Chapter VII: Preface (7)

Never smoke beef. Hams would be better if not smoked.

TO CURE SHAD.

543. Clean the shad nicely, place them in layers with back down, and laid open so as the inside of the fish may be up. Sprinkle each fish plentifully with ground salt, and let them stand twenty-four hours. This draws out all the blood. Wipe them all dry with clean napkins.

Place them in layers in a clean tub, with the backs down as before. For one hundred shad take half a pound of saltpetre, and two pounds of brown sugar. Strew plenty of rock salt over them with the saltpetre and sugar, there is no danger of putting on too much salt as they will only absorb a certain quantity.

TO ROAST COFFEE.

544. Pick the black or imperfect grains from the coffee. Put it in a pan, and stir it all the time it is roasting; when done it should be the color of the hull of a ripe chestnut. It should be brown all through, but not black. About ten minutes before it is done add to two pounds of coffee half an ounce of butter. Whilst hot put it in a box and cover it closely.

COFFEE.

545. Beat an egg; and to one tea cupful of ground coffee add one-third of the beaten egg, and as much cold water as will just moisten the coffee; do not put in much cold water, stir all well together, put the mixture in your coffee pot, and pour over it six tea cupsful of _boiling_ water. Let it boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes. When it begins to boil stir it frequently, and never leave it until the grounds sink, which they will do in a few minutes after it has been on the fire. Be careful and do not let your coffee boil over, as by that means you lose a great deal of the grounds and consequently the coffee will be weakened.

Rinse your pot, if it be silver or britania metal, with _boiling water_, pour the coffee into it, and serve it hot. Coffee and tea lose much of their flavor if served cold.

CHOCOLATE.

546. Shave down three ounces of chocolate, over this pour enough hot water to dissolve it; mix it to a smooth paste, put it in a pipkin, and add one quart of boiling water. Place it on the fire, stir it occasionally, and let it boil fifteen minutes, then add one tea cupful of rich milk or cream. Let it boil a minute or two longer, pour it off, and send it to the table. Chocolate retains its heat longer than either tea or coffee.

Never boil chocolate in your coffee pot as it would be likely to impart to the coffee an unpleasant flavor.

TEA.

547. Scald your tea pot with boiling water, and allow a tea spoonful of tea for each person and one over. Pour enough boiling water on the tea leaves to rather more than wet them. Let it stand fifteen minutes; pour on as much boiling water as will serve one cup to each one of the company. As soon as the first cups are poured out, add half a tea spoonful for each person, and pour on some boiling water. The most convenient article for hot water is an urn with an iron heater inside which keeps it boiling on the table. But water may be kept sufficiently hot in an ordinary tea pot.

Some who are particular about their tea, stop the spout of the tea pot with a cork, while the tea is drawing, to retain the aroma.

Tea and coffee pots should always be set away with the lids off.

TO MAKE YEAST.

548. Boil a tea cupful of hops in one quart of water till reduced to one half. Strain it through a sieve, and add one wine glassful of salt. Return the hot water into the vessel it was boiled in. Mix some flour with cold water, and stir in so as to make it about the consistency of thick molasses. Let it boil a few minutes, then take it off the fire, and set it away to cool; when lukewarm, add some yeast, and when it rises put it into a stone jar; which should not be filled, cover it, and the following day it will be fit for use.

As the yeast is so well salted there is no necessity to put salt in the bread.

You should always have a vessel on purpose to boil hops.

POTATO YEAST.

549. Boil some potatoes, mash them, and to six potatoes add one gill of flour. Stir in as much water as will make the whole into a thick batter; add some yeast and a wine glassful of salt. When it is light, put it in your jar and cover it.

BREAD.

550. Set a sponge at night of a pound of flour, a little salt, if your yeast should not be salt enough, a gill of yeast, and water enough to make a thick batter. In the morning stir in as much flour as will form a dough, knead it well, and if the weather is cold set it in a warm place to rise. When it is light grease your pans, mould out the dough in loaves, put them in the pans, and as soon as they rise again bake them.

If the weather is cold, set your sponge with lukewarm water, place it near the fire to rise. But in summer it should be set with cold water, and not be placed near the fire. It is better in warm weather to put the dough in your pans as soon as the flour is added to the sponge and the dough well kneaded, as if permitted to stand it might turn sour.

Bread is much nicer baked in small loaves.

POTATO BREAD.

551. Boil some potatoes, mash them fine, and add as much warm water as will make a mixture about as thick as cream. Pass it through a sieve in order to extract all the lumps. When cool add a little salt, some yeast, and as much flour as will make a very thick batter.

The next morning stir in enough flour to make a dough. Knead it well, let it rise, when light grease your pans, mould it out gently into loaves, put them in the pans, let them stand till they rise again, then bake them.

This bread may be made with milk instead of water, but it is best when eaten fresh, as it soon becomes dry.

MUSH BREAD.

552. Make some thin Indian mush, (see No. 532,) when cool add a little salt and flour enough to make a thick batter, stir in some yeast.

Let it stand all night to rise, in the morning add flour enough to form a dough. Knead it well, set it to rise; when light mould it out in loaves, grease your pans, and when it gets light again bake it.

RYE BREAD.

553. This is made in the same manner as wheat, (No. 550,) only it must have more rye flour to make a stiffer dough, and requires more kneading. It takes rather longer to bake than wheat bread.

DYSPEPTIC BREAD.

554. This bread is made of unbolted flour instead of that in general use.

It is made in the same manner as bread, (No. 550,) knead it very well and be careful to have it thoroughly baked.

Toast made of this bread is very good.

FRIED BREAD.

555. Slice some bread, stale is better than fresh; pour over it enough rich milk or cream, if you have it, to moisten it. Beat an egg, dip each slice of the bread in the egg, and fry them brown on both sides. Season the bread with pepper and salt to your taste.

COMMON MUSTARD.

556. One table spoonful of ground mustard,
One tea spoonful of sugar,
One salt spoonful of salt.

Mix the salt, sugar, and mustard together, and then pour on some boiling water gradually, stir it with a horn spoon or knife till it is quite smooth. Some like it quite thick, others prefer it so thin as to run on the plate.

ICING FOR CAKES.

557. Beat the whites of two eggs till they are very dry, then add gradually ten ounces of pulverized white sugar. Dredge flour over the top of the cake and wipe it off, to make the icing adhere. Put it over with a broad bladed knife; it should be put on quite thick. When this coating is dry, dilute the remainder of the icing on your dish with a little rose-water, and put another coating over the top, which will have a glossy appearance.

TO DRY HERBS.

558. They should be picked just before the plant blossoms, wash them to free them from the dust, place them on a sieve to drain. Then put them in the oven after the bread has been drawn out, and let them remain in it till they are perfectly dry. Rub them from the stalks, put them in glass jars and cover them closely.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR.

559. Take ripe raspberries, put them in a pan, and mash them with a large wooden spoon or masher. Strain the juice through a jelly bag, and to each pint of juice add one pound of loaf sugar and one quart of vinegar. When the sugar has dissolved place the whole over the fire in a preserving kettle, and let it boil a minute or two and skim it. When cold bottle it, cork it well, and it will be fit for use.

CELERY VINEGAR.

560. Put half a pint of celery seed into a quart of vinegar; bottle it, and in a month it will be fit for use. It must be strained before it is put in the castor bottle.

PEPPER VINEGAR.

561. Put the coral peppers in a bottle, and pour over vinegar enough to cover them.

MOLASSES CANDY.

562. One quart of West India molasses,
Half a pound of brown sugar,
The juice of one lemon.

Put the molasses in a kettle with the sugar, boil it over a slow, steady fire till it is done, which you can easily tell by dropping a little in cold water, if done it will be crisp, if not, it will be stringy. A good way to judge if it is boiled enough is to let it boil till it stops bubbling. Stir it very frequently, and just before it is taken off the fire add the lemon-juice. Butter a shallow tin pan, and pour it in to get cold.

Molasses candy may be flavored with any thing you choose. Some flavor with lemon, and add roasted ground-nuts, or almonds blanched.

GOOSEBERRY PIE.

563. Pick off the stems and blossoms of your gooseberries, wash them, and pour enough boiling water over to cover them. Let them stand a few minutes and then drain them. Line your pie-plates with paste, fill them with the fruit, and add three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pint of fruit. Dredge a little flour over the top and cover with a lid of paste, leave an opening in the centre to permit the steam to escape, and bake them.

RIPE CURRANT PIE.

564. Stem your currants and wash them. Line your pie-plates with paste, fill them with the fruit, and add sugar in the proportion of a half a pound to one pint of currants. Dredge some flour over the top, put on the lid of the pie, leave an opening in the centre and bake it.

GREEN CURRANT PIE.

565. The fruit should have attained its full size before it is picked. Stem the currants and wash them; then pour enough boiling water over them to cover them, and let them stand while you prepare the paste. Line the bottom of your pie-plates with paste, drain your fruit through the colander and fill your plates, adding half a pound of sugar to a pint of currants, or in that proportion. Dredge a little flour over the fruit, and put on the top crust; leave an opening in the centre to permit the steam to escape. The pie requires no water, as a sufficient quantity will adhere to the fruit.

APPLE BUTTER.

566. Boil one barrel of cider till reduced to one half the original quantity. Pare, core, and slice enough apples to measure two bushels and a half when cut up. Put them in with the cider, let them boil, and stir it all the time it is boiling. The apples must be reduced to a pulp, which will take from nine to twelve hours. It should be boiled till perfectly smooth and thick. Great care should be taken not to let it scorch, as it would be entirely spoiled.

New cider is the kind used for making apple butter.

JELLY CAKE, No. 1.

567. Ten eggs,
One pound of sugar,
Three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour,
The grated rind of two, and juice of one lemon.

Beat the yelks of the eggs very light and add the sugar. Stir the yelks and sugar very hard until they are smooth and light. Add to this the grated rind and lemon-juice, and beat it, for a few minutes longer. Whisk the whites to a dry froth, and stir them in very gently. Do not beat it after the whites are in. Butter some shallow tin-plates and put in three table spoonsful of the mixture. Bake them in a quick oven. Or you may heat a griddle or bake-iron, grease it well with butter; grease a tin cake-ring, place the ring on the griddle, pour in three table spoonsful of the mixture, put the griddle in a hot oven, and bake it without turning it. When done take it off, grease the griddle and ring again, and proceed as before. When the cakes are cool place one on a plate, cover the top of it with any kind of _thick_ jelly, put another cake on the top of this, cover it with a layer of jelly, and so on. Place the cakes evenly over each other. It is customary to ice the top one, though it looks very nice with white sugar sifted over.

These are better to be eaten fresh.

JELLY CAKE, No. 2.

568. One pound of flour,
One pound of sugar,
Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Ten eggs,
One gill of rose-water,
One tea spoonful of grated nutmeg,
Half a tea spoonful of ground cinnamon.

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, whisk the eggs very light and add to it; stir in the spices and rose-water, then the flour. Beat the mixture very hard for ten minutes. Heat your griddle or bake-iron, grease it well with butter, grease a cake-ring and place on the griddle. Pour into the ring three table spoonsful of the mixture, place the griddle in a hot oven and bake it quickly. These cakes are never turned; the oven should be hot enough to bake the top.

When one is done take it out, place it on a clean napkin to cool, and grease the griddle and ring and proceed as before. When they are all cold spread the top of each one with thick jelly, and place them neatly one over the other. The top cake should have no jelly on it. It may be iced, or have white sugar sifted over it.

HONEY CAKE, No. 1.

569. Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Three-quarters of a pound of sugar,
Six eggs,
Two pounds of flour,
One table spoonful of ground cinnamon,
Half a gill of cream,
One quart of honey,
One table spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus.

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; beat the eggs and stir in with the flour, cinnamon, cream and honey. Beat the whole for ten minutes, then stir in the salæratus. Line your pan with several thicknesses of paper, well buttered; pour in the mixture and bake it in a slow oven.

HONEY CAKE, No. 2.

570. Half a pound of sugar,
Half a pound of butter,
One pint of honey,
One table spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
As much flour as will form a dough.

Stir the butter and sugar together, add the nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, and enough flour to form a dough. Knead it well, roll it out in sheets, cut it in cakes with a cake-cutter or the rim of a tumbler, place them on tins and bake them in a moderately hot oven. Before you set them in the oven wash them over with a little honey and water, mixed in equal quantities.

CITRON CAKE.

571. One pound of butter,
One pound of sugar,
One pound of flour,
One pound of citron,
Ten eggs,
Half a gill of brandy,
One tea spoonful of grated nutmeg,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon.

Grate the nutmeg, slice the citron in very thin narrow strips about half an inch long, and flour it. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, whisk the eggs very light, and stir them in with the flour, brandy, and spices. Beat the whole for several minutes; then stir in the citron. Line your pans with several thicknesses of paper, well buttered, pour in the mixture and bake them in a slow oven. When cold ice them.

VANILLA KISSES.

572. Half a pound of pulverized white sugar,
The whites of six eggs,
One vanilla bean.

Pound the bean in a mortar until it is completely pulverized. Whisk the eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar very gradually, then stir in the vanilla. Drop the mixture on white paper so as not to touch each other. You may make them any size you choose. About a dessert spoonful makes a pretty sized cake. Take care to have them sufficiently far apart. Place them on tins with several thicknesses of stout paper under them, set them in a hot oven, and as soon as they have a tinge of brown take them out, with a broad bladed knife slip them off the paper, and place the under sides of two together.

VANILLA CAKE.

573. Half a pound of pulverized white sugar,
The whites of four eggs,
One small vanilla bean, or half of a large one.

Pound the vanilla bean in a mortar until it is completely pulverized. Beat the eggs to a dry froth, add the sugar very gradually; when all the sugar is in stir in the vanilla. Drop a tea spoonful of the mixture on thick white paper to form each cake, they must not be near enough to touch each other. Place them in a cool oven, and as soon as they are sufficiently dry take them out, as soon as they are cold slip the blade of a case-knife under each one to loosen it from the paper. The oven should not be hot enough to brown them.

GINGER POUND CAKE.

574. Three-quarters of a pound of butter,
Three-quarters of a pound of sugar,
Six eggs,
One pound and a half of flour,
One pint of molasses,
The grated rind of two large oranges,
Three table spoonsful of ginger,
Two table spoonsful of cinnamon,
One table spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus, or
One large tea spoonful of dissolved carbonate of ammonia.

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Beat the eggs very light and add to it, then stir in all the other ingredients except the salæratus or ammonia. Beat the mixture very hard for several minutes, then stir in the salæratus or ammonia. Butter an earthen cake mould or thick iron pan, pour in the mixture and bake it in a moderate oven. If you bake it in an iron pan line the pan with several thicknesses of stout paper well buttered.

CURRANT BISCUITS.

575. One pound of sugar,
One pound of butter,
One pound and a half of flour,
Four eggs,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One pound of currants.

Beat the butter and sugar together; whisk the eggs, and add to it with the other ingredients. Roll the dough out in sheets, cut it into cakes, place them on tins, sift white sugar over the top, and bake them in a moderate oven.

The currants must first be picked, washed and dried, before they are put in the cakes.

PLAIN CRULLERS.

576. Three-quarters of a pound of pulverized white sugar,
Eight eggs,
As much flour as will make a soft dough,
One dessert spoonful of _dissolved_ salæratus,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
The grated rind of one lemon, or
Six drops of essence of lemon.

Whisk the eggs very light, stir in the sugar, and about half the flour, spices and lemon; then add the salæratus, and as much more flour as will make a soft dough. Do not knead it, but roll it with your hands in round strips, cut them about three inches long, double and twist them. Throw them into boiling lard to cook them. They require to be turned over whilst they are boiling in the lard, in order to have them brown on both sides. These cakes are very much liked and are very easily made. Sift sugar over before they are sent to the table.

TO MAKE BUTTER.

577. Strain your milk and stand it in a spring-house or cellar, which should be about 54 degrees of Fahrenheit. The spring-house should be well ventilated. Let the milk stand about three days, then skim off the cream with a skimmer made for the purpose, and take care to get as little of the sour milk with it as possible. Then churn it; and after churning, wash your butter thoroughly in clear fresh water, which should be as cold as you can get it. Then salt it and work it well, to get out all the remaining buttermilk. It should be dry and solid when you have finished working it this time. After your butter has been salted and worked thoroughly, let it stand about five or six hours, or until every particle of salt is entirely dissolved; then work it again in order to mix the salt more completely through the whole mass, but do not touch it with your hands as it will make it greasy, and spoil both its appearance and taste. Make it into pounds or small prints, and it will be ready for use.

When more than one churning is done at a time, each churning should be worked separately, or it will be apt to be streaked; as, if the temperature of the cream is higher in one churning than in the other, the butter will not mix without appearing clouded.

The above receipt was obtained from one of the best butter-makers in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and may be confidently relied on for its accuracy.

QUEEN CAKE.

578. One pound of butter,
One pound of sugar,
Fourteen ounces of flour,
Ten eggs,
One tea spoonful of cinnamon,
One tea spoonful of nutmeg,
One large table spoonful of brandy,
One table spoonful of rose water.

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, whisk the eggs well, and stir the whole together, add gradually the liquor, spices and flour. Beat the mixture for several minutes, butter some small round tin pans, fill them about three parts full and bake them.

Queen cakes are very nice with a few dried currants in them. To the above quantity one pound and a half of dried currants would be sufficient.

THE END.

INDEX.

A.

Almond cake, 191.
pudding, 127.
water, 253.

Apple cream, 163.

Apees, 217.

Apples, to prepare for pies, 268.
baked, 160.
dried, for pies, 263.

Apple dumplings, 136.
floating island, 154.
fritters, 157.
pudding, No. 1, 129.
No. 2, 130.
pudding, plain, No. 3, 130.
sauce, 101.
water, 252.

Arrow-root, 241.
pudding, for invalids, 236.

Asparagus, 96.

B.

Baked apples, 160.
beef and Yorkshire pudding, 39.
beets, 85.
fillet of veal, 46.
pears, 160.
pudding, for invalids, 242.
rabbit-pie, 61.
shad, 24.
tomatoes, 84.

Barley water, 253.

Beans, boiled dried, 99.
Lima, 98.
pickled, 113.
stringed, 98.
Windsor, or horse, 98.

Beef, a-la-mode, 38.
and hams, to cure, 269.
boiled corned, 43.
corned, 42.
essence of, 251.

Beef's kidney, stewed, 41.
fried, 42.

Beef steaks, 38.
fried, 39.
stewed with onions, 41.
soup, 15.
tea, 250.
to cure dried, 269.

Beets, baked, 85.
pickled, 117.

Best way of cooking venison, 60.

Biscuits, currant, 286.
Dover, 218.

Biscuit, hard, 164.
light sugar, 215.
Maryland, 167.
milk, 177.
soda, 200.
sugar, 220.
travelers', 215.
Yorkshire, 165.

Blackberry cordial, 256.
jam, 233.
mush, 160.

Blancmange, 150.
clear, 150.

Boiled chickens, 74.
cod, 22.
corned beef, 43.
crabs, 34.
custard, 159.
dried beans, 99.
green corn, 89.
ham, 58.
leg of lamb, 52.
lobster, 35.
onions, 97.
potatoes, No. 1, 78.
No. 2, 79.
pudding, No. 1, 145.
No. 2, 146.
rice pudding, 144.
rock, 21.
shad, 23.
sour-krout, 91.
sweet-breads, 49.
tongue, 43.
turkey, 69.

Boston ginger-bread, 198.

Brandy cherries, 255.
grapes, 233.
peaches, 234.
raspberry, 256.

Bread, 273,
dyspeptic, 275.
fried, 275.
mush, 275.
omelette, 261.
potato, 274.
rye, 275.

Brentford rolls, 166.

Bristol loaf-cake, 190.

Broiled chickens, 73.
shad, 24.
squab, 65.
tomatoes, 84.

Browned egg-plant, 88.
flour, 262.

Brown fricassee, 75.

Buckwheat cakes. 169.

Buns, 209.
Guernsey, 170.
Spanish, 209.

Butter, to make, 287.
mixture for salting, 257.

Butter-milk cakes, 180.