The Book of Household Management Part 55

TO PICKLE LEMONS WITHOUT THE PEEL.

456. INGREDIENTS.--6 lemons, 1 lb. of fine salt; to each quart of vinegar, the same ingredients as No. 455.

_Mode_.--Peel the lemons, slit each one down 3 times, so as not to divide them, and rub the salt well into the divisions; place them in a pan, where they must remain for a week, turning them every other day; then put them in a Dutch oven before a clear fire until the salt has become perfectly dry; then arrange them in a jar. Pour over sufficient boiling vinegar to cover them, to which have been added the ingredients mentioned in the foregoing recipe; tie down closely, and in about 9 months they will be fit for use.

_Seasonable_.--The best time to make this is from November to April.

_Note_.--After this pickle has been made from 4 to 5 months, the liquor may be strained and bottled, and will be found an excellent lemon ketchup.

LEMON-JUICE.--Citric acid is the princ.i.p.al component part of lemon-juice, which, in addition to the agreeableness of its flavour, is also particularly cooling and grateful. It is likewise an antis...o...b..tic; and this quality enhances its value.

In order to combat the fatal effects of scurvy amongst the crews of s.h.i.+ps at sea, a regular allowance of lemon-juice is served out to the men; and by this practice, the disease has almost entirely disappeared. By putting the juice into bottles, and pouring on the top sufficient oil to cover it, it may be preserved for a considerable time. Italy and Turkey export great quant.i.ties of it in this manner.

LEMON SAUCE FOR BOILED FOWLS.

457. INGREDIENTS.--1 small lemon, 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, No. 380.

_Mode_.--Cut the lemon into very thin slices, and these again into very small dice. Have ready 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, made by recipe No.

380; put in the lemon; let it just simmer, but not boil, and pour it over the fowls.

_Time_.--1 minute to simmer. _Average cost_, 6d.

_Sufficient_ for a pair of large fowls.

LEMON WHITE SAUCE, FOR FOWLS, FRICa.s.sEES, &c.

458. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 pint of cream, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of whole white pepper, 1 sprig of lemon thyme, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1 teacupful of white stock; salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Put the cream into a very clean saucepan (a lined one is best), with the lemon-peel, pepper, and thyme, and let these infuse for 1/2 hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes, or until there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour in the above proportions; stir this well in, and put in the lemon-juice at the moment of serving; mix the stock with the cream, and add a little salt. This sauce should not boil after the cream and stock are mixed together.

_Time_.--Altogether, 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Sufficient_, this quant.i.ty, for a pair of large boiled fowls.

_Note_.--Where the expense of the cream is objected to, milk may be subst.i.tuted for it. In this case, an additional dessertspoonful, or rather more, of flour must be added.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEMON THYME.]

LEMON THYME.--Two or three tufts of this species of thyme, _Thymus citriodorus_, usually find a place in the herb compartment of the kitchen-garden. It is a trailing evergreen, is of smaller growth than the common kind (_see_ No. 166), and is remarkable for its smell, which closely resembles that of the rind of a lemon. Hence its distinctive name. It is used for some particular dishes, in which the fragrance of the lemon is desired to slightly predominate.

LEAMINGTON SAUCE (an Excellent Sauce for Flavouring Gravies, Hashes, Soups, &c.).

_(Author's Recipe.)_

459. INGREDIENTS.--Walnuts. To each quart of walnut-juice allow 3 quarts of vinegar, 1 pint of Indian soy, 1 oz. of cayenne, 2 oz. of shalots, 3/4 oz. of garlic, 1/2 pint of port wine.

_Mode_.--Be very particular in choosing the walnuts as soon as they appear in the market; for they are more easily bruised before they become hard and sh.e.l.led. Pound them in a mortar to a pulp, strew some salt over them, and let them remain thus for two or three days, occasionally stirring and moving them about. Press out the juice, and to _each quart_ of walnut-liquor allow the above proportion of vinegar, soy, cayenne, shalots, garlic, and port wine. Pound each ingredient separately in a mortar, then mix them well together, and store away for use in small bottles. The corks should be well sealed.

_Seasonable_.--This sauce should be made as soon as walnuts are obtainable, from the beginning to the middle of July.

LEMON BRANDY.

460. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of brandy, the rind of two small lemons, 2 oz.

of loaf-sugar, 1/4 pint of water.

_Mode_.--Peel the lemons rather thin, taking care to have none of the white pith. Put the rinds into a bottle with the brandy, and let them infuse for 24 hours, when they should be strained. Now boil the sugar with the water for a few minutes, skim it, and, when cold, add it to the brandy. A dessertspoonful of this will be found an excellent flavouring for boiled custards.

LEMON RIND OR PEEL.--This contains an essential oil of a very high flavour and fragrance, and is consequently esteemed both a wholesome and agreeable stomachic. It is used, as will be seen by many recipes in this book, as an ingredient for flavouring a number of various dishes. Under the name of CANDIED LEMON-PEEL, it is cleared of the pulp and preserved by sugar, when it becomes an excellent sweetmeat. By the ancient medical philosopher Galen, and others, it may be added, that dried lemon-peel was considered as one of the best digestives, and recommended to weak and delicate persons.

LIAISON OF EGGS FOR THICKENING SAUCES.

461. INGREDIENTS.--The yolks of 3 eggs, 8 tablespoonfuls of milk or cream.

_Mode_.--Beat up the yolks of the eggs, to which add the milk, and strain the whole through a hair-sieve. When the liaison is being added to the sauce it is intended to thicken, care must be exercised to keep stirring it during the whole time, or, otherwise, the eggs will curdle.

It should only just simmer, but not boil.

LIVER AND LEMON SAUCE FOR POULTRY.

462. INGREDIENTS.--The liver of a fowl, one lemon, salt to taste, 1/2 pint of melted b.u.t.ter. No. 376.

_Mode_.--Wash the liver, and let it boil for a few minutes; peel the lemon very thin, remove the white part and pips, and cut it into very small dice; mince the liver and a small quant.i.ty of the lemon rind very fine; add these ingredients to 1/2 pint of smoothly-made melted b.u.t.ter; season with a little salt, put in the cut lemon, heat it gradually, but do not allow it to boil, lest the b.u.t.ter should oil.

_Time_.--1 minute to simmer.

_Sufficient_ to serve with a pair of small fowls.

LIVER AND PARSLEY SAUCE FOR POULTRY.

463. INGREDIENTS.--The liver of a fowl, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, 1/2 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, No. 376.

_Mode_.--Wash and score the liver, boil it for a few minutes, and mince it very fine; blanch or scald a small bunch of parsley, of which there should be sufficient when chopped to fill a tablespoon; add this, with the minced liver, to 1/2 pint of smoothly-made melted b.u.t.ter; let it just boil; when serve.

_Time_.--1 minute to simmer.

_Sufficient_ for a pair of small fowls.

LOBSTER SAUCE, to serve with Turbot, Salmon, Brill, &c.

(_Very Good_.)

464. INGREDIENTS.--1 middling-sized hen lobster, 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, No. 376; 1 tablespoonful of anchovy sauce, 1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, salt and cayenne to taste, a little pounded mace when liked, 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of cream.

_Mode_.--Choose a hen lobster, as this is indispensable, in order to render this sauce as good as it ought to be. Pick the meat from the sh.e.l.ls, and cut it into small square pieces; put the sp.a.w.n, which will be found under the tail of the lobster, into a mortar with 1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, and pound it quite smooth; rub it through a hair-sieve, and cover up till wanted. Make 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter by recipe No. 376; put in all the ingredients except the lobster-meat, and well mix the sauce before the lobster is added to it, as it should retain its square form, and not come to table shredded and ragged. Put in the meat, let it get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil, as the colour would immediately be spoiled; for it should be remembered that this sauce should always have a bright red appearance. If it is intended to be served with turbot or brill, a little of the sp.a.w.n (dried and rubbed through a sieve without b.u.t.ter) should be saved to garnish with; but as the goodness, flavour, and appearance of the sauce so much depend on having a proper quant.i.ty of sp.a.w.n, the less used for garnis.h.i.+ng the better.