Chapter XXII: Part II: Choice Family Receipts (5)

=Nice Cheap Pudding.=--One quart of milk, four table-spoonfuls of flour, four eggs, six table-spoonfuls of sugar, nutmeg. Steam three fourths of an hour.

=Orange Pudding.=--Peel five oranges; cut in thin slices; take out all the seeds. Pour over them a large cupful of white sugar. Bring a pint of rich milk to a boil in a farina-kettle; wet a table-spoonful of corn-starch in a little cold milk; beat the yelks of three eggs and pour them into the boiling milk, stirring all the time. When it thickens a little, pour over the fruit. Beat the whites to a stiff foam; add a table-spoonful of white sugar, and pour over the top; set it in the oven a few minutes to harden, but do not brown it. Eaten hot or cold for dinner or tea. Substitute berries or peaches for oranges, if you prefer.

=Custard without Eggs.=--To one quart of new milk one teaspoonful of rennet wine, or a small piece of rennet, a little lemon, nutmeg, or vanilla, or any spice you prefer, and one table-spoonful of sugar to each quart of milk. If too sweet, the milk will not set firmly or quickly. Stir all together, and set by the stove or near the fire; cover closely. It should begin to stiffen in an hour. If it does not, add more wine, or rennet. When firm, before the whey separates, take out the piece of rennet if the skin was used, and set on ice till dinner. To be eaten with sugar and rich cream. Nutmeg is always an improvement, even if lemon or vanilla is used.

The wine rennet is nicer than simply the skin, and it is a good idea to keep a bottle of wine with a piece of rennet in always on hand, as it is often desirable to have it ready.

=A Quick Pudding.=--Bring a quart of milk to the boiling point in a farina-kettle or a pail set into boiling water; add a small teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of rice or wheat flour, wet smooth with cold milk. Stir this in as soon as the milk boils. Stir it a few minutes till perfectly smooth, and let it remain in the outside vessel of boiling water half an hour. Be sure and keep the water in receiver or saucepan boiling hard around the inner one all the time. Eat with butter and sugar, or thick cream and sugar.

This is very healthful, especially in the summer, and invaluable for invalids, or children suffering with summer complaint. When used as a remedy or preventive, it should boil longer, say one hour.

=Rice Meringue.=--Pick over one teacup of rice, wash clean, and boil in water until it is soft. When done, drain all the water from it. Let it get cool and then add one quart of new milk, the well-beaten yelks of three eggs, three table-spoonfuls of white sugar, and a little nutmeg; pour into a baking-dish and bake half an hour. Let it get cold; then beat the whites stiff, add two great spoonfuls of sugar, flavor with lemon or vanilla, and spread it over the pudding, and slightly brown it in the oven. Be careful not to let it scorch.

=Sago Pudding.=--One dozen tart apples, one and a half cups of sago, soak the sago in water till soft; peel and core the apples and place in a dish; fill the apples with sugar, a very little cinnamon and nutmeg, pour the sago over, and bake until the apples are cooked. Eat with wine or hard sauce.

=Lemon or Orange Honeycomb.=--Sweeten the juice of two oranges or lemons. Beat the whites of two eggs into a quart of rich cream, and whisk it; as the froth rises, skim off and lay on the lemon or orange juice. Whisk until you have the whole frothed and laid on the juice. It makes a pretty and agreeable dish. It should be prepared the day before needed, and set in a cool place.

=Apple Snow.=--Stew fine flavored, sour apples; sweeten and flavor to suit your taste; strain, and to one quart of sifted apples allow the whites of four eggs. Whisk them to a stiff froth; then put the apple and whites together, and continue to whip until they are so stiff you can turn the dish upside down without the mass falling off. Eat with cream or with bread and milk.

=Snow Pudding.=--Dissolve one box Cox’s gelatine in one pint of boiling water; add two cups sugar and the juice of one lemon; strain when nearly cold; beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, add them to the gelatine; beat all well together and put into a mold to shape it and let it get cold. Then take the yelks of three eggs, beat and add to a pint of rich milk, one teaspoonful corn-starch, flavor with vanilla, and boil in a farina-kettle. When you wish to serve, empty the mold of gelatine, etc. into the dish, and pour the custard over. In boiling the custard, be careful not to cook it too much; stir all the time, and the moment it begins to set or thicken remove it. If cooked too long it will whey.

=Cocoa-nut Pudding or Pies.=--Break the nut, save the milk; take out the meat and grate it very fine; take equal weight of sugar and cocoa-nut, and half the quantity of butter; rub the butter and sugar to a cream; take five eggs, whites and yelks beaten separately very stiff; one cup of milk and the milk of the cocoa-nut, and a little grated lemon. Line the dish with a nice paste, put in the pudding, and bake one hour. Cover the rim with paper to prevent burning. This receipt will answer equally as well for pies as for pudding. It will make three pies.

=Bohemian Cream.=--Four ounces of any fruit you choose, which has been steamed soft and sweetened. Pass the fruit through a sieve, and add one and a half ounces of melted or dissolved isinglass to a half-pint of fruit; mix it well together; then whip a pint of rich cream, and add the fruit and isinglass gradually to it. Then pour it all into a mold; set it on ice or in a cool place, and when hardened or set, dip the mold a moment in warm water, and turn it out on a dish, ready for the table.

=Spanish Cream.=--Dissolve three quarters of an ounce Cox’s gelatine in one half-pint of water; take one pint milk, one pint cream, the well-beaten yelks of five eggs, five table-spoonfuls of sugar. Sift all well together. Flavor with vanilla, lemon, or orange, or any flavor most agreeable. Put into a farina-kettle and boil till it just begins to turn. If done too much it will be watery, or wheyey, which spoils it. When thickened like a smooth rich cream, stir in the dissolved gelatine, pour into molds, and set in the refrigerator or a very cool place to harden. Beat up the whites of the eggs and pour over the top of the cream after you have removed it from the mold to the glass dish, for the table.

=Rennet Wine.=--Buy a dried rennet in market, or get a fresh one from the butcher’s and prepare and dry it yourself. When well dried and cured, cut it in pieces of one or two inches; put it into a large bottle and fill up with Madeira wine; for a good-sized rennet add from three pints to two quarts of wine. It will keep for a year or two.

=Cold Custard.=--Warm one quart of milk as warm as when just milked; sweeten and flavor to suit your taste; stir into it two table-spoonfuls of rennet wine, and turn it at once into the dish in which it is to be sent to table.

=Baked Apples.=--Core some Baldwin pippins, or any other fine-flavored tart apple. Sprinkle sugar on the bottom of a deep dish, and set the apples into the dish with two or three on top. Fill the holes with sugar; cover the lower apples with water, and bake one hour. A little cinnamon, nutmeg, or lemon will be an improvement for those who like fruit seasoned.

=Apple Snow.=--Stew some fine-flavored sour apples tender, sweeten to taste; strain them through a fine wire sieve, and break into one pint of strained apples the white of an egg; whisk the apple and egg very briskly, till quite stiff, and it will be as white as snow; eaten with a nice boiled custard, it makes a very desirable dessert.

Season with a very little nutmeg and cinnamon, add a little butter, and bake in good pastry, and you will have a very good apple pie.

PRESERVES AND JELLIES.

=To Can Peaches.=--We find the following mode of canning peaches in “Tilton’s Journal of Horticulture,” published in Boston. That journal is always so reliable, that we have no hesitation in giving these directions to our readers: “Take large ripe peaches,--not over-ripe,--halve and pare neatly and lay on a large meat-dish. To a three-peck basket of fruit allow four pounds of sifted sugar; sprinkle it over the fruit as you lay it in the dish; when done set it in a cool place overnight; the next morning fit each piece, one by one, nicely into the jar, draining them from the juice. When the jars are all filled put them close together in a kettle of cold water, putting a double towel or something of the kind under them, in the bottom of the kettle, to prevent their cracking, and set over the fire. Let the water heat gradually till it boils, while you prepare the syrup from the juice that has been formed from the peaches and sugar overnight, then fill up the jars with it, being careful to let the bubbles of air escape; they will be seen rising to the top; if any are in the lower part of the jar they will rush up on the insertion of a fork. When all are full begin to seal up, and have a large pan of hot water standing near to put the jars in as fast as sealed, where they can cool off gradually.

“Where one has glass jars or bottles, without tight-fitting covers, prepare a cement of one pound rosin to two pounds of mutton-suet, melted together and well mixed; have pieces of strong muslin cut large enough to tie over the mouths of the jars or bottles; lay the muslin on a board and with a spoon spread over a thick coating of cement; take up the muslin quickly, before it has time to cool, and put it on the jar with the cement side downward, pressing it closely over the sides. If the muslin is not very thick it is well to spread more cement on top of the first cover, and lay over that a second piece of muslin, then tie down with twine and finish with a good coat of cement over all. This is a good way to use up old jars whose covers have been broken or lost.”

=Mixed Marmalade.=--Apples or pears mixed with quince make very pleasant marmalade. They should be pared and cut in small pieces; just cover them with water, or boil the cores and skins first and use the liquor to boil the fruit in; stew the fruit till it can be mashed with a wooden spoon; when well mashed add the sugar, three fourths of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit (of course the fruit is weighed before beginning to cook); let it cook slowly for two or three hours, the longer it cooks the more solid it will be when cold. Pear, quince, and apple marmalade are made in the same way. With pears, if very mild, many add the juice and grated rind of lemons, to suit the taste, to the sugar.

=Jellies.=--In making jellies of apricots, quinces, peaches, apples, or plums, peel, remove the stones or cores, cut in pieces, cover with water and boil gently till well cooked; then strain the juice gently through a jelly-bag, and add a half-pint of sugar to a pint of juice (for _berries_ a _pound_ of sugar to a pint of juice); boil till it ropes from the spoon, or from fifteen to twenty minutes. In making raspberry jelly, use one third currants and two thirds raspberries.

=Peach Jelly.=--Cut peaches in half, peel them, and take out the pits from the stones; make a clear syrup of a pound of white sugar to half a teacup of water. When made and boiling hot put in the peaches and part of the pits,--too many pits give a bitter flavor,--boil gently ten minutes, then put half of the peaches on a platter, and boil the other half ten minutes longer; mix with the liquor of the peaches the strained juice of three lemons or oranges, and one ounce of isinglass or Cox’s gelatine, that has been first dissolved and strained; fill the molds half full of jelly, let it stand till set, then add the rest of the peaches, and fill the molds with jelly. One dozen peaches will make a good-sized moldful. It is a very handsome table ornament, and very palatable.

=Quince Jelly.=--Boil the quince peelings, cores, and such of the fruit as you do not wish to can till soft, in just enough water to cover; then put into jelly-bags wrung out of hot water; hang the bags by strings on a stick laid across two chairs or benches, with a dish underneath, and let it drain without squeezing till the juice is all run out; then to every pint of juice weigh three quarters of a pound of sugar, put it into a large platter or a deep dish, and set in the oven to get hot, _but not browned_, while the juice in the preserving-kettle is brought to a boil; when it begins to boil skim clear, and then pour in the hot sugar, stir all well together, skim clear, boil fifteen minutes, and dip into hot jelly-glasses.

=To Preserve Quinces.=--Select the fairest quinces, pare, cut in half, and remove the core neatly; then weigh, using a quarter of a pound of sugar to one of fruit; boil the quinces until tender in enough water to cover them, and when done take carefully up on a platter. To make your syrup, use half a pint of the water in which the fruit was boiled to each pound of sugar. When skimmed clear, boil the quinces in the syrup five minutes; have the cans hot, and fill while the fruit and syrup are boiling hot; seal each can, or close the covers tightly, as fast as filled.

=Candied Orange Peel.=--Cut the fruit into quarters lengthwise, take out the pulp and put the peels in strong salt and water for two days, then take them out and soak for an hour in cold water, after which put them into a preserving-kettle with fresh cold water and boil till the peels are tender, when they should be put on a sieve to drain. Make a thin syrup of a quart of the water in which they were boiled and a pound of sugar, and simmer the peels in it for half an hour, when they will look clear; pour the peels and syrup into a bowl together, to stand till the next day, when you must make as much syrup as will cover them, of the proportion of a pound of sugar to a pint of water, boiling it till it will fall from the spoon in threads; put the peels into this syrup, boil half an hour, then take them out, drain on a sieve, and as the candy dries transfer them to a dish to finish in a warm place. When dry, store them for use. This receipt is useful for any lemon, orange, or citron peel, and perfectly wholesome.

=Apple and Quince Sauce.=--Pare, quarter, and core one peck of sweet apples and half a peck of quinces; then weigh both together; save all the cores and peels that are free from specks or worms; put these into a preserving-kettle, just cover with water, and boil twenty minutes; strain and pour the liquor over the quinces, cover closely, and let it boil till about half done, then add the apples; stir occasionally to prevent its burning, being careful to break the pieces as little as possible. When done so that a straw or knitting-needle will pass easily, add half a pound of sugar to every pound of fruit, stir it in gently, cover again closely, and leave it on the back part of the stove to simmer a short time, say twenty minutes, till the sugar is thoroughly incorporated with the fruit. Then pack in stone pots and cover closely. It is a very excellent substitute for apple-butter, and to most tastes more palatable.

=Apple Sauce.=--Take sweet cider, as soon as it comes from the cider-press, before it has passed through any change. Boil it down nearly half; then pare and quarter as many of the best sour apples as you wish to “do up”; cover them with the cider when boiling hot, and cook till well done; but not so as to lose their shape. Most of the cider will be absorbed by the apples. What remains can be bottled for future use. When done, put into jars, and cover or cement.

Or, if only needed for daily sauce, let the apples boil longer, stirring often, until it becomes like marmalade.

This makes not only a most delicious sauce, but is very healthful, as all the nourishment of the apples from which the cider is made is retained, and the stimulating or alcoholic properties are dispelled by boiling before fermentation takes place, and we lose the sharp, biting taste of the old _apple-butter_ made from boiled cider.

=Baked Pears.=--Take ripe pears, juicy and of a good flavor,--not ripe enough to be very soft. Wipe them clean, put them into a stone jar, stems upward; when the bottom of the jar is covered, sprinkle over sugar (the nature of the pear must determine the quantity of sugar needed; some are so sweet that they require but little). Set in another layer of pears; add more sugar, and so on till the jar is full. Put in a pint and a half of water for every gallon that the jar contains; cover the top of the jar with a paste of simple flour and water, and bake in a slow oven two hours.

CHEESE.

_Stilton Cheese_ is one of the richest kinds. The cream of one day’s milk is added to the warm new milk of the next. In England they are made in a deep hoop or vat containing from eight to ten pounds, and are not considered of proper age for the table till two years old. Little blue spots through the cheese, not at all like those on common moldy cheese, is the test of ripeness. We have seen them made in a two-quart hoop. They require very careful handling, and are very fine (we think more agreeable) at a year old than when left to the age that epicures love best in cheese.

The _Cottenham Cheese_ is a variety of cream cheese manufactured in Cottenham, near Cambridgeshire, that is considered superior to the Stilton, as the herbage upon which the cows feed gives the milk a peculiar fragrance.

The _Parmesan_ is made in several parts of Lombardy. It is quite celebrated. Many suppose it is made from goat’s milk, but it is simply from cow’s milk skimmed. The meadows of the Po are noted for extremely rich herbage, and the peculiarities of the Parmesan cheese are owing in part to this, together with the mode of manufacturing it. Half the milk to be used is allowed to stand sixteen hours, the other half but six. It is then heated and coagulated in a boiler, and broken up fine, without removing, by sticks with cross-wires; then scalded once more till the curd has separated from the whey and become quite firm. It is then taken out, drained, salted, and pressed. The best Parmesan cheese is kept four years before cutting.

The _Cheddar_ is similar to the Parmesan; but very little of the best quality is now made, and that which is generally imported for it is inferior.

The _Dunlop_ is one of the best Scottish cheeses, made only of new milk, but there is nothing peculiar in the mode of making it.

A peculiar kind of cheese in Lincolnshire is known in London as _New Cheese_. It is made wholly from cream, or sometimes morning’s milk, warm from the cow, is used, and the cream of the day before added to it. It is made quite thin, pressed gently two or three times, then left to _cure_ for a few days, when it is ready to be sent to market for immediate use. It is greatly esteemed for eating with radish and salad. This cheese is easily made in any family when sufficient cream can be spared. Stir in a table-spoonful of rennet to a quart of warm cream; when the curd is “set,” spread a cloth over a sieve and lay the curd into it to stand for twenty-four hours, when it may be put into a small hoop, a wet cloth and a board laid on top, to press and drain it a little, and in a few hours it will be ready for use.

The _Swiss Cheese_ has a peculiar flavor and richness, which can be gained only from the mountain pastures. Some varieties are mottled and highly flavored by the bruised leaves of the melilot.

In _Sage_ or _Green Cheese_, the curd is colored and flavored by bruising the fresh green leaves of sage, marigold, parsley, or corn leaves, and mixing with the curd. Among the Romans it was customary to flavor with thyme and other sweet herbs.

_Cream Cheese_ is simply cream dried sufficiently to be cut with a knife. Green rushes are plated or sewed together and laid on the bottom of the hoop, which must have holes all through it for the whey to run off freely. On these rushes a quantity of good thick cream is laid; another plait of rushes or Indian-corn leaves is put on top of the cheese, so that it may be turned without handling. The cheese should not be more than an inch to an inch and a half thick. The thinner it is made the sooner it ripens. It is now kept in a warm place for a few days to sweat or ripen, but it requires much care and good judgment, as too great heat or cold is injurious.

In Thuringia and Saxony a cheese is made of five pounds of the best _potatoes_, half steamed, pulverized and reduced to a pulp, and well beaten and mixed into ten pounds of sweet curd; a little salt is added, then it stands three or four days, and is again thoroughly broken up and kneaded, and then pressed into little baskets for the whey to drain off, then made into balls and dried in the shade. They keep well, and improve with age, and are said to excel in flavor the best cheeses made in Holland.

We are indebted for much information respecting foreign cheese to Webster’s “Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy,” a very useful and valuable work for all housekeepers.

=Cheese Straus.=--Quarter of a pound of puff paste, and a quarter of an ounce of good cheese, grated very fine, a little salt and cayenne pepper mixed with it. Sprinkle the cheese, salt, and pepper over the paste, and roll it out two or three times. Cut the paste into narrow strips about five inches long; bake in a slow oven, and serve very hot.

PICKLES.

=Peach Pickles.=--Select the finest and fairest fruit (we prefer Rareripes or Honest Johns to Morris Whites or Malacatoons, but that is a matter of taste), weigh the peaches, and for every pound of fruit take a full pound or slightly heaped quart of granulated sugar; put one gill of good cider vinegar and half a gill of water to every six pounds of sugar; put the vinegar and water into the preserving-kettle first, then add the sugar, set the kettle on the back part of the range or stove where it will dissolve gradually. While the sugar is melting prepare the peaches; pour boiling water over a few at a time, and then rub each one carefully with a soft towel to take off a thin skin without disfiguring the peach; as you peel throw them into cold water to prevent their turning black. When all are peeled, or if two are working at them, as one peels let the other stick a clove and two small pieces of cinnamon, or two or three cassia-buds into each peach, and occasionally put in two cloves, but not often, as too many cloves make them bitter. While preparing the sugar over the fire, and after waiting a suitable time, if you find it will not dissolve without more water, add some, but only a little at a time, say half a cupful. It is difficult to tell _just_ how much water is needed, as some sugar melts more readily and with less water than others; for this reason it is wise to add the water by degrees, as for sweet peach pickles it is desirable to use just as little water as possible. Bring the syrup to a boil just as soon as possible after you have all the fruit prepared; skim as fast as the scum rises, and when clear put in as many peaches as will cover the surface of the syrup without crowding and bruising; let them boil up for three or four minutes, turn over carefully in syrup that both sides may be cooked evenly, and then remove into two-quart stone jars, with nicely fitting covers, taking care not to break the fruit; dip out a cup or two of syrup to each jar, cover over and set on the side of the range to keep hot for a little while, till you have others filled to take their place. Fill each jar full of fruit. When all the peaches have been thus cooked and removed to jars, pour in as much syrup as they will hold and allow the cover to fit closely. Put them aside for three or four days, then drain off all the syrup and heat it again; when _boiling hot_ fill up the jars again, and cover up. Repeat the scalding again in a week’s time, unless you find the peaches were so ripe as to have cooked enough to endanger their falling to pieces. In that case another scalding would injure them. To seal up jars, cut a piece of old cotton or linen, large enough to cover over the top and come half an inch over the side, leaving it loose so the cover will fit in, dip the cloth in the white of egg to seal it down over the edge, place on the cover, then wet plaster of Paris quite soft and spread over the top and so far over the sides as to cover the cloth. The plaster hardens immediately, and you have a solid cover at once, and air-tight; wet only as much at a time as will be needed for one jar, as it stiffens so soon. Put on sufficient to entirely bury the stone cover.

=Pickled Plums.=--Prick the plums with a sharp needle, else they will fall to pieces badly when you put in hot syrup; tie the cloves and cassia-buds in a cloth, or throw loose into the syrup, instead of sticking them into the plums. Of course they are not thrown into boiling water like peaches, as it is desirable to preserve them as whole and perfect as possible. Except in these two particulars, proceed as with the peaches.

For extra rich pickles, when boiling the syrup the second time, add one third more sugar than was used to make the first syrup. This gives a very rich fine flavor; the small amount of vinegar used at first prevents its being too sweet.

Some prefer peaches, when pickled, quite sour. In that case a pint of vinegar and three pounds of sugar to every seven pounds of peaches is the common proportion, with cloves and cassia-buds or cinnamon, as in the first receipt; cassia-buds are milder and less _woody_ in taste than cinnamon.

Pears and crab-apples, prepared like peaches, make a fine pickle.

=Green Tomato Pickles.=--Slice half a peck of full-grown tomatoes just ready to turn red. They are more crisp if you can secure them after there has been almost a frost, not enough to turn the vines black. Slice very thin, cut off the blossom and stem ends and throw away. For every gallon of sliced tomatoes take twelve large green peppers,--the bell pepper is the best. Put a layer of sliced tomatoes into an earthen or wooden dish, then a layer of peppers, sprinkle over a handful of salt, then more tomatoes and peppers, adding salt to each layer till all are put in. A pint of salt is sufficient for a gallon. Press this down and place a weight on the plate or wooden cover. A metal cover will not answer. Let it stand till morning, when it should be put in a sieve or hung up in a strainer to drain. Put three quarts of best cider vinegar over the fire to scald. Tie up in a cloth two cups of white mustard-seed, half a cup of sliced horse-radish, half an ounce of whole cloves, and the same of cinnamon and allspice, and throw into the vinegar. When the brine has all drained from the tomatoes, pack them closely in a stone pot and pour the boiling spice and vinegar over it. Lay over them a plate small enough to fit inside the pot, and put a smooth clean stone on the plate to keep the pickle under the vinegar. Let it stand a few days, and then scald again. Some like part of the spices sprinkled through the tomatoes rather than have all tied in a bag. Some prefer the spices ground, and many prefer the tomatoes and peppers chopped, not very fine, rather than sliced. Either way they make a fine pickle.

=To Pickle Green Tomatoes.=--Slice thin in separate plates green tomatoes and onions; allow half a dozen of large green peppers to one peck of tomatoes. Take a large earthen or wooden bowl and lay in a layer of tomatoes and a layer of onions, sprinkling in a table-spoonful of salt to each layer; continue this until you have packed together all you wish to pickle. Then turn a large plate or clean dry board over the tomatoes, and put some heavy weight, a stone, on top and let it stand till morning; then drain off all the salt and juice, and pour over boiling vinegar, strongly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and very little allspice and ginger, which should be tied in a little bag, and removed when the vinegar is poured over; cover close and let them stand a week, when the vinegar should be poured off, the pickles thoroughly drained, and cold vinegar poured over the tomatoes. Some chop the onions pretty fine after they are drained from the salt.

=Pickled Nasturtiums.=--Gather the seed when green and not fully grown, and drop them into vinegar as you pick them. When you have a sufficient quantity scald the whole in vinegar, and bottle them or soak them twelve hours in brine; then drain and pour over boiling vinegar, with whole black peppers and allspice tied in a bag. They are often used as substitutes for capers, and the flowers and young seeds are used in salads.

=Pickled Cauliflower.=--Select the most perfect; break off the flowers, as they would naturally part. Put a layer of them in a jar and sprinkle over salt; then another layer of cauliflower; then salt, and so on. Let them soak two days; then wash off the salt and let them drain well; then pack in a jar or bottle, and pour over boiling spiced vinegar. In a few days, if necessary, heat the vinegar again, and pour over them, and cover or cork closely.

=Tomato Pickles.=--Slice half a peck of green tomatoes very thin; sprinkle over them half a pint of salt; slice half a dozen onions and three large peppers full grown, but before they have turned red; add these to the tomatoes; let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain them perfectly free of the liquor or brine; mix with them one table-spoonful of black pepper, one of allspice, one of mustard, half a table-spoonful of cloves, and the same of cinnamon all finely powdered; to this add a quarter-pound of whole mustard-seed; stir all well together and just cover with good cider vinegar. Boil this mixture until as thick as jam, stirring often to prevent its burning.

=To Pickle Onions.=--Choose all of a size; peel and pour on them boiling salt and water; cover close, and when cold drain the onions, and put them into jars or bottles. For white onions, fill up with hot distilled vinegar; for colored onions, use white wine vinegar; for both, add ginger, two or three blades of mace and whole pepper. If the onions are soaked in milk a little while after peeling, it will preserve their color.

Another way is to soak the onions in brine three or four days, then drain and pour on cold boiled vinegar, with spices. This will insure their being crisp.

=To Pickle Red Cabbage.=--Select the purple-red cabbage, take off the outside leaves, quarter, and take out the stalk, then shred the cabbage into a colander or small basket, and sprinkle with common salt. Let it remain a day or two, then drain and put into jars; fill up with boiling vinegar, spiced with ginger and black pepper, in the same proportions as for the cucumbers, and add a few slices of red beet-root; some add a few grains of powdered cochineal. If the vinegar is _boiled_, and then allowed to stand until cold before pouring over the cabbage, it will better insure its crispness, but will not keep so well as if put on boiling hot.

=Cucumber Pickles.=--The small long kind are the best for pickling, and those but half grown are nicer than the full grown. Let them be freshly gathered; pull off the blossom; but do not rub them; pour over them a strong brine boiling hot; cover close, and let them stand all night. The next day put your hand in the jar or tub and stir gently, to remove all sand; drain on a sieve, and then dry in a cloth. Make a pickle with the best cider vinegar, adding spice in the following proportions: To each quart of vinegar put half an ounce of whole black pepper, the same of ginger and allspice, and one ounce of mustard-seed. If the flavor is agreeable, add four shalots and two cloves of garlic to a gallon of vinegar. When this pickle boils up, throw in the cucumbers, and make them boil as quickly as possible three or four minutes. Put them in a jar with the boiling vinegar, and cover closely. When cold, put in a sprig of _dill_, the seed downward, if you like it. Made in this way they will be tender, crisp, and green. If the color is not quite clear enough, pour off the vinegar the next day; boil up, and pour over the cucumbers; cover perfectly tight.

=To Pickle small Cucumbers and Gherkins.=--Choose small perfect gherkins or cucumbers; spread on platters, mix a small bit of alum, pulverized, with salt, and cover them; let them lie in this a week. Then drain them, put them into a jar, cover with boiling vinegar, and cover it thick with grape-leaves. Set them near the fire. If they do not become tolerably green after an hour or so, pour the vinegar into another jar, set it on the hot range or hearth until too hot to bear your hand in it, but do not let it _boil_, then pour again over the pickles, cover with fresh leaves; repeat this till they are as green as you wish.

=Tomato Catsup.=--Wash and drain two bushels of fair, ripe tomatoes; cut out the stems and any imperfect spot; put the fruit into a kettle, giving each one a squeeze to break the skin as you throw them in (a brass kettle, _scoured perfectly bright_, is the best, as being less likely to burn on the bottom than the porcelain kettle). Cut up twelve ripe bell-peppers and as many onions, and put with the tomatoes. Set the kettle over the fire and let the fruit cook two hours, stirring often from the bottom to prevent the tomatoes sticking or burning. Then strain through a wire sieve, or better still a patent scoop and sieve combined, made of tin; with a _crank_ or handle to turn the paddle, which easily presses the juice and meat through the strainer at the bottom, leaving seeds and skins inside. When strained, add a pint and a half of salt, a quart of vinegar, three table-spoonfuls of ground cinnamon, three of black pepper, two of cloves, two of allspice, two of mace, and one of ginger. Boil slowly twelve hours. Of course it cannot be finished in one day; but at night must be emptied from the kettle into large wooden or earthen bowls, covered over closely, and left to stand till morning. The brass kettle should be well cleaned and dried as soon as emptied, that no verdigris may form in or around it, and to be all ready for use the next day. In the morning put the catsup up into the kettle again, and boil slowly all day, or till as thick as rich cream, so that no clear liquid will rise to the top. Stir often from the bottom; as it thickens it will stick to the bottom if not carefully stirred, and scorch very easily. That will spoil the whole. It is well to turn a plate down on the bottom of the kettle, it will not burn so readily. People differ so in their ideas of seasoning--some like food very fiery and highly seasoned, while others like very little--that it is not possible to give the exact amount of spices. We have given a medium quantity which, by tasting, can be varied to suit your own taste. When cooked sufficiently the catsup should be put into strong bottles tightly corked and tied down. Very little danger of bursting the bottles or forcing the cork out. None that we have ever tried have done so. In hot weather, if kept too damp, it may sour; but we have now some made last summer as good as the new.

MISCELLANEOUS HINTS.

=To Make Tea.=--There is very little skill required in making tea, and yet very few have it well prepared. It is important that the water should be _boiling_, not simply scalding; if it is not, the tea will be worthless. For English breakfast tea it is best to allow two heaped teaspoonfuls for each person. Either put the tea into a perfectly dry pot, and set it on the corner of the range till heated through, before adding the water, or fill the teapot with _boiling_ water and let it stand till thoroughly hot; and then empty it out and put in the tea. This done, pour on two cups of _boiling, bubbling_ hot water, set it on a range or a trivet over a spirit lamp, and let it boil two minutes; then add a teacup of boiling water for every person, and let it boil again for three or four minutes. Put into the teacups sugar and milk according to the taste of those who are to use the tea, and fill up with the boiling tea. When the cups are once filled, put more boiling water to the tea in the same proportion, and again set the pot on the trivet to boil again three or four minutes. The last will be nearly if not quite as good as the first drawing, some prefer it; but in no case fail to have _really boiling_ water.

In making oolong or green teas, less tea is needed, and much less boiling. In both cases it is well to put the tea into a perfectly dry teapot, and set it where it will get hot before the water is put in, or fill the teapot with boiling water, cover close till thoroughly heated, then pour out the water and put in the tea before the pot has time to cool, and then cover the tea with boiling water. Set it where it will simmer, _not_ boil, five minutes before using.

_The tea-tree_, or shrub, commonly grows from three to six feet high; but in its wild or native state it is said to reach twenty-four feet. In China it is cultivated in numerous small plantations. It resembles the myrtle in the form of the leaf and general appearance. The blossoms are not unlike those of the wild rose, but smaller, white, and very fragrant. The blossoms are succeeded by soft green capsules, containing from one to three white seeds. These capsules are crushed for oil, which is in general use in China.

=Substitute for Milk in Tea and Coffee.=--Beat up one egg to every coffee-cupful of tea or coffee. Put it in a cup and pour over it very gradually the tea or coffee, very hot, stirring all the time to prevent the egg from curdling.

=Bread Crumbs.=--Be very careful that no piece of bread, that can be used, is wasted. Gather all waste or broken pieces, put them in a clean dish, and set into the “heater,” if you have one to your stove or range; if not, into the oven after the cooking for the day is done, leaving the door open that the pieces may not burn. When thoroughly dried roll them fine on a board, and with a rolling-pin kept expressly for the purpose, as it makes a pastry board and pin rough to roll any hard substance. Sift the crumbs through a colander, and keep them in a stone pot, in a dry place, covered closely, or put in a linen bag and hung up in a cool place. They are excellent to use in cooking many things, as well as for stuffing, and you cannot save too large a quantity. If well dried and properly aired, they will keep a year, and be as sweet as when first rolled, and, aside from the economy, are a great convenience.

GLEANINGS.

=To Clean Kid Gloves.=--Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, a piece of white soap in another, and a clean cloth folded two or three times. On the cloth spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap on the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove toward the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean; if colored, till it looks dry and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will soon be gratified to see that the old glove looks nearly new. It will be soft, glossy, smooth, and elastic.

=To Keep Grapes.=--The Chinese have a curious method of preserving grapes, so as to have them at command during the entire year. It consists in cutting a circular piece out of a ripe pumpkin or gourd, making an aperture large enough to admit the hand. The interior is next completely cleaned out, the ripe grapes are placed inside, and the cover replaced and pressed in firmly. The pumpkins are then kept in a cool place, and the grapes will be found to retain their freshness for a very long time.

=To Clean Oil-Cloths.=--Do not use soap, or scour with a brush, but wash with soft flannel and lukewarm water; wipe perfectly dry. Then wring a clean cloth out of skimmed milk, and wipe the oil-cloth over, moving the cloth one way, straight across, not round in circles or waves, and finish with a clean, dry cloth. In this way you can keep the oil-cloth looking fresh and new, and it will last much longer than if washed with soap and scrubbed with a brush.

=Fill your Lamps in the Morning.=--Scarcely a week passes but we read accounts of frightful accidents from kerosene lamps exploding and killing or scarring for life men, women, and children. A simple knowledge of the inflammable nature of the liquid will probably put a stop to nearly all the accidents. As the oil burns down in the lamp, highly inflammable gas gathers over its surface, and as the oil decreases the gas increases. When the oil is nearly consumed, a slight jar will inflame the gas, and an explosion is sure to follow. A bombshell is no more to be dreaded. Now, if the lamp is not allowed to burn more than half-way down, such accidents are almost impossible. Always fill your lamp every morning, and then you need never fear an explosion.

=Colored Silk.=--Mix equal parts of soft soap, alcohol, and molasses. Cover a table with a clean cloth, spread the article to be cleansed on smooth, and, holding firmly with one hand, sponge it thoroughly with this mixture. If the silk is spotted with grease or stains, give the spots an extra sponging. When the silk has been well sponged, rinse in tepid water twice, and finish with a third rinsing in cold water. Have your irons hot, and iron the silk immediately as it is taken from the last water. Of course if a dress is to be cleansed, it will be first ripped apart and each piece sponged, rinsed, and ironed, before the next is touched. It is a great convenience when two persons can work together in doing this,--one to sponge, while the second rinses and irons. This compound for cleansing silk does not sound inviting, but _try it_. We have washed the most delicate colors,--blues, violets, etc.,--and unless the color is entirely taken out, or paint been transferred to the silk, it is surprising how like a new silk the dress can be made to look. Cashmeres or merinoes of the finest color can be thus cleansed and made to look like new; but they should be rinsed in hot water.

=To Remove Fruit Stains.=--A solution of chloride of soda will remove peach and all fruit or vegetable stains, and is also excellent in removing mildew; but for this it must be applied several times, and exposed to the sun, while fruit can be removed by it instantly. Of course it can only be used for white cotton or linen goods. It is perfectly harmless if well rinsed in clear water immediately after using.

=Bee or Wasp Stings.=--Wet some cut tobacco and lay it on the sting. In five minutes it will be cured. Always keep cut tobacco in the house for such emergencies. It is invaluable and sure.

=To Preserve Brooms.=--Wet the broom every week in boiling suds, and it will be toughened by it, will last much longer, will not cut the carpet, and will sweep as elastic as a new broom.

=Glossy Starch.=--Put two ounces of white gum-arabic powder into a pitcher; pour over it a pint of boiling water, stir well and cover it up; let it stand overnight. In the morning pour it from the dregs into a clean bottle, and keep for use. A table-spoonful of this stirred into a pint of starch made in the usual manner will give your lawns, either black or printed, a new look, which nothing else can give, after being once washed. Much diluted, it is excellent for thin white muslin.

=Salt for Nuts.=--Many people find nuts of all kinds injurious, and some are made seriously ill by them. It is said, and we think truly, if a little salt be used with them it will prevent any injury or inconvenience arising from their use.

=To Take Ink Stains from Mahogany.=--Put a few drops of nitre in a teaspoonful of water. Touch the ink-spot with a feather dipped in the mixture; and as soon as the ink disappears, rub it instantly with a cloth wet in cold water, or there will be a white mark left, which will be difficult to remove.

=To Keep Quinces.=--Gather the fruit at the usual time, then put carefully into barrels so as not to bruise, rejecting all but the perfectly sound; then fill with water, head up, and put in the cellar. They will keep all winter, retaining all the peculiar qualities and flavor of fresh quinces.

=Fruit Stains.=--When berries and fruits of all kinds are in season, the housekeeper will find it necessary to look carefully after the stains. They are easily removed if attended to at once, but if left to dry for a day or two it will be a more difficult work. Stretch the stained spot tightly over a deep bowl or pail, and pour over it _boiling_ hot water, letting it filter through till the stain disappears. The water must be really _boiling_, not simply scalding. If the article has been thrown into suds before looking after the stains, the hot water will not destroy them. In that case wet the stain, and while wet spread over the spot some chloride of lime, lay the piece on the grass, or hang on the clothes-line where the sun will strike through for a few minutes, and then wash and boil immediately. This is sure, but should be used with care and judgment or it will eat the cloth; but with proper oversight it is safe and reliable. Chloride of lime is largely used in bleaching linen, cotton, and silk in the different manufactures. In former times _chlorine_, or oxygenated muriatic gas, was used in bleaching, but its effect on the lungs of the workmen was very injurious. Since chloride of lime has been used instead of _chlorine_, it is considered safe for those employed in factories, and harmless in its effects on the goods bleached. In pickling, paring, or preserving fruit, the hands get badly stained. Rub them in lemon-juice; wet your nail-brush in the juice and carefully brush your nails and hands; this will remove the stains effectually. A “bleaching liquid,” prepared from chloride of lime, is very effectual in removing all stains except those made by grease. Put four ounces of chloride of lime into a wide-mouthed quart bottle, add a little water and stir well with a stick, then fill the bottle nearly full with water, and let it stand corked for two weeks, that the chloride may dissolve. During this time some gas will be disengaged, and to prevent explosion or driving out the cork it will be well twice a day to remove the cork for an instant only, and as the gas has an extremely offensive smell it is important that care should be taken not to inhale it, as it is injurious to the lungs; when diffused through the apartment in small quantity it is not hurtful. After standing two weeks, the fluid portion should be poured off and kept in a bottle in a dark place, with paper wrapped around it, as light and air injure its properties. This fluid should be kept in every family, but servants ought not to be allowed to use it indiscreetly.

=Ink Stains.=--If _ink_ is spilled on clothes or carpet, do not allow it to dry, but as speedily as possible get _cotton batting_, and, wetting it in sweet milk, soak the spot and rub with the cotton. Wring the cotton out and soak again with milk, and if used when the ink is fresh it will soon remove it. This done, wash in warm soapsuds and rinse in clear warm water.

=Buying Furs.=--In purchasing furs, a sure test of what dealers call a prime fur is the length and density of the down next to the skin. This can be readily determined by blowing a brisk current of air from the mouth against the set of the fur. If the fibers open readily, exposing the skin to view, reject the article; but if the down is so dense that the breath cannot penetrate it, or at most shows but a small portion of the skin, the article may be accepted.

=Drying Umbrellas.=--Most people dry their umbrellas handle upwards. This concentrates the moisture at the tip where it is close, rusts the wire which secures the stretchers, and rots the cloth. After the umbrella is drained, it is better to invert it, and dry it in that position.

=A Tight Ring.=--To remove a tightly fitting ring from a finger, without pain, pass the end of a portion of rather fine twine underneath the ring, and evenly encircle the finger from below upward (as whipmakers bind lashes on) with the remainder, as far as the centre of the finger, then unwind the string from above downward by taking hold of the end passed under the ring, and it will be found the ring will gradually pass along the twine toward the tip of the finger.