The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 35

O.

OAT CAKES. These may be made the same as m.u.f.fins, only using fine Yorks.h.i.+re oatmeal instead of flour. Another sort is made of fine oatmeal, warm water, yeast and salt, beat to a thick batter, and set to rise in a warm place. Pour some of the batter on a baking stone, to any size you please, about as thick as a pancake. Pull them open to b.u.t.ter them, and set them before the fire. If m.u.f.fins or oat cakes get stale, dip them in cold water, and crisp them in a Dutch oven.

OATMEAL. This article has undergone a very considerable improvement, since the introduction of what are termed Embden Groats, manufactured in England it is true, out of Dutch oats, but of a quality superior to any thing before known in this country under the name of oatmeal, and which may now be had of almost all retailers at a moderate price.

OATMEAL FLUMMERY. Put three large handfuls of fine oatmeal into two quarts of spring water, and let it steep a day and a night. Pour off the clear water, put in the same quant.i.ty of fresh water, and strain the oatmeal through a fine sieve. Boil it till it is as thick as hasty pudding, keep it stirring all the time, that it may be smooth and fine.

When first strained, a spoonful of sugar should be added, two spoonfuls of orange flower-water, two or three spoonfuls of cream, a blade of mace, and a bit of lemon peel. When boiled enough, pour the flummery into a shallow dish, and serve it up.

OATMEAL PUDDING. Pour a quart of boiling milk over a pint of the best oatmeal, and let it soak all night. Next day beat two eggs, and mix a little salt. b.u.t.ter a bason that will just hold it, cover it tight with a floured cloth, and boil it an hour and a half. Eat it with cold b.u.t.ter and salt. When cold, slice and toast it, and eat it as oat-cake, b.u.t.tered.

OLD WRITINGS. When old deeds or writings are so much defaced that they can scarcely be deciphered, bruise and boil a few nut galls in white wine; or if it be a cold infusion, expose it to the sun for two or three days. Then dip a sponge into the infusion, pa.s.s it over the writing that is sunk, and it will instantly be revived, if the infusion be strong enough of the galls. Vitriolic or nitrous acid a little diluted with water, will also render the writing legible; but care must be taken that the solution be not too strong, or it will destroy the paper or the parchment which contains the writing.

OINTMENTS. An excellent ointment for burns, scalds, chilblains, and dressing blisters, may be made in the following manner. Take eight ounces of hog's lard quite fresh, one ounce of bees' wax, and one of honey. Put them into a kettle over the fire, and stir it together till it is all melted. Pour it into a jar for keeping, add a large spoonful of rose water, and keep stirring it till it is cold.--Bad scalds and burns should first have a poultice of grated potatoes applied to them for several hours, and then a plaster of the ointment, which must be renewed morning and evening.--For blisters, a plaster of this should be spread rather longer than the blister, and put on over the blister plaster when it has been on twenty-four hours, or sooner if it feel uneasy. By this means the blister plaster will slip off when it has done drawing, without any pain or trouble.--For chilblains, it has never been known to fail of a cure, if the feet have been kept clean, dry, and warm.--An emollient ointment, for anointing any external inflammations, may be made as follows. Take two pounds of palm oil, a pint and a half of olive oil, half a pound of yellow wax, and a quarter of a pound of Venice turpentine. Melt the wax in the oil over the fire, mix in the turpentine, and strain off the ointment.

OINTMENT FOR BURNS. Sc.r.a.pe two ounces of bees' wax into half a pint of sallad oil, and let it simmer gently over the fire till the whole is incorporated. Take it off the fire, beat up the yolks of three eggs with a spoonful of oil, and stir up all together till it is quite cold.

OINTMENT FOR THE EYES. This is made of four ounces of fresh lard, two drams of white wax, and one ounce of prepared tutty. Melt the wax with the lard over a gentle fire, and sprinkle in the tutty, continually stirring them till the ointment is cold.

OINTMENT OF LEAD. This should consist of half a pint of olive oil, two ounces of white wax, and three drams of the sugar of lead finely powdered. Rub the sugar of lead with some of the oil, add to it the other ingredients, which should be previously melted together, and stir them till the ointment is quite cold. This cooling ointment may be used in all cases where the intention is to dry and skin over the wound, as in burns and scalds.

OINTMENT OF MARSHMALLOWS. Take half a pound of marshmallow roots, three ounces of linseed, and three ounces of fennugreek seed. Bruise and boil them gently half an hour in a quart of water, and then add two quarts of sweet oil. Boil them together till the water is all evaporated: then strain off the oil, and add to it a pound of bees' wax, half a pound of yellow rosin, and two ounces of common turpentine. Melt them together over a slow fire, and keep stirring till the ointment is cold.

OINTMENT OF SULPHUR. This is the safest and best application for the itch, and will have no disagreeable smell, if made in the following manner. Take four ounces of fresh lard, an ounce and a half of flour of sulphur, two drams of crude sal-ammoniac, and ten or a dozen drops of lemon essence. When made into an ointment, rub it on the parts affected.

OLIVES. This foreign article, sent over in a state of preservation, requires only to be kept from the air. Olives are of three kinds, Italian, Spanish, and French, of different sizes and flavour. Each should be firm, though some are most fleshy.

OMLET. Make a batter of eggs and milk, and a very little flour. Add chopped parsley, green onions, or chives, or a very small quant.i.ty of shalot, a little pepper and salt, and a sc.r.a.pe or two of nutmeg. Boil some b.u.t.ter in a small frying-pan, and pour the above batter into it.

When one side is of a fine yellow brown, turn it and do the other: double it when served. Some lean ham sc.r.a.ped, or grated tongue, put in at first, is a very pleasant addition. Four eggs will make a pretty omlet, but some will use eight or ten, and only a small proportion of flour, but a good deal of parsley. If the taste be approved, a little tarragon will give a fine flavour. Ramakins and omlet, though usually served in the course, would be much better if they were sent up after, that they might be eaten as hot as possible.

ONION GRAVY. Peel and slice some onions into a small stewpan, with an ounce of b.u.t.ter, adding cuc.u.mber or celery if approved. Set it on a slow fire, and turn the onion about till it is lightly browned; then stir in half an ounce of flour, a little broth, a little pepper and salt, and boil it up for a few minutes. Add a table-spoonful of port wine, the same of mushroom ketchup, and rub it through a fine sieve. It may be sharpened with a little lemon juice or vinegar. The flavour of this sauce may be varied by adding tarragon, or burnt vinegar.

ONION SAUCE. Peel the onions and boil them tender. Squeeze the water from them, chop and add them to b.u.t.ter that has been melted rich and smooth, with a little good milk instead of water. Boil it up once, and serve it for boiled rabbits, partridges, scrag or knuckle of veal or roast mutton. A turnip boiled with the onions makes them milder.

ONION SOUP. Put some carrots, turnips, and a shank bone, into the liquor in which a leg or neck of mutton has been boiled, and simmer them together two hours. Strain it on six onions, sliced and fried of a light brown; simmer the soup three hours, and skim it carefully. Put a small roll into it, or fried bread, and serve it up hot.

ONIONS. In order to obtain a good crop of onions, it is proper to sow at different seasons. On light soils sow in August, January, or early in February: on heavy wet soils in March, or early in April. Onions however should not be sown so soon as January, unless the ground be in a dry state, which is not often the case at that time of the year: otherwise, advantage should be taken of it. As this valuable root is known frequently to fail by the common method of culture, the best way is to sow the seed successively, that advantage may be taken of the seasons as they happen.

ORANGE BISCUITS. Boil whole Seville oranges in two or three waters, till most of the bitterness is gone. Cut them, and take out the pulp and juice; then beat the outside very fine in a mortar, and put to it an equal weight of double-refined sugar beaten and sifted. When extremely well mixed to a paste, spread it thin on china dishes, and set them in the sun, or before the fire. When half dry, cut it into what form you please, and turn the other side up to dry. Keep the biscuits in a box, with layers of paper. They are intended for desserts, and are also useful as a stomachic, to carry in the pocket on journeys, and for gouty stomachs.

ORANGE BRANDY. Steep the peels of twenty Seville oranges in three quarts of brandy, and let it stand a fortnight in a stone bottle. Boil two quarts of water with a pound and a half of loaf sugar nearly an hour, clarify,it with the white of an egg, strain it, and boil it till reduced nearly one half. When cold, strain the brandy into the syrup.

ORANGE b.u.t.tER. Boil six hard eggs, beat them in a mortar with two ounces of fine sugar, three ounces of b.u.t.ter, and two ounces of blanched almonds beaten to a paste. Moisten with orange-flower water; and when all is mixed, rub it through a cullender on a dish, and serve with sweet biscuits between.

ORANGE CHEESECAKES. Blanch half a pound of almonds, beat them very fine, with orange-flower water, half a pound of fine sugar beaten and sifted, a pound of b.u.t.ter that has been melted carefully without oiling, and which must be nearly cold before it is used. Then beat the yolks of ten and the whites of four eggs. Pound in a mortar two candied oranges, and a fresh one with the bitterness boiled out, till they are as tender as marmalade, without any lumps. Beat the whole together, and put it into pattipans.

ORANGE CHIPS. Cut oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve, and soak the peels in water. Next day boil them in the same till tender; then drain and slice the peels, add them to the juice, weigh as much sugar, and put all together into a broad earthen dish. Place the dish at a moderate distance from the fire, often stirring till the chips candy, and then set them in a cool room to dry, which commonly requires about three weeks.

ORANGE CREAM. Boil the rind of a Seville orange very tender, and beat it fine in a mortar. Add to it a spoonful of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, four ounces of loaf sugar, and the yolks of four eggs.

Beat them all together for ten minutes; then by gentle degrees, pour in a pint of boiling cream, and beat it up till cold. Set some custard cups into a deep dish of boiling water, pour the cream into the cups, and let it stand again till cold. Put at the top some small strips of orange paring cut thin, or some preserved chips.

ORANGE-FLOWER CAKES. Soak four ounces of the leaves of the flowers in cold water for an hour; drain, and put them between napkins, and roll with a rolling-pin till they are bruised. Have ready boiled a pound of sugar to add to it in a thick syrup, give them a simmer until the syrup adheres to the sides of the pan, drop it in little cakes on a plate, and dry them in a cool room.

ORANGE FOOL. Mix the juice of three Seville oranges, three eggs well beaten, a pint of cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and sweeten it to taste. Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it till it becomes as thick as good melted b.u.t.ter, but it must not be boiled. Then pour it into a dish for eating cold.

ORANGE JAM. Lay half a dozen oranges in water four or five days, changing the water once or twice every day. Take out the oranges, and wipe them dry. Tie them up in separate cloths, and boil them four hours in a large kettle, changing the water once or twice. Peel off the rinds and pound them well in a marble mortar, with two pounds of fine sugar to one pound of orange. Then beat all together, and cover the jam down in a pot.

ORANGE JELLY. Grate the rind of two Seville and two China oranges, and two lemons. Squeeze the juice of three of each, and strain it; add a quarter of a pound of lump sugar dissolved in a quarter of a pint of water, and boil it till it nearly candies. Prepare a quart of jelly, made of two ounces of isingla.s.s; add to it the syrup, and boil it once up. Strain off the jelly, and let it stand to settle before it is put into the mould.

ORANGE JUICE. When the fresh juice cannot be procured, a very useful article for fevers may be made in the following manner. Squeeze from the finest fruit, a pint of juice strained through fine muslin. Simmer it gently with three quarters of a pound of double-refined sugar twenty minutes, and when cold put it into small bottles.

ORANGE MARMALADE. Rasp the oranges, cut out the pulp, then boil the rinds very tender, and beat them fine in a marble mortar. Boil three pounds of loaf sugar in a pint of water, skim it, and add a pound of the rind; boil it fast till the syrup is very thick, but stir it carefully.

Then add a pint of the pulp and juice, the seeds having been removed, and a pint of apple liquor; boil it all gently about half an hour, until it is well jellied, and put it into small pots. Lemon marmalade may be made in the same way, and both of them are very good and elegant sweetmeats.

ORANGE PEEL. Sc.r.a.pe out all the pulp, soak the peels in water, and stir them every day. In a week's time put them in fresh water, and repeat it till all the bitterness is extracted. Boil the peels in fresh water over a slow fire till they are quite tender, and reduce the liquor to a quant.i.ty sufficient to boil it to a thick syrup. Put the peels into the syrup, simmer them gently, take them out of the syrup, and let them cool. Lay them to dry in the sun, and the peel will be nicely candied.