Chapter VII (12)

BOTTLED GINGER BEER.—One gallon of boiling water; one pound of loaf sugar; one ounce of best ginger, bruised; one ounce of cream of tartar (or a lemon sliced). Stir them up until the sugar is dissolved, let it rest until the heat falls to the warmth of new milk; then add one table-spoonful of good yeast, poured on to a bit of bread, and set in the middle of the pan floating in the mixture. Cover with a cloth, and stand for twenty-four hours; then strain and put into bottles, filling each only about three parts. Cork tightly, and tie down; in warm weather it will be ready to drink in two days. The above will make fifteen to eighteen bottles, and costs 8d. or 10d.

ANOTHER.—A BETTER ARTICLE, IN LARGER QUANTITY.—White sugar, twenty pounds; lemon or lime juice, eighteen ounces; honey, one pound; bruised ginger, twenty-two ounces; water, eighteen gallons. Boil the ginger in three gallons of the water for half an hour; then add the sugar, the juice, and the honey, with the remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth. When cold, add the white of one egg, and half an ounce of essence of lemon. Stand four days, then bottle. This is first-rate, and will keep many months.

ANOTHER RECEIPT FOR GINGER BEER.—One ounce of ginger, well bruised, and boiled in four quarts of water, with the skins of two lemons; when boiled, add the juice of the lemons, with one ounce of cream of tartar, and one pound and a half of lump sugar. Stir all well together; then put four quarts of cold water to it, and when lukewarm, add the whites of two eggs, beaten to a strong froth, with two table-spoonfuls of fresh yeast; let it ferment two or three hours, then bottle, and cork it tightly. It will be ready for use in twelve hours.—[The above receipt may be relied upon.]

GINGER BEER POWDERS.—Powdered lump sugar, four ounces; carbonate of soda, five drachms; powdered ginger, one drachm. Mix these ingredients well together, divide into twelve equal parts—put each into a _blue_ paper. Tartaric acid, one ounce; divide into twelve equal parts—put each into a _white_ paper. Dissolve the contents of one of the blue and one of the white papers, each in half a glass of spring water. Pour one into the other, and drink while effervescing. [I have used this for many years, and have given it to many of my messmates.—T. J. L., Midshipman, R. N.] The tartaric acid may (if preferred) be thrown into the glass of the other mixture, which should then be nearly full. This plan prolongs the effervescence. Cost, 7d.

SODA POWDERS.—Carbonate of soda, thirty grains in each blue paper; tartaric acid, twenty-five grains in each white paper. Mix as ginger beer powders.

SEIDLITZ POWDERS (APERIENT).—Tartrate of soda, two drachms; carbonate of soda, two scruples; mix and put it in a _blue_ paper; tartaric acid, thirty-five grains, to be put in _white_ paper. Mix in half a pint of water.

ANOTHER.—MAY BE KEPT IN ONE BOTTLE.—Tartrate of soda, three ounces; carbonate of ditto, one ounce; tartaric acid, one ounce; white sugar, four ounces; all in fine powder, well dried separately; mix well, add five drops essence of lemon; pass through a sieve, and put into a clean dry bottle. A dessert-spoonful to a glass of water. Cost, 1s. 4d., if mixed at home.

SPRUCE BEER POWDERS.—Powdered white sugar, three ounces; essence of spruce, forty drops; carbonate of soda, five drachms and a scruple. Mix, and divide into two _blue_ papers. Tartaric acid, six drachms; wrap in twelve _white_ papers. Mix as ginger beer powders. Cost, 8d.

PORTABLE LEMONADE.—Tartaric or citric acid, one ounce; finely powdered lump sugar, half a pound; essence of lemon, twenty drops. Mix. Two or three tea-spoonfuls make a capital glass of lemonade. Cost, 8d., with tartaric acid; 1s. with citric acid.

ORANGEADE.—Squeeze out the juice of an orange, pour boiling water on a little of the peel, and cover it close. Boil water and sugar to a thin syrup, and skim it. When all are cold, mix the juice, the infusion, and the syrup, with as much more water as will make a rich drink. Strain through a jelly-bag, and ice.

GINGER LEMONADE.—Boil twelve pounds and a half of lump sugar for twenty minutes in ten gallons of water; clear it with the whites of six eggs. Bruise half a pound of common ginger, boil with the liquor, and then pour it upon ten lemons pared. When quite cold, put it in a cask, with two table-spoonfuls of yeast, the lemons sliced, and add half an ounce of isinglass. Bung up the cask the next day. It will be ready to bottle in three weeks, and to drink in another three weeks.

HIPPOCRAS.—Digest for three days half a drachm of mace, ginger, cloves, nutmegs, and galingale, in three quarts of Lisbon wine, and also carraway; add an ounce of cinnamon. Strain, and mix twenty ounces of white sugar with the liquor.

IMPERIAL, BOTTLED.—Pour a pint of boiling water on a drachm of cream of tartar, flavour with lemon-peel and sugar, and bottle.

IMPERIAL DRINK.—Put half an ounce of cream of tartar, four ounces of white sugar, and three ounces of orange-peel, into a pan; pour three pints of boiling water on, strain, and cool.

IMPERIAL POP.—Take three ounces of cream of tartar, an ounce of bruised ginger, a pound and a half of white sugar, an ounce of lemon-juice, and pour a gallon and a half of boiling water on them; add two table-spoonfuls of yeast. Mix, bottle, and tie down the corks as usual.

KING CUP.—Take the rind and juice of a lemon, a lump of sugar, a small piece of bruised ginger, and pour on them about one pint and a half of boiling water; when cold, strain, add a wine-glassful of sherry, and ice.

LAIT SUCRE.—Boil a pint of milk, sweeten with white sugar, and flavour with lemon.

LEMONADE.—Take sixteen lemons, pare thin, cut in halves, squeeze well, and throw all into a pan; add a pound and a half of white sugar, a gallon of boiling water, and five table-spoonfuls of white wine (four if sherry); mix, strain, and cool.

LEMONADE AU LAIT.—Take half a pint of lemon-juice, the same of white wine, three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, and a quart of boiling water; mix, and when cold add a pint of _boiling_ milk; let it stand twelve hours, then pour through a jelly-bag. This makes two quarts; and about seven lemons will produce half a pint of juice.

APPLEADE.—Cut two large apples in slices, and pour a quart of boiling water on them, strain well and sweeten. To be drunk when cold or iced.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR.—Put a pound of fine fruit into a bowl, pour upon it a quart of the best white-wine vinegar, next day, strain the liquor on a pound of fresh raspberries; the following day do the same, but do not squeeze the fruit, only drain the liquor as dry as you can. Bottle, and cork well, then cover the corks with bottle cement.

APRICOT EFFERVESCING DRINK.—Take a pint of the juice of bruised apricots, filter until clear, and make into a syrup with half a pound of sugar, then add one ounce of tartaric acid, bottle, and cork well. For a tumbler three parts full of water, add two table-spoonfuls of the syrup, and a scruple of carbonate of soda, stir well, and drink while effervescing.

BARLEY WATER.—1. Pick clean, and wash well a handful of common barley, then simmer gently in three pints of water with a bit of lemon-peel. Prepared thus, it does not nauseate like pearl-barley water. 2. Take two ounces and a half of pearl-barley: wash well, then add half a pint of water, and boil for a little time, throw away the liquor, pour four imperial pints of boiling water on the barley, boil down to two pints, strain, flavour with sugar, and lemon-peel, if wished.

BARLEY WATER, COMPOUND.—Boil two pints of barley water, and a pint of water together, with two ounces and a half of sliced figs, half an ounce of liquorice root sliced and bruised, and two ounces and a half of raisins. Reduce to two pints, and strain.

BEER, SPRUCE, POWDERS.—See previous page.

BEER, TREACLE.—Take a pound and a half of hops, and boil in thirty-six gallons of water for an hour, then add fourteen pounds of treacle, and a little yeast to work it; ferment and bottle.

BROWN SPRUCE BEER.—Pour four gallons of cold water into a nine-gallon barrel, then add four gallons more, quite boiling, and six pounds of molasses, with about eight or nine table-spoonfuls of the essence of spruce, and on its getting a little cooler, the same quantity of good ale yeast. Shake the barrel well, then leave with bung out for three days; bottle in stone bottles, cork well, wire carefully, pack in sand, and it will be fit to drink in two weeks.

CAPILLAIRE, MOCK.—1. Take three pounds and a half of loaf sugar, three-quarters of a pound of coarse sugar, two whites of eggs well beaten with the shells, boil together in a pint and a half of water, and skim carefully. Then add an ounce of orange-flower water, strain and put into _perfectly dry_ bottles. When cold, mix a table-spoonful or two of this syrup in a little warm or cold water. 2. Mix two tea-spoonfuls of curaçoa with a pint of syrup. 3. Boil a quart of water well, add three pounds of white sugar, the white of an egg; skim, and boil to a syrup; then add, while warm, four table-spoonfuls of orange-flower water, strain, and use the same as the others.

CAPILLAIRE, TRUE.—Take forty-eight grains of Canadian maiden-hair (_adiantum pedatum_), six drams of boiling water, and an ounce and twenty grains of white sugar. Infuse two-thirds of the maiden-hair in the water, strain, dissolve the sugar in the infusion. Clarify with the white of egg, pour it over the remainder of the maiden-hair, placed in a water-bath, digest for two hours, and strain the syrup. For large quantities the proportions are:—Maiden-hair, 192 parts. Boiling water, 1500 parts. White sugar, 2000 parts.

CHERRY DRINK.—Prepare the same as apricot, substituting the cherry juice for the other fruit.

COBBLER, SHERRY.—Take some very fine and clean ice, break into small pieces, fill a tumbler to within an inch of the top with it, put a table-spoonful of plain syrup, capillaire, or any other flavour—some prefer strawberry—add the quarter of the zest of a lemon, and a few drops of the juice. Pill with sherry, stir it up, and let it stand for five or six minutes. Sip it gently through a straw.

COOL TANKARD.—Put into a quart of mild ale a wine-glassful of white wine, the same of brandy and capillaire, the juice of a lemon, and a little piece of the rind. Add a sprig of borage or balm, a bit of toasted bread and nutmeg grated on the top.

CRANBERRY DRINK.—Put a tea-cupful of cranberries into a cup of water, and mash them. Boil, in the mean time, two quarts of water with one large spoonful of oatmeal, and a bit of lemon-peel; add the cranberries and sugar (but not too much, otherwise the fine sharpness of the fruit will be destroyed), a quarter of a pint of white wine, or less, according to taste; boil for half an hour, and strain.

CURDS AND WHEY—CHEAP METHOD.—Add six grains of citric acid to a wine-glassful of milk, and the result will be a pleasant acidulous whey, and a fine curd.

CURDS AND WHEY—ITALIAN METHOD.—Take several of the rough coats that line the gizzards of turkeys and fowls, cleanse from the dirt, rub well with salt, and hang them up to dry; when required for use, break off some of the skin, pour boiling water on, digest for eight or nine hours, and use the same as rennet.

CURRANT WATER.—Take a pound of currants, and squeeze into a quart of water; put in four or five ounces of pounded sugar. Mix well, strain, and ice, or allow to get cold.

DRINK DIVINE.—Mix a bottle of cider, half a bottle of perry, and the same of sherry, with half a gill of brandy, then add a sliced lemon, the rind pared as thin as possible, and a toasted biscuit, which is to be added to the liquor as hot as possible. Drink iced, or cooled.

EAU SUCRE.—Dissolve sugar in boiling water, and drink cold.

EFFERVESCING LEMONADE.—Boil two pounds of white sugar with a pint of lemon-juice, bottle and cork. Put a table-spoonful of the syrup into a tumbler about three parts full of cold water, add twenty grains of carbonate of soda, and drink quickly.

FLAP.—Put a little brandy in a tumbler, and add a bottle of soda-water.

GINGER BEER, BOTTLED.—See previous page.

GINGER BEER, INDIAN.—To ten quarts of boiling water, add two ounces of pounded ginger, one ounce of cream of tartar, two limes, and two pounds of sugar. Stir until cold, then strain through flannel until quite clear, adding a pint of beer, and four wine-glassfuls of good toddy. Bottle, tie down the corks, shake each bottle well for some time, place them upright, and they will be fit to drink the next day. This does not keep long.

SUPREME NECTAR.—Put into a nine-gallon cask six pounds of moist sugar, five ounces of bruised ginger, four ounces of cream of tartar, four lemons, eight ounces of yeast, and seven gallons of boiling water. Work two or three days, strain, add brandy one pint, bung very close, and in fourteen days bottle, and wire down.

TAMARIND DRINK.—Boil three pints of water with an ounce and a half of tamarinds, three ounces of currants, and two ounces of stoned raisins, till about a third has evaporated. Strain, add a bit of lemon-peel, which is to be removed in half an hour, then cool.

WHITE SPRUCE BEER.—Take six pounds of white sugar, four ounces of essence of spruce, ten gallons of boiling water, and an ounce of yeast. Work the same as in making ginger beer, and bottle immediately in half pints. Brown spruce beer is made with treacle instead of sugar.

WINTER BEVERAGES.

ALEBERRY.—Mix two large spoonfuls of fine oatmeal in sufficient sweet small beer, two hours previous to using it; strain well, boil, and sweeten according to taste. Pour into a warm jug, add wine, lemon-juice, and nutmeg to taste, and serve hot with thin slips of toast or rusks.

ALE, MULLED.—Boil a pint of good sound ale with a little grated nutmeg and sugar. Beat up three eggs, and mix them with a little cold ale; then add the hot ale to it gradually, and pour backwards and forwards from one vessel to the other several times, to prevent its curdling. Warm, and stir till it thickens, then add a table-spoonful of brandy, and serve hot with toast.

ARRACK, MOCK.—Take a scruple (twenty grains) of benzoic acid, and add to a quart of rum. Prepare punch with it.

ATHOL BROSE.—Add two wine-glassfuls of Scotch whisky to a wine-glassful of heather-honey; mix well, and then stir in a well-beaten new-laid egg.

BANG.—Take a pint of cider, and add to a pint of warm ale; sweeten with treacle or sugar to taste, grate in some nutmeg and ginger, and add a wine-glassful of gin or whisky.

BISHOP.—Take three smooth-skinned and large Seville oranges, and grill them to a pale brown colour over a clear slow fire; then place in a small punch-bowl that will about hold them, and pour over them half a pint from a bottle of old Bordeaux wine, in which a pound and a quarter of loaf sugar is dissolved; then cover with a plate, and let it stand for two days. When it is to be served, cut and squeeze the oranges into a small sieve placed above a jug containing the remainder of the bottle of sweetened Bordeaux, previously made very hot, and if when mixed it is not sweet enough, add more sugar. Serve hot in tumblers. Some persons make Bishop with raisin or Lisbon wine, and add mace, cloves, and nutmegs, but it is not the proper way.

CARDINAL is made the same way as Bishop, substituting old Rhenish wine for the Bordeaux.

CLARY, MOCK.—Warm a bottle of claret, sweeten with honey, and add allspice and cloves to taste. Serve hot.

CRAMBAMBULL.—Take two bottles of light porter or ale, and boil them in a pan. Then put into the liquor half a pint of rum, and from half a pound to a pound of loaf sugar. After this has been boiling for a few minutes, take the whole from the fire, and put into the mixture the whites and the yolks of from six to eight eggs, previously well whisked; stir the whole for a minute or two, and pour it into a punch-bowl, to be drunk out of tumblers. It tastes well hot or cold.

CAUDLE.—1. Make half a pint of fine gruel with “Robinson’s Patent Groats,” add a piece of butter the size of a large nutmeg, a table-spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, a little grated nutmeg and lemon-peel, and serve hot. 2. Put three quarts of water into a pot, set over the fire to boil; mix smooth as much oatmeal as will thicken the whole with a pint of cold water, and when the water boils, pour in the thickening, and add about twenty peppercorns finely powdered. Boil till pretty thick, then add sugar to taste, half a pint of good ale, and a wine-glassful of gin, all warmed up together. Serve hot.

CAUDLE, BROWN.—Take a quart of water, mix in three table-spoonfuls of oatmeal, a blade of mace, and a small piece of lemon-peel; let it boil about a quarter of an hour, skimming and stirring it well, but taking care that it does not boil over. When done, strain through a coarse sieve, sweeten to taste, add a little grated nutmeg, a pint of good sweet ale, and half a pint of white wine; then serve hot.

CAUDLE, COLD.—Boil a quart of spring water, when cold, add the yolk of an egg, the juice of a small lemon, six table-spoonfuls of raisin wine, and sugar to taste.

CAUDLE, FLOUR.—Take a dessert-spoonful of fine flour, and rub it into a smooth batter, with five table-spoonfuls of spring water. Put a quarter of a pint of new milk into a saucepan, set over the fire, with two lumps of sugar, and when it boils, stir the flour and water gradually into it, and keep stirring for twenty minutes over a slow fire. Nutmeg or ginger may be grated in, if thought proper.

CAUDLE, FLUMMERY.—Put half a pint of fine oatmeal into a quart of spring water, and let it stand all night. In the morning stir it well, and strain through a coarse sieve into a skillet or saucepan, then add two blades of mace and some grated nutmeg; set on the fire, keep stirring, and let it boil for a quarter of an hour, when if too thick, add a little more water, and let it boil a few minutes longer; then add half a pint of white wine, a table-spoonful of orange-flower water, the juice of a lemon, the same of an orange, sugar to taste, and a piece of butter about the size of a walnut; warm the whole together, thicken with the yolk of a well-beaten egg, and drink hot.

CAUDLE, OATMEAL.—Take a quart of ale, a pint of stale beer, and a quart of water; mix all together, and add a handful of fine oatmeal, six cloves, two blades of mace, some nutmeg, and eight allspice berries bruised. Set over a slow fire, and let it boil for half an hour, stirring it well all the time; then strain through a coarse sieve, add half a pound of sugar, or to taste, a piece of lemon-peel. Pour into a pan, cover close, and warm before serving.

CAUDLE, TEA.—Make a pint of strong green tea, pour it into a saucepan, and set over a slow fire. Beat the yolks of two eggs well, and mix with half a pint of white wine, some grated nutmeg, and sugar to taste; then pour into the saucepan, stir well until hot, and serve.

CAUDLE, RICE.—Make the same as flour caudle, using ground rice instead of flour, and when done, add cinnamon and sugar to taste, and a wine-glassful of brandy.

CAUDLE, WHITE.—Mix two table-spoonfuls of fine oatmeal in a quart of water, two hours before using it, strain through a sieve and boil it, then sweeten with sugar, and season with lemon-juice and nutmeg.

DEVILLED ALE.—Cut a slice of bread about an inch thick, toast and butter it, then sprinkle with cayenne pepper and ginger, and place in the bottom of a jug, add a pint of warm ale, and sugar to taste.

EGG-FLIP.—To make a quart of flip, put the ale on the fire to warm, and beat up three or four eggs with four ounces of moist sugar; remove the froth of the ale, while on the fire, until it begins to boil, mix the froth with the sugar and eggs, add grated nutmeg or ginger to taste, and a gill of rum. When the ale boils, stir it gradually into the eggs and rum, until quite smooth, then serve.

EGG WINE.—Beat up an egg and mix it with a table-spoonful of spring water. Put a wine-glassful of white wine, half a glass of spring water, and sugar and nutmeg to taste, into a small saucepan, place over a slow fire, and when it boils add it gradually to the egg, stirring well; then return the whole to the saucepan, and place over the fire again, stir for a minute, remove, and serve with toast. If it boils when placed on the fire a second time, it will curdle.

ELDER WINE, MULLED.—Put sufficient wine into a saucepan, warm over the fire, and if requisite add sugar, spice or water. When warmed, serve with thin slips of toast or rusks.

HOT PURL.—Put a quart of mild ale into a saucepan, add a table-spoonful of grated nutmeg, and place over a slow fire until it nearly boils. Mix a little cold ale with sugar to taste, and, gradually, two eggs well beaten; then add the hot ale, stirring one way to prevent curdling—and a quarter of a pint of whisky. Warm the whole again, and then pour from one vessel into another till it becomes smooth.

JINGLE.—Roast three apples, grate some nutmeg over them, add sugar to taste, and place in a quart jug, with some slices of toasted plumcake; make some ale hot, and fill up the jug, then serve.

OXFORD NIGHTCAP.—Take half a tumbler of tea, made as usual with sugar and milk, add a slice of lemon, a wine-glass of new milk, and the same of rum or brandy; beat up a new-laid egg, and add to the whole while warm.

POOR MAN’S DRINK.—Take two quarts of water, and place in a saucepan with four ounces of pearl-barley, two ounces of figs split, two ounces of stoned raisins, and an ounce of root-liquorice sliced; boil all together till only a quart remains; then strain, and use as a drink.

POPE is made the same as Bishop, substituting “Tokay” for Bordeaux.

POSSET, ALE.—Boil a pint of new milk with a slice of toasted bread, sweeten a bottle of mild ale, and pour it into a basin with nutmeg or other spice, add the boiling milk to it, and when the head rises, serve.

POSSET, COLD.—Take a pint of cream, half a pint of white wine, the juice of half a lemon, and the peel rasped into it. Sweeten the cream and wine, put the latter into a basin, and then pour the cream from a height into the basin, stirring both well all the time; remove the froth, let it remain for a day in lukewarm water if the weather is cold, and then serve.

POSSET, JELLY.—Take eight eggs, leave out the whites of four, and beat all the remainder well together in a basin; then add half a pint of white wine, a little strong ale (to taste), and sugar: put into a saucepan, and set over a slow fire, stirring all the time. Boil a pint of milk with a little nutmeg and cinnamon, just enough to flavour it, and, when the eggs and wine are hot, add the boiling milk to it; then remove from the fire, pour into a punch-bowl, cover with a plate for half an hour, then sprinkle the top with pounded sugar and serve.

POSSET, LEMON.—Steep the rind of a lemon pared thin, in a pint of sweet white wine two hours before required, add the juice of one lemon, and sugar to taste; put it in a bowl with a quart of milk or cream, and whisk one way till very thick. This will fill twenty glasses, which may be filled the day before required.

POSSET, ORANGE.—Take the crumb of a penny loaf grated fine, and put it into a pint of water, with half the peel of a Seville orange grated, or sugar rubbed upon it. Boil all together, till it looks thick and clear: then take the juice of half a Seville orange, three ounces of sweet, and one of bitter almonds, beat well with a table-spoonful of brandy, add sugar to taste, and a pint of white or raisin wine; mix well, add to the posset, and serve.

POSSET, POPE’S.—Blanch and pound four ounces of sweet almonds, and half an ounce of bitter ones; add boiling water, and strain, sweeten, and make hot half a bottle of white wine; mix.

PUNCH, AFTER THE FASHION OF THE WEST INDIAN PLANTERS.—“He made his appearance with a respectably sized bowl, an enormous jug of boiling water, and a large paper bag filled with sugar. Our punch-maker then commenced operations, and having extracted from his secret store a bottle of his matchless _rum_, his _limes_, and a small pot of _Guava Jelly_, he brewed about a pint of green tea (two ounces); and, the infusion finished, two-thirds of the sugar was dissolved in it. After the tea-leaves had been thrown aside, the remainder of the sugar was rubbed on the rind of the limes, Mr. Hamilton observing that the essential oil which conveyed the exquisite flavour was thus more strongly diffused throughout the compound than when the skin was peeled: then the delicious acid of the fruit was added to the already impregnated sugar, and as soon as the several lumps had imbibed the proportion required, the Guava Jelly (and without this confection no punch can be pronounced perfect) was dissolved in a pint or so of boiling water. This done, the tea, the sweets and acids were commingled, and the foundation or sherbet tasted by the experienced palate of the grand compounder; six glasses of cognac, two of madeira, and the bottle of old rum were added, and over all about a quart more of boiling water, and, as a finishing touch, the slightest possible sprinkling of nutmeg. Here was the punch! and oh! what punch! it out-nectared nectar! I have, in the West Indies, since the period I am recording, drunk some very luscious and fascinating mixtures nearly resembling it; but I never know it surpassed, if equalled, even in the tropical regions.”—_From Topley’s Sportsman in Canada._

POSSET, ROYAL.—Take half a pint of ale, mix a pint of cream with it; then add the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two well beaten, sweeten to taste and flavour with nutmeg. Pour into a saucepan, set over the fire, stir well until thick, and before it boils, remove; pour into a basin and serve hot.

POSSET, SACK.—Put a quart of new milk into a saucepan, and place it over a slow clear fire. When it boils, crumble four Damascus biscuits (page 279) into it; give it one boil, remove from the fire, add grated nutmeg and sugar to taste, stir in half a pint of sack (canary wine), and serve. French roll will answer instead of the biscuits.

POSSET, SNOW.—Boil a stick of cinnamon, and a quarter of a nutmeg, with a quart of new milk, and when it boils remove the spice. Beat the yolks of ten eggs well, and mix gradually with the milk until thick; then beat the whites of the eggs with sugar and canary wine into a snow. Put a pint of canary (sack) into a saucepan, sweeten to taste, set over a slow fire, and pour the milk and snow into the saucepan, stirring all the time it is over the fire; when warm, remove from the fire, cover close, and set aside for a little time before being used.

POSSET, TREACLE.—Boil a pint of milk, add sufficient treacle to curdle it; allow the curd to settle, strain off the liquid, and drink it as hot as possible.

POSSET, WINE.—Boil some slices of white bread in a quart of milk; when quite soft take it off the fire, add sugar and grated nutmeg to taste. Pour it into a basin, add a pint of raisin or other sweet wine by degrees, and serve with toasted bread.

PUNCH, COLD.—Pour half a pint of gin on the rind of a lemon; add a table-spoonful of lemon-juice, a wine-glassful of maraschino, a pint and a half of water, and two bottles of iced water.

PUNCH, COMMON.—Take two large fresh lemons with rough skins and full of juice. Rub some large lumps of white sugar over the lemons till they have acquired the oil from the rind, then put them into a bowl with as much more as is necessary to sweeten the punch to taste; then squeeze the lemon-juice upon the sugar, and bruise the sugar in the juice, add a quart of boiling water and mix well; then strain through a fine sieve, and add a quart of rum, or a pint of rum and brandy, or a pint and a half of rum and half a pint of porter; then add three quarts more water, and mix well. About half a pound of sugar is usually required, but it is impossible to fix a limit to sugar, spirits, or lemon-juice, as they depend upon taste.

PUNCH MILK—FOR CHRISTMAS-DAY.—Add the peel and juice of twenty-four lemons, and three pounds and a half of loaf sugar, to five bottles of cold water, and four bottles of rum; when these are well mixed, add two bottles of boiling milk, and mix the whole well. Let it stand for twenty-four hours, strain well, bottle, and cork tight; it is then ready for use. N.B. The finer the strainer is, the better the punch. This is the best receipt we have ever seen or used.

PUNCH, MILK, ORDINARY.—Pare six oranges and six lemons as thin as you can; grate them over with sugar, to get the flavour. Steep the peels in a bottle of rum or brandy stopped close twenty-four hours. Squeeze the fruit on two pounds of sugar, add to it four quarts of water and one of new milk boiling hot; stir the rum into the whole, run through a jelly-bag till clear, bottle, and cork close immediately.

PUNCH, REGENT’S.—Take a bottle of champagne, a quarter of a pint of brandy, the juice of a lemon, a Seville orange, and a wine-glassful of Martinique, with this mix a pint or more of a strong infusion of the best green tea strained, and syrup or sugar to taste.

PUNCH À LA ROMAINE.—Take a quart of lemon ice, add the whites of three eggs well beaten, with rum and brandy, till the ice liquefies, in the proportion of three parts of rum to one of brandy, and water to taste. Then add a tea-cupful of strong green tea infusion, strained, and a little champagne.

PUNCH, TEA.—Infuse two ounces of hyson tea, and an ounce of black tea, in three quarts of boiling water; then add four pounds of loaf sugar, citric acid and spirit of citron, of each six drachms, rum one pint, and five pints of brandy; mix well, and serve.—See PUNCH AFTER THE FASHION OF THE WEST INDIAN PLANTERS, page 229.

SCOTCH PUNCH, OR WHISKY TODDY.—The Duke of Athol’s receipt: Pour about a wine-glassful of _boiling_ water into a half-pint tumbler, and add sugar according to taste. Stir well up, then mix a wine-glassful of whisky, and add a wine-glassful and a half more boiling water. _Be sure the water is boiling._ Never put lemon into toddy. The two in combination, in almost every instance, produce acidity on the stomach. If possible, store your whisky _in the wood_, not in bottles, as the keeping it in the barrel mellows it, and takes away the coarser particles.

TODDY, BUTTERED.—Mix a glass of rum-grog pretty strong and hot, sweeten to taste with honey, flavour with nutmeg and lemon-juice, and add a piece of fresh butter about the size of a walnut.

WARM DRINK.—Boil a quart of milk and the same quantity of water, with the top crust of a penny loaf, a blade of mace, and sufficient sugar to sweeten, for a quarter of an hour; pour off, and drink warm.

WHEY, LEMON.—Pour into boiling milk as much lemon-juice as will make a small quantity quite clear; dilute it with hot water to an agreeable smart acid, and add a bit or two of sugar, or sweeten to taste.

WHEY, MUSTARD.—Boil four drachms of the bruised seeds of mustard in a pint of milk, then strain and separate the curd; a fourth part should be taken three times a day.

WHEY, VINEGAR, is made the same as lemon whey, only using vinegar instead of lemon-juice.

WINE, MULLED.—1. Boil some cloves, mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, in about a quarter of a pint of water till well flavoured with spice, then add to a pint of port or home-made wine; sweeten to taste, and serve hot with thin toast or rusks. 2. Boil a small stick of cinnamon, a blade of mace, and three cloves, in a breakfast-cupful of water for a few minutes; add some grated nutmeg, and a pint of home-made or port wine, sweeten to taste, boil for one minute, and serve hot. 3. Put a bottle of port wine, half a bottle of water, and sugar to taste, into a saucepan, then add allspice, cloves, and a blade of mace; boil all together, serve in a jug with grated nutmeg, and rusks or slips of thin toast. Some persons add lemon-juice to the mull, but it does not generally please.

WINE WHEY.—Put half a pint of new milk in a saucepan, set on the fire, and when it boils add as much raisin wine as will turn it; let it boil up, then set the saucepan aside till the curd subsides, but do not stir it. Pour off the whey, then add half a pint of boiling water, and white sugar to taste.

THE RUDIMENTS OF COOKERY.

The commonly received idea, that what goes under the denomination of “good plain living”—that is, joints of meat, roast or boiled—is best adapted to all constitutions, has been proved to be a fallacy. Many persons can bear testimony to the truth of Dr. Kitchener’s remark, that “elaborate culinary processes are frequently necessary in order to prepare food for the digestive organs.” It may be truly said, that many persons ruin their health by over-indulgence in food rendered indigestible by being badly cooked.

It is our intention to endeavour to correct the prejudice in favour of a family joint—by showing, that it is not only very often improperly cooked, but that the same quantity of meat, if dressed in different ways, still retaining a certain degree of simplicity, will be more pleasant to the palate, more healthful, and quite as economical, if brought to the table, as two or three dishes instead of one.

In French cookery, those substances which are not intended to be broiled or roasted, are usually stewed for several hours at a temperature below the broiling point; by which means the most refractory articles, whether of animal or vegetable origin, are more or less reduced to a state of pulp, and admirably adapted for the further action of the stomach. In the common cookery of this country, on the contrary, articles are usually put at once into a large quantity of water, and submitted, without care or attention, to the boiling temperature; the consequence of which is, that most animal substances, when taken out, are harder and more indigestible than in the natural state.

DIET AND DIGESTION.—From Dr. Beaumont’s Tables it appears that the following articles are digested in the times indicated:

H. M.
Rice, boiled soft 1 0
Apples, sweet and ripe 1 30
Sago, boiled 1 45
Tapioca, Barley, stale Bread, Cabbage with Vinegar,
raw, boiled Milk and Bread, and Bread and Milk, cold 2 0
Potatoes, roasted, and Parsnips, boiled 2 30
Baked Custard 2 45
Apple Dumpling 3 0
Bread, Corn, baked, and Carrots, boiled 3 15
Potatoes and Turnips, boiled; Butter and Cheese 3 30
Tripe and Pigs’ Feet 1 0
Venison 1 35
Oysters, undressed, and Eggs, raw 2 3
Turkey and Goose 2 30
Eggs, soft boiled; Beef and Mutton, roasted or broiled 3 0
Boiled Pork, stewed Oysters, Eggs, hard boiled or fried 3 30
Domestic Fowls 4 0
Wild Fowls; Pork, salted and boiled; Suet 4 30
Veal, roasted; Pork, and salted Beef 5 30

When the powers of the stomach are weak, a hard and crude diet is sure to produce discomfort by promoting acidity; while the very same article when divided, and well cooked upon French principles, or rather the principles of common sense, can be taken with impunity, and easily digested.

There are only a few persons—with the exception, perhaps, of those who take violent exercise, or work hard in the open air—who can dine heartily upon solid food without suffering from its effects; yet in order to escape indigestion, plain roast or boiled meat should be very sparingly consumed.

The foundation of all good cookery consists in preparing the meat so as to render it tender in substance, without extracting from it those juices which constitute its true flavour; in doing which, the main point in the art of making those soups, sauces, and made-dishes of every sort, which should form so large a portion of every well-ordered dinner, as well, also, as in cooking many of the plain family joints—is _boiling_, or rather _stewing_, which ought always to be performed over a slow fire. There is, in fact, no error so common among English cooks as that of boiling meat over a strong fire, which renders large joints hard and partly tasteless; while, if simmered during nearly double the time, with less than half the quantity of fuel and water, and never allowed to “boil up,” the meat, without being too much done, will be found both pliant to the tooth and savoury to the palate.

For instance. The most common and almost universal dish throughout France, is a large piece of plainly-boiled fresh beef, from which the soup—or “_potage_,” as it is there called—has been partly made, and which is separately served up as “_bouilli_,” accompanied by strong gravy and minced vegetables, or stewed cabbage. Now this, as constantly dressed in the French mode, is ever delicate both in fibre and flavour; while, in the English manner of boiling it, it is almost always hard and insipid. The reason of which, as explained by that celebrated cook, Carême, who superintended the kitchen of His Majesty George IV., is this:—“The meat, instead of being put down to boil, as in the English method, is in France put in the pot with the usual quantity of cold water, and placed at the corner of the fire-place, where, slowly becoming hot, the heat gradually swells the muscular fibres of the beef, dissolving the gelatinous substances therein contained, and disengaging that portion which chemists term ‘osmazome,’ and which imparts savour to the flesh—thus both rendering the meat tender and palatable, and the broth relishing and nutritive; whilst, on the contrary, if the pot be inconsiderately put upon too quick a fire, the boiling is precipitated, the fibre coagulates and hardens, the osmazome is hindered from disengaging itself, and thus nothing is obtained but a piece of tough meat, and a broth without taste or succulence.”

Meat loses, by cooking, from one-fifth to one-third of its whole weight. More is lost by roasting than by boiling meat. In calculating for a family, one pound per day for each individual is a general allowance for dinner.

Meat that is not to be cut till cold must be well done, particularly in summer.

The use of skewers in joints should be avoided as much as possible, as they let out the gravy; twine will answer better.

In every branch of cookery much must be left to the discretion of the cook and knowledge of the family’s taste; particularly in force-meats and seasonings.

SUET.—When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton, are brought in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to clarify. Chopped fine and mixed with flour, if tied down in a jar, it will keep ten days or a fortnight. If there be more suet than will be used while fresh, throw it into pickle, made in the proportion of one quarter pound of salt to a quart of cold water, and it will be as good afterwards for any use, when soaked a little.

To remove the taint of meat, wash it several times in cold water; then put it into plenty of cold water, into which throw several pieces of red-hot charcoal. If you fear meat will not keep till the time it is wanted, par-roast or par-boil it, that is, partly cook it; it will then keep two days longer, when it may be dressed as usual, but in rather less time.

When meat is frozen it should be brought into the kitchen and laid at some distance from the fire, early in the morning; or soak the meat in cold water two or three hours before it is used; putting it near the fire, or into warm water, till thawed, should be avoided.

Meats become tenderer and more digestible, as well as better flavoured by hanging. In summer two days is enough for lamb and veal, and from three to four for beef and mutton. In cold weather, the latter may be kept for double that time.

Legs and shoulders should be hung _knuckle downwards_.

An effectual way of excluding the fly is by using a wire meat-safe, or by covering the joints with a long loose gauze or some thin cloth, and hanging them from the ceiling of an airy room. Pepper and ginger should be sprinkled on the parts likely to be attacked by the fly, but should be washed off before the joint is put to the fire.

A larder should always be placed on the north side of the house; the window may be closed with canvas, but wire is preferable. There should be a thorough draft of air through the room.

Articles that are likely to spoil should not be kept in or laid upon wood.

Warm, moist weather is the worse for keeping meat; the south wind is very unfavourable, and lightning very destructive; so that after their occurrence meat should be especially examined.

BOILING.—This is the most simple of all processes of cooking. Regularity and attention to time are the main secrets.

Much less heat is requisite to keep liquids boiling in copper and iron saucepans than in those made of tin.

There is frequently a great waste of fuel in cooking, which arises from boiling liquids fast, when they only require to boil slowly. Count Rumford (the inventor of the Rumford stove) states, that more than half the fuel used in kitchens is wasted in the above manner.

It is a sad waste to put fuel under a boiling pot. There is a degree of heat in water called the boiling point; and all the coals or wood in the world cannot make water hotter in an open vessel; _it can but boil_. By this waste, the cook not only loses time but spoils the cookery.

The average time for boiling fresh meat is from eighteen to twenty minutes for every pound: thus, a joint weighing six pounds will require from one hour and three-quarters to two hours boiling. Salted meat requires rather more boiling, and water; fresh killed meat longer time: and all meats longer in cold than warm weather. It is, however, better to be guided, for time, by the thickness of the joint than by its weight.

Dried or salted fish and meats require soaking in cold water before boiling.

Meat and poultry will lose their flavour and firmness, if left in the water after they are done; as will also fish, which will break to pieces.

The water in which fish, meat, or poultry has been boiled, should be saved; this pot-liquor, as it is called, may be made into soup.

Slow boiling is very important for all meats, to ensure their tenderness; fast boiling always makes them hard and tough, less plump, and of darker colour, than when they are boiled gradually.

Skimming the pot will alone ensure the good colour and sweetness of the meat; a little cold water and salt will aid in throwing up the scum: milk put into the pot does good in few cases only; and wrapping in a cloth is unnecessary, if the scum be carefully removed.

The lid of the saucepan should only be removed for skimming; and, before taking off the lid, be careful to blow from it any dust or blacks from the fire or chimney.

The joint should always be covered with water; above this quantity, the less water the more savoury will be the meat.

In some few instances, however, it may be necessary to boil the articles in a much larger quantity of water; a quart of water is mostly a good proportion to a pound of meat.

If meat be put into cold water, it should be heated gradually, so as not to cause it to boil in less than forty minutes; if it boil much sooner, the meat will shrink and be hardened, and not so freely throw up the scum.

Four skewers, or a plate, inside downwards, should be laid on the bottom of the saucepan, especially for large joints and puddings; so that they may be equally done, and escape burning or adhering to the saucepan.

When a pot boils, remove it nearly off the fire, but let the lid remain on; a very little heat will then keep up the boiling.

The time of boiling should be reckoned from the time bubbles begin to rise on the surface of the liquid; as the boiling continues, the water will evaporate, and in some cases it may be requisite to fill up the saucepan with boiling water.

VEGETABLES and meat are sometimes _steamed_: that is, they are put into vessels resembling cullenders, and being placed over boiling water, the steam from it rises through the holes of the vessel, and then through the vegetables and meat, which are thus as effectually boiled as if they were put into the boiling water.

ROASTING.—The success of every branch of cookery depends upon the good management of the kitchen fire: roasting, especially, requires a brisk, clear, and steady fire; if made up close to the bars of the grate.

The spit being wiped clean, the joint to be roasted should be carefully spitted even, and tied tight; and if it will not turn round well, balance skewers, with leaden heads, should be used; for, if the meat be not evenly spitted, it will probably be burned on one side, and not done on the other. Avoid running the spit through the prime parts of joints. Cradle spits answer best.

A leg of mutton should never be spitted, as the spit lets out the gravy, and leaves an unsightly perforation just as you are cutting into the pope’s eye.

Make up the roasting-fire three or four inches longer than the joint, else the ends of the meat will not be done.

In stirring the fire, be careful to remove the dripping-pan, else dust and ashes may fall in. On no account let the fire get dull and low, as a strong heat is requisite to brown the meat.

A thin joint requires a brisk fire; a large joint, a strong, sound, and even fire. When steam rises from the meat, it is done.

Large joints should be put at a moderate distance from the fire, and gradually brought nearer; else the meat will be over-done half-way through the joint, and be nearly raw at the bone.

Such meat as is not very fat should have paper placed over it, to prevent it from being scorched.

Do not sprinkle the meat with salt when first put down, as the salt draws out the gravy.

Old meats require more cooking than young. The longer the meat has been killed, the less time it requires to roast it. Very fat meat requires more time than usual.

The general rule is to allow fifteen minutes to a pound for roasting with a good fire, and ten or twenty minutes over, as the family like it well done or not.

Baste the meat first with fresh dripping, and then with its own fat or dripping: and within the last hour of roasting, take off the paper, and sprinkle the meat with salt and flour, to brown and froth it; but some cooks dredge the meat with flour earlier, so that it may imbibe the gravy, a practice which should be specially avoided.

The spit should be wiped dry immediately after it is drawn from the meat, and washed and scoured every time it is used.

Perfection in roasting is very difficult, and no certain rules can be given for it, as success depends on many circumstances which are continually changing: the age and size (especially the thickness) of the pieces, the quality of the coals, the weather, the currents of air in the kitchen, the more or less attention of the cook, and the time of serving, are all to be considered. Hence, epicures say of a well-roasted joint, “It is done to a turn.”

Roast meats should be sent to table the moment they are ready, if they are to be eaten in perfection.

BROILING.—Broiling requires a brisk and clear fire, proportioned to the article to be broiled; for example, mutton chops require a clear rather than a brisk fire, else the fat will be wasted before the lean is warmed through; but for a beef-steak, the fire can neither be too brisk nor clear, if the gridiron be placed at the proper distance. Fish requires a steady fire; as also does under-done meat.

Much, however, depends on the substance of the article to be broiled; if it be thick, it must be placed at a greater distance, at first, to warm it through; if thin, the fire must be brisk, else the meat will not be of a good colour.

The gridiron should be wiped clean after it has been used, so that the bars may be kept bright on top; they should be allowed to get hot before the article is laid on them, but not too hot, else they will burn the meat or fish; the latter, especially. To prevent this, the bars should be rubbed with fat.

A charcoal fire is best for broiling.

To prevent the fat dripping into the fire, set the gridiron aslant.

For turning the broiling article, use tongs, as a fork will let out the gravy. When the article is done, it will feel firm if touched with the tongs; by no means cut the meat to ascertain if it be done, as that will let out the gravy.

FRYING—is “to scorch something solid in fat, or oil,” or butter. Lard, clarified suet, or dripping, are well adapted for fish, eggs, potatoes, and meat generally. Olive oil is much used for fish; and the same oil will serve for more than one frying. Butter is used, but it is not as well adapted for frying as either of the other articles.

Be careful that the fat or oil is fresh, clean, and free from salt, else what you fry in it will be of a bad colour and flavour; salt will prevent it from browning.

Fat or oil, to be used again, should be strained through a sieve before it is set aside.

Fat becomes richer from having meat fried into it, and may be used repeatedly; but the fat that has been used for fish cannot be used again for meat.

The fat must have left off bubbling and be quite still before you put in the articles.

To prepare crumbs for frying, dry thoroughly in a warm oven, or before the fire, any waste pieces of bread; then pound them in a mortar and sift them, and put them away till wanted. This is much better than grating bread as it is needed, or using oatmeal, &c.

When you wish fried things to look as well as possible, do them _twice_ over with egg and crumbs.

If eggs be very dear, a little flour and water may be substituted for them in preparing fish to fry.