The New England Cook Book Part 13

Take the rind of a nice watermelon, cut it in strips and boil them a quarter of an hour, with a tea spoonful of saleratus to three or four quarts of water, then soak them in alum water an hour, rinse and put them in clarified syrup, and boil them twenty minutes. When they have stood three or four days, turn the syrup from them, and boil it, then turn it back on the rinds while hot. Allow equal weights of rinds and sugar.

244. _To Preserve Cherries._

Allow three quarters of a pound of sugar, to a pound of cherries. Make your syrup, allowing half a pint of water, to two pounds of cherries, put in your cherries, shake them occasionally to prevent their sticking to the kettle. When the syrup is colored strain the cherries.

245. _To Preserve Muskmelons._

Procure muskmelons that are perfectly green, the later in the season, the better. Sc.r.a.pe off the skin of the rind, taking care not to sc.r.a.pe the green part. Cut them through the middle, and take out the seeds, then cut them in the form of rings an inch thick. Put them in salt and water, and let them lay several days, then in fair water one day, changing the water several times; take them out and soak them in alum water, one or two hours. Take race ginger, the green is the best, soak it until you can sc.r.a.pe off the outside, cut it in slices, and boil it until tender. Boil your melons in fresh water, with a handful of peach leaves, and the ginger, allowing half an ounce to each pound of fruit.

When the melon is tender, put it in alum water, together with the ginger. Make the syrup for the melons, allowing a pound of white sugar, to a pound of the fruit, when clarified put in the melons, and boil them, together with the ginger, half an hour, take them up, turn the syrup over them, when cool, drop in a little essence of lemon. When they have stood several days turn the syrup from them, boil and turn it back while hot, to the melons.

246. _To Preserve Pine Apples._

Pare off the rind of the pine apples, cut them in slices an inch thick.

Weigh out a pound of white sugar, allowing a pound of it to each pound of fruit, lay your pine apples in a deep dish, on each layer of it sprinkle some of your sugar, (which should be powdered.) Set the pine apples away till the next day, reserving part of the sugar. Then turn the syrup from the pine apples into your preserving pan, add your reserved sugar, put in a tea cup of water, to the juice of four or five pine apples, clarify it, then put in the apples, and boil them till tender. Let the whole stand in a dish several days, and if there is any appearance of fermentation, put it in a preserving pan, scald it through, then turn it into gla.s.ses, and set it in a cool place.

247. _To Preserve Pumpkins._

Take a good sweet pumpkin, halve it, take out the seeds, and cut it in chips, of the size of a dollar. To each pound of pumpkin, allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a gill of lemon juice. Put your pumpkin chips in a dish, and to each layer, put a layer of sugar, turn the lemon juice over the whole, and let it stand a day, then boil it till tender, with half a pint of water to four or five pounds of the pumpkin. Tie up ginger in a bag, and boil with it, also the rind of several lemons, cut into chips.

248. _To Preserve Gages._

Take equal quant.i.ties of fruit and sugar. Make a syrup of the sugar, (which should be white,) with a little water, when it boils drop in the plums, boil them very slowly for a few moments, then take them up into dishes, and let them remain several days, then boil them again, until the syrup appears to have entered them. Put the plums in jars, boil the syrup again, in the course of two or three days, and turn it over them.

249. _To Preserve Strawberries._

Take Chili or field strawberries, and hull them. Take equal quant.i.ties of fruit, and white sugar, and put a layer of each alternately in a preserving pan, having a layer of strawberries at the bottom, let them stand for half an hour, then put a gill of cold water with them, to prevent their burning at the bottom of the pan. Set them over a moderate fire, when the juice runs freely increase the fire, until they boil briskly, when they have boiled half an hour, take them up, turn them into bottles, cork them tight, and dip the mouths of the bottles into hot sealing wax. Keep them in dry sand.

250. _Blackberry and Raspberry Jam._

For a pound of berries allow a pound of brown sugar, put a layer of each alternately in a dish, let them stand two or three hours, strain them, put them over a moderate fire, and boil them half an hour.

251. _Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Jelly._

Pick over your fruit carefully, then mash and squeeze the berries through a flannel bag, to each pint of juice put a pound of white sugar, set it on the fire, when it has boiled seven or eight minutes, take it from the fire and skim it till clear, then put it back on the fire; as fast as the sc.u.m rises take it from the fire, and skim it. To ascertain when it is done, take a little of it from the fire, and let it be till cold.

252. _Cranberry, Grape and Currant Jelly._

Wash and drain the berries till nearly dry, then put them in a preserving pan, with a plate at the bottom, heat them till they break, then strain them through a flannel cloth; to each pint put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim them till perfectly clear, the kettle should be taken from the fire when skimmed. When the jelly has boiled four or five hours, take a little of it up, and put it in a tumbler of cold water, if it sinks to the bottom in a solid ma.s.s, it is done sufficiently. Jellies are improved, by being put in the sun for several days. Care must be taken, that the dew does not fall on them.

253. _Quince Jelly._

Halve your quinces, take out the cores, and boil the quinces until very soft, in just sufficient water to cover them, then squeeze them through a flannel bag, and to a pound of quince pulp, put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, strain it again, fill your gla.s.ses and cover them tight.

254. _Apple Jelly._

Take greenings, pippins or crab apples, halve them and take out the cores, boil them till tender in water just sufficient to cover them, boil with them the peel and juice of a lemon, to every three pounds of the apple. Strain the apple, and to each pound, put a pound of loaf sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, take it up, color it if you like, either with saffron, beet juice, or cochineal.

Strain it, and put it in gla.s.ses, and set them in a cool place.

255. _Lemon Jelly._

Put on a slow fire an ounce and a half of isingla.s.s, (pulled into small pieces,) a pint of water, with the rind of several lemons; when dissolved put in a pint of lemon juice, a pound and a half of white sugar, color it with a few grains of saffron, strain it through a flannel bag, then boil it ten or fifteen minutes, strain it till clear, let it remain till nearly congealed, then fill your gla.s.ses or moulds with it. To get it out of the moulds dip them into lukewarm water for a minute, the jelly will then come out easily.

256. _Calf's Foot Jelly._

To four feet put four quarts of water, boil them till tender, and the water boils away to one quart. Take it off, let it stand till cold, then skim off the fat carefully, and put the jelly into a preserving pan, and set it on the fire; when it melts take it from the fire, put in the beaten whites of seven eggs, a little cinnamon, half a pint of white wine, the juice of two lemons, and the rind, leaving out the white part; sweeten the whole to your taste, with loaf sugar. Put it back on the fire, and boil it fifteen minutes, then strain it through a flannel bag, without squeezing it, if it is not clear the first time it is strained, strain it till it is. The bag should be suspended on a nail over a dish, and the jelly poured into it, and allowed to drain through it gradually.

When clear turn it into cups or gla.s.ses, and set them where the jelly will congeal, but not so cold as to freeze it. This kind of jelly will not keep longer than two or three days in warm weather. A knuckle of veal makes a jelly as good as calves' feet, it is made in the same manner. Jellies and sweet meats are less liable to ferment, if kept in gla.s.s jars or bottles. A paper wet in spirits and put over sweet meats, has a tendency to prevent their fermenting. Sweet meats should be carefully watched during warm weather, and if fermentation commences turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back.

257. _Coffee._

To make good strong coffee, allow for each person a heaping table spoonful of ground coffee, and a pint of water. Put your coffee into a tin pot, with a piece of fish skin about the size of a ninepence, to two or three quarts of water, turn on your water boiling hot, and boil the coffee from fifteen to twenty minutes, take it off, and let it stand to settle five or six minutes, then turn it off carefully. French coffee is made in a German filter, the water is turned on to it boiling hot, an ounce to each person is allowed, put in a piece of fish skin before you turn on the water. When cream cannot be preserved for coffee, boiled milk is a good subst.i.tute. Many people dislike to settle coffee with fish skin, thinking it imparts a disagreeable taste to the coffee, but it is owing to its not being prepared properly, the skin should be taken from mild codfish, washed, and cut into small pieces and dried perfectly. The white of an egg, egg sh.e.l.ls, and isingla.s.s, are all good to settle coffee. The best kind of coffee is old Java, and Mocha; before it is roasted, it should be hung over the fire two or three hours to dry, if dried in the oven it looses its strength, it should be hung at such a distance from the fire, as to be in no danger of burning. When dry put it on hot coals, and stir it constantly till done, which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest kernels, if it is brittle, the whole is done. Put it in a box, and cover it up tight, to keep in the steam.

Coffee is much better roasted in a coffee roaster, than a kettle, as the fine aromatic flavor of the coffee is preserved, which escapes in a great measure, when roasted in an open kettle.

258. _To make Tea._

Scald your tea pot, and put in a tea spoonful of tea, for each person that is to drink it, if it is a weak kind of tea, more will be required, pour on just boiling water enough to cover it, let it stand six or eight minutes, not longer if you wish to have it in perfection, pour on the rest of the water boiling hot.

259. _Chocolate._

Sc.r.a.pe the chocolate off fine, and mix it smoothly with a little cold milk, or water. If liked very rich, make it entirely of milk, if not, use equal quant.i.ties of milk and water, boil it, then stir in the chocolate while boiling, sweeten it to your taste, let it boil five or six minutes; if liked rich, grate in a little nutmeg. A heaping table spoonful of grated chocolate to a pint of milk, or water, is the right proportion.

260. _Hop Beer._

For three gallons of beer, take nine quarts of water, six ounces of hops. Boil the hops in half the water three hours, strain it, then boil the hops again in the remainder of the water, three hours longer, with a tea cup of ginger. Strain and put it with the rest of the liquor, and two quarts of mola.s.ses, and when lukewarm, put in a pint of new yeast, without any salt in it. Keep it in a temperate place, till it has ceased fermenting, which is ascertained by the froth subsiding. Turn it off carefully into a cask, or bottle it; it should not be corked very tight, or it will burst the bottles. Keep the bottles in a cool place.

261. _Spruce Beer._

Take five gallons of water, and boil with a couple of ounces of hops, when it has boiled four or five hours, strain it, put to it two quarts of mola.s.ses, when lukewarm, put in a pint of fresh yeast, without any salt in it, (brewer's is the best,) put in three table spoonsful of the essence of spruce. A decoction made of the leaves of white or black spruce, is equally as good as the essence; boil the hops with the leaves. Let the beer stand in a temperate situation, several days exposed to the air, then put it in a cask, or bottle it, it will be fit to drink in the course of a few days. This is a nice summer drink, and a powerful antis...o...b..tic.