Chapter VII: Part 7

Take one pound or a pint of hot boiled sweet potato, pass it hot through a sieve--the finer the better. To this add six eggs well beaten, three-fourths of a pound of butter, and a pound of sugar; flavor with grated lemon rind, and a little brandy. Make a paste around the dish, pour in the sweet potato mixture, and bake. Sprinkle finely pulverized sugar over the surface of the pudding. This is a Southern dish, and fit to grace the table of an epicure.

BAKED SUET PUDDING. ECONOMICAL AND WHOLESOME

To a pound of flour, add by degrees six ounces of finely chopped suet, four eggs, together with as much milk as will make a firm batter. Beat all together hard, until the last moment before placing it in the oven. Pour it into a buttered dish, and bake. Serve as soon as done, with plain syrup, or butter and sugar sauce.

LEMON PUDDING. VERY NICE

Six eggs, three lemons, six tablespoonfuls of corn starch, and one large spoonful of butter. Cook the corn starch in a pint and a half of water, and stir in the butter. Let it get cool, and then stir in the yolks of the eggs, the juice of the lemons, and the grated rind; also one cup of sugar. Bake this lightly in a pudding dish, and when cold pour it over a meringue, or icing, made with the whites of the eggs, and sufficient sugar to make a thick icing. Put it back in the oven, and let it brown lightly.

TEMPERANCE ICED CABINET PUDDING FOR SUMMER

This is usually made in oval tin moulds, with a tight-fitting cover. Small moulds are the best. Cut some sponge cake about half an inch thick; shape it nearly to the mould; dilute a tablespoonful of any favorite extract, and pour it on to the cake. Then commence to fill up the mould in layers of currants, seedless raisins, sliced citron, and chopped almonds, then a layer of cake, until it is full. Make ready a custard of one pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of extract of lemon, rose, or almonds; let it simmer a little, but not enough to curdle, as it will certainly do if allowed to stay too long on the fire. When it simmers, take it off, and let it cool a little. When only lukewarm pour it over the fruit and cake in the mould. Cover tightly, and bury it in ice and salt. It is, when well made, a most exquisite dessert.

SOUFFLE PUDDING

Take a pint of milk, a cup of flour, one spoonful of sugar, and a piece of butter as large as an egg. Scald the milk, flour, and butter together. After the batter becomes cold, stir in the yolks of five eggs, and just before baking, stir in the whites. Bake in a quick oven, and serve with sauce.

OMELET SOUFFLE PUDDING

Beat the whites of ten eggs to a stiff froth. Beat the yolks with three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, and the juice and grated rind of a lemon. Mix all together lightly. Butter a thick-bottomed dish which will just hold the pudding; put it immediately in the oven, and bake it fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve it just as it comes from the oven. It should quiver like a golden jelly when served. If baked too long, it will be spoiled. The oven must not be too hot, or it will scorch; the heat should be as usual to bake pies.

VERY RICH PUDDING

Line a deep pie dish with puff paste, having first buttered it thoroughly; place on this a layer of jam, then a layer of custard, then jam, then custard, until the dish is nearly full, leaving the custard layer at the top. Bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven, let the pudding cool, beat up the whites of the eggs that were used for the custard into a stiff whip with a little powdered sugar, pile the whip on as high as possible, and serve.

PARISIAN PUDDING

Lay slices of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish, spread over them a layer of preserve (red or black currant is very good for the purpose), place over that more slices of sponge cake, then another layer of jam. Do this until you have filled the dish. Pour over it sufficient sherry to soak the cake properly, then beat up the whites of four eggs with sufficient powdered loaf sugar to make it a very stiff froth, with which to cover the top of the cake completely, and bake.

BIRD’S NEST PUDDING

Take half a package of gelatine, using a little more than half the quantity of water given in the recipe for making jelly; in all other respects use the same proportions. When ready to strain put it into a large oval dish (a meat dish is nice); fill it nearly to the edge; then set it away to harden. Take some egg-shells that you have broken just the end off in getting out the egg; make a blanc-mange of corn starch; flavor it with vanilla, and sweeten; put this into the shells before it cools and hardens at all; set the eggs on end in a vegetable-dish so that they will stand top up, being careful not to let the blanc-mange run out. Cut some very thin yellow parings off the lemon rind, stew them in a little sugar and water; when cold lay each piece separately in a circle on the jelly, making two or three nests. Break open the egg-shells, take out the blanc-mange, and lay it in groups like eggs inside the nest. This makes a very pretty dish, and is very good. Ivy sprays or myrtle wound around the edge of the dish improves the appearance.

BIRD’S NEST PUDDING

Peel and core six mellow apples; line a pudding dish with pastry; lay the apples in the bottom of the dish, and stick long narrow strips of citron around them. Stir to a cream a pint of powdered sugar, and half a pint of butter. Beat separately the yolks and whites of eight eggs; mix them with the butter and sugar, season with nutmeg, place it on the fire, and stir until it is hot; then pour it over the apples, and bake immediately. It can be eaten warm or cold. Do not allow the top to brown too soon. It should be covered with a pan, when first put into the oven, to prevent this.

CROWS’-NEST WITH CINNAMON

Cut nice sour cooking apples into a baking dish, small or large as you need; put sugar, cinnamon, and lemon over them; throw in a cup of water, and cover the dish with a crust of light pie crust. Put it in the oven, and bake until the apples are tender. Be sure to cut air-holes in the crust before putting in to bake. Eat it with cream and sugar, or hard sauce of butter and sugar; beat together until firm enough to slice like butter. Grate a little nutmeg over the sauce, if cinnamon is not liked.

COTTAGE PUDDING

One tablespoonful of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, one pint of sifted flour, two spoonfuls of cream of tartar; mix like cake; bake quickly in shallow tin pans; dredge the top with powdered sugar, which gives a nice crust to all puddings and cakes. Sauce to accompany this pudding: one tablespoonful of butter, one cup of powdered sugar, lemon extract for seasoning, or lemon juice, with half a pint of boiling water. All beaten together until it foams.

COUNTRY BATTER PUDDING WITH FRUIT, CHEAP AND NICE

This is a pudding which requires no paste and is a nice way to use fruit, such as pie-plant, berries, strawberries, peaches, etc. To a quart of buttermilk add one egg, a large teaspoonful of soda, a little salt, and flour enough to make a thick batter. Pour it over a quart of chopped fruit, such as mentioned, beat it a little, tie it tightly in a bag, drop it in a kettle of hot water, and let it boil two hours. Serve with sugar and cream. This pudding may be poured into a cake pan and baked, if not convenient to boil it. Put in plenty of fruit.

RICE MERINGUE PUDDING

Boil half a cup of rice in a quart of milk until it is thoroughly done. Sweeten to taste, and let it cool. Beat in the yolks of four eggs. Flavor with lemon rind or essence and nutmeg. Bake in a pudding-dish. When cool, pour over it the whites of your eggs, beaten with a cup of white sifted sugar. Bake light brown. Season to taste with lemon, rose or vanilla.

APPLE MERINGUE

Select handsome pippin apples if you can get them, pare and core them whole, put them in the oven with a little water in a deep dish, and let them cook a little but not enough to break. When plumped, take them out and let them get cold; then fill the centre of each apple with jelly. Make an icing of the whites of eggs, beaten with sifted sugar, and carefully cover each apple with it, wetting the knife while smoothing the icing. Sift a little sugar over them and put them in the oven to harden, but not to brown; too much heat will cause the jelly to melt.

A CHEAP AND DELICATE PUDDING

Take a tablespoonful of butter, a cup of sugar, a cup of milk, two eggs, and a pint of sifted flour. Put into the flour a small teaspoonful of soda and two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar; sift this in carefully, and set the flour aside. Beat the eggs, yolks and whites together, briskly until they foam; add to the eggs two tablespoonfuls of water; beat them sharply again until the tissues of the eggs thoroughly blend with the water, mix the sugar and butter together; add the eggs, beat again, then pour in the flour which will make a stiff batter; lastly, thin this with the small cup of milk (sweet milk is the best), then bake in shallow pans and serve with lemon sauce, or a rich wine sauce if that is preferred.

A QUICKLY-MADE PUDDING

Split a few crackers, lay the surface over with raisins, and place the halves together again; tie them closely in a cloth, and boil them fifteen minutes. Serve with a rich sauce of butter, wine, sugar and nutmeg.

ANOTHER QUICKLY-MADE PUDDING

Get a light, square loaf of bread, split it in three or four horizontal slices; strew in between the slices cut-up raisins or currants; tie it up again; boil half an hour, and serve it with a rich sauce. There are few better puddings made with so little expense or trouble.

DELICIOUS BREAD PUDDING

Butter some slices of bread, cut thin, and lay them in a dish, with currants and citron between; pour over it a quart of milk, with four well-beaten eggs, and sugar sufficient to sweeten to taste, and bake. Serve with sauce. It is easily made, and very nice. It is good hot or cold.

CHEAP GINGERBREAD PUDDING

Take a cup of butter, rub it up with three and a half cups of flour, one cup of milk, one cup of molasses, and one teaspoonful of saleratus. Steam three hours, and serve with a rich sauce.

A FRENCH FRIED PUDDING

Beat four eggs to a quart of milk, sweeten and flavor to taste, cut slices of baker’s bread and steep them until thoroughly saturated, then fry in hot butter and serve. Half this quantity for a small family.

MY OWN PUDDING

Let a quart of milk be set on to boil; while it is getting hot, mix a cup of maizena or corn starch with enough cold water to form it into a thick batter; add to this a cup of white sugar and the yolks of four eggs; take the milk off and stir eggs, maizena, and sugar, into the milk; beat all together a few minutes, then pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake it lightly about ten minutes, or long enough only to cook the eggs; then take the pudding out, and while hot put over it a layer of jelly or jam; beat up the whites of the eggs with a cup of sugar, put this over the jelly and brown.

MARLBOROUGH PUDDING

Take half a pound of grated apples, half a pound of fine white sugar, half a pound of butter, six eggs well beaten, the peel of one lemon grated, and the strained juice of two; line the dish with pie paste, put the pudding in, and bake in a quick oven.

MARLBOROUGH APPLE TARTS. VERY FINE

Quarter, and stew a dozen tart apples. To each teacup of this pulp, rubbed through a sieve, add a teacup of sugar, half a cup of melted butter, the juice and grated rind of two lemons, a cup of milk, four eggs and half a nutmeg. Beat all together and bake in pans lined with pastry, with a rim of puff paste around the edge. This is an old and always good recipe.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Make a nice pie crust, raised with yeast, or not, as you desire; divide it into six parts, and roll each part thin; have ready six good-sized tart apples, pared and cored; fill up the cores with sugar and butter. Close the dough neatly around the apples, and turn that side down in a deep dish. If they are made with raised dough they should stand one hour; if with unleavened paste, sprinkle some sugar over them, also a little grounded cinnamon or other spice, and set them in the oven to bake. Spread a little batter over each of the dumplings as they go to the oven. Put plenty of spices, nutmegs, cinnamon and mace. Throw a little water in the dish, and bake three-quarters of an hour. Wine, or sugar and butter sauce is a great improvement, but it is very good without it.

PLAIN TAPIOCA CREAM

Boil the pearl tapioca as you do rice; when cool sweeten it to the taste, and grate nutmeg over it. Pour rich cream over it and serve.

TAPIOCA CREAM

Soak two teaspoonfuls of tapioca for two hours in a little cold water. Boil a quart of milk, and to it add the tapioca, the yolks of three eggs, well beaten with a cup and a half of sugar; give it one boil, and set it away to cool; do not boil it long, or the eggs will curdle. Beat the whites of the eggs, and put them on top, or boil them in a little of the milk and put it on the cream. Set it on ice until wanted. This is a delicate and nourishing cream for convalescents, or invalids who require nourishing food.

A NICE SUPPER DISH

Take one pint of cream, whip it until stiff, and one ounce of isinglass boiled and strained in about a pint of water. Boil it until reduced to half a pint. Boil in this water and isinglass, a vanilla bean, and when nearly cold, take out the bean, add four ounces of sugar, and when this is blood warm, stir in the cream. Eat with whipped cream.

RICE-MILK FOR CHILDREN

To every quart of milk, allow two ounces of rice. Wash the rice and put it with the milk in a close-covered stewpan, set it over a slow fire, and let it simmer gently for one hour and a half. It will scorch on a fierce fire.

NICE RICE CUSTARD

Take two tablespoonfuls of boiled rice. If it is very dry, wash it with a little warm water. Put it in a pan, add a tablespoonful of butter, three or four eggs beaten light, a quart of sweet milk, sugar enough to make it quite sweet, and one cup of picked and seeded raisins. Flavor with nutmeg and essence of lemon or vanilla. Bake lightly. Do not allow it to remain in the oven long, as the milk will become watery and thus destroy the jelly-like consistency of the custard. It is a nice and cheap dessert for children. The raisins may be omitted if they are objectionable.

APPLE POT PIE

First, the pastry: Rub into a pint of flour a heaping spoonful of lard. Strew in a little salt, and work it until the mass becomes numberless little globules and balls. Then moisten with cold water, and press them together until they adhere, and your pastry is made. It must not be kneaded or worked over at all. Let any cook try this method, and he will find it the best and easiest way to make fine leaf paste, and he will never again countenance the old rolling, larding, butter-spreading system.

Now for the fruit: Pare, core and quarter one dozen apples. Put them in a baking pan, with one large cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of spices, two of molasses and one of butter; add water until the fruit is nearly covered, and put it in the oven to bake and stew, and brown. When the apples begin to soften, dredge in a little flour, for the juice, though plentiful, must not be watery. Roll out the pastry. Cut the cover to suit the pan, and make the trimmings into dumplings, which must be dropped at intervals among the fruit. Fold the pie cover in half, make several oblique incisions for openings, lay it on and brown it lightly. Serve on a dish like peach cobbler. Like that substantial dessert, it may be eaten with cream.

PRESERVES, SYRUPS AND FRUIT JELLIES

HINTS ON PRESERVING

Preserving kettles should be broad and shallow, with a handle on each side. If you wish to preserve in small quantities, use a small kettle. A charcoal furnace is most desirable in warm weather, as you can put it where you like, and thus avoid the heat of the kitchen. Slow, gentle boiling is absolutely necessary in preserving and pickling.

Crushed or loaf sugar should be used for preserves, as it is less liable to ferment during the long hot summer.

Jelly bags may be made of cotton, linen, or flannel, and can be made like an old-fashioned reticule, with a string through the top, to close and suspend it while dripping.

It is a mistake to think dark fruits, like raspberries, strawberries, etc., can be preserved equally well with brown sugar, for the color of this sugar makes the preserves dark, or rather _dingy_, which is the proper word.

Glass is best for keeping preserves in, as they may be examined without opening the jars. When first put up they should be corked tightly, and dipped into coarse melted sealing-wax.

TO MAKE PRESERVES

Most fruits are much easier preserved than jellied. Weigh the fruit, and to each pound of fruit the usual rule is a pound of sugar; make a syrup of the sugar with a half pint of water to each pound of fruit. Boil it clear, then put in the fruit and cook it well, and boil gently till the fruit is clear.

TO GREEN FRUIT FOR PICKLING OR PRESERVING

Put vine leaves under, between, and over the fruit in a brass kettle, and over the leaves sprinkle a teaspoonful of beaten or ground alum; cover the fruit to be greened, with water, and boil it gently with the leaves and alum; if not a fine green, take more leaves and dust a little saleratus over them. Spread them out to cool when green, and proceed to preserve or pickle them as desired.

TO PRESERVE PEACHES

Select white clings if you desire to preserve them whole. Yellow peaches make the most transparent preserve, but cannot always be procured. If white clings are convenient, peel and weigh them, and to each pound of fruit put one pound of sugar and half a pint of water. Put the syrup to boil, clarify it with an egg, and as it boils remove the scum. Keep the peaches in cold water all the time the syrup is boiling, as water keeps the fruit in good color, while leaving it exposed darkens it. When the syrup has boiled clear, put in the peaches; let them boil gently for half an hour, then take them out on a dish for two hours; put them back in the syrup and boil again until they are clear; they are then done, and you can put them in jars and pour the syrup over them, and cork and seal up for future use.

ANOTHER WAY TO PRESERVE PEACHES

Peel, cut and weigh six pounds of peaches; take six pounds of fine white sugar, throw the sugar on the peaches until they are well covered, and let them stay all night. Early in the morning add three pints of water, and boil all together for one hour. Skim carefully, and then take the peaches out on a large dish, still keeping the syrup gently boiling, and skimming it as it boils. Lay the peaches in the sun on dishes for at least two hours, to harden. Taking the fruit out of the syrup a few times improves it, giving it firmness and transparency. Now replace the peaches in the syrup, and boil gently until they are clear. Cut peaches are much more easily kept than peaches preserved whole, but they are not so highly flavored. Cut fruit does not require so much boiling as whole fruit; this should be remembered in preserving.

PRESERVED CITRON

Pare off the green skin and all the soft part of the rind, then cut the firm part in strips, or any shape you fancy. Allow a pound and a quarter of sugar to each pound of rind; line your porcelain kettle with grapevine leaves and fill with the rind, scattering a little pulverized alum over each layer. Cover with vine-leaves three thick, pour on water enough to reach and wet these and cover with a close lid. Let them heat together for three hours, but the water must not actually boil. Take out the rind, which will be well greened by this process, and throw at once into very cold water. Let it soak for four hours, changing the water for fresh every hour. Then make a syrup, allowing two cups of water to every pound and a quarter of syrup. Boil and skim until no more scum comes up; put in the rind and simmer gently nearly an hour. Take it out and spread on dishes in the sun until firm and almost cool. Simmer in the syrup for half an hour; spread out again, and when firm put into a large bowl and pour over it the scalding syrup. Next day put the syrup again over the fire, add the juice of a lemon and a tiny bit of ginger-root for every pound of rind. Boil down until thick, pack the rind in jars and pour over it the syrup. Tie up when cool.

TO PRESERVE PEARS

Take small rich pears, and boil them gently in water until they will yield to the pressure of the finger. They must not be soft, or they will not preserve well. Take them out when a little boiled; let them cool, and pare them neatly, leaving a little of the stem on, as well as the blossom end. Make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and when it is boiling hot, pour it on the pears; next day boil them in the syrup till clear, and bottle them for use.

PINEAPPLE PRESERVES

Take fine pineapples, cut off all the rough parts, and each apple in quarters, shaping each piece alike. Boil the pineapples in just enough water to cover them, and put to this water all the cuttings, so as to make the syrup as rich in flavor as possible. When the pieces are tender, take them out, weigh them, and make a syrup of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit, allowing a cup of the water the pineapples were boiled in, to each pound of fruit. Strain the water over the sugar, mix it, and let it boil fifteen minutes, by itself; skim it, and put in the pineapples, letting them boil until they are clear and perfectly tender. Pears done in this way make a delicious preserve. The usual way of putting them in the syrup without previous boiling, makes them little better than sweetened leather, as it makes them tough and stringy.

TO PRESERVE CRAB APPLES, GREEN

Wash the apples and boil them in a very little water, cover them with vine leaves, while on the fire simmering, and they will then be very yellow. Take them out and spread them on a large dish to cool. Pare and core them, put them back in the kettle, with fresh leaves to cover them. Hang them over the fire, or on the stove in a preserving kettle until they are green; then take them out of the pot, let them cool, weigh them, and allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Put only water sufficient to dissolve the sugar, as the fruit, having been already boiled, will require very little water--a small cupful to each pound being quite enough. Boil this syrup, skim it, and put in your green apples, and boil them until they are clear and tender. Put the apples in jars, turn the juice on to them, and when cold tie them up, or rather seal them in this Southern climate.

PEACH OR APPLE COMPOTE, FOR DESSERT

Dissolve and boil a pound of loaf sugar in a pint of water; skim it, pare six or eight apples, or a dozen peaches, throw them into the boiling syrup, and cook until tender and transparent. Lemon improves the apples, but peaches are better without it.

PRESERVED HUCKLEBERRIES

Take them just as they begin to ripen, pick and weigh them, allow a pound of fruit to a pound of sugar, then stew them until quite clear, and the syrup becomes thick. These make nice tarts when fruit is scarce.

PLUM PRESERVES

Get plums before they are dead ripe; allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, dissolve and boil the sugar and water (allowing half a pint of water to a pound). Boil the syrup until it is thick, then put in the plums and boil them until they are transparent; then put them in sealed jars.

FIG PRESERVES

Boil the sugar and water syrup as directed in previous recipe. Let the figs be firm, not dead ripe or they will boil to a mass. They should be laid in alum the day before they are to be preserved, then taken out, washed, and put into the boiling syrup. Boil for three hours, or until transparent; then bottle as usual and seal up with wax.

MYRTLE ORANGE PRESERVE, OR HOME-MADE LIMES

Pluck the oranges before they turn yellow; they should be a rich dark green; cut a hole in the stem end and take out all the white pulp and seeds; scrape them carefully, grate the rind so as to break the oil cells, and allow the strong oil to escape. Wash them and throw them into strong salt and water; let them stay in it for three days, then soak them in fresh water three days. When you wish to preserve them you must boil them in clear water, slowly, in a brass kettle; cover them with a few orange leaves while boiling, which will green them, and boil until they are tender, then set them up to cool. Weigh as much sugar as you have oranges, and allow pound for pound; boil the syrup clear and then put in the oranges; boil gently for half an hour, or until green and yellow. Use only a silver spoon in making this preserve.

TO MAKE WATERMELON PRESERVES

Take the firm outside rind of the watermelon; scrape off the green and cut out the soft inside; cut the rind into any shapes you choose, stars, crescents, diamonds, etc. After they have been boiled in alum and leaves to green and harden, weigh them and make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, with a cup of water to each pound. Boil the syrup clear, and put in the cut rinds, and boil them until transparent. Flavor with ginger for green color, and lemons for the yellow. If the rind is wanted yellow you must boil it with fresh lemon skins and a little saffron before preserving it.

ANOTHER WATERMELON RIND PRESERVE

In a bucket of cold water, put a handful of lime, stir it in, and when it settles clear, pour it over the watermelon rind you intend preserving; let it stay in the weak lime-water one day. Soak it a few hours, and get the taste of the lime from the rind, then put it in alum water and scald for ten minutes. Put grape-leaves in with the alum water while scalding; they will make the rind green. Take the rind from the alum, and put it in cold water for a few hours, and when cold, boil it in strong ginger tea until it is soft, and tastes of the ginger. Make the syrup of one and a half pounds of sugar to each pound of rind, and a half pint of water to each pound of sugar. Let it cook slowly, skim it, and when it looks clear, put in the rind, and let it cook slowly until clear and transparent. The rind should be cut into beautiful shapes, and preserved with care. This is a little trouble; but the housekeeper is amply repaid by the beauty of the preserve.

TO MAKE ANY KIND OF FRUIT JELLY

Wash and drain the fruit, put it in a stone jar, and put the jar into a kettle of water over the fire; let it boil, but see that none of the water gets into the fruit. When the fruit is tender, it will begin to break; pour it now into a flannel bag, but do not squeeze it--that will make the jelly cloudy. To each pint of juice strained, add one pound, or one pound and a quarter of white sugar, and the half of the beaten white of an egg. Boil this rapidly, skim, but do not stir the syrup, as stirring breaks its continuity and prevents its jellying. Boil it twenty minutes, and try a little in some cold water, to find out if it jellies; if it does not, boil it a little longer. Too much boiling, or too slow boiling, injures jelly and makes it ropy. Too much sugar will cause jelly to grain; the quantity used must be in accordance with the requirements of the fruit, acid fruit requiring more sugar and dead ripe fruit less. Red currants take more sugar than black currants; they also take more time to boil to a jelly. A little practice _and a few mistakes_ will make anyone who takes pleasure in cooking a good jelly-maker and preserver.

CRAB APPLE JELLY

This is the best of all apple jellies. Wash the apples, cut them up, remove all defects, remove the seeds and the blossom end; but do not pare them. Lay them in your preserving-kettle, and cover them with water; then boil them until they are soft, but do not let them mash up from too much boiling. Drain off all the water, and mash the apples with the back of a silver spoon. Put this in a jelly bag, and place a deep dish under it to collect the juice. To every pint of the juice allow a pint of loaf sugar; boil it and skim it. It will be ready to dip out into tumblers in half an hour, if you have complied with these directions. Always dip jelly out with a _silver_ spoon, as any other kind darkens fruit. I have seen preserves rendered very dark by putting in them a new-tinned dipper. You must be careful of these things if you desire your confections to be elegant.

LEMON JELLY. A BEAUTIFUL DISH

Set an ounce of isinglass in a pint of water on the stove in a stew-pan; stir the isinglass until it dissolves. Let it boil a few minutes, then add a pint of lemon juice sweetened with a pound and a half of sugar, or a little more, if it is wished very sweet. Stir this in with the rinds of six lemons, and boil all together. After boiling for about five minutes, put a teaspoonful of saffron in to color it yellow, and strain through a flannel bag. Fill your jelly-glasses with it; when cool, it is a most beautiful dish for a collation.

BLACKBERRY JELLY

Cook the fruit till tender in a little water; throw off the water, bruise and strain the fruit, and to each pint of the juice add one pound of white sugar. Put it now in a preserving-pan, and boil it _rapidly_, but do not stir it while boiling, as that breaks the jelly; skim it carefully, and when it jellies, pour it into tumblers or small jars. I have made two pecks of berries into jelly in two hours. This is said for the benefit of young housekeepers who often boil their jelly too slowly and too long, which makes it ropy.

APPLE JELLY, WITHOUT WATER

Pare and core the fruit, which should be juicy and tart. Lay the apples in a vessel to cook without putting in any water; cover them closely, and cook until properly soft; strain the juice, and add three-fourths of a pound of sugar to a pint of apple juice. Beat in the white of an egg to clarify the jelly, and skim it as it boils; try it and, as soon as it jellies, take it from the fire and put it in glasses.

JAM

This can be made from almost any kind of ripe fruit. Blackberries, strawberries or raspberries are especially suited for this form of preserve. You must weigh your fruit (say blackberries), and allow three quarters of a pound of good sugar to each pound of fruit. Crush the fruit and sugar, with a biscuit beater, until they are well mashed; add a gill of water to each pound of fruit; boil gently (not rapidly like jelly) until it becomes a jelly-like mass, and when done, put it into glasses, or small earthenware pots and when cold, cover up like jelly. This is an excellent medicine in summer for dysentery; but if intended for invalids, you must spice it, and add a gill of brandy--fourth proof--to each pound of jam.

TOMATO JAM

Take nice ripe tomatoes, skin them, take out all their seeds, but save the juice to put with the sugar. Weigh the fruit, and to each pound, add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; boil some lemons soft, take one for each pound of tomatoes, mash them fine, take out the pips, and put the lemons to the sugar and tomatoes; boil slowly and mash the jam smooth with a silver spoon. When smooth and jelly-like, it is done. Put it away in glasses carefully.

ORANGE MARMALADE. DELICIOUS

Quarter the oranges and take out the seeds and white strings. To every pound of pulp, add a cup of cold water, and let it stand thus for twenty-four hours. Boil some of the peel in several waters until quite tender; then to each pound of pulp, add one-quarter of a pound of boiled peel, and one and a quarter pounds of white sugar. Boil this slowly until it jellies, and the bits of peel are quite transparent.

ORANGE MARMALADE MADE WITH HONEY

Quarter a dozen large ripe oranges; remove the rind, seeds and filaments, but save all the juice. Put the juice and pulp into a porcelain kettle, with an equal quantity of strained honey, adding one-third as much sugar as honey. Boil until very thick, sweet and clear. When cold, put it in small jars.

MARMALADE

This jam can be made of any ripe fruit, boiled to a pulp with a little water; the best are peaches, quinces, apples, oranges and cranberries. It is usual to crush the fruit. Put in three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, add a _little_ water (half a cup to a pound), and boil until it is a jellied mass. When done, put it in glass or white earthenware.

TO CANDY FRUIT

After peaches, quinces, plums, or citron, have been preserved, take them from the syrup, and drain them on a sieve. To a pound of loaf sugar, put a small cup of water, and when it is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire, and let it boil; when it boils, put in the fruit to be candied, and stir continually until the sugar granulates over the fruit; then take it up, and dry it in a warm oven. If not sufficiently candied, repeat the operation.

CANDIED PUMPKIN

Peel a piece of pumpkin, and cut it in thin slices. Make a nice, thick syrup of brown sugar and water, and put the pumpkin into it, with a little of the juice of the lemon. Boil this until the pumpkin is nicely candied. Mace, or other spices, may be used for flavoring instead of lemon, if preferred. It may be eaten hot with meats at dinner, and is equally nice, when cold, for supper or lunch.

ORGEAT SYRUP WITHOUT ORANGE FLOWERS

Make a syrup of a pound of sugar to every pint of water; boil this a few minutes, skim it clear, and when cold, to every four pounds of sugar used, allow a gill of orange water, or rose water, and two tablespoonfuls of pure essence of bitter almonds. Serve it in iced water.

ORANGE SYRUP

This syrup is so easily made, and oranges are so abundant here, that it is advantageous to make this syrup in the season of orange harvest, in Louisiana. To make it, you must select ripe and thin-skinned fruit; squeeze the juice, and to every pint, add a pound and a quarter of white sugar; boil it slowly, and skim as long as any scum rises; you may then take it off, let it grow cold, and bottle it. Be sure to secure the corks well. This is nice for a summer drink for delicate persons; it is also very convenient for pudding sauces, as half a cup of this syrup, mixed with melted butter, is admirable, where wine is not used. The flavor is so fine, it requires very little spicing to make it agreeable.

BRANDIED FRUITS, WINES AND CORDIALS

PEACHES IN BRANDY

Soak fine peaches in lye until you can remove the fuzzy outside; wipe them, and turn them into cold water. When you have prepared as many as you desire, weigh them, and to every pound of fruit, put three quarters of a pound of white sugar. Make a syrup like that for preserves, only using less water; boil the peaches in the syrup until they are tender; then take them out of the kettle, and place them in jars; fill up the jars with a brandy syrup, made of a pint of brandy, to a pint of the sugar syrup from the peaches. Cook them very carefully, and dip the mouths of the jars in rosin melted, and keep them in a cool dark place.

APRICOTS IN BRANDY

Peaches and apricots are brandied the same way. Gather them as fresh as possible. Apricots should be taken from the tree as soon as ripe, as they soften so rapidly. Rub each one with a coarse towel, but do not peel it. Make a syrup of half the weight of the fruit in sugar, and just water enough to dissolve it. When the syrup is prepared and hot, put in the apricots, let them simmer until tender; then take the fruit out, and place it on dishes, then expose them to the sun, or in a warm oven to dry and harden. Boil the syrup again, after the fruit is out, until it is quite rich and thick. Skim it carefully. When the apricots are cold and firm, put them in white earthen preserve-jars and fill up with syrup and brandy, half and half. Tie up with bladder skin.

PEACHES AND APRICOTS IN BRANDY

Take nice smooth peaches not too ripe, put them in a vessel and cover them with weak lye; take them out in two hours, and wipe carefully to get off the down and outside skin, and lay them in cold water. Weigh the fruit, add their weight in sugar, and half a pint of water to each pound of sugar; boil and skim this syrup, put in the peaches; when the syrup is clear of scum, let them boil for twenty minutes or half an hour, then take them out and lay them on dishes to cool. Boil the syrup for an hour longer, or until reduced one-half and quite thick. When cold, put the peaches or apricots in jars, and cover them with equal quantities of the syrup and French brandy. If it is apricots, cook them very gently, or they will come to pieces in the syrup; ten minutes is long enough to stew them before bottling.

APRICOT AND PEACH WINE

Mash the apricots or peaches in a mortar, remove the stones, and to eight pounds of the pulp, add one quart of water; let this stand twenty-four hours; then strain, and to each gallon of the juice, add two pounds of loaf sugar. Let it ferment, and when perfectly clear, bottle it. Peach wine is very nice, and may have a few of the kernels added for flavoring, if wished.

RAISIN WINE WITH ELDER FLOWERS

Boil six pounds of raisins in six gallons of water. When soft, rub them to a pulp, and pass through a colander to get rid of the stones; add this pulp to the water it was boiled in, put to it twelve pounds of white sugar and a half-pint of yeast. When clear, suspend half a pound of elder flowers in it to flavor the wine; withdraw the flowers and bottle off the wine.

ORANGE AND LEMON WINE

Take the outer rind of one hundred oranges pared, so that no white appears; pour upon them ten gallons of boiling water, let it stand ten hours and keep slightly warm. While still warm, add the juice of the oranges, mixed with twenty-five pounds of lump sugar, and a few tablespoonfuls of good yeast; let it ferment five days, or until the fermentation has ceased, and the wine is clear; then bottle. Lemon wine can be made in the same way.

SOUR ORANGE WINE

Take one gallon juice of sour oranges, four gallons of water, and twenty pounds of sugar. Boil this mixture in a vessel large enough to hold it, and skim it as it boils until no more scum rises. Pour it into a flannel bag and strain; then put it in a cask, adding to it a quart of uncooked orange juice. Let it ferment, and when clear, bottle it. This will require about six months to finish. Keep in a cool closet or cellar during fermentation.

MIXED FRUIT WINE

Cherries, black currants and raspberries, mixed together, make a good wine. Dilute the juice and add the usual amount of sugar, and let it ferment; then bottle.

A SUPERIOR BLACKBERRY WINE

Bruise your berries, measure them, and to every gallon, add a quart of boiling water. Let this stand twenty-four hours, stirring it three or four times during this time. The third day strain off the juice, and to every gallon of this strained liquor, put two pounds of refined sugar. Cork it tight, and let it stand until cool weather; when you will have a wine that you will never voluntarily be without.

BLACKBERRY WINE

Mash the berries without boiling them; strain the juice, and to six pints of juice, add two pints of water and three pounds of sugar. Mix thoroughly and put it in a wide-mouthed stone jar to ferment. Cover it carefully with a cloth, to keep out all insects; open it and skim it every morning; then cover it up again carefully, for much of the bouquet of the wine depends on this. When it ceases to ferment, strain it and put it in a demijohn; do not cork it tightly, as it must have a little air, but cover the loose stopper with a piece of muslin or tarlatan, to keep out the insects. It will be ready to bottle in two months.

BLACKBERRY CORDIAL

Simmer nice ripe blackberries in water enough to cover them, and when they are tender take them out, mash them and strain them through a strong cloth; get all the juice out you can by squeezing, but do not let the pulp and seed come through the bag. Now add a little of the water they were boiled in, however not more than two tablespoonfuls to each pint of strained juice. To every pint of this liquor, add one pound of loaf sugar, one teaspoonful of mace, same of cloves and cinnamon. Boil all these together a few minutes, and strain it again to free it from the spice. When this syrup is cool, add to each pint a wineglass of good French brandy. If you cannot get brandy, substitute rum or whiskey, remembering to use twice as much as you would brandy. This is excellent for children during the prevalence of summer complaints, and an excellent tonic for all debilitated persons.

BLACKBERRY CORDIAL

Select fine, ripe fruit. Squeeze the berries without boiling, and to a quart of the strained juice, put a pound of loaf sugar; boil it for half an hour, and add a quart of brandy, some cloves and cinnamon, when on the fire. If the fruit thickens too rapidly while boiling, throw in a cup of hot water.

RASPBERRY CORDIAL

Squeeze the fruit through a flannel bag, and to every quart of juice to a pound of loaf sugar; put it in a stone jar and stir it constantly for half an hour; allow it to stand for three days, then strain it again and add to each quart of juice a quart of fine brandy.

TOMATO WINE

Let the tomatoes be very ripe; mash them well, let them stand twenty-four hours, strain, and to every quart of the tomato juice, add a pound of white sugar. This will ferment and should be allowed to do so, only keep it carefully covered from the flies. Skim off the foam as it rises, and when the liquor becomes clear, bottle it. This wine will be a pleasant acid, and should be served with sugar and water, in the tumbler with the wine.

ANOTHER TOMATO WINE

Bruise your berries, or small tomatoes; measure the juice, and add two pounds of sugar to each gallon; put it in a cask, adding two gallons of water to each four gallons of juice. Let it ferment like blackberry wine.

A FINE TEMPERANCE BEVERAGE

To the juice of a dozen lemons put one pound and a half of double refined sugar, and a picked quart of raspberries or strawberries; pare a ripe pineapple and slice it, put over it half a pound of sugar, stir the lemon juice with the sugar, crush in the berries slightly bruise the pineapple and chop it up in small pieces. Put the lemon juice in a large punch bowl, add to it three quarts of ice water, then put in the strawberry and pineapple juice, stir it until all the sugar is dissolved, and then set it on ice. Serve in punch glasses.

CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

Add to the above mixture a bottle of champagne, and a bottle of white wine, and you have a very delicious punch for festive occasions.

DELICATE PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK AND CONVALESCENT

BARLEY WATER

Take four large tablespoonfuls of picked and washed pearl barley, and put it into a porcelain-lined kettle with two quarts of boiling water; let it boil slowly until the water is reduced one half, then strain it and season with salt, lemon, or sugar as may be agreeable to the sick.

TOAST WATER

Cut two or three slices from a loaf of wheat bread, toast them very brown; while hot, put them in a small pitcher, and pour over them a pint and a half of water. Sugar may be added if liked, but when the stomach is affected it is better without it.

TO MAKE WATER GRUEL OF CORN MEAL OR OAT MEAL

Put a quart of water on to boil in a stew-pan. Take a tablespoonful of sweet corn meal, or oatmeal, make it into a batter with milk and salt, stir it in the boiling water and let it boil gently for half an hour. When served it may be sweetened and nutmeg grated over it. If wanted for a strengthening nourishment, a bit of butter and a glass of wine or brandy may be added. This is generally given after a dose of castor oil, or an emetic. Use very little salt.

BEEF TEA FOR INVALIDS

Cut tender lean beef into small pieces, free it from fat and strings, fill a junk bottle with it, cork it tight and put it in a kettle of boiling water; let it boil three hours. In that way you obtain the juices of the meat undiluted. This is especially nourishing and good when the stomach can bear but little liquid.

MILK PUNCH AS A RESTORATIVE

Take a large tumbler (it should hold a pint), half fill it with chopped ice, add to it a large tablespoonful of white sugar, beat it a little with the ice, then pour on it a wineglass of gin, rum or brandy, and fill up with fresh milk. It is generally very acceptable to an invalid who refuses other stimulants.

APPLE TEA, OR WATER, FOR INVALIDS

Cut some ripe apples into thin pieces, add the peel of a fresh lemon; pour boiling water over them and let it stand till cold, then sweeten with loaf sugar. This is a grateful and cooling drink.

BAKED APPLES

Bake them in a tin roaster, as iron discolors them; pour molasses over them and bake until soft. This is good for opening the bowels of patients who are a little constipated.

ARROW-ROOT BLANC MANGE FOR THE SICK

Put a pint of new milk to boil; make a smooth batter with an ounce of Bermuda arrow-root and cold milk; add a little salt, and when the milk is boiling stir in the batter; let the fire be gentle or it will scorch; sweeten this with fine white sugar, and let it boil a few minutes; flavor with lemon, or orange water, or if lemon is objected to, boil a vanilla bean in the milk before the arrow-root is put in. Take it off the fire, pour it in a mould and set it on ice; serve jelly or jam with the blanc mange, or eat it with cream if it agrees with the invalid.

ARROW-ROOT BLANC MANGE

Mix in a little cold water, two tablespoonfuls of arrow-root; sweeten a pint of milk with white sugar and put the arrow-root in the milk. Let it boil a few minutes, stirring it constantly; take it off, and if desired, you can let it cool and mould it in a bowl or jelly form; or it is nice to be eaten warm. Colored jelly over it is an improvement when moulded.

ARROW-ROOT GRUEL

Mix a tablespoonful of arrow-root, or for an infant, half as much; when mixed with cold water, stir in it half a pint of boiling water. Season with salt, sugar or nutmeg.

MILK PORRIDGE

Make a quart of milk boiling hot; make a tablespoonful of flour into a batter with cold milk, add a little salt and stir it in the boiling milk, stirring it constantly for five minutes while it boils; flavor with anything agreeable. Sweetened with loaf sugar, and nutmeg grated plentifully over it, it will make a most excellent remedy for looseness or dysentery.

TAPIOCA MILK

Wash and soak a large tablespoonful of tapioca, put it to a quart of sweet milk, add a little salt, cover it, and set it over a gentle fire for an hour. Take it up, add sugar and nutmeg, or cinnamon to taste.

TAPIOCA PUDDING

Put a coffee-cup of tapioca (soak it well first) into a pint and a half of milk, set it where it will get hot slowly, take it off when it boils, and when cool add four well-beaten eggs; flavor with lemon and peach, sweeten it to taste, and bake for an hour in a hot oven. If this is wanted for one person, take half the quantity of tapioca and milk.

WHITE WINE SYLLABUB

Season a pint of milk with sugar and wine, but not enough wine to curdle the milk. Fill your glasses nearly full, and crown them with sweetened whipped cream. Season the cream with extract of lemon.

SYLLABUB