Chapter IV: Part 4

(2) Rub an ounce of butter into a handful of fine flour. Make it into a stiff, smooth paste with warm milk and the white of an egg beaten to a froth. Beat the paste with a rolling-pin for half an hour or longer, for the delicacy of the biscuits depends upon the length of time they are beaten. Then take small pieces of the paste and roll them out to the size of a saucer. They must be so thin as to be almost transparent. Bake the biscuits very lightly.

Water biscuits are often liked at dinner instead of bread or toast.

ICE CREAMS

VERY good small refrigerators may now be bought, and are very useful both for the manufacture of ice and of ice creams, as well as for freezing puddings or cooling drinks. The following recipes are for a few of the more popular ice creams.

_To make Strawberry Ice Cream._—To three-quarters of a pound of strawberries add half a pound of sugar (or a pound of strawberry jam may be used instead of fruit and sugar), and rub through a hair sieve. Add a pint of rich cream, and very little cochineal. Well mix, and freeze. Raspberry ice cream may be made in the same way.

_To make Vanilla Ice Cream._—Make a custard with the yolks of five eggs and a pint of milk, and add two ounces of castor sugar and a little vanilla. Cool, and partly freeze. Then add and well mix half a pint of cream, and freeze.

_To make Maraschino Ice Cream._—Mix a pint of cream, a quarter of a pound of castor sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and two wine-glassfuls of maraschino, and freeze.

_To make Coffee Ice Cream._—Mix half a pint of very strong, good coffee with the yolks of six eggs, six ounces of castor sugar, and a pint of cream, and freeze.

_To make Lemon Ice Cream._—Rub castor sugar over the rind of two lemons, making the sugar up to six ounces. Mix this sugar with the juice of the lemons and a pint of cream, and freeze.

FOOD FOR INVALIDS

IT may not be out of place to give a few well-tried recipes for the benefit of invalids.

_Beef-tea._—Procure beef which has been freshly killed. Take one pound of beef free from the least particle of fat, gristle, sinew, or skin. Mince it with a knife, not with a machine. Put the beef into one pint of cold water, and stir for ten minutes. Bring it to the boil, and boil it for half an hour, never ceasing to stir it. Strain, and add a dust of salt only. Serve with strips of dry toast, and salt in a salt-cellar.

_Cold Beef-tea._—This can be digested by persons who cannot take the usual beef-tea. Mince one pound of raw beef as finely as possible. Pour upon it one quart of boiling water. Plunge the jar in a deep saucepan ready filled with boiling water. Set it near the fire, but not so close as to make it simmer. Draw the saucepan gradually away from the fire, and let the beef-tea get nearly cold. Then strain it through muslin, and after that filter it through clean white blotting-paper. Serve cold.

_Chicken Broth._—Roast a chicken for fifteen minutes, not longer. Cut it into slices, and put it into a saucepan with three pints of cold water. Season very lightly with pepper and salt. Bring it gradually to the boil, and let it simmer very gently. An old fowl will take from four to six hours, a young one will need three hours. Strain, and take off every particle of fat. The previous roasting of the chicken is a great improvement. If the broth is liked thick, simmer in it two ounces of crushed tapioca or sago.

_Nourishing Broth._—Make the chicken broth as in the foregoing recipe, but when the chicken is put into the saucepan to simmer, add to it two pounds of fresh shin of beef, without fat, and cook the chicken and beef together. Or, if the chicken cannot be had, use a knuckle of veal. Put the beef and veal into five quarts of cold water. Add a little salt, bring the broth to the boil, and simmer slowly. The beef and veal must be simmered in five quarts of water till this is gradually reduced to three pints of broth. Strain, and remove any fat.

_Chicken Food for an Invalid._—Take a good chicken and remove all the white meat. Cut up the remainder into small pieces, and stew it in a quart of water till it is reduced one-third. Let it cool. Then remove every particle of fat or grease. Put in the white meat of the chicken, and simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Then pound it to a paste in a mortar. Return the pounded meat to the broth, and again simmer as gently as possible for fifteen minutes more. Season with just a dust of pepper and salt, and serve cold in a small mould.

_Mutton Cutlet for an Invalid._—Take three of the nicest cutlets from the best part of a neck of mutton. Trim one cutlet very neatly, and trim the other two so that when placed together the outer cutlets will project beyond the middle one. Tie the three together, the cutlet intended for the invalid being in the centre. Turn all three with cutlet-tongs over and over till they are done. All the gravy will be concentrated in the middle cutlet. Send this to the invalid on a hot-water plate, and use the other cutlets in the dining-room.

_Savoury Custard for an Invalid._—Take two eggs, using both whites and both yolks, and the yolks only of two more eggs. Beat them well with one gill of clear beef-tea, but do not add any salt. Put the custard into a well-buttered basin, cover the top with a buttered paper, set the basin in a pan of boiling water, and let it steam slowly. It will take about fifteen minutes. Let the custard get quite cold, then turn it out and cut it into diamonds with a cutter. Serve salt and pepper with the custard.

_The Invalid’s Yorkshire Pudding._—Mix the yolks of two eggs into two good table-spoonfuls of flour. Beat the whites of the eggs lightly, and stir all together. Bake for ten minutes in rather a quick oven.

_Restorative Jelly._—Take two ounces of isinglass [in these days gelatine must be used], two ounces of white sugar candy, and half an ounce of gum arabic, grated. Steep these ingredients in a pint of port wine poured over them in an earthenware jar. Let it stand twelve hours. Put the jar in a saucepan of cold water, and let the water get gradually warm. Then simmer as slowly as possible, and continue simmering till the isinglass or gelatine is quite melted. The jelly will be thick. Do not strain it, but break up a table-spoonful at a time for use.

_Rice Jelly._—Well wash half a pound of Carolina rice and boil it with a strip of lemon-peel for one hour in two quarts of water. Pass it through a sieve, and let it cool. When cold it will be a firm jelly. Add one pint of milk to the rice jelly, and boil all together till the rice resembles thickened milk. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Strain it, sweeten it a little, and serve warm.

_Calves’-foot Jelly._—This is much better when the “set” of feet is prepared at home and not sent in ready for use by the butcher. First wash each foot separately and very thoroughly, then scald each in boiling water, and scrape off all the hair. Remove any fat from the clefts of the hoof. Put the feet into a stone jar, cover them with one gallon of cold water, bring it to the boil, and then either let it simmer for six hours or tie stout brown paper over the jar, and put it into the oven for three hours. Then strain the jelly through a sieve into an earthenware bowl. Let it get cold, then take off the fat at the top. Break up the jelly, being careful not to touch the sediment at the bottom of the bowl. The four feet ought to yield about two quarts of jelly. Do not clear the jelly, but add a little lemon juice as flavouring. Some invalids like a little of this jelly warmed as broth; in this case omit the lemon-peel, and use as flavouring a tea-spoonful of thyme leaves finely minced and sewn up in a bit of muslin, removing the muslin before the jelly is strained.

_Clear Barley Water._—Wash one pound of pearl barley very thoroughly, using fresh water two or three times. Put the barley into a quart jug with one lump of sugar. Fill the jug with boiling water, and let it stand to get cold. The barley will settle at the bottom, and the liquid will be clear. Pare the rind of a lemon as thinly as possible, put it into a breakfast-cup, pour boiling water upon it, and let it stand half an hour. Strain the liquid, put it into a glass jug, pour the barley water upon it, and set the jug on ice before serving.

_Toast and Water._—This refreshing and nutritious drink must be freshly made, as it soon turns sour. Toast a thin slice of bread very slowly and carefully till it becomes very hard and brown, but not scorched or blackened. Put it into a jug, and pour upon it one quart of freshly drawn cold water. Cover the jug, and let the toast soak for one hour. Then take out the toast, and pour the water into the jug it is to be served in. Toast and water does not generally need straining, but it must be served quite cold.

_American Crust Coffee._—Cut some thin slices of stale bread, and bake them in the oven till they are quite dark brown. Pound the slices in a mortar. Boil one ounce of bread-crumbs in half a pint of water, using a small saucepan. Take it off the fire, let it stand for a few minutes, and then strain the liquid through a fine tin strainer into a tumbler or breakfast-cup. Serve it hot. This is quite as nutritious as toast and water.

PERFUMES

_To make Sweet-Jar or Pot-Pourri._—Take six pounds of bay-salt, beaten fine, twenty-four sweet-bay leaves, torn into strips, a handful of myrtle leaves, of the red part of clove carnations, of syringa or orange-blossom separated from the green calyx, of violets picked from their stalks, six handfuls of lavender blossoms, a handful of sweet verbena leaves, of thyme, of balm, of sweet marjoram, and of rosemary. Dry all these on a sheet spread in a sunny room. Then put them all into a large china jar, sprinkling the pounded bay-salt thoroughly amongst both flowers and leaves. In a short time they will become moist. Stir the contents of the jar well every day for a month, adding a little bay-salt occasionally. Keep the jar in the sun, closely covered with a china lid. When the pot-pourri has been in the jar for a day or two, add four ounces of orris root sliced, two ounces of beaten cloves, and the rinds of three Seville oranges and of three lemons finely pared, cut into strips, and well beaten. Cover the jar as before. Jessamine flowers, myrtle or syringa, or orange flowers, well dried in the sun, can be added at any time to the pot-pourri. Never adulterate pot-pourri by scents bought at a shop.—_J. R._

_To make Eau-de-Cologne._—Mix together a pint of rectified spirits, an ounce of orange-flower water, two drams of oil of bergamot, two drams of oil of lemon, twenty minims of oil of rosemary, and twenty minims of oil of neroli. Allow the mixture to stand for a couple of months, thoroughly shaking at intervals. Filter, if necessary.

_To make Lavender Water without distillation._—Mix together a pint of rectified spirits, four ounces of distilled water, three drams of oil of lavender, three drams of orange-flower water, five minims each of oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon, and four minims of otto of roses. Allow this mixture to stand for a fortnight, then filter through carbonate of magnesia, and bottle. Keep for three months before using.

_To make Aromatic Vinegar for Smelling Bottles._—Digest in a bottle for four days, with frequent shaking, a mixture of a pint of acetic acid (90 per cent.), one ounce each of dried lavender flowers, thyme, and rosemary, and twenty grains each of powdered cloves and cinnamon. Strain, filter through blotting-paper, and bottle.

_To make Toilet Vinegar._—Mix an ounce of pure acetic acid with a pint of water, and digest therein, for two or three weeks, four ounces of fresh, or two ounces of dried, fragrant flowers or leaves. Among the best for the purpose are rose petals, lavender, elder blossom, rosemary, and thyme.

_Scent Bags_ may be made with almost any dry fragrant leaves or flowers, such as the scented leaves of geraniums, lavender flowers, rose petals, and so on. These are tied up in linen bags, and placed in cushions, or suspended in wardrobes or cupboards. A good recipe is a pound of lavender flowers, two ounces of thyme, an ounce of ground cloves, and two ounces of salt. A more elaborate recipe is as follows: Grind into a coarsely powdered mixture a pound of orris root, a quarter of a pound each of rose petals, lavender flowers, and sandalwood shavings, two ounces of benzoin, a dram each of otto of roses and oil of cloves, a dram of musk, and half an ounce of vanilla pods.

_To make Incense._—Coarsely powder and mix together a pound each of gum benzoin and frankincense, a quarter of a pound each of cascarilla and gum myrrh, and half an ounce of cinnamon.

_To make Aromatic or Fumigating Pastils._—Mix together the following ingredients, all having been separately powdered: two pounds of charcoal, one pound each of frankincense and gum benzoin, and half a pound of gum storax. Add to the mixed powders, four ounces of syrup, six ounces of tincture of benzoin, two ounces each of oil of almonds and essence of ambergris, and one ounce of essence of musk. Make the resultant paste into cones, adding a little warm water if required.

_To make Aromatic Pastils. Another Recipe._—Mix together 125 parts of gum benzoin, 25 parts of balsam of tolu, 100 parts of powdered sanderswood, and 1 part each of nitre, oil of sandalwood, cinnamon, and cloves. Make into a paste with a solution of gum tragacanth (made by pouring 6 parts of warm water over 1 part of gum tragacanth, letting it stand a few days and then straining), and form into cones.

_To make Aromatic Pastils. Another Recipe._—Mix together 125 parts of charcoal, 25 parts each of cascarilla bark and gum benzoin, 12 parts of nitre, 10 parts of myrrh, and 5 parts each of oil of cloves and oil of nutmeg. Make into a paste with a solution of gum tragacanth.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES

_FURNITURE Polish._—Mix together one pint of linseed oil, half a pint of vinegar, and two table-spoonfuls of turpentine. Rub it well in with a flannel, and then thoroughly polish with a duster. Never leave the furniture sticky, but rub it till it is quite bright and clean.

The best polish for oak is made by melting a pound of beeswax in a pint of turpentine. It must be used when it is of the consistency of dripping.

If a polished table or tray has been marked by a hot dish, cover the place with beeswax and turpentine mixed together, and leave it for one hour. Then rub off the beeswax with a leather. Should the hot dish have scorched the wood, darken the place with a little linseed oil, and then polish it.

For brass, use Putz’ German Pomade. Rub it well on, and then polish the brass thoroughly with a leather.—_J. R._

_To destroy the Smell of Paint in Rooms._—Place in each room a pail of water in which two or three handfuls of hay are immersed. At the end of six hours the hay will have absorbed much of the smell of the paint. Burn the hay, throw away the water, and repeat the process as often as required.—_J. R._

_To destroy Flies._—Take half a tea-spoonful of freshly ground black pepper, a tea-spoonful of brown sugar, and a tea-spoonful of cream. Mix all well together, and put it on a plate. The flies in the room will soon disappear.—_J. R._

_To destroy Black Beetles._—The Union Cockroach Paste, invented by Mr. Howarth, F.Z.S., for use in the workhouse at Sheffield when it was infested with black beetles, never fails in its effect. It is sold in tins by Mr. Hewitt, Chemist, 66, Division Street, Sheffield.—_J. R._

_To make a Cement for China or Glass._—Mix thoroughly two and a half ounces of white of egg with one ounce of finely powdered quicklime, carefully adding an ounce of water and five and a half ounces of plaster of Paris. This cement should be used as soon as made.

_To make Stick-fast Paste._—Dissolve a quarter of a pound of gum arabic in half a pint of water, and carefully mix therewith an ounce of sugar and three ounces of starch. Heat in a water-bath till it becomes clear. Add half a dram of oil of cloves and allow to cool.

_To make Baking-powder._—Mix together ten ounces of bicarbonate of soda, eight ounces of tartaric acid, and a pound of corn-flour, ground-rice, or wheat-flour. Thoroughly mix the powders, pass through a sieve, and store.

It is essential that the several materials used in the preparation of baking-powder shall be separately fire-dried with thoroughness previously to being mixed. The presence of the smallest quantity of dampness renders the mixture quite inoperative. Baking-powder should therefore be carefully stored in air-tight boxes or bins.

_To keep Cut Flowers fresh_, they should be supplied with fresh water every morning, when also a tiny bit of the end of the stem should be cut off and the whole stem gently wiped with a cloth. No leaves should be left on that part of the stem which is under water.

INDEX

ABSINTHE, 104
Ale, 71-76
” cup, 117
” mulled, 122
Anchovy sauce, 47
Angostura bitters, 112
Aniseed cordial, 105

BACON, PICKLE FOR, 28
Badminton, 117
Balm of Molucca, 112
Baking-powder, 150
Beauty water, 96
Beef, spiced, 24
” tea, 139
” Welsh, 25
Beer, home-brewed, 71-76
Beetles, to destroy, 153
Benedictine, 115
Biscuits, water, 136
Bishop, 117
Bitters, angostura, 112
” Hamburgh, 106
” orange, 115
Boston cooler, 118
Bottling of fruit and vegetables, 63-66
Brandy, cherry, 113
” cherries, 55
” cocktail, 118
” ginger, 114
” lemon, 114
” peaches, 56
Brewing, 71-76
Broth, 139, 140
Browning, gush about, 2
Butter, 9-15
” to pot, 14

CALVES’-FOOT JELLY, 142
Cassis, 113
Catsup, mushroom, 45
” tomato, 46
” walnut, 46
Champagne cobbler, 113
” cup, 118
Chartreuse, 106
Cheese, 16-22
” Camembert, 21
” Cheddar, 18
” cream, 19
” Gervais, 21
” Grewelthorp, 20
” Stilton, 16
” to pot, 22
Cherries, brandy, 55
Cherry brandy, 113
Churning, 12
Cider, 77-79
” cup, 118
Cinnamon cordial, 106
Claret cup, 118
” mulled, 123
Clove cordial, 106
Cobbett, William, on pietistic and other cant, 71-73
Cobbler, champagne, 118
” Saratoga, 125
” sherry, 126
Cocktail, brandy, 118
Coffee, 119, 136
Cordials, 102-116
Crambambuli, 120
Cream, 9-15
” clotted, 11
” curds, 15
Crême de cacao, 113
” ” café, 113
” ” menthe, 114
Crust coffee, 143
Curaçoa, 114
Curry powder, 45
Custard, savoury, 141
Cutlet, mutton, 140

DAMSON CHEESE, 55
Distilling, 92-111
Drying of fruit and vegetables, 67-70

EAU-DE-COLOGNE, 145
Egg-and-brandy mixture, 120
Egg flip, 120
” nog, 120
Eggs, to preserve, 32
Essences, 96-102
Evaporating of fruit and vegetables, 67-70

FILBERTS, STORING OF, 62
Fish, to pickle, 31
” to pot, 30
” to salt, 31
” to smoke, 31
Flies, to destroy, 149
Flowers, cut, to keep fresh, 151
Fruit, bottling of, 63-66
” drink, 121
” drying of, 67-70
” Macédoine, 130
” storing, 57-62
” syrups, 65
Furniture polish, 149

GARDEN PARTY, REFRESHMENTS AT, 128-136
Gin fizz, 121
” punch, 124
” sling, 121
Ginger beer, 89
” brandy, 114
Gingerbread loaf, 135

HAM, 26
” to boil, 28
” to cure, 27
” to steam, 29
Hamburgh bitters, 108
Henry VIII., appreciator of pudding, 2
Herbs, gathering and drying, 62
Housewifery, a plea for, 1-8
Hughes, Tom, on life, beer and skittles, 117
Hydromel, 89

ICE CREAMS, 137, 138
Incense, 147
Invalids, food for, 139-144

JAMS, 48-56
Jellies, fruit, 52
Jelly, apple, 52
” blackberry, 54
” cranberry, 53
” currant, 53, 54
” Scotch, 54
” calves’-foot, 142
” restorative, 141
” rice, 142
Julep, 122

KING, DR., HIS APPEAL TO THE ALE-WIFE, 76
Kirschenwasser, 108
Kummel, 108

LA MASUBAL, 121
Lavender, gathering and drying, 62
” water, 96, 146
Lemon brandy, 114
Lemon cordial, 111, 114
Lemonade, 121
Long drink, 121

MACÉDOINE OF FRUIT, 130
Markham, Gervase, on the vertues of a compleate woman, 6
Marmalade, crab-apple, 52
” orange, 50, 51
” quince, 51
Mead, 87-89
Meat, pickling, 23-30
” to pot, 30
Medlars, storing of, 61
Merissah, 87
Metheglin, 87-89
Milk, 9-15
” punch, 123
Mint julep, 122
Mulled ale, 122
” claret, 123
Mushroom catsup, 45
Mustard, 40
” aromatic, 42
” Düsseldorf, 42
” Frankfort, 42
” French, 41
” Jesuits’, 42
” spiced, 41
” with horseradish, 40

NOYAU, 111

ORANGE BITTERS, 115
” cordial, 111

PAINT, TO REMOVE THE SMELL OF, 149
Pastils, aromatic, 148
Paste, stick-fast, 150
Peaches, brandy, 56
Perfumes, 145-148
Pickle for bacon, 28
Pickling apples, 38
” apricots, 38
” barberries, 38
Pickling bean pods, 38
” beetroot, 38
” cabbage, 34
” cauliflower, 38
” damsons, 38
” fish, 31
” gherkins, 36
” meat, 23-30
” mushrooms, 38
” nasturtium seeds, 37
” onions, 38
” peaches, 38
” pears, 38
” plums, 37
” samphire, 37
” shallots, 34
” tomatoes, 36, 37
” vegetables, 33-39
” walnuts, 36
Picnic, refreshments at, 128-136
Pigs’ cheeks, to cure, 28
Polish, for furniture, etc., 149
Potting fish, 30
” meat, 30
” shrimps, 31
Pot-pourri, 145
Preserves, 48-56
Punch, 123, 124
Purl, 124

RASPBERRY VINEGAR, 125
Rice jelly, 142
Rosemary water, 96
Rum shrub, 115

SANDWICHES, 128-132
Sauce, anchovy, 47
” piquant, 46, 47
Sauerkraut, 38
Salad dressing, 47
Saratoga cobbler, 125
Sausages, to cook, 26
” to make, 25
Scent-bags, 146
Shandy-gaff, 125
Sherbet, 125
Sherry cobbler, 126
Shrimps, to pot, 31
Shrub brandy, 112
” rum, 115
Sighs of love, 115
Sloe gin, 116
Spiced beef, 24
Spruce, beer, 90
Storing of fruit and herbs, 57-62
Sweet-jar, 145
Swift, on the necessity of cordials, 112
Syllabub, 126

TEA, COLD, 133-135
Tent, 116
Tewahdiddle, 126
Toast and water, 143
Tomato catsup, 46

USQUEBAUGH, 116

VEGETABLES, BOTTLING OF, 63-66
” drying of, 67-70
Vermouth, 116
Vinegar, toilet, 146
” aromatic, for smelling bottles, 142
” aromatic table, 44, 45
” spiced table, 44

WALNUTS, STORING OF, 62
Walnut catsup, 46
Wassail, 126
Water biscuits, 136
Waters, aromatic, 96
Welsh beef, 25
Wine, cowslip, 86
” damson, 87
” date, 87
” elderberry, 90
” gooseberry, 85
” lemon, 86
” making, 80-91
” rhubarb, 87
Wines, aromatic, 45

YORKSHIRE PUDDING, 141

* * * * *

Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page xii, “Pellican” changed to “Pellicane” (named the Pellicane)

Page 49, “degress” changed to “degrees” (sugar by degrees)

Page 146, “dr” changed to “dry” (almost any dry)