when they are at full growth and can thrust a pin through them, the largest sort you can get, pare them, and cut a bit off one end whilst you see the white, so you must pare off all the green, if you cut through the white to the kernel they will be spotted, and put them in water as you pare them; you must boil them in salt and water as you do mushrooms, and will take no more boiling than a mushroom; when they are boiled lay them on a dry cloth to drain out of the water, then put them into a pot, and put to them as much distill'd vinegar as will cover them, let them lie two or three days; then take a little more vinegar, put to it a few blades of mace, a little white pepper and salt, boil 'em together, when it is cold take your walnuts out of the other pickle and put into that, let them lie two or three days, pour it from them, give it another boil and skim it, when it is cold put to it your walnuts again, put them into a bottle, and put over them a little sweet oil, cork them up, and set them in a cool place; if your vinegar be good they will keep as long as the mushrooms.

418. _To pickle_ BARBERRIES.

Take barberries when full ripe, put them into a pot, boil a strong salt and water, then pour it on them boiling hot.

419. _To make_ BARLEY-SUGAR.

Boil barley in water, strain it through a hair-sieve, then put the decoction into clarified sugar brought to a candy height, or the last degree of boiling, then take it off the fire, and let the boiling settle, then pour it upon a marble stone rubb'd with the oil of olives, when it cools and begins to grow hard, cut it into pieces, and rub it into lengths as you please.

420. _To pickle_ PURSLAIN.

Take the thickest stalks of purslain, lay them in salt and water six weeks, then take them out, put them into boiling water, and cover them well; let them hang over a slow fire till they be very green, when they are cold put them into pot, and cover them well with beer vinegar, and keep them covered close.

421. _To make_ PUNCH _another Way_.

Take a quart or two of sherbet before you put in your brandy, and the whites of four or five eggs, beat them very well, and set it over the fire, let it have a boil, then put it into a jelly bag, so mix the rest of your acid and brandy together, (the quant.i.ty you design to make) heat it and run it all through your jelly bag, change it in the running off whilst it look fine; let the peel of one or two lemons lie in the bag; you may make it the day before you use it, and bottle it.

422. _To make new_ COLLEGE PUDDINGS.

Grate an old penny loaf, put to it a like quant.i.ty of suet shred, a nutmeg grated, a little salt and some currans, then beat some eggs in a little sack and sugar, mix all together, and knead it as stiff as for manchet, and make it up in the form and size of a turkey's egg, but a little flatter; take a pound of b.u.t.ter, put it in a dish or stew-pan, and set it over a clear fire in a chafing-dish, and rub your b.u.t.ter about the dish till it is melted, then put your puddings in, and cover the dish, but often turn your puddings till they are brown alike, and when they are enough grate some sugar over them, and serve them up hot.

For a side-dish you must let the paste lie for a quarter of an hour before you make up your puddings.

423. _To make a_ CUSTARD PUDDING.

Take a pint of cream, mix it with six eggs well beat, two spoonfuls of flour, half a nutmeg grated, a little salt and sugar to your taste; b.u.t.ter your cloth, put it in when the pan boils, baste it just half an hour, and melt b.u.t.ter for the sauce.

424. _To make_ FRYED TOASTS.

Chip a manchet very well, and cut it round ways in toasts, then take cream and eight eggs seasoned with sack, sugar, and nutmeg, and let these toasts steep in it about an hour, then fry them in sweet b.u.t.ter, serve them up with plain melted b.u.t.ter, or with b.u.t.ter, sack and sugar as you please.

425. _To make_ SAUCE _for_ Fish or Flesh.