Chapter V: Preface (5)

Cut a hole at the stem end of the oranges, the size of sixpence,
take out all the pulp, put the oranges into cold water for two days,
changing it twice a day; boil them rather more than an hour, but do
not cover them, as it will spoil the colour; have ready a good syrup,
into which put the oranges, and boil them till they look clear; then
take out the seeds, skins, &c. from the pulp first taken out of the
oranges, and add to it one of the whole oranges, previously boiled,
with an equal weight of sugar to it and the pulp; boil this together
till it looks clear, over a slow fire, and when cold fill the oranges
with this marmalade, and put on the tops; cover them with syrup, and
put brandy paper on the top of the jar. It is better to take out the
inside at first, to preserve the fine flavour of the juice and pulp,
which would be injured by boiling in the water.

112. CUCUMBERS AND MELONS.

Take large cucumbers, green, and free from seed, put them in a jar
of strong salt and water, with vine leaves on the top, set them by
the fire side till they are yellow; then wash and set them over a
slow fire in alum and water, covered with vine leaves; let them
boil till they become green; take them off, and let them stand in
the liquor till cold: then quarter them, and take out the seed and
pulp; put them in cold spring water, changing it twice a day for
three days. Have ready a syrup made thus: to one pound of loaf sugar,
half an ounce of ginger bruised, with as much water as will wet it;
when it is quite free from scum, put in, when boiling, the rind of
a lemon and juice; when quite cold, pour the syrup on the melons.
If the syrup is too thin, after standing two or three days, boil it
again, and add a little more sugar. A spoonful of rum, gives it the
West-Indian flavour. Girkins may be done the same way. One ounce of
alum, when pounded, is sufficient for a dozen melons of a middling
size.

113. STRAWBERRIES, WHOLE.

Take an equal weight of fruit and double refined sugar, lay the
former in a large dish, and sprinkle half the sugar in fine powder;
give a gentle shake to the dish, that the sugar may touch the under
side of the fruit. Next day make a thin syrup with the remainder of
the sugar; and allow one pint of red currant juice, to every three
pounds of strawberries; in this simmer them until sufficiently
jellied. Choose the largest scarlets, not dead ripe.

114. APRICOTS.

Infuse young apricots before their stones become hard, into a pan of
cold spring water, with plenty of vine leaves; set them over a slow
fire until they are quite yellow, then take them out and rub them
with a flannel and salt to take off the lint; put them into the pan
to the same water and leaves, cover them close at a distance from the
fire, until they are a fine light green, then pick out all the bad
ones. Boil the best gently two or three times in a thin syrup, and
let them be quite cold each time before you boil them. When they look
plump and clear, make a syrup of double refined sugar, but not too
thick; give your apricots a gentle boil in it, and then put them into
the pots or glasses, dip a paper in brandy, lay it over them, tie
them close, and keep them in a dry place.

115. CANDIED ANGELICA.

The stalks are to be boiled for a quarter of an hour in water, to
take away their bitterness, and some of the strong scent; they are
then to be put into syrup, boiled to a full candied height, and kept
on the fire, until they appear quite dry, and then taken out and
drained.

116. CANDIED ERINGO.

Is prepared nearly in the same manner as candied angelica, but the
roots are only slit, and washed three or four times in cold water,
before they are put into the syrup.

117. GOOSEBERRIES.

Put an ounce of roche alum beat very fine, into a large pan of
boiling hard water; place a few gooseberries at the bottom of a hair
sieve, and hold them in the water till they turn white. Then take out
the sieve, and spread the gooseberries between two cloths; put more
into the sieve, and repeat it till they are all done: Put the water
into a glazed pot until the next day, then put the gooseberries into
wide-mouthed bottles; pick out all the cracked and broken ones, pour
the water clear out of the pot, and fill the bottles with it, cork
them loosely, and let them stand a fortnight. If they rise to the
corks, draw them out and let them stand two or three days uncorked,
then cork them close again.

PICKLING.

————

This branch of domestic economy comprises a great variety of articles which are essentially necessary to the convenience of families.

It is too prevalent a practice to make use of brass utensils to give pickles a fine colour. This pernicious custom is easily avoided by heating the liquor and keeping it in a proper degree of warmth before it is poured upon the pickle. Stone or glass jars are the best adapted for sound keeping.

Pickles should never be handled with the fingers, but taken out by a spoon, with holes in it, kept for the purpose.

The strongest vinegar must be used for pickling. It must not be boiled, as thereby the strength of the vinegar and spices will be evaporated. By parboiling the pickles in brine, they will be ready in half the time they would otherwise be. When taken out of the hot brine, let them get cold and quite dry before you put them into the pickle.

The articles to be pickled should be perforated with a larding pin, in several places, by which means they will the more readily imbibe the flavour of the pickle.

The spices, &c. generally used, are those mentioned in the following receipt for walnuts.

118. TO PICKLE WALNUTS.

Make a brine of salt and water, with a quarter of a pound of salt to
a quart of water. Soak the walnuts in this for a week, and if you
wish to have them ready the sooner, run a larding pin through them,
in half a dozen places, which will make them much softer and better
flavoured. Put them into a stew-pan with the brine, and give them a
gentle simmer. Lay them on a sieve to drain, then put them on a fish
plate in the open air, a couple of days, or till they turn black.
Put them into unglazed or stone jars, about three parts full, and
fill up the jars with the following pickle;[13] and when they have
been done about a week, open them and fill them up again, and so on
continually, or else they will be spoiled.

119. ONIONS.

Put a sufficient quantity into salt and water for nine days,
observing to change the water every day; next put them into jars and
pour fresh boiling salt and water over them, cover them close up till
they are cold, then make a second decoction of salt and water, and
pour it on boiling. When it is cold drain the onions on a hair sieve,
and put them into wide-mouthed bottles; fill them up with distilled
vinegar; put into every bottle a slice or two of ginger, a blade of
mace, and a tea-spoonful of sweet oil, which will keep the onions
white. Cork them well up, and keep them in a dry place.

120. SAUR KRAUT.

Take a large strong wooden vessel, or cask, resembling a salt-beef
cask, and capable of containing as much as is sufficient for the
winter’s consumption of a family. Gradually break down or chop the
cabbages (deprived of outside green leaves,) into very small pieces;
begin with one or two cabbages at the bottom of the cask, and add
others at intervals, pressing them by means of a wooden spade,
against the side of the cask, until it is full. Then place a heavy
weight upon the top of it, and allow it to stand near to a warm
place, for four or five days. By this time it will have undergone
fermentation, and be ready for use. Whilst the cabbages are passing
through the process of fermentation, a very disagreeable fetid, acid
smell is exhaled from them; now remove the cask to a cool situation,
and keep it always covered up. Strew aniseeds among the layers of the
cabbage during its preparation, which communicates a peculiar flavour
to the Saur Kraut at an after period.

In boiling it for the table, two hours is the period for it to be on
the fire. It forms an excellent nutritious and antiscorbutic food for
winter use.

121. PECCALILLI:—INDIAN METHOD.

This consists of all kinds of pickles mixed and put into one large
jar—girkins, sliced cucumbers, button onions, cauliflowers, broken
in pieces. Salt them, or put them in a large hair sieve in the sun
to dry for three days, then scald them in vinegar for a few minutes;
when cold put them together. Cut a large white cabbage in quarters,
with the outside leaves taken off and cut fine, salt it, and put it
in the sun to dry for three or four days; then scald it in vinegar,
the same as cauliflower, carrots, three parts boiled in vinegar and
a little bay salt; French beans, rock-samphire, reddish pods, and
nastertiums, all go through the same process as girkins, capsicums,
&c. To one gallon of vinegar put four ounces of ginger bruised, two
ounces of whole white pepper, two ounces of allspice, half an ounce
of chillies bruised, four ounces of turmeric, one pound of the best
mustard, half a pound of shalots, one ounce of garlic and half a
pound of bay salt. The vinegar, spice, and other ingredients, except
the mustard, must boil half an hour; then strain it into a pan, put
the mustard into a large basin, with a little vinegar; mix it quite
fine and free from lumps, then add more; when well mixed put it to
the vinegar just strained off, and when quite cold put the pickles
into a large pan, and the liquor over them; stir them repeatedly so
as to mix them all; finally, put them into a jar, and tie them over
first with a bladder, and afterwards with leather. The capsicums want
no preparation.

122. SAMPHIRE.

Put what quantity is wanted into a clean pan, throw over it two
or three handsful of salt, and cover it with spring water for
twenty-four hours; next put it into a clean saucepan, throw in a
handful of salt, and cover it with good vinegar. Close the pan tight,
set it over a slow fire, and let it stand till the samphire is green
and crisp; then take it off instantly, for should it remain till it
is soft, it will be totally spoiled. Put it into the pickling pot
and cover it close; when it is quite cold tie it down with a bladder
and leather, and set it by for use. Samphire may be preserved all
the year by keeping it in a very strong brine of salt and water, and
just before using it, put it for a few minutes into some of the best
vinegar.

123. MUSHROOMS.

Put the smallest that can be got into spring water, and rub them with
a piece of new flannel dipped in salt. Throw them into cold water as
they are cleaned, which will make them keep their colour; next put
them into a saucepan with a handful of salt upon them. Cover them
close and set them over the fire four or five minutes, or till the
heat draws the liquor from them; next lay them betwixt two dry cloths
till they are cold; put them into glass bottles and fill them up with
distilled vinegar, with a blade of mace, and a teaspoonful of sweet
oil in every bottle; cork them up close and set them in a dry cool
place; as a substitute for distilled vinegar, use white wine vinegar,
or ale. Allegon will do, but it must be boiled with a little mace,
salt, and a few slices of ginger, and it must be quite cold before it
is poured upon the mushrooms.

124. _Another Method._

Bruise a quantity of well-grown flaps of mushrooms with the hands,
and then strew a fair proportion of salt over them; let them stand
all night, and the next day put them into stew-pans; set them in a
quick oven for twelve hours, and strain them through a hair sieve.
To every gallon of liquor put of cloves, Jamaica black pepper, and
ginger, one ounce each, and half a pound of common salt; set it on a
slow fire, and let it boil till half the liquor is wasted; then put
it into a clean pot, and when cold bottle it for use.

125. CUCUMBERS.

Let them be as free from spots as possible; take the smallest that
can be got, put them into strong salt and water for nine days, till
they become yellow; stir them at least twice a day; should they
become perfectly yellow, pour the water off and cover them with
plenty of vine leaves. Set the water over the fire, and when it
boils, pour it over them, and set them upon the earth to keep warm.
When the water is almost cold make it boil again, and pour it upon
them; proceed thus till they are of a fine green, which they will be
in four or five times; keep them well covered with vine leaves, with
a cloth and dish over the top to keep in the steam, which will help
to green them.

When they are greened put them in a hair sieve to drain, and then to
every two quarts of white wine vinegar put half an ounce of mace, ten
or twelve cloves, an ounce of ginger cut into slices, an ounce of
black pepper, and a handful of salt. Boil them all together for five
minutes; pour it hot on the pickles, and tie them down for use. They
may also be pickled with ale, ale vinegar, or distilled vinegar, and
adding three or four cloves of garlic and shalots.

126. ARTIFICIAL ANCHOVIES.

To a peck of sprats put two pounds of salt, three ounces of bay-salt,
one pound of salt-petre, two ounces of prunella, and a few grains of
cochineal; pound all in a mortar, put into a stone pan first a layer
of sprats, and then one of the compound, and so on alternately to
the top. Press them down hard; cover them close for six months, and
they will be fit for use, and will really produce a most excellent
flavoured sauce.

127. SALMON.

Boil the fish gently till done, and then take it up, strain the
liquor, add bay leaves, pepper corns, and salt; give these a boil,
and when cold add the best vinegar to them; then put the whole
sufficiently over the fish to cover it, and let it remain a month at
least.

128. TO PRESERVE FISH BY SUGAR.

Fish may be preserved in a dry state, and perfectly fresh, by means
of sugar alone, and even with a very small quantity of it.

Fresh fish may be kept in that state for some days, so as to be as
good when boiled as if just caught. If dried, and kept free from
mouldiness, there seems no limit to their preservation; and they
are much better in this way than when salted. The sugar gives no
disagreeable taste.

This process is particularly valuable in making what is called
kippered salmon; and the fish preserved in this manner are far
superior in quality and flavour to those which are salted or smoked.
If desired, as much salt may be used as to give the taste that may be
required; but this substance does not conduce to their preservation.

In the preparation, it is barely necessary to open the fish, and to
apply the sugar to the muscular parts, placing it in a horizontal
position for two or three days, that this substance may penetrate.
After this it may be dried; and it is only further necessary to wipe
and ventilate it occasionally, to prevent mouldiness.

A table spoonful of brown sugar is sufficient in this manner for a
salmon of five or six pounds weight; and if salt is desired, a tea
spoonful or more may be added. Saltpetre may be used instead, in the
same proportion, if it is desired to make the kipper hard.

129. TO SALT HAMS.

For three hams pound and mix together half a peck of salt, half an
ounce of salt prunella, three ounces of salt-petre, and four pounds
of coarse salt; rub the hams well with this, and lay what is to spare
over them, let them lie three days, then hang them up. Take the
pickle in which the hams were, put water enough to cover the hams,
with more common salt, till it will bear an egg, then boil and skim
it well, put it in the salting tub, and the next morning put it in
the hams; keep them down the same as pickled pork; in a fortnight
take them out of the liquor, rub them well with brine, and hang them
up to dry.

130. TO DRY SALT BEEF AND PORK.

Lay the meat on a table or in a tub with a double bottom, that the
brine may drain off as fast as it forms, rub the salt well in, and
be careful to apply it to every niche; afterwards put it into either
of the above utensils; when it must be frequently turned, after the
brine has ceased running, it must be quite buried in salt, and kept
closely packed. Meat which has had the bones taken out is the best
for salting. In some places the salted meat is pressed by heavy
weights, or a screw, to extract the moisture sooner.

131. TO PICKLE IN BRINE.

A good brine is made of bay salt and water, thoroughly saturated,
so that some of the salt remains undissolved; into this brine the
substances to be preserved are plunged, and kept covered with it.
Among vegetables, French beans, artichokes, olives, and the different
sorts of samphire, may be thus preserved, and among animals, herrings.

132. _To Salt by another Method._

Mix brown sugar, bay salt, common salt, each two pounds, saltpetre
eight ounces, water two gallons; this pickle gives meats a fine
red colour, while the sugar renders them mild and of excellent
flavour.—Large quantities are to be managed by the above proportions.

BRITISH WINES.

————

The different processes in wine making, range themselves under the following heads:

Gathering the fruit,—picking the fruit,—bruising the fruit,—and vatting the fruit.

Vinous fermentation, flavouring the wine,—drawing the must,—pressing the husks,—casking the must.

Spirituous fermentation, racking the wine,—fuming the wine,—bottling and corking the wine.

APPARATUS FOR WINE MAKING.

To make wine well, and with facility, persons should have all the requisite apparatus, namely, the _vats, vat-staff, fruit-bruiser, strainer, hair-bags, canvas-bags, wine-press, thermometer, and bottling-machine_.

133. GATHERING THE FRUIT.

Fruit of every description, says Mr. Carnell, in his excellent
treatise on wine making, should be gathered in fine weather; those of
the berry kind often appear ripe to the eye before they really are
so, therefore it is requisite to taste them several times in order
to ascertain that they are arrived at the crisis of maturity. If the
fruit be not ripe, the wine will be harsh and hard, and unpleasant to
the palate, and more so to the stomach; it will also take more spirit
and saccharine, and take a longer time to be fit for the table. If
the fruit be too ripe, the wine from it will be faint, low, and
vapid; it will not be strong and generous; it will also require more
trouble, additional spirit, and expense.

134. PICKING.

Detach the unripe and bad berries: the result when the wine is drank,
will be greatly superior in richness. Pick the stalks from grapes,
currants, and gooseberries, previously to their being placed in the
vat.

135. BRUISING.

The quantity of fruit for making a vintage of domestic wine, is not
so large but it may be bruised in a tub, and from thence removed
into the vat, or if the quantity be very small, it may be bruised
in the vat. While the fruit is picking by one person, another may
bruise it, and as it is bruised remove it into the vat. When Malaga
or Smyrna raisins are used, they are to be put into the vat with the
water, to soak, and the following day taken out and bruised, then
returned into the vat again.

136. VATTING.

The first thing to be done is to place the guard against the
tap-hole, to prevent the husks escaping at the time the must or
extract is drawn off. When all the fruit is in the vat the water
should be added, and the contents stirred with the vat-staff,
and left to macerate until the next day, when sugar, tartar, &c.
diluted with some of the liquor, is to be put into the vat, and the
whole again stirred up. The place where the vat is situated should
have a free circulation of air, and a temperature of not less than
58 degrees. If the vinous fermentation do not take place, in a
reasonable time, the contents must be often stirred, and the place
made warmer.

137. VINOUS FERMENTATION.

The time of a vinous fermentation commencing is always uncertain;
it depends much on the quality and quantity of the contents of the
vat, on its local situation, on the season or weather, and most
particularly on the greenness or ripeness of the fruit. To produce a
medium vinous fermentation, the vats and contents ought to be placed
in a temperature from 60 to 70 degrees. And if this is found not to
produce fermentation in a short time, the temperature of the place
must be made warmer, and the vat often stirred with the vat-staff.

The commencement of the vinous fermentation may be known by plunging
the thermometer into the middle of the vat, for a minute, and
when taken out, if a fermentation has commenced, the temperature
of the contents will be higher than at the place where the vats
are situated. When the vinous fermentation begins, it is very
conspicuous, and may be known by its taste, smell, appearance, and
effects. The contents will first gently rise, and swell with a slight
movement and a little hissing. A considerable motion will take place,
and the contents will increase in heat and bulk, while a quantity of
air escapes.

It is impossible to lay down an exact time for a vinous fermentation;
but for eighteen gallons, two or three days are generally sufficient
for white wines; and red wines require a day or two more.

138. FLAVOURING.

When the vinous fermentation is about half over, the flavouring
ingredients are to be put into the vat and well stirred into the
contents. If almonds form a component part, they are first to be
beaten to a paste and mixed with a pint or two of the must. Nutmegs,
cinnamon, ginger, seeds, &c. should, before they are put into the
vat, be reduced to powder, and mixed with some of the _must_.

139. DRAWING THE MUST.

When the must in the vat gives, by tasting, a strong vinous pungency,
that is the period to stop the remaining slight fermentation, by
drawing off the must, in order to have strong and generous wine.

A cock, or spicket and faucet, is to be put into the tap-hole of
the vat, and the must drawn off and put into open vessels, there to
remain till the pressing is finished.

140. PRESSING THE HUSKS.

As soon as all the must is drawn off from the vat, the husks are
to be put into hair-bags, and the mouth of each bag is to be well
fastened, then put into the press, and the whole pressed without
delay. The must that is pressed out is to be mixed with the must that
was drawn off from the vat. Many ways may be contrived for pressing
a small vintage, for those persons who cannot afford to purchase a
proper wine-press; but several wines do not require pressing; and may
be strained through a sweet, clean, canvas bag, made with a pointed
end downwards.

141. CASKING THE MUST.

Each cask is to be filled, within about an inch of the bung-hole,
which should be covered over lightly with a flat piece of wood. The
must now is perfectly cool and calm, and will remain in this state
until the spirituous fermentation commences.

142. SPIRITUOUS FERMENTATION.

The spirituous fermentation is essentially necessary to the
clarification, goodness, and perfection of the wine. If the vinous
fermentation has been well conducted, and the wine cellar be not too
cold, a spirituous fermentation will commence in a few days, and
abate in six or twelve days, the time depending on circumstances,
and on the quality and quantity of the wine. The brandy or spirit
assigned should at this time be put to the wine by pouring it in
gently without disturbing the wine. The cask now, if not full, must
be filled up and bunged with a wooden bung covered with a piece of
new canvass larger than the bung. In about a month after the spirit
has been added, the cask will again want filling up; this should be
done with the overplus of the vintage, if not with some other good
wine, and the cask re-bunged very tight. The cask should be pegged
once a month or oftener to see if the wine be clear and not thick,
and as soon as it is fine and bright, it must be racked off its lees.

143. RACKING.

This is an operation highly requisite to the keeping wine good;
to its purification, strength, colour, brilliancy, richness, and
flavour, and is performed by drawing off the _wine_ and leaving the
_lees_ in the cask. A siphon should be used but if not, the cask
should be tapped two or three days previously. It may be racked off
into another cask, or into a vat or tub, and returned into the same
cask again, _after it has been well cleaned_; and, if requisite,
the cask may be slightly fumigated, immediately before the wine is
returned into it. If the wine, on being tasted, is found weak, a
little spirit is to be given to it, the cask filled up and bunged
tight.

The racking off ought to be performed in temperate weather, and as
soon as the wines appear clear, a _second racking_ will make them
_perfectly brilliant_, and if so they will want no fining.

144. FINING.

Many wines require fining _before_ they are racked, and the operation
of fining is not always necessary. Most wines, well made, do not want
fining; this may be ascertained by drawing a little into a glass,
from a peg-hole.

One of the best finings is as follows:—Take one pound of fresh
marsh-mallow roots, washed clean, and cut into small pieces; macerate
them in two quarts of soft water, for twenty-four hours, then gently
boil the liquor down to three half pints, strain it, and when cold,
mix with it half an ounce of pipe-clay or chalk, in powder, then pour
the mucilage into the cask, and stir up the wine so as not to disturb
the lees, and leave the vent-peg out for some days after.

Or, take boiled rice, two table-spoonsful, the white of one new egg,
and half an ounce of burnt alum, in powder. Mix with a pint or more
of the wine, then pour the mucilage into the cask, and stir the wine
with a stout stick, but not to agitate the lees.

Or, dissolve, in a gentle heat, half an ounce of isinglass in a pint
or more of the wine, then mix with it half an ounce of chalk, in
powder; when the two are well incorporated, pour it into the cask,
and stir the wine so as not to disturb the lees.

As soon as wines are clear and bright, after being fined down, they
ought to be racked into a sweet and clean cask, the cask filled up
and bunged tight.

145. BOTTLING AND CORKING.

Fine clear weather is best for bottling all sorts of wines, and much
cleanliness is required. The first consideration, in bottling wines,
is to examine and see if the wines are in a proper state. _The wines
should be fine and brilliant_, or they will never brighten after.

The bottles must be all sound, clean, and dry, with plenty of good
sound corks.

The cork is to be put in with the hand, and then driven well in with
a flat wooden mallet, the weight of which ought to be a _pound and
a quarter_, but however, not to exceed a pound and a half, for if
the mallet be too light or too heavy it will not drive the cork in
_properly_, and may _break the bottle_. The corks must so completely
fill up the neck of each bottle as to render them _air tight_, but
leave a space of an inch between the wine and the cork.

When all the wine is bottled, it is to be stored in a cool cellar,
and on _no account on the bottles’ bottoms_, but on their sides and
in saw-dust.

146. MR. CARNELL’s RECEIPT FOR RED GOOSEBERRY WINE.

Take cold soft water, 10 gallons,
red gooseberries, 11 gallons, and ferment.
Now mix raw sugar, 16 lbs.
beet-root, sliced, 2 lbs. and
red tartar, in fine powder, 3 ounces.
Afterwards put in sassafras chips, 1 lb. and
brandy, 1 gallon, or less.

This will make 18 gallons.

147. _Another._

When the weather is dry, gather gooseberries about the time they
are half ripe; pick them clean, put the quantity of a peck into a
convenient vessel, and bruise them with a piece of wood, taking as
much care as possible to keep the seeds whole. Now, having put the
pulp into a canvass-bag, press out all the juice; and to every gallon
of the gooseberries add about three pounds of fine loaf-sugar: mix
the whole together by stirring it with a stick, and as soon as the
sugar is quite dissolved, pour it into a convenient cask, which will
hold it exactly. If the quantity be about eight or nine gallons,
let it stand a fortnight; if twenty gallons, forty days, and so on
in proportion; taking care the place you set it in be cool. After
standing the proper time, draw it off from the lees, and put it into
another clean vessel of equal size, or into the same, after pouring
the lees out, and making it clean; let a cask of ten or twelve
gallons stand for about three months, and twenty gallons for five
months, after which it will be fit for bottling off.

148. RED AND WHITE GOOSEBERRY WINE.

Take cold soft water, 3 gallons,
red gooseberries, 1½ gallons,
white gooseberries, 2 gallons.
Ferment.
Now mix raw sugar, 5 lbs.
honey, 1½ lbs.
tartar, in fine powder, 1 oz.
Afterwards put in bitter almonds, two ounces,
sweet-briar, one small handful, and
brandy one gallon, or less.

This will make six gallons.

149. WHITE GOOSEBERRY OR CHAMPAIGNE WINE.

Take cold soft water, 4½ gallons,
white gooseberries, 5 gallons.
Ferment.
Now mix refined sugar, 6 pounds,
honey, 4 pounds,
white tartar, in fine powder, 1 oz.
Put in orange and lemon peel, one ounce dry, or two ounces
fresh; and add
white brandy ½ a gallon.

This will make nine gallons.

150. GOOSEBERRY WINE OF THE BEST QUALITY, RESEMBLING CHAMPAIGNE.

To each Scotch pint of full ripe gooseberries, mashed, add one Scotch
pint of water, milk-warm, in which has been dissolved 1 lb. of single
refined sugar: stir the whole well, and cover up the tub with a
blanket, to preserve the heat generated by the fermentation of the
ingredients: let them remain in this vessel three days, stirring them
twice or three times a day: strain off the liquor through a sieve,
afterwards through a coarse linen cloth; put it into the casks it
will ferment without yeast. Let the cask be kept full with some of
the liquor reserved for the purpose. It will ferment for ten days,
sometimes for three weeks: when ceased, and only a hissing noise
remains, draw off two or three bottles, according to the strength
you wish it to have, from every 20 pint cask, and fill up the cask
with brandy or whiskey; but brandy is preferable. To make it very
good, and that it may keep well, add as much sherry, together with
a ¼ oz. of isinglass dissolved in water to make it quite liquid;
stir the whole well. Bung the cask up, and surround the bung with
clay; the closer it is bunged the better; a fortnight after, if it
be clear at the top, taste it; if not sweet enough, add more sugar;
22 lbs. is the just quantity in all for 20 pints of wine; leave the
wine six months in the cask; but after being quite fine, the sooner
it is bottled, the more it will sparkle and resemble champaigne. The
process should be carried on in a place where the heat is between 48°
and 56° Fahrenheit.—N. B. Currant wine may be made in the same manner.

151. TO MAKE BRITISH CHAMPAIGNE.

Take gooseberries before they are ripe, crush them with a mallet in
a wooden bowl, and to every gallon of fruit put a gallon of water;
let it stand two days, stirring it well; squeeze the mixture with
the hands through a hop-sieve; then measure the liquor, and to every
gallon put 3½ lbs. of loaf sugar; mix it well in the tub, and let
it stand one day; put a bottle of the best brandy into the cask;
which leave open five or six weeks, taking off the scum as it rises;
then make it up, and let it stand one year in the barrel before it is
bottled.

The proportion of brandy to be used for this liquor, is one pint to 7
gallons.

152. GOOSEBERRY AND CURRANT WINE MIXED.

Take cold soft water, 6 gallons,
gooseberries, 4 do.
currants, 4 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 12 lbs.
honey, 3 lbs. and
tartar, in fine powder, 1½ oz.
bitter almonds, 1½ oz.
Put in brandy 6 pints, or more.

This will make 12 gallons.

153. _Another._

Take cold soft water, 5½ gallons,
gooseberries and currants, 4 gallons.
Ferment. Then add
raw sugar, 12½ lbs.
tartar, in fine powder, 1 oz.
ginger, in powder, 3 ounces,
sweet marjoram, ½ a handful,
British spirits, 1 quart.

This will make 9 gallons.

154. RED CURRANT WINE.

Take cold soft water, 11 gallons,
red currants, 8 gallons,
raspberries, 1 quart. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 20 lbs.
beet-root, sliced, 2 lbs. and
red tartar, in fine powder, 3 ounces.
Put in 1 nutmeg, in fine powder; add
brandy, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

155. _Another._

Boil four gallons of spring water, and stir into it 1 lb. of honey;
when thoroughly dissolved, take it off the fire; then stir it well
in order to raise the scum, which take clean off, and cool the liquor.

When thus prepared, press out the same quantity of the juice of red
currants moderately ripe, which being well strained, mix well with
the water and honey, then put them into a cask, or a large earthen
vessel, and let them stand to ferment for 24 hours; then to every
gallon add 2 lbs. of fine sugar, stir them well to raise the scum,
and when well settled, take it off, and add ½ oz. of cream of
tartar, with the whites of two or three eggs, to refine it. When the
wine is well settled and clear, draw it off into a small vessel, or
bottle it up, keeping it in a cool place.

Of white currants, a wine after the same manner may be made, that
will equal in strength and pleasantness many sorts of white wine; but
as for the black, or Dutch currants, they are seldom used, except for
the preparation of medicinal wines.

156. _Another._

Gather the currants in dry weather, put them into a pan and bruise
them with a wooden pestle; let them stand about 20 hours, after which
strain through a sieve; add 3 lbs. of fine powdered sugar to each
four quarts of the liquor, and after shaking it well, fill the vessel
and put a quart of good brandy to every 7 gallons. In 4 weeks, if it
does not prove quite clear, draw it off into another vessel, and let
it stand, previously to bottling it off, about ten days.

157. RED AND WHITE CURRANT WINE.

Take cold soft water, 12 gallons,
white currants, 4 do.
red currants, 3 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 25 lbs.
white tartar, in fine powder, 3 oz.
Put in sweet-briar leaves, 1 handful,
lavender leaves, 1 do.
then add spirits, 2 quarts or more.

This will make 18 gallons.

158. DUTCH CURRANT WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 9 gallons,
red currants, 10 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 1O lbs.
beet-root, sliced, 2 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 2 oz.
Put in bitter almonds, 1 oz.
ginger, in powder, 2 oz.
then add brandy, 1 quart.

This will make 18 gallons.

159. DUTCH RED CURRANT WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 11 gallons,
red currants, 8 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 12 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 2 oz.
Put in coriander seed, bruised, 2 oz.
then add British spirit, 2 quarts.

This will make 18 gallons.

160. MIXED BERRIES, FROM A SMALL GARDEN.

Take of cold soft water, 11 gallons,
fruit 8 do. Ferment.
Mix, treacle, 14 or 16 lbs.
tartar, in powder, 1 oz.
Put in ginger, in powder, 4 oz.
sweet herbs, 2 handsful:
then add spirits, 1 or 2 quarts.

This will make 18 gallons.

161. COMPOUND WINE.

An excellent family wine may be made of equal parts of red, white,
and black currants, ripe cherries, and raspberries, well bruised,
and mixed with soft water, in the proportion of 4 lbs. of fruit to 1
gallon of water. When strained and pressed, 3 lbs. of moist sugar are
to be added to each gallon of liquid. After standing open for three
days, during which it is to be stirred frequently, it is to be put
into a barrel, and left for a fortnight to work, when a ninth part of
the brandy is to be added, and the whole bunged down. In a few months
it will be a most excellent wine.

162. OTHER MIXED FRUITS, OF THE BERRY KIND.

Take of cold soft water, 2 gallons.
fruit, 18 do. Ferment.
Mix, honey, 6 lbs.
tartar, in fine powder, 2 oz.
Put in peach-leaves, 6 handsful;
then add brandy, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

163. WHITE CURRANT WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 9 gallons,
white currants, 9 gallons,
white gooseberries, 1 do. Ferment.
Mix, refined sugar, 25 lbs.
white tartar, in powder, 1 oz.
clary seed, bruised, 2 oz. or
clary flowers, or sorrel flowers, 4 handsful;
then add, white brandy, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

164. _Another._

Take of cold soft water, 10 gallons,
white currants, 10 do. Ferment.
Mix, refined sugar, 25 lbs.
white tartar, in fine powder, 1 oz.
then add, bitter almonds, 2 oz. and
white brandy, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

165. BLACK CURRANT WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 10 gallons,
black currants, 6 do.
strawberries, 3 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 25 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 6 oz.
orange thyme, 2 handsful;
then add brandy, 2 or 3 quarts.

This will make 18 gallons.

166. _Another._

Take of cold soft water, 12 gallons,
black currants, 5 do.
white or red currants, or both, 3 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 30 lbs. or less,
red tartar, in fine powder, 5 oz.
ginger, in powder, 5 oz.
then add brandy, 1 gallon, or less.

This will make 18 gallons.

167. STRAWBERRY WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 7 gallons,
cider, 6 do.
strawberries, 6 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 16 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 3 oz.
the peel and juice of two lemons;
then add brandy, 2 or 3 quarts.

This will make 18 gallons.

168. _Another._

Take of cold soft water, 10 gallons,
strawberries, 9 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 25 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 3 oz.
2 lemons and 2 oranges, peel and juice;
then add brandy, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

169. RASPBERRY WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 6 gallons,
cider, 4 do.
raspberries, 6 do.
any other fruit, 3 do. Ferment.
Mix, raw sugar, 18 or 20 lbs.
red tartar, in fine powder, 3 oz.
orange and lemon peel, 2 oz. dry, or 4 oz. fresh;
then add brandy, 3 quarts.

This will make 18 gallons.

170. _Another._

Gather the raspberries when ripe, husk them and bruise them; then
strain them through a bag into jars or other vessels. Boil the juice,
and to every gallon put a pound and a half of lump-sugar. Now add
whites of eggs, and let the whole boil for fifteen minutes, skimming
it, as the froth rises. When cool and settled, decant the liquor
into a cask, adding yeast to make it ferment. When this has taken
place, add a pint of white wine, or half a pint of proof spirit to
each gallon contained in the cask, and hang a bag in it containing an
ounce of bruised mace. In three months, if kept in a cool place, it
will be very excellent and delicious wine.

171. MULBERRY WINE.

On a dry day, gather mulberries, when they are just changed from
redness to a shining black; spread them thinly on a fine cloth, or on
a floor or table, for twenty-four hours; and then press them. Boil a
gallon of water with each gallon of juice; putting to every gallon
of water, an ounce of cinnamon bark, and six ounces of sugar candy
finely powdered. Skim and strain the water when it is taken off and
settled, and put to it the mulberry juice. Now add to every gallon of
the mixture, a pint of white or Rhenish wine. Let the whole stand in
a cask to ferment, for five or six days. When settled, draw it off
into bottles, and keep it cool.

172. ELDER-BERRY WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 16 gallons,
Malaga raisins, 50 lbs.
Elder-berries, 4 gallons,
red tartar, in fine powder, 4 ounces.
Mix ginger, in powder, 5 ounces,
cinnamon, cloves, and mace, of each 2 ounces,
3 oranges or lemons, peel and juice.
Then add 1 gallon of brandy.

This will make 18 gallons.

173. _Another._

In making elder juice, let the berries be fully ripe, and all the
stalks be clean picked from them; then, have a press ready for
drawing off all the juice, and four hair cloths, somewhat broader
than the press; lay one layer above another, having a hair cloth
betwixt every layer, which must be laid very thin and pressed a
little at first, and then more till the press be drawn as close as
possible. Now take out the berries, and press all the rest in the
like manner: then take the pressed berries, break out all the lumps,
put them into an open-headed vessel, and add as much liquor as will
just cover them. Let them infuse so for seven or eight days; then put
the best juice into a cask proper for it to be kept in, and add one
gallon of malt spirits, not rectified, to every twenty gallons, of
elder juice, which will effectually preserve it from becoming sour
for two years at least.

174. _Another._

Pick the berries when quite ripe, put them into a stone jar, and set
them in an oven, or in a kettle of boiling water, till the jar is hot
through, then take them out, and strain them through a coarse sieve;
squeeze the berries, and put the juice into a clean kettle. To every
quart of juice put a pound of fine Lisbon sugar; let it boil, and
skim it well. When clear and fine, pour it into a cask. To every ten
gallons of wine add an ounce of isinglass dissolved in cider, and six
whole eggs. Close it up, let it stand six months, and then bottle it.

175. IMITATION OF CYPRUS WINE.

To ten gallons of water, put ten quarts of the juice of white
elder-berries, pressed gently from the berries by the hand, and
passed through a sieve, without bruising the seeds: add to every
gallon of liquor three pounds of Lisbon sugar, and to the whole
quantity two ounces of ginger sliced, and one ounce of cloves. Boil
this nearly an hour, taking off the scum as it rises, and pour the
whole to cool, in an open tub, and work it with ale yeast, spread
upon a toast of bread, for three days. Then turn it into a vessel
that will just hold it, adding about a pound and a half of bruised
raisins, to lay in the liquor till drawn off, which should not be
done till the wine is fine.

This wine is so much like the fine rich wine brought from the island
of Cyprus, in colour, taste, and flavour, that it has deceived the
best judges.

176. ELDER-FLOWER WINE; OR ENGLISH FRONTINIAC.

Boil eighteen pounds of white powdered sugar in six gallons of water,
and two whites of eggs well beaten; skim it, and put in a quarter of
a peck of elder-flowers; do not keep them on the fire. When cool,
stir it, and put in six spoonsful of lemon juice, four or five of
yeast, and beat well into the liquor: stir it well every day; put six
pounds of the best raisins, stoned, into the cask, and tun the wine.
Stop it close, and bottle it in six months. When well kept, this wine
will pass very well for Frontiniac.

177. _Another._

To six gallons of spring water put six pounds of sun raisins cut
small, and a dozen pounds of fine sugar; boil the whole together for
about an hour and a half. When the liquor is cold, put half a peck of
ripe elder flowers in, with about a gill of lemon-juice, and half the
quantity of ale yeast. Cover it up, and, after standing three days,
strain it off. Now pour it into a cask that is quite clean, and that
will hold it with ease. When this is done, put a quart of Rhenish
wine to every gallon; let the bung be slightly put in for twelve or
fourteen days; then stop it down fast, and put it in a cool place for
four or five months, till it be quite settled and fine; then bottle
it off.

178. IMITATION OF PORT WINE.

Take 6 gallons of good cider,
1½ gallons of port wine,
1½ gallons of the juice of elder-berries,
3 quarts of brandy,
1½ ounces of cochineal.

This will produce nine gallons and a half.

Bruise the cochineal very fine, and put it with the brandy into
a stone bottle; let it remain at least a fortnight, shaking it
well once or twice a day; at the end of that time to procure the
cider, and put five gallons into a nine gallon cask, add to it the
elder juice and port wine, then the brandy and cochineal. Take the
remaining gallon of cider to rinse out the bottle that contained
the brandy; and lastly, pour it into the cask, and bung it down
very close, and in six weeks it will be fit for bottling.

It is, however, sometimes not quite so fine as could be wished;
in that case add two ounces of isinglass, and let it remain a
fortnight or three weeks longer, when it will be perfectly bright;
it would not be amiss, perhaps, if the quantity of isinglass
mentioned, was added to the wine before it was bunged down, it
will tend, very considerably, to improve the body of the wine. If
it should not appear sufficiently rough flavoured, add an ounce,
or an ounce and a half of roche-alum, which will, in most cases,
impart a sufficient astringency.

After it is bottled it must be packed in as cool a place as
possible. It will be fit for using in a few months; but if kept
longer, it will be greatly improved.

179. WORTLEBERRY, OR BILBERRY WINE.

Take of cold soft water, 6 gallons,
cider, 6 gallons,
berries, 8 gallons;
Ferment.
Mix raw sugar 20 pounds,
tartar, in fine powder, 4 ounces.
Add ginger, in powder, 4 ounces,
lavender and rosemary leaves, 2 handsful,
rum, or British spirits, 1 gallon.

This will make 18 gallons.

180. BIRCH WINE.

The season for obtaining the liquor from birch-trees, is in the
latter end of February, or the beginning of March, before the leaves
shoot out, and as the sap begins to rise. If the time is delayed, the
juice will grow too thick to be drawn out. It should be as thin and
clear as possible. The method of procuring the juice, is by boring
holes in the trunk of the tree, and fixing faucets of elder; but care
should be taken not to tap it in too many places at once, for fear of
injuring the tree. If the tree is large, it may be bored in five or
six places at once, and bottles are to be placed under the apertures
for the sap to flow into. When four or five gallons have been
extracted from different trees, cork the bottles very close and wax
them till the wine is to be made, which should be as soon as possible
after the sap has been obtained. Boil the sap, and put four pounds of
loaf sugar to every gallon, also the peel of a lemon cut thin; then
boil it again for nearly an hour, skimming it all the time. Now pour
it into a tub, and as soon as it is cold, work it with a toast spread
with yeast, and let it stand five or six days, stirring it twice or
three times each day. Into a cask that will contain it, put a lighted
brimstone match, stop it up till the match is burnt out, and then
pour the wine into it, putting the bung lightly in, till it has done
working. Bung it very close for about three months, and then bottle
it. It will be good in a week after it is put into the bottles.

181. _Another._

Birch wine may be made with raisins in the following manner: To a
hogshead of birch-water, take four hundred of Malaga raisins: pick
them clean from the stalks, and cut them small. Then boil the birch
liquor for one hour at least, skim it well, and let it stand till it
be no warmer than milk. Then put in the raisins, and let it stand
close covered, stirring it well four or five times every day. Boil
all the stalks in a gallon or two of birch liquor, which, when added
to the other, when almost cold, will give it an agreeable roughness.
Let it stand ten days, then put it in a cool cellar, and when it has
done hissing in the vessel, stop it up close. It must stand at least
nine months before it is bottled.

182. BLACKBERRY WINE.

Having procured berries that are fully ripe, put them into a large
vessel of wood or stone, with a cock in it, and pour upon them as
much boiling water as will cover them. As soon as the heat will
permit the hand to be put into the vessel, bruise them well till all
the berries are broken. Then let them stand covered till the berries
begin to rise towards the top, which they usually do in three or four
days. Then draw off the clear into another vessel, and add to every
ten quarts of this liquor, a pound of sugar. Stir it well and let it
stand to work a week or ten days, in another vessel like the first.
Then draw it off at the cock through a jelly-bag into a large vessel.
Take four ounces of isinglass, and lay it to steep twelve hours in a
pint of white wine. The next morning, boil it upon a slow fire till
it is all dissolved. Then take a gallon of blackberry-juice, put in
the dissolved isinglass, give them a boil together, and pour all into
the vessel. Let it stand a few days to purge and settle, then draw it
off, and keep it in a cool place.

183. SPRUCE WINE.