A Catechism of Familiar Things Part 11

All vegetables contain more or less sugar, but the plant in which it most abounds is the sugar-cane. In the United States, a large quant.i.ty of sugar is prepared from the sap of the Sugar Maple Tree. The trees are tapped at the proper season by a cut being made in the bark, and the juice runs into a vessel placed to receive it; it is then prepared in the same manner as the juice of the sugar cane.

What is Sugar Candy?

Sugar purified and crystallized.

What is Barley Sugar?

Sugar boiled till it is brittle, and cast on a stone anointed with oil of sweet almonds, and then formed into twisted sticks.

What is Sago?

A substance prepared from the pith of the Sago Palm, which grows naturally in various parts of Africa and the Indies. The pith, which is even eatable in its natural state, is taken from the trunk of the tree, and thrown into a vessel placed over a horse-hair sieve; water is then thrown over the ma.s.s, and the finer parts of the pith pa.s.s through the sieve; the liquor thus obtained is left to settle. The clear liquor is then drawn off, and what remains is formed into grains by being pa.s.sed through metal dishes, with numerous small holes; it is next dried by the action of heat, and in this state it is exported. The Sago Palm also produces sugar.

What is Millet, and in what countries does it grow?

Millet is an esculent grain, originally brought from the Eastern countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe, but most extensively in Egypt, Syria, China, and Hindostan, whence we are furnished with it, it being rarely cultivated among us, except as a curiosity.

_Esculent_, good for food.

For what is Millet used?

It is in great request amongst the Germans for puddings; for which it is sometimes used amongst us. The Italians make loaves and cakes of it.

What is Ginger?

The root of a plant cultivated in the East and West Indies, and in America; it is a native of South-eastern Asia and the adjoining islands.

Describe its nature and use.

It is a warm aromatic, much used in medicine and cookery. The Indians eat the root when green as a salad, chopping it small with other herbs; they also make a candy of it with sugar. The ginger sold in the shops here is dried, which is done by placing the roots in the heat of the sun or in ovens, after being dug out of the ground. Quant.i.ties not only of the dried root, but also of the candied sugar, are imported.

What are Nutmegs?

A delicate aromatic fruit or spice, brought from the East Indies. The nutmeg tree greatly resembles our pear tree, and produces a kind of nut, which bears the same name as the tree.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GLa.s.s BLOWING AT THE GLa.s.s-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA.]

What is the appearance of the Nutmeg?

Its form is round, and its smell agreeable. The nutmeg is inclosed in four different covers; the first, a thick fleshy coat, (like our walnut,) which opens of itself when ripe; under this lies a thin reddish network, of an agreeable smell and aromatic taste, called mace; this wraps up the sh.e.l.l, which opens as the fruit grows. The sh.e.l.l is the third cover, which is hard, thin, and blackish; under this is a greenish film of no use; and in the last you find the nutmeg, which is the kernel of the fruit.

What are its uses?

The nutmeg is much used in our food, and is of excellent virtue as a medicine. It also yields an oil of great fragrance.

Is the Mace used as a spice?

Yes, it is separated from the sh.e.l.l of the nutmeg, and dried in the sun. It is brought over in flakes of a yellow color, smooth and net-like, as you see it in the shops. Its taste is warm, bitterish, and rather pungent; its smell, aromatic. It is used both in food and medicine, as the nutmeg, and also yields an oil.

_Pungent_, of a hot, biting taste.

What is Pimento or Allspice?

The dried unripe berry or fruit of a tree growing in great abundance in Jamaica, particularly on the northern side of that island, on hilly spots, near the coast; it is also a native of both Indies. The Pimento Tree is a West Indian species of Myrtle; it grows to the height of twenty or thirty feet; the leaves are all of a deep, s.h.i.+ning green, and the blossom consists of numerous branches of small, white, aromatic flowers, which render its appearance very striking; there is scarcely in the vegetable world any tree more beautiful than a young Pimento about the month of July, when it is in full bloom.

When is the time to gather the spice?

About the month of September, not long after the blossoms are fallen, the berries are gathered by the hand; one laborer on the tree, employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to three below (who are generally women and children) in picking the berries. They are then spread out thinly, and exposed to the sun at its rising and setting for some days; when they begin to dry, they are frequently winnowed, and laid on cloths to preserve them better from rain and dew; by this management they become wrinkled, and change from green to a deep reddish brown color. Great quant.i.ties are annually imported.

What are its uses?

It forms a pleasant addition to flavor food; it also yields an agreeable essential oil, and is accounted the best and mildest of common spices.

_Essential_, pure; extracted so as to contain all the virtues of the spice in a very small compa.s.s.

Why is it called Allspice?

Because it has been supposed to combine the flavor of cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon; the French call it _round clove_, from its round shape, and the taste being somewhat like that spice.

What is Pepper?

The product of a creeping shrub, growing in several parts of the East Indies, Asia, and America.

In what manner does Pepper grow, and what part of the shrub is used?

Pepper is the fruit of this shrub, and grows in bunches or cl.u.s.ters, at first green; as it ripens it becomes reddish, until having been exposed for some time to the heat of the sun, (or probably gathered before perfectly ripe,) it becomes black, as in the condition we have it. There are two sorts, the black and the white.

What is the White Pepper?

The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose, near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the ground. In any of these situations, they swell and burst their skins, from which, when dry, they are carefully separated by rubbing between the hands, or fanning.