The Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and
Hints to Young Housekeepers, by Elizabeth E. Lea
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Title: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers
Author: Elizabeth E. Lea
Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9101]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on September 6, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOMESTIC COOKERY ***
Produced by Steve Schulze and Distributed Proofreaders
DOMESTIC COOKERY, USEFUL RECEIPTS, AND HINTS TO YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS.
BY ELIZABETH E. LEA
"The Source of Liberal Deeds is Wise Economy."
ADVERTISEMENT TO THIRD EDITION.
This Work having passed through two editions, and having met with a very
favorable reception, the Authoress has been induced to thoroughly revise
and re-arrange the whole work. Numerous additions have also been made,
particularly under the heads Miscellaneous Receipts and Hints to Young
Housekeepers, which she hopes will be found to have enhanced its value.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS.
The compiler of "Useful Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers" having
entered early in life upon a train of duties, was frequently embarrassed
by her ignorance of domestic affairs. For, whilst receipt books for
elegant preparations were often seen, those connected with the ordinary,
but far more useful part of household duties, were not easily procured;
thus situated, she applied to persons of experience, and embodied the
information collected in a book, to which, since years have matured her
judgment, she has added much that is the result of her own experiments.
Familiar, then, with the difficulties a young housekeeper encounters,
when she finds herself in reality the mistress of an establishment,
the Authoress offers to her young countrywomen this Work, with the
belief that, by attention to its contents, many of the cares
attendant on a country or city life, may be materially lessened; and
hoping that the directions are such as to be understood by the most
inexperienced, it is respectfully dedicated to those who feel an
interest in domestic affairs.
MEATS AND POULTRY.
To Boil Fresh Meat.
In boiling fresh meat, care is necessary to have the water boiling all
the time it is in the pot; if the pot is not well scummed, the
appearance of the meat will be spoiled.
Mutton and beef are preferred, by some, a little rare; but pork and veal
should always be well done. A round of beef that is stuffed, will take
more than three hours to boil, and if not stuffed, two hours or more,
according to the size; slow boiling is the best. A leg of mutton
requires from two to three hours boiling, according to the size; a
fore-quarter from an hour to an hour and a half; a quarter of lamb,
unless, very large, will boil in an hour. Veal and pork will take rather
longer to boil than mutton.
All boiled fresh meat should have drawn butter poured over it, after it
is dished, and be garnished with parsley.
The liquor that fresh meat, or poultry, is boiled in, should be saved,
as an addition of vegetables, herbs, and dumplings make a nourishing
soup of it.
A large turkey will take three hours to boil--a small one half that
time; secure the legs to keep them from bursting out; turkeys should be
blanched in warm milk and water; stuff them and rub their breasts with
butter, flour a cloth and pin them in. A large chicken that is stuffed
should boil an hour, and small ones half that time. The water should
always boil before you put in your meat or poultry. When meat is
frozen, soak it in cold water for several hours, and allow more time in
the cooking.
To Boil a Turkey.
Have the turkey well cleaned and prepared for cooking, let it lay in
salt and water a few minutes; fill it with bread and butter, seasoned
with pepper, salt, parsley and thyme; secure the legs and wings, pin it
up in a towel, have the water boiling, and put it in, put a little salt
in the water; when half done, put in a little milk. A small turkey will
boil in an hour and a quarter, a middle sized in two hours, and a large
one in two and a half or three hours; they should boil moderately all
the time; if fowls boil too fast, they break to pieces--half an hour
will cook the liver and gizzard, which should be put round the turkey;
when it is dished, have drawn butter, with an egg chopped and put in it,
and a little parsley; oyster sauce, and celery sauce are good, with
boiled turkey or chicken.
To Boil Beef Tongue, Corned Beef &c.
If the tongue is dry, let it soak for several hours, put it to boil in
cold water, and keep it boiling slowly for two hours; but if it is just
out of the pickle, the water should boil when it goes in.
Corned or pickled beef, or pork, require longer boiling than that which
is dry; you can tell when it is done by the bones coming out easily.
Pour drawn butter over it when dished.
To Boil a Ham.
A large ham should boil three or four hours very slowly; it should be
put in cold water, and be kept covered during the whole process; a small
ham will boil in two hours. All bacon requires much the same
management,--and if you boil cabbage or greens with it, skim all the
grease off the pot before you put them in. Ham or dried beef, if very
salt, should be soaked several hours before cooking, and should be
boiled in plenty of water.
To Boil Calf's Head.
Cut the upper from the lower jaw, take out the brains and eyes, and
clean the head well; let it soak in salt and water an hour or two; then
put it in a gallon of boiling water, take off the scum as it rises, and
when it is done, take out the bones; dish it, and pour over a sauce,
made of butter and flour, stirred into half a pint of the water it was
boiled in; put in a chopped egg, a little salt, pepper, and fine
parsley, when it is nearly done. You can have soup of the liquor, with
dumplings, if you wish.
To Boil Veal.
Have a piece of the fore quarter nicely washed and rubbed with Hour;
let it boil fast; a piece of five pounds will boil in an hour and a
half; dish it up with drawn butter. Oyster sauce is an improvement to
boiled veal.
Roasting Meat.
Roasting either meat or poultry requires more attention than boiling or
stewing; it is very important to baste it frequently, and if the meat
has been frozen, it should have time to thaw before cooking. Beef,
veal, or mutton, that is roasted in a stove or oven requires more flour
dredged on it than when cooked before the fire in a tin kitchen. There
should be but little water in the dripping pan, as that steams the meat
and prevents its browning; it is best to add more as the water
evaporates, and where there is plenty of flour on the meat it
incorporates with the gravy and it requires no thickening; add a little
seasoning before you take up the gravy. Meat that has been hanging up
some time should be roasted in preference to boiling, as the fire
extracts any taste it may have acquired. To rub fresh meat with salt
and pepper will prevent the flies from troubling it, and will make it
keep longer.
To Roast a Turkey--to make Gravy, &c.
A very large turkey will take three hours to roast, and is best done
before the fire in a tin oven. Wash the turkey very clean, and let it
lay in salt and water twenty minutes, but not longer, or it changes the
color; rub the inside with salt and pepper; have ready a stuffing of
bread and butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, an onion,
if agreeable, and an egg; if the bread is dry, moisten it with boiling
water; mix all well together, and fill the turkey; if you have fresh
sausage, put some in the craw; have a pint of water in the bottom of the
dripping pan or oven, with some salt and a spoonful of lard, or butter;
rub salt, pepper and butter over the breast; baste it often, and turn it
so that each part will be next the fire.
Gravy may be made from the drippings in the oven by boiling it in a
skillet, with thickening and seasoning. Hash gravy should be made by
boiling the giblets and neck in a quart of water, which chop fine,
then season and thicken; have both the gravies on the table in
separate tureens.
Cranberry and damson sauce are suitable to eat with roast poultry.
To Roast a Goose.
Make a stuffing of bread, butter, salt, pepper, sage, thyme and
onions; it requires but little butter, as geese are generally fat;
wash it well in salt and water, wipe it, and rub the inside with salt
and pepper. A common sized goose will roast in an hour, and a small
one in less time; pour off nearly all the fat that drips from the
goose, as it will make the gravy too rich. Make hash gravy of the
giblets the same as for turkey.
Ducks.
Wild ducks are generally cooked without stuffing, and for those that
like them rare, fifteen or twenty minutes will be long enough; for
common ducks, a stuffing should be made the same as for a goose; they
will roast in half an hour. Currant jelly and apple sauce should be
eaten with ducks and geese.
Chickens.
A large fowl will roast in an hour, and a small one in half an hour;
boil the livers and gizzards in a skillet with a pint of water; thicken
and season for gravy. The breasts of the chickens should be rubbed with
butter or lard to keep them from breaking. Tie the legs in, to keep them
from bursting out. When butter is scarce, it is a good way to make rich
short cake to stuff poultry with; it will require nothing added but
pepper, parsley, &c.
To Roast Beef.
Season the beef with pepper and salt, and put it in the tin kitchen,
well skewered to the spit, with a pint of water in the bottom: baste and
turn it frequently, so that every part may have the fire. A very large
piece of beef will take three hours to roast; when it is done, pour the
gravy out into a skillet, let it boil, and thicken it with flour mixed
with water; if it be too fat, skim off the top, which will be useful for
other purposes.
To Roast Veal and Lamb.
Veal should be well seasoned, and rubbed with lard; when it begins to
brown, baste it with salt and water; a large loin will take from two to
three hours to roast, the thin part of the fore-quarter an hour; it
should be well done; boil up and thicken the gravy. A leg of veal or
mutton may be stuffed before baking. Lamb and mutton do not require to
be rubbed with lard, as they are generally fatter than veal; make the
gravy as for veal. A quarter of lamb will roast in an hour; a loin of
mutton in two hours.
To Roast a Pig--Hash Gravy, &c.
Have a pig of a suitable size, clean it well, and rub the inside with
pepper and salt. Make a stuffing of bread, butter, parsley, sage and
thyme; if the bread is stale, pour a little boiling water on it; mix
altogether; fill the pig, and sew it up with strong thread; put in the
skewers and spit, and tie the feet with twine; have a pint and a half of
water in the bottom of the tin kitchen, with a spoonful of lard and a
little salt, with this baste it and turn it, so as each part will have
the benefit of the fire. It should be basted until the skin begins to
get stiff with the heat of the fire; then grease it all over with butter
or lard, and continue to turn it before the fire, but baste no more, or
the skin will blister. A pig will take from two to three hours to roast,
according to the size; when it is done, pour the water out in a skillet;
season it and thicken it with flour and water. To make hash gravy, put
the liver and heart to boil in three pints of water; after they have
boiled an hour, chop them very fine, put them back in the pot and stir
in a thickening of flour and water, with salt, pepper, parsley and
thyme. Have the gravies in separate tureens on either side of the pig.
Apple sauce and cold slaw are almost indispensable with pig.
To Roast Pork.
After washing the pork, cut the skin in squares or stripes; season it
with salt and pepper, and baste it with salt and water; thicken, and
boil up the gravy.
To Bake a Stuffed Leg of Veal.
Cut off the shank, and make holes round the hone for stuffing, which
should be of bread and butter, the yelk of an egg, and seasoning; fill
the holes with this, and spread it over the top, with little pieces of
the fat of ham; dust salt and pepper over, put it in the dutch-oven, or
dripping pan, and bake it brown; put a pint of water in the bottom, and
if it should dry up, put in more; when it is done, dust in some flour
for the gravy. If done carefully, meat is almost as good roasted in the
stove as before the fire. If you let the gravy boil over in the stove,
it makes an unpleasant smell through the house, and spoils the flavor of
the meat. The ham of fresh pork is good, done in the same way.
To Bake a Pig's Head.
Have the head nicely cleaned, with the eyes taken out, and the ears cut
off; season it with salt and pepper; rub crumbs of bread over, with a
spoonful of lard; put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan, with a pint
of water; bake it an hour; thicken and season the gravy.
To Cook Pigeons.
Pigeons should be roasted about fifteen minutes before a quick fire;
as the meat is dry, they should have a rich stuffing, and be basted
with butter.
You may bake them in a dutch-oven or stew them in a pot, with water
enough to cover them, and some crumbs of bread or flour dusted over
them; let them cook slowly half an hour; mix together flour and water,
with salt, pepper, and parsley to season, and a lump of butter; stir
this in and let it boil up; put them in a deep dish and pour the gravy
over. Pigeons make a very nice pie in the same way as chickens.
To Bake a Ham.
Make a dressing of bread, seasoned with pepper and herbs, moisten it
with about five eggs, instead of water. Take a ham that has been cut at
the table, either fresh or salt, fill up the place where it has been
cut, and cover the top with the dressing, bake it half an hour, and
garnish it with parsley before sending it to the table.
To Bake Beef's Heart.
After washing the heart, make a rich stuffing with bread and suet,
highly seasoned; fill it with this, and put it in a dutch-oven, or the
dripping pan of a stove, with half a pint of water; let it bake an hour
and a half; the gravy will not need any thickening, as some of the
stuffing will fall out. Put the gravy in the dish.
Beef A la mode.
Take part of a round of beef, bone it, and make holes for stuffing,
which is made of bread, suet, thyme, parsley, chopped onions, mace,
cloves, pepper, salt and a raw egg; stuff the meat, bind it with tape,
and put it in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom to keep it from
burning; just cover it with water, and let it stew from three to four
hours according to the size.
Make gravy with some of the water it was stewed in, seasoned with claret
and butter, and thickened with flour. If you wish it to taste of any
other sort of wine, add a glass to the gravy.
Beef Steak.
Choose the tenderest part of beef, cut it an inch thick, broil it gently
over good coals, covered with a plate; have butter, salt, pepper, and a
little water in a dish; and when you turn the beef, dip it in this; be
careful to have as much of the juice as you can. When done, put it in a
warm dish, and pour the basting over, with some more butter.
Mutton Chops.
Cut some pieces of mutton, either with or without bone, about an inch
thick; have the gridiron hot, first rubbing it with a little suet; put
on the chops, turning them frequently, and butter and season them with
pepper and salt as you cook them; then dish them on a hot dish and add
more butter.
Rabbits and Squirrels.
Rabbits and squirrels, or birds, may be fried as chickens, or stewed in
a pot with a little water. If you make a pie of rabbits or squirrels,
they should be stewed first to make them tender, and then made in the
same way as chicken pie. Rabbits ace very good cooked with chopped
onions, in a pot with a little water, and thickening of milk and flour
stirred in when they are nearly done. Squirrels make very good soup.
To Fry Ham.
Slice the ham and if it is very salt, pour boiling water on it, and let
it soak a while; then fry it with a small piece of lard; when done, dish
it; mix together flour, milk, parsley and pepper, let it boil, and pour
it over the ham.
To Fry Beef with Kidney.
Cut the kidney in small pieces; take out all the strings and let it
soak several hours in salt and water; wash and drain it; season some
pieces of beef and kidney, and put them in a frying pan, with hot lard
or drippings of any kind; dust a little flour over; when it is fried
on both sides, take it up in a dish; mix a spoonful of flour in some
water with salt and pepper, and pour in; when it has boiled, pour it
over the beef.
To Fry Liver.
Liver should be cut across the grain in slices about half an inch thick;
pour boiling water over it, drain and season it with pepper and salt;
flour each piece and drop it in a frying-pan of hot bacon drippings; do
not fry it any longer than it is done, or it will he hard; take it up in
a dish, make gravy as for beef, and pour over it.
Veal Cutlets.
Cut the veal in slices near an inch thick; wash, drain, and season it;
beat up an egg, and have ready some pounded crackers or bread crumbs;
dip the slices first in the egg, and then in the bread, and fry them in
hot lard; mix a gravy of flour and water, with salt, pepper and parsley;
when the veal is taken up, pour it in; let it boil a few minutes and
pour it over the dish, and grate a little nutmeg over.
To Fry Veal, Lamb or Pork.
Cut up the meat in thin slices, and season it; dip it in flour and drop
it in a pan of hot lard; when brown, take it up, and make gravy with
flour, milk, parsley, pepper and salt, which stir in.
To Stew Veal, Lamb or Pork.
Cut the meat small, season it, and put it in a pot with water enough to
cover it; let it cook for half an hour; then pour in thickening of flour
and milk, with parsley and thyme, and a piece of butter, (if the meat is
not fat;) take it up in a deep dish.
Brains and Tongue.
Pour boiling water on the brains, and skin them; tie them tight in a
cloth, and boil them and the tongue with the head; when done put them on
a plate, chop three leaves of green sage fine, and beat up with the
brains, spread them round a small dish, and after skinning the tongue,
place it in the middle.
Veal Hash.
Take the lights, heart, and some of the liver, boil them in a pint of
water, when done, take them out and chop them fine, season it with salt,
pepper and a little sweet marjoram, put it hack in the pot, and thicken
it with butter and flour. Let it boil a few minutes, and dish it in a
small tureen.
Brain Cakes.
When the head is cloven, take out the brains and clear them of strings,
beat them up with the yelks of two eggs, some crumbs of bread, pepper,
salt, fine parsley, a spoonful of cream, and a spoonful of flour; when
they are well mixed, drop them with a spoon into a frying-pan with a
little hot butter, and fry them of a light-brown color.
Force Meat Balls.
Take a pound of veal, half a pound of suet, two slices of ham, and some
crumbs of bread, chop them very fine, and put in the yelks of two eggs,
season it with parsley, thyme, mace, pepper and salt, roll it into small
balls, and fry them brown. They are nice to garnish hashes, roast veal
or cutlets, and to put in soup.
To Fry Veal's Liver.
Cut the liver and heart across the grain, wash it well, pour boiling
water on, and let it stand a few minutes, then drain and season it with
salt and pepper, flour it and drop it in hot lard; when it is brown on
both sides, dish it, dust a little flour in the pan, and pour in some
water, let it boil a minute, stirring in a seasoning of parsley, thyme,
or sweet marjoram; pour the gravy over the liver. This is a good
breakfast dish.
To Fry Veal Sweet Breads.
Dip them in the yelk of an egg beaten, then in a mixture of grated
bread, or flour and salt and pepper, fry them a nice brown.
To Stew Sweet Breads.
Stew them in a little water, with butter, flour, and a little cream;
season with salt, pepper, parsley and thyme.
To Brown A Calf's Head With The Skin On.
After scalding and washing the head clean, take out the eyes, cut off
the ears, and let it boil half an hour, when cold, cleave the upper from
the lower jaw, take out the tongue, strike off the nose, score the part
which has the skin on, rub it over with beaten egg, sprinkle it over
with salt, parsley, cayenne and black pepper, lay pieces of butter over
it, and put it in a dutch-oven to brown, basting it often, cut down the
lower part in slices, skin the tongue and palate, and cut them up, put
them in a pot with a little water, when done, thicken it with brown
flour and butter, season it with pepper, salt, some pickled oysters,
wine or brandy (if you like it,) and let it stew fifteen minutes. Lay
the baked head in a dish and put the hash around it, and lay force meat
balls or brain cakes round the edge of the dish.
Bacon Fraise.
Cut streaked bacon in small thin slices, make a batter of a pint of
milk, two eggs, and two large spoonsful of flour; some salt and pepper;
put some lard or dripping in a frying-pan, and when it is hot pour in
half of the batter, and strew the bacon over it; then pour on the
remainder of the batter; let it fry gently, and be careful in turning,
that the bacon does not come to the pan.
Irish Stew.
Take five thick mutton chops, or two pounds of the neck or loin, two
pounds of potatoes, peel them and cut them in halves, six onions or half
a pound of onions, peel and slice them also. First put a layer of
potatoes at the bottom of your stew-pan, then a couple of chops and some
onions, then again potatoes, and so on till the pan is quite full;
season with pepper and salt, and three gills of broth or gravy, and two
tea-spoonsful of mushroom catsup; cover it very close to prevent the
escape of steam, and stew on a slow fire for an hour and a half; a slice
of ham is an addition. Great care should be taken not to let it brown.
To Brown Flour for Gravy, &c.
Put some flour in a dutch-oven and set it over some hot coals; keep
stirring it until it is of a light-brown color; in this way several
pounds can be done at once, and kept in a jar covered; and is very
convenient to thicken brown soups and gravies with.
Drawn Butter.
Put half a pint of water in a skillet; rub a quarter of a pound of
butter in a large spoonful of flour; when the water boils, stir it in
and let it boil a few minutes, season it with parsley, chopped fine.
Stuffing or Dressing.
Stuffing for poultry is made of bread and butter, an egg, salt, pepper,
chopped parsley or thyme, mixed together; if the bread is dry, it should
have a little boiling water poured on it.
Egg Sauce.
This is made as drawn butter, with one or two eggs boiled hard and
chopped into it, and a little salt.
Celery Sauce.
Take a large bunch of celery, cut it fine, and boil it till soft, in a
pint of water; thicken it with butter and flour, and season it with
salt, pepper, and mace.
Bacon Dumplings.
Cut slices of cooked bacon, and pepper them; roll out crust as for apple
dumplings; slice some potatoes very thin, and put them in the crust with
the meat; close them up, and let them boil fast an hour; when done, take
them out carefully with a ladle.
Drop Dumplings.
These are good for almost any kind of soup, and may be made of a quart
of flour, two eggs, a spoonful of butter, some salt and pepper, wet with
milk and water; drop them in while it is boiling, and let them boil ten
or fifteen minutes.
Vermicelli.
Beat three fresh eggs very light, make them into a stiff paste, with
flour and water; knead it well, and roll it very thin, cut it in narrow
strips, give them a twist, and dry them quickly, on tin sheets or
dishes, in the sun or a moderate oven; soak them a few minutes in cold
water, and put them in chicken soup. They are very good and convenient.
Hash made of Fowls.
Take the bones and pieces that have been left of roast or boiled fowls,
either turkeys or chickens, crack the bones, cut off the meat, and chop
it fine, put it in a small iron pot, or stew pan, cover it with water,
put in the gravy that may be left from the fowls, season with pepper and
salt, put in some chopped celery, crumbs of bread, a lump of butter, and
if it requires it, dust in a little flour, if you like it you may slice
in an onion.
Beef Steak Pudding.
Take two pounds of beef from the round or sirloin, and after taking out
the bone, season it according to fancy; some prefer a seasoning of
pepper, salt, onions, thyme, marjoram or sage; others the pepper and
salt alone. Then prepare a plain stiff crust, either with or without
butter or lard; spread the crust over a deep dish or bowl, put in the
beef, and if you like it, add some butter; cover it close with a crust
which must be closely turned in to prevent the water from penetrating;
tie it up tight in a cloth, put it in a pot of boiling water and let it
boil quickly for an hour. The cloth should be dipped in hot water, and
floured, as for other boiled puddings.
Beef Steak Pie.
Take some fine beef steaks, beat them well with a rolling pin, and
season them with pepper and salt according to taste. Make a good crust;
lay some in a deep dish or tin pan; lay in the beef, and fill the dish
half full of water; put in a table-spoonful of butter and some chopped
thyme and parsley, and cover the top with crust; bake it from one to two
hours, according to the size of the pie, and eat it while hot.
Baked Beef Pudding.
Par-boil some tender pieces of beef, in water enough to barely cover it;
grease a pan with lard, season the beef and lay it in; make a batter of
eggs, milk and flour, with a little salt, and pour it over; bake it an
hour in a stove or dutch-oven, and when done keep it hot till it is
eaten. Save the water the beef was boiled in, add a little butter,
flour, pepper, salt and chopped parsley, thyme or sweet marjoram, and
boil it up; when you dish up the pudding pour this over, or put it in a
gravy dish to be served hot at the table.
Pork Stew Pie.
Take small bones and pieces of pork that will not do for sausage; roll
out some crust with but little shortening; lay in the meat and small
pieces of crust alternately; sprinkle in flour and seasoning, cover it
with water, and put on a crust.
Spiced Beef in the Irish Style.
To a round weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds, take a pint of
salt, one ounce of saltpetre, two ounces of pepper, two ounces of
cloves, one ounce of allspice, four ounces of brown sugar, all well
pulverized, and mixed together; rub the round well with it, and lay it
in a small tub or vessel by itself. Turn and rub it once a day for ten
days. It will not injure if it remain a week longer in the spices, if it
should not be convenient to bake it. When you wish to have it cooked,
strew over the top of the round a small handful of suet. Be particular
to bind it tight round with a cord, or narrow strip of muslin, which
must be wrapped several times round to keep it in shape; put it in a
dutch-oven, and add three pints of water when it is first put down; keep
water boiling in the tea-kettle, and add a little as it seems necessary,
observing not to add too much. It will require a slow heat, and take
four hours to bake.
This is a very fine standing dish, and will be good for three
weeks after cooking. Keep the gravy that is left to pour over it
to keep it moist.
To Bake Fowls.
Season and stuff them the same as for roasting; put them in a dutch-oven
or stove, with a pint of water; when they are half done, put in the
giblets; when these are done, chop them with a knife, and put in
thickening and a lump of butter.
If chickens are young, split them down the back, and put them in a
dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom, and a pint of water; when they
are done, stir in a spoonful of flour, mixed in half a pint of milk, a
piece of butter, salt, pepper and parsley; let it boil up and dish them.
To Fry Chickens.
After cutting up the chickens, wash and drain them; season them with
salt and pepper; rub each piece in flour, and drop them separately in a
frying-pan or dutch-oven of hot lard; when brown, turn the other side to
fry; make a thickening of rich milk, flour, a piece of butter, salt, and
chopped parsley; take up the chicken on a dish; pour a little water in
the pan to keep the gravy from being too thick; put in the thickening,
stir it, and let it boil a few minutes; then pour it over the chicken.
Chickens Fried in Batter.
Make a batter of two eggs, a tea-cup of milk, a little salt, and
thickened with flour; have the chickens cut up, washed and seasoned; dip
the pieces in the batter separately, and fry them in hot lard; when
brown on both sides, take them up on a dish, and make a gravy as for
fried chickens.
Lard fries much nicer than butter, which is apt to burn.
Chickens in Paste.
Make a crust as for pies, and roll it out in cakes, large enough to
cover a chicken. The chickens should be very nicely picked and washed,
and the inside wiped dry; put in each a small lump of butter, a little
salt, pepper, and parsley; have the pot boiling, close the chickens in
the dough, pin them up in separate cloths, and boil them three-quarters
of an hour; dish them, and pour drawn butter over. Pigeons can be cooked
in the same manner.
To Fricassee Chickens.
Cut up the chickens, and put them in a pot with just water enough to
cover them; let it boil half an hour; have ready some thickening made of
milk, flour, and butter, seasoned with parsley, thyme, pepper, and salt;
let it boil a few minutes longer, and when it is dished, grate a little
nutmeg over, if you like it. This is one of the easiest, cheapest and
best ways of cooking chickens.
Chicken Pie.
Cut up the chickens, and if they are old, boil them fifteen minutes in a
little water, which save to put in the pie; make a paste like common pie
crust, and put it round your pan, or dish; lay in the chicken, dust
flour over, and put in hotter, pepper, and salt; cover them with water,
roll out the top crust quite thick, and close the pie round the edge;
make an opening in the middle with a knife; let it bake rather more than
an hour. If you warm a pie over for the next day, pour off the gravy and
warm it separately, and add it to the pie.
Pot Pie.
Cut up two large chickens; grease your pot, or dutch-oven, with lard;
roll out crust enough in two parts, to go round it, but not to cover the
bottom, or it will burn before the pie is done. As you put in the pieces
of chicken, strew in flour, salt, and pepper, some, pieces of the crust
rolled thin, and a few potatoes; cover this with water, and put on a
covering of paste, with a slit cut in the middle; let it cook slowly for
about two hours; have hot water in a tea kettle, and if it should dry up
too much, pour some in; just before you dish it, add a little parsley
and thyme.
Veal, lamb and pork pies, may be made in the same way. If you like more
top crust, cook it in a dutch-oven, and when the first crust is done,
take it off in a pan and set it near the fire, and cover the pie again
with dough.
Giblet Pie and Soup.
If you can get livers and gizzards from market, you can have a very nice
pie made, the same as chicken pie, or soup with dumplings made of milk,
egg and flour, beaten together, and dropped in when the soup is nearly
done, and season it with parsley, pepper, and salt.
Chicken Stewed with New Corn.
Cut up the chickens as for pies; season them well; have green corn cut
off the cob; put a layer of chicken in the bottom of a stew pan, and a
layer of corn, and so till you fill all in; sprinkle in salt, pepper and
parsley, and put a piece of butter in; cover it with water, and put on a
crust, with slits cut in it; let it boil an hour; when done, lay the
crust in a deep dish; dip out the chicken and corn, and put it on the
crust; stir in the gravy a thickening of milk and flour; when this boils
up, pour it in with the corn and chicken. Chicken and corn boiled
together in a pot, make very nice soup, with dumplings.
To Broil Chickens.
Split the chickens down the back; season them, and put them on the
gridiron over clear coals; cover them over with a plate, (which will
make them cook faster,) baste with melted butter: be careful not to let
them burn. Make gravy of the giblets, boiled in water and chopped fine;
put in butter, thicken and season it; pour this in a dish, and put the
chickens on the top.
Chicken Pudding.
Make a batter of six eggs, milk, flour and a little salt; par-boil the
chickens; have each joint cut, grease a pan with lard, and lay the
pieces in; put in some lumps of butter, and season it well with pepper
and salt; then pour the batter over, and bake it an hour, in a stove or
dutch-oven. Veal or beef makes a very nice pudding, done in the same
way; but the batter need not be as rich as for chicken, and it requires
no butter. Or it makes a good dish, if you cut slices of ham, after it
will not do to appear on the table; make a batter, as for other pudding;
put in a little butter and pepper, and bake it in a pan.
Cold Chicken With Vinegar.
Cut up the chicken in small pieces, and crack the bones; season it with
salt and pepper, and put it in a deep baking plate, with a lump of
butter and a table-spoonful of vinegar; cover it with hot water, put a
plate over, and let it stew on a stove or hot embers.
Chicken Salad.
Cut up the white parts of a cold chicken, season it with oil, or drawn
butter, mustard, pepper, salt, and celery, chopped very fine, and a
little vinegar. Turkey salad is made in the same manner as above.
Stewed Chickens With Rice.
The rice must first be soaked in water, and very nicely washed, or it
will not be white; two tea-cupsful of rice are sufficient to serve with
one chicken, and must be boiled in a quart of water, which should be
boiling when you put the rice in; add a dessert-spoonful of salt;
generally half an hour is long enough to boil rice, and it must not be
too long in the water after it is done, or it is less wholesome. Drain
the water off, if the rice has not absorbed it, and place it in the
bottom of the dish; the chicken must be in preparation at the same time
with the rice, and should be cut up at the joints, as for fried or
fricasseed chicken, and salted and seasoned; boil it in a little more
water than sufficient to cover it; and when it is done, take it out, and
lay it over the rice on the dish; then rub a small piece of butter with
sufficient flour to thicken it, and stir both together in the liquor,
which must remain over the fire for about two minutes; and just before
it is taken up, add the yelk of an egg well beaten, and some chopped
parsley; it must then be immediately poured over the chicken. In
preparing this dish, take care that it does not get smoked.
SOUPS.
In making soup, allow yourself plenty of time. Dumplings should be put
in about half an hour before the soup is done, and herbs a quarter of an
hour--vegetables, about an hour,--rice, twenty minutes. If herbs are put
in too soon, the flavor will fly off and be lost.
Chicken Soup.
Cut up the chicken; cut each joint, and let it boil an hour; make
dumplings of a pint of milk, an egg, a little salt and flour, stirred in
till quite stiff; drop this in, a spoonful at a time, while it is
boiling; stir in a little thickening, with enough pepper, salt and
parsley, to season the whole; let it boil a few minutes longer, and take
it up in a tureen. Chopped celery is a great improvement to chicken
soup; and new corn, cut off the cob, and put in when it is half done,
gives it a very nice flavor.
Brown Calf's Head Soup.
Scald and clean the head, and put it to boil with two gallons of water,
a shank of veal, three onions, two carrots, a little bacon, and a bunch
of sweet herbs. When they have boiled half an hour, take out the head
and shank of veal, and cut all the meat off the bones into pieces of two
inches square; let the soup boil half an hour longer, when strain it,
and put in the meat; season it with salt, cayenne and black pepper, and
cloves, if you like; thicken it with butter and browned flour, and let
it boil nearly an hour; put some fried force meat balls in the tureen,
and just before you pour out the soup, stir into it a table-spoonful of
sugar, browned in a frying pan, and half a pint of wine. This resembles
turtle soup.
Beef Shin Soup, Mutton Soup, &c.
Crack the shin in several pieces, and wash it through three waters;
put it in a pot of water four hours before dinner; when it begins to
boil, take off the scum as it risen, and keep it covered; an hour
before it is done, skim off all the fat, and put in potatoes, onions,
turnips, carrots, and cut cabbage, if you like it; either beat up
dumplings with eggs and milk, or roll them out of dough made as pie
crust; a few minutes before it is done, stir in thickening with
parsley, thyme, pepper and salt, and tomatoes, if they are in season;
then dish it for dinner.
A shin will make a good dinner for a large family, and will do to warm
up, if any is left. To eat pickles with it, or pour a little vinegar in
your plate, is an improvement.
Soup made of mutton, veal and lamb, does not require many vegetables;
carrots and potatoes are the most suitable. A shank of veal or mutton
will make a small pot of very good soup. Celery, cut fine, is very nice
seasoning.
Gumbo Soup.
Take two pounds fresh beef; put this in a dinner-pot, with two gallons
of water; after boiling two hours, throw in a quarter of a peck of ocra,
cut into small slices, and about a quart of ripe tomatoes, peeled and
cut up; slice four or five large onions; fry them brown, and dust in
while they are frying from your dredge box, several spoonsful of flour;
add these, with pepper, salt and parsley, or other herbs, to your taste,
about an hour before the soup is finished; it will require six hours
moderate boiling.
Another Way.
Cut up a large fat chicken; boil it in two gallons of water, adding at
the time you put in the chicken the same quantity of ocra, two large
onions cut fine; season with pepper, salt, thyme and parsley; and when
nearly done, drop in dumplings made of one egg, half a pint of rich
milk, and flour sufficient to make them so that they will drop from a
spoon. This soup requires from four to five hours moderate boiling. Just
before serving, take up the chicken, and after taking out all the bones,
return the chicken into the soup, and dish it up.
Pea Soup.
Leave a pint of peas in the pot, with the water they were boiled in;
make a thickening of flour, milk and butter, seasoned with salt, pepper,
parsley and thyme; toast two or three slices of bread; cut it up in the
tureen; and when the soup has boiled about ten minutes, pour it over.
Children are mostly fond of pea soup, and it seldom disagrees with them.
A few slices of fat ham will supply the place of butter.
Soup of Dried White Beans, &c.
Dried beans or peas should be soaked before boiling; they make very good
soup with a small piece of bacon or salt pork boiled with them; put them
to boil in plenty of water, and after they have boiled an hour, pour it
off, and put in cold water--and the meat or bones, and let them boil an
hour longer; stir in a little thickening, with pepper, salt, parsley and
thyme; mix up some dumplings, and drop in half an hour before the soup
is done. Where you have a large family, you should always be provided
with dried beans for winter use.
A Vegetable Soup.
Take an onion, a turnip, two pared potatoes, a carrot, a head of celery;
boil them in three pints of water till the vegetables are cooked; add a
little salt; have a slice of bread toasted and buttered, put it into a
bowl, and pour the soup over it. Tomatoes when in season form an
agreeable addition.
FISH, OYSTERS, &c.
To Bake a Rock Fish.
Rub the fish with salt, black pepper, and a dust of cayenne, inside and
out; prepare a stuffing of bread and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt,
parsley and thyme; mix an egg in it, fill the fish with this, and sew it
up or tie a string round it; put it in a deep pan, or oval oven and bake
it as you would a fowl. To a large fish add half a pint of water; you
can add more for the gravy if necessary; dust flour over and baste it
with butter. Any other fresh fish can be baked in the same way. A large
one will bake slowly in an hour and a half, small ones in half an hour.
To Stew a Rock Fish.
Rub the fish with salt and pepper, and a little cayenne on the inside;
put it in an oval stew-pan. To a fish that weighs six pounds, put a pint
of water; when it is about half done; season it well with salt and
pepper, and a little mace or cloves; rub a quarter of a pound of butter
in a half a tea-cup of flour, with a little parsley and thyme; stir this
in with a pint of oysters. Serve it with the gravy in the dish. A large
fish should be allowed an hour, small ones half an hour.
To Broil Shad.
Soak a salt shad a day or night previous to cooking, it is best to drain
an hour before you put it to the fire; if it hangs long exposed to the
air, it loses its flavor: grease the gridiron to keep it from sticking;
have good coals, and put the inside down first. Fresh shad is better to
be sprinkled with salt, an hour before it is put to broil; put a plate
over the top to keep the heat in. In broiling shad or other fresh fish
you should dust them with corn meal before you put them down.
To Bake a Fresh Shad.
Make a stuffing of bread, butter, salt, pepper and parsley; fill a large
shad with this, and bake it in a stove or oven.
To Fry Fresh Fish.
Have the fish well scalded, washed and drained; cut slits in the sides
of each; season them with salt and pepper, and roll them in corn flour;
have in your frying-pan hot lard or bacon drippings; if the fish have
been kept several days, dip them in egg before rolling them in corn
flour, to keep them from breaking; fry them light brown on both sides.
To Fry Clams.
After opening them as oysters, wash them in their own liquor and drain
then; make a batter of an egg, flour and pepper; dip them in this, and
fry them in butter.
To Stew Clams.
Strain the liquor and stew them in it for about twenty minutes; make a
thickening of flour, water and pepper; stir this in and let it boil
up; have some bread toasted and buttered in a deep dish, and pour the
clams over.
Clam soup may be made by putting an equal quantity of water with the
liquor, and putting in toasted bread, crackers or dumplings.
To Pot Fresh Herring.
Scale and wash them well; cut off the heads and fins, and season them
with salt, pepper and cloves; pack them neatly in a large jar, and pour
on enough cold vinegar to cover them; put a plate over the top of the
jar, and set it in a moderately warm oven, or on the top of a stove, in
a pan of hot water, for five or six hours; they will keep in a cool
place several weeks, and are an excellent relish. The jar or pan should
be of stone ware, or fire-proof yellow ware.
To Boil Salt Cod.
Put your fish to soak over night; change the water in the morning, and
let it stay till you put it on, which should be two hours before dinner;
keep it at scalding heat all the time, but do not let it boil, or it
will get hard; eat it with egg sauce or drawn butter. If you have any
cod fish left from dinner, mix it with mashed potatoes, and enough flour
to stick them together; season with pepper; make it into little cakes,
and fry them in ham drippings.
To Boil Salt Shad, Mackerel Or Herring.
Wash the fish from the pickle; put it in a frying-pan; cover it with
water, and let it boil fifteen minutes; take it up and drain it between
two plates; put a little butter over and send it hot to the table: or,
after boiling, you can flour, and fry it in drippings of any kind.
To Boil Salt Salmon.
Let salmon soak over night, and boil it slowly for two hours; eat it
with drawn butter. To pickle salmon after it has been boiled, heat
vinegar scalding hot, with whole peppers and cloves; cut the fish in
small square pieces; put it in a jar, and pour the vinegar over. Shad
may be done in the same way.
To Boil Fresh Fish.
After being well cleaned, rub the fish with salt, and pin it in a towel;
put it in a pot of boiling water, and keep it boiling fast;--a large
fish will take from half to three-quarters of an hour--a small one, from
fifteen to twenty minutes. A fat shad is very nice boiled, although rock
and bass are preferred generally; when done, take it up on a fish dish,
and cover it with egg sauce or drawn butter and parsley. Pickled
mushrooms and walnuts, and mushroom catsup, are good with boiled fish.
To Stew Terrapins.
Wash four terrapins in warm water; then throw them in a pot of boiling
water, which will kill them instantly; let them boil till the shells
crack; then take them out, and take off the bottom shell; cut each
quarter separate; take the gall from the liver; take out the eggs; put
the pieces in a stew-pan, pour in all the liquor, and cover them with
water; put in salt, cayenne, and black pepper, and a little mace; put in
a lump of butter the size of an egg, and let them stew for half an hour;
make a thickening of flour and water, which stir in a few minutes before
you take it up, with two glasses of wine; serve it in a deep covered
dish; put in the eggs just as you dish it.
Oyster Soup.
Strain the liquor from the oysters, and put it on to boil, with an equal
quantity of water; take off the scum as it rises; put in pepper, salt,
parsley, thyme and butter; stir in a thickening of flour and water;
throw in the oysters, and let them scald. If you have cream, put in half
a pint just before you take them up.
Another Way.
Strain the liquor from a gallon of oysters, and add to it an equal
quantity of water; put it on the fire, and boil and skim it before you
add the seasoning; then put in six large blades of mace, a little
cayenne, and black or white pepper; (the latter, on account of the
color, is preferable, as it is desirable to have the soup as white as
possible;) afterwards, permit all to boil together about five minutes;
then pour in the oysters and a quarter of a pound of butter, into which
a dessert-spoonful of wheat flour has been rubbed fine; keep this at
boiling heat until the oysters begin to look plump--when it is ready for
the table, and must be served up very hot. If you can procure a pint of
good cream, half the amount of butter will answer,--if you believe the
cream to be rather old, even if it seems to be sweet, add before it goes
into the soup, half a small tea-spoonful of soda, well mixed with it;
after you put in the cream, permit it to remain on the fire long enough
to arrive at boiling heat again, when it must be taken up, or it may
curdle; throw into the tureen a little finely cut parsley.
Scolloped Oysters.
Toast several slices of bread quite brown, and butter them on both
sides; take a baking dish, and put the toast around the sides, instead
of a crust.
Pour your oysters into the dish, and season, to your taste, with butter,
pepper and salt, adding mace or cloves.
Crumb bread on the top of the oysters, and bake it with a quick heat
about fifteen minutes.
To Fry Oysters.
Pick out the largest oysters and drain them; sprinkle them with pepper
and salt; beat up an egg, and dip them first in it, and then in pounded
crackers, and fry them in butter. It is a plainer way to dip them in
corn meal.
Oyster Fritters.
Make a thick batter with two eggs, some crumbs of bread and flour, and a
little milk; season this well with pepper and salt; have in a frying-pan
equal parts of lard and butter; drop in a spoonful of the batter and put
into it one large oyster, or two small ones, let them brown slowly, so
as not to burn; turn them carefully. This is a good way to have oysters
at breakfast.
To Stew Oysters.
Open them and throw them in a stew-pan, with a lump of butter; make a
thickening of flour and water, salt and pepper, and stir it in just as
the oysters boil; when they are done, take them up in a deep covered
dish, with buttered toast in the bottom.
A Rich Oyster Pie.
Strain off the liquor from the oysters, and put it on to boil, with some
butter, mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt; just as it boils, stir in a
thickening of milk and flour; put in the oysters, and stir them till
they are sufficiently stewed; then take them off, and put in the yelks
of two eggs, well beaten; do not put this in while it is boiling, or it
will curdle. Line a dish, not very deep, with puff paste; fill it with
white paper, or a clean napkin, to keep the top paste from falling in;
put on a lid of paste, and bake it. When done, take off the lid
carefully; take out the paper or napkin, and pour in the oysters. Send
it hot to table.
A Baltimore Oyster Pie.
Make a crust after the directions given for puff paste; grease the
bottom of a deep dish, cover it with paste; then season two quarts of
raw oysters, (without the liquor,) with spices to your taste, (some
preferring nutmeg, mace, cayenne pepper,--others, black pepper
alone,) add butter and a heaped tea-cup of grated bread; put all
together in the dish; then cover it with your paste, cut in strips,
and crossed, or ornamented as your fancy dictates; a pound of butter
to two quarts of oysters makes a rich pie; if the oysters are fine,
less butter will answer.
A pie of this size will bake in three-quarters of an hour, if the oven
is in good order; if the heat is not quick allow it an hour.
If in baking, the crust is likely to become too brown, put a piece of
paper doubled over it, and the light color will be retained; when taken
from the oven, if it should look dry, pour some of the liquor that was
drained from the oysters in the dish, having previously strained and
boiled it.
As paste always looks more beautiful when just from the oven,
arrange your dinner so that the pie may be placed on the table
immediately it is done.
Plain Oyster Pie.
Take from the shell as many oysters as you want to put in the pie;
strain the liquor, put it with them over the fire and give them one
boil; take off the scum, put in, if you wish to make a small pie, a
quarter of a pound of butter, as much flour mixed in water as will
thicken it when boiled, and mace, pepper, and salt to your taste; lay a
paste in a deep dish, put in the oysters and cover them with paste; cut
a hole in the middle, ornament it any way you please, and bake it. A
shallow pie will bake in three-quarters of an hour.
Oyster Sauce.
Plump the oysters for a few minutes over the fire; take them out and
stir into the liquor some flour and butter mixed together, with a little
mace and whole pepper, and salt to your taste; when it has boiled long
enough, throw in the oysters, and add a glass of white wine, just as you
take it up. This is a suitable sauce for boiled fowls.
To Pickle 100 Oysters.
Drain off the liquor from the oysters, wash them and put to them a
table-spoonful of salt, and a tea-cup of vinegar; let them simmer over
the fire about ten minutes, taking off the scum as it rises; then take
out the oysters, and put to their own liquor a table-spoonful of whole
black pepper, and a tea-spoonful of mace and cloves; let it boil five
minutes, skim, and pour it over the oysters in a jar.
Oysters Pickled another way.
Wash and drain the oysters, and put them in salt and water, that
will bear an egg; let them scald till plump, and put them in a glass
jar, with some cloves and whole peppers, and when cold cover them
with vinegar.
To Brown Oysters in their own Juice.
Take a quart of large oysters, wash them in their own juice, drain and
dip them in the yelk of eggs; heat butter in a frying-pan, and after
seasoning them with pepper and salt, put them in separately; when they
are brown on both sides, draw them to one side of the pan; strain the
liquor, and put it in with a piece of butter and flour enough to
thicken it.
A Dish of Poached Eggs.
Have ready a kettle of boiling water, pour it in a pan or speeder, which
is set on coals; have the eggs at hand; put a little salt in the water,
and break them in, one at a time, till you get all in; let them remain
till the white is set, and take them out with an egg-spoon, and put on a
dish that has buttered toast on it.
Fried Eggs.
Slice and fry any kind of bacon, dish it; have the eggs ready in a
dish, and pour them into the gravy; when done, take them up and lay
them on the meat.
Fried Eggs another way.
Have your lard or butter boiling hot; break in one egg at a time; throw
the hot fat over them with an egg slice, until white on the top; slip
the slice under and take them out whole, and lay them on the dish or
meat without breaking; season with salt.
Omelet.
Beat six or eight eggs, with some chopped parsley and a little salt;
have the pan or speeder nicely washed; put in a quarter of a pound of
butter, when it is hot, pour in the eggs; stir it with a spoon till
it begins to form; when it is of a light-brown on the under side it
is done; turn it out on a plate, and send to table immediately.
Grated bread, soaked in cream, put in the omelet, some think an
improvement. The dripping of a nice ham, some persons use for omelet
instead of butter.
To Boil Eggs.
Have the water boiling, and look at your watch as you put them in; two
minutes and a half will cook them to please most persons; if you want
them very soft, two minutes will be sufficient, or if less soft three
minutes. If you wish them hard, as for lettuce, let them boil ten
minutes. Spoons that have been used in eating eggs should be put in
water immediately, as the egg tarnishes them.
VEGETABLES.
To Boil Green Corn.
Pick out ears near the same size, and have the water boiling when you
put them in; half an hour is long enough for young corn; that which is
old and hard will take an hour or more; if young corn is boiled too
long, it becomes hard and indigestible.
To Fricassee Corn.
Cut green corn off the cob; put it in a pot, and just cover it with
water; let it boil half an hour; mix a spoonful of flour with half a
pint of rich milk, pepper, salt, parsley, thyme and a piece of butter;
let it boil a few minutes, and take it up in a deep dish. Corn will do
to cook in this way when too old to boil on the cob.
To Keep Corn for Winter.
When boiled, cut the corn off the cob, and spread it on dishes; set
these in the oven to dry after the bread comes out. If you have no oven,
it can be dried in a stove of moderate heat, or round a fire. When
perfectly dry, tie it up in muslin bags, and hang them in a dry place;
when you use it, boil it till soft in water; mix flour, milk, butter,
pepper and salt together, and stir in.
Corn Fritters.
Cut the corn through the grain, and with a knife scrape the pulp from
the cob, or grate it with a coarse grater, and to about a quart of the
pulp, add two eggs beaten, two table-spoonsful of flour, a little salt
and pepper, and a small portion of thin cream, or new milk; beat the
whole together; have the butter or lard hot in the pan, and put a
large spoonful in at a time, and fry brown, turning each fritter
separately; this makes an agreeable relish for breakfast, or a good
side dish at dinner.
Hominy.
Large hominy, after it is washed; must be put to soak over night; if you
wish to have it for dinner, put it to boil early in the morning, or it
will not be done in time; eat it as a vegetable.
Small hominy will boil in an hour; it is very good at breakfast or
supper to eat with milk or butter, or to fry for dinner.
Both large and small hominy will keep good in a cool place several days.
Be careful that the vessel it is cooked in, is perfectly clean, or it
will darken the hominy.
To Fry Hominy.
Put a little lard in your frying-pan, and make it hot; mash and salt the
hominy; put it in, and cover it over with a plate; let it cook slowly
for half an hour, or longer if you like it very brown; when done, turn
it out in a plate. If you do not like it fried, mash it well, with a
little water, salt, and butter, and warm it in a frying-pan.
To Boil Potatoes.
When the potatoes are old, pare them, put them in plenty of boiling
water, and boil them till you can run a fork through easily; if you wish
to have them whole, pour off all the water, throw in some salt, and let
them stand a few minutes over coals, to let the steam go off; they will
then be white and mealy.
It is a mistaken notion, to boil potatoes in but little water, as they
are sure to turn dark and taste strong. In cold weather they may be
kept pared several days in a pan of water, by changing the water every
day, and will be whiter. If you like mashed potatoes, take them up
when barely done, sprinkle them with salt and mash them; put in a
spoonful of cream and a small lump of butter; keep them hot till they
are taken to table.
In the summer when potatoes are young, put them in a small tub, with a
little water, and rub them with a piece of brick, to break the skin; you
can then peel enough for dinner with a knife in a few minutes. When they
are older, boil them with the skins on, and squeeze them separately in a
cloth, to make them mealy. New potatoes are nice with cream and butter
over them.
In boiling old potatoes, some persons cut them round without paring,
which allows the moisture to escape; this is an improvement: you can
then either peel them or send them to table without peeling.
To Stew Potatoes.
Chop or slice cold potatoes; season with pepper and salt; stew them,
with a little butter and milk, and a dust of flour; when nearly done,
stir in a yelk of egg with some chopped parsley--they will cook in a few
minutes, and may be sliced over night if you wish an early breakfast.
Sweet Potatoes.
To boil sweet potatoes, put them in a pot with plenty of water; let them
boil fast till you can run a fork through the largest; then pour off the
water, and leave them in the pot a quarter of an hour; you can then peel
the skin off or leave it on. Some prefer them baked in a dutch-oven;
they should have a quick heat; large potatoes will take an hour to bake.
It has been found a good way to boil them, till nearly done; then peel
and bake them--they are drier and nicer.
To Fry Potatoes.
Cold potatoes are very good fried for breakfast with scraps of bacon; if
they have been mashed, make them out in cakes with a little flour, and
fry them brown, or slice them.
Tomatoes.
If you wish to bake tomatoes in the oven with bread, pour boiling water
on, and skin them; cut them in small pieces; season with salt and
pepper, and put them in a pan with crumbs of bread and butter; cover the
pan with a plate, and bake three-quarters of an hour; when done, mash
them and take them out on a dish.
To Fry Tomatoes.
Slice them, season with pepper and salt, and fry in hot butter; if they
are green, dip them in flour after being seasoned.
Tomato Omelet.
Pour boiling water on the tomatoes, skin and cut them fine; to one quart
of this, put two chopped onions and a lump of butter the size of an egg;
let them boil half an hour, then mash them; put in grated bread, pepper,
salt, and the yelks of two eggs.
To Stew Tomatoes.
Wash and pour boiling water over them; peel off the skins, and cut them
up; season them with pepper and salt; put in a lump of butter, and boil
them in their own juice for half an hour; stir in enough crumbs of bread
to thicken them; let them cook slowly ten minutes longer; be careful
that the bread does not burn.
To Bake Tomatoes.
Take out the inside of large tomatoes, make a stuffing of bread, butter,
pepper, salt and an egg; fill them with this, and set them in a deep
pie-plate; let them bake slowly half an hour.
Tomato Jelly, to eat with Roast Meat.
Wash the tomatoes, and put them in a bell-metal kettle, with a little
water; let them boil thirty minutes; take them out and strain them
through a sieve, till you get all the pulp; let it settle and pour off
the top; put the thick part in deep plates, and set them in the oven
after the bread is drawn; season it with pepper and salt to your taste,
and put it away in a jar. It can either be eaten cold, or warmed up with
crumbs of bread and butter. Some persons slice tomatoes, and dry them on
dishes in an oven.
To Fricassee Tomatoes.
Wash and cut them in two, if large; if small, leave them whole, but do
not peel them or they go too much to pieces; have a broad speeder or
stove-pan; put in a half spoonful of butter; season the tomatoes with
pepper and salt, and flour them; cover them with a plate; they will cook
in ten minutes, stirring them once; pour in half a tea-cup of cream just
as they are done; let them boil up and dish them while hot: this dish is
much liked either for breakfast, dinner or tea.
To Broil Tomatoes for Breakfast.
Take large round tomatoes, wash and wipe them, and put them on the
gridiron over lively coals--the stem side down; when this is brown, turn
them and let them cook till quite hot through; place them on a hot dish
and send them quickly to table, where each one may season for himself
with pepper, salt and butter.
To Bake Tomatoes for Breakfast.
Season them with pepper and salt; flour and bake them in a stove, in a
deep plate with a little butter over them.
Tomatoes sliced with Onions.
Pick the best tomatoes; let them stand a little while in cold water,
then peel and slice them. To about six tomatoes, you may add two red
onions, also sliced; season with pepper, plenty of salt, and a small
portion of vinegar.
To put up Tomatoes for Winter.
Gather a quantity of tomatoes, wash, scald, skin and cut them up; season
them highly with pepper and salt, and put them in a large stone jar; set
this in the oven with your bread, and leave it till it is cold; stir
them, and set them in the oven every time you bake for several weeks;
when the juice is nearly dried up, put a piece of white paper over the
jar, melt some lard and pour on it. When you use them, stew them with
bread, butter and water.
Baked Egg Plant.
Boil them ten minutes; then cut them in half and take out the seeds,
fill them with a stuffing of crumbs of bread, seasoned with butter,
pepper, salt, the yelk of an egg, and if you choose, the juice of a
tomato; close them and tie each one with a string; put a little water in
the dutch-oven, and lay them in with some of the stuffing on the top;
let them cook slowly half an hour, basting them with butter; take them
out, thicken the gravy, and pour it over them on the dish.
To Fry Egg Plant.
Cut them in slices half an inch thick; sprinkle them with salt, and let
them stand a few minutes to extract the bitter taste; wash them in cold
water, and wipe them dry; season with salt and pepper; dip them in
flour, and fry them in butter.
Another way of cooking them is to cut them in thin slices, and bake them
on a bake-iron that is hot enough to bake cakes.
Salsify, or Oyster Plant.
Scrape the roots, and boil them till soft; mash them, and put in butter,
pepper, salt, and egg and flour enough to stick them together; make this
in cakes as large as an oyster, and fry them in butter; or after
boiling, you can cut them in slices and stew them in water; then butter
and season, and thicken with a little flour and cream.
To Stew or Fry Mushrooms.
Be careful in gathering mushrooms that you have the right kind; they are
pink underneath, and white on the top, and the skin will peel off
easily, but it sticks to the poisonous ones.
After you have peeled them, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and put
them in a stew pan, with a little water, and a lump of butter; let them
boil fast ten minutes, and stir in a thickening of flour and cream. They
may be fried in butter, or broiled on a gridiron. They are sometimes
very abundant in the fall, on ground that has not been ploughed for
several years; they appear after a warm rain; they may be peeled,
salted, and allowed to stand some hours before cooking.
Cucumbers, to Fry or Slice.
To fry cucumbers, take off the rinds in long pieces, a quarter of an
inch thick; season them with pepper and salt; dip them in flour, and fry
them in butter.
Many persons think cucumbers unwholesome, and they certainly are if
kept for several days before they are eaten; but if sliced thin, with
onions, pepper, salt and good vinegar, they may generally be eaten
without danger.
Lettuce.
Persons that are fond of lettuce may have it nearly all the year, by
sowing the different kinds, and keeping it covered through the winter;
the most approved way of dressing it is to cut it fine, and season with
oil, mustard, pepper, salt, vinegar, and a hard egg chopped. The essence
of ham is also very good to season lettuce.
Where there is a large family, it is a good and economical way to cut
the fat of ham in small pieces, fry it, and make a gravy with flour,
water and pepper, to eat with lettuce. To cook lettuce you must fry a
little ham; put a spoonful of vinegar into the gravy; cut the lettuce,
put it in the pan; give it a stir, and then dish it.
Cold Slaw.
Cut hard white cabbage across the leaves, and put it in a deep plate,
scald two large spoonsful of vinegar with a piece of butter, some pepper
and salt; pour this over the slaw; have an egg boiled hard; chop it
fine, and spread it over the top. Some persons like it heated in a pan
with vinegar and water, and the yelk of a raw egg mixed through it.
Cauliflowers, &c.
Have a pot with half milk, and the rest water; when this boils, put in
the cauliflowers, and let them boil till tender; put in some salt just
before you take them up; have ready drawn butter with parsley, to pour
over them, or a sauce of cream and butter. Good heads of yellow Savoy
cabbage, cooked in this way, resemble cauliflowers. Brocolli is a
delightful vegetable, and may be cooked in the same manner.
To Boil Cabbage.
In summer, you should allow a large head of cabbage an hour to boil, but
when it has been tendered by the frost, it will boil in half that time.
Most persons prefer cabbage boiled with ham; the pot should be well
skimmed before it goes in or the grease will penetrate the cabbage, and
make it unwholesome; take it up before it boils to pieces. It is very
good boiled with corned beef or pork, or with milk and water, with a
little salt added. Some like it with a little salaeratus thrown in while
boiling, as that tenders it and makes it of a more lively green.
To Boil Greens and Poke.
After skimming the pot that the bacon has been boiled in, put in cabbage
sprouts, and let them boil till the stalks are tender; all greens are
best boiled in a net. Spinach cooks in a few minutes; some persons
prefer it when boiled in salt and water; you should have drawn butter or
hard eggs to eat with it when done in this way. There are several kinds
of wild greens to be found in the country in the spring, as wild
mustard, poke and lambs-quarter, which are very good cooked as cabbage
sprouts. Pour boiling water on poke, after tying it in bunches, as
asparagus, let it stand a few minutes; pour off the water; boil it with
a little salt in the water, and if you choose a little salaeratus; dress
it with butter, and dish it as asparagus.
String Beans.
String beans, if boiled in salt and water, will require fully two hours;
but if boiled in a net, in a pot with bacon, they will not take so long;
if they are cooked in the same pot with cabbage, it will injure the
flavor. It is a good way to boil a very small piece of pork or bacon, or
a ham-bone in the pot with beans; when they are done, season them with
cream, butter, salt and pepper.
Lima Beans.
Shell them, and wash them in cold water; let them boil about an hour;
when done, dip them from the water, and season with salt, pepper, cream
or butter; keep them hot till they are sent to table.
Dried Lima beans should be soaked over night, and boiled two hours or
longer, if they are not soft.
Peas.
Early peas require about half an hour to boil, and the later kinds
rather longer; the water should boil when they are put in; when they are
tough and yellow, they may be made tender and green, by putting in a
little pearl-ash, or ashes tied up in a rag, just before they are taken
up; this will tender all green but do not put too much--when done, dip
them out: drain and season them with butter, pepper and salt; put a
bunch of parsley in the middle of the dish.
To Keep Green Beans for Winter.
Boil salt and water to make a strong pickle; string the beans, and put
them in a tight wooden firkin; sprinkle them with salt as they go in;
when the pickle is cold, pour it on, and put on a weight to keep the
beans under; they will keep in the cellar till the next spring. They
should soak several hours in cold water before they are boiled.
Asparagus.
All persons that have a garden should have an asparagus-bed; it is
valuable as being one of the first vegetables in the spring. Put the
stalks of the same length, in bunches together, and tie them with
strings; boil it three-quarters of an hour in clear water; (if you put
salt in, it turns it dark;) have buttered toast in the bottom of a deep
dish; untie the strings, and put the asparagus in; sprinkle it over with
pepper and salt, and put butter on. Asparagus is also agreeable in
chicken soup.
Cymlings, or Squashes.
In cultivating this vegetable, the small bunch cymling is the best, as
it takes so little room in the garden, and comes soon to maturity; if
they are so hard that a pin will not run in easily, they are unfit for
use. Boil the cymlings till soft; cut them open, and take out the seeds;
put them in a colander, and mash them; when the water is drained off,
put them in a small pot, and stew them with cream and butter for ten
minutes; just as you dish them, season with pepper and salt. If boiled
with salt meat, they require but little seasoning.
Pumpkins.
Young pumpkins resemble cymlings, when cooked in the same way. When they
are ripe, they should be pared and cut up, and boiled till soft in a
good deal of water; take them up as soon as they are done, or they will
soak up the water; mash them and season them with salt, pepper and
butter. They are good to eat with roast or boiled beef.
To Bake Pumpkins.
The long striped pumpkin, with a thick long neck, called by some potato
pumpkin, is the best for baking; cut it up in slices, leaving on the
rind; put it in a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and let it bake an hour
with a quick heat. Where sweet potatoes cannot be had, pumpkins make a
very good substitute. If you put ripe pumpkins that have not been
frosted; in a dry place, they will keep to make puddings till spring.
To Dry Pumpkins.
Pare them, and cut them in thin slices; have a strong thread, and
string them on it with a needle; hang them out in the sun till dry,
taking them in at night; tie them up in a muslin bag, and hang them in
a dry place. Soak them before they are stewed, and they are nearly as
good for puddings as when in season. Some dry them, as apples, by
spreading on boards.
Parsnips.
Scrape and split them, and boil until quite soft, either in salt and
water, or with meat; they are very good served up in this way, with
plenty of butter. They may, when boiled, either be baked with a few
slices of salt meat, and require no seasoning but pepper, or made into
small round cakes, seasoned with butter, pepper and salt, and fried.
Carrots. Carrots should be scraped, and boiled till soft, in plenty of
water; when they are done, take them up, and slice them thin; season
them with salt, pepper and butter. They are suitable to eat with boiled
meat or fowls.
Turnips.
Pare and quarter the turnips, and put them in a pot of clear water, or
with fresh meat; boil them half an hour; drain, and season them with
butter, pepper and salt; mash them.
Onions.
After they are peeled, boil them in milk and water; if small, they will
cook in half an hour; when they are done, pour off the water; put in
cream, butter and salt, and let them stew a few minutes. Small onions
are much better for cooking, as they are not so strong.
Beets.
Wash the beets; cut the tops off, and put them in boiling water; the
early turnip beet is best for summer, and will boil in less than an
hour; the long winter beet should be boiled two hours,--when they are
done, drop them in cold water for a minute; peel and slice them; season
with butter, pepper and salt; send them hot to table.
To pickle beets, put them in a jar after they have been boiled; fill it
up with weak vinegar; put in salt, cayenne and black pepper.
To Boil Rice.
Pick a pint of rice, wash it clean--put it in three pints of boiling
water: it should boil fast, and by the time the water evaporates, the
rice will be sufficiently cooked; set it where it will keep hot, until
you are ready to dish it.
To Keep Vegetables in Winter.
Beets, parsnips, carrots and salsify should he dug up before the frost
is severe; those wanted for use in the winter should be put in barrels,
and covered with sand; what you do not want till spring should be buried
in the garden, with sods on the top. Celery may be dug in November, and
set in a large box covered with sand, in the cellar, with the roots
down; it will keep till the frost is out of the ground. Or it may be
left in the ground all winter, and dug as you want it for use.
BREAD, &c.
As bread is the most important article of food, great care is necessary
in making it, and much judgment, as the weather changes so often.
In warm weather, the rising should be mixed with water nearly cold; if
there should be a spell of damp weather in the summer, have it slightly
warm and set it to rise on a table in the kitchen.
In winter it should be mixed with warm water, and left on the warm
hearth all night. If the yeast is fresh, a small quantity will do; if
several weeks old, it will take more. If you use dry yeast, let it soak
fifteen minutes, and put in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus to prevent it
from getting sour.
Light Bread, Baking in a Stove, &c.
For two loaves of bread, thicken a quart of water with flour, till it
will just pour easily; put in a table-spoonful of salt and half a
tea-cup of yeast; this should be done in the evening. If the weather is
cold, set it where it will be warm all night; but, if warm, it will rise
on a table in the kitchen. (If it should not be light in the morning,
and the water settles on the top, stir in a little more yeast, and set
it in a pan of hot water for a few minutes;) knead in flour till it is
nearly as stiff as pie crust, and let it rise again. Have your baking
pans greased, and when it is light, mould out the bread, and put it in
them; set it by the fire, covered with a cloth, till it begins to crack
on the top--when it is light enough to bake. To bake in a stove
requires care to turn it frequently; if it browns too fast at first,
leave the door open a little while; a thick loaf will bake in an hour,
and a small one in less time. In trying the heat of a stove, drop a few
drops of water on the top, if it boils gently it is in good order, and
the heat should be kept at this point.
To Bake a Dutch-oven Loaf.
If you wish to make a large loaf, it will take three pints of water,
more than half a tea-cup of yeast, and two spoonsful of salt; when the
rising is light, knead it up, have the dutch-oven greased; put it in,
and set it near the fire, but not so near that it will scald. When it
rises so as to crack on the top, set the oven on coals; have the lid
hot, cut the loaf slightly across the top, dividing it in four; stick it
with a fork and put the lid on, when it is on a few minutes, see that it
does not bake too fast, it should have but little heat at the bottom,
and the coals on the top should be renewed frequently, turn the oven
round occasionally.
If baked slowly, it will take an hour and a half when done, wrap it in a
large cloth till it gets cold.
To Bake in a Brick Oven.
If you have a large family, or board the laborers of a farm, it is
necessary to have a brick oven, so as to bake but twice a week; and to
persons that understand the management of them, it is much the easiest
way. If you arrange every thing with judgment, half a dozen loaves of
bread, as many pies or puddings, rusk, rolls or biscuit may be baked at
the same time. Some persons knead up their bread over night in winter,
to do this, the sponge should be made up at four o'clock in the
afternoon. If you wish to put corn flour in your bread, scald one quart
of it to six loaves, and work it in the flour that you are going to stir
in the rising, to make six loaves of bread, you should have three quarts
of water and a tea-cup of yeast.
Scalded corn flour, or boiled mashed potatoes, assists bread to rise
very much in cold weather. Have a quart of potatoes well boiled and
rolled fine with a rolling-pin on your cake board; mix them well in the
rising after it is light; if the oven is not ready, move the bread to a
cool place. If the bread is sour before you mould it out, mix a heaped
tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a little water, spread out the bread on the
board, dust a little flour on it, and spread the salaeratus and water
over, and work it well through. This quite takes away the sour taste,
but if the bread is made of good lively yeast, it seldom requires it;
let it rise in the pans about half an hour. Many persons that make their
own bread, are in the constant practice of using salaeratus, putting in
the rising for six loaves a heaped tea-spoonful, dissolved in a little
warm water; in this there is no disadvantage, and it insures sweet
bread, and will also answer in making rolls or light cakes.
Common sized loaves will bake in an hour in the brick oven. If they slip
easily in the pans, and, upon breaking a little piece from the side, it
rises from the pressure of the finger, it is done; but if it should not
rise, put it back again; when the bread is taken out of the oven, wrap
it in a cloth till quite cold.
You should have a large tin vessel with holes in the top, to keep
bread in; in this way, it will be moist at the end of the week in
cool weather.
Coarse brown flour or middlings makes very sweet light bread, by putting
in scalded corn meal, say, to two loaves, half a pint, and is also good
to use for breakfast made as buckwheat cakes.
Directions for Heating a Brick Oven, &c.
It is very important to have good oven wood split fine, and the oven
filled with it as soon as the baking is out; by this precaution it is
always ready and dry. Early in the morning, take out half of the wood,
and spread the remainder over the oven, in such a way as it will take
fire easily; light a few sticks in the fire, and put them in; when it
burns well, turn the wood about, and occasionally add more till it is
all in; when it is burnt to coals, stir them about well with a
long-handled shovel made for the purpose.
When it looks bright on the top and sides, it is hot enough; let the
coals lay all over the bottom till near the time of putting in the
bread, when draw them to the mouth, as it is apt to get cool the
quickest. If you have biscuit to bake, put some of the coals on one side
near the front, as they require a quick heat, and should be put in
immediately after the coals are taken out; they will bake in fifteen or
twenty minutes.
When all the coals are taken out, if the bottom of the oven sparkles, it
is very hot, and should wait a few minutes; but if not, you may put in
the bread first, and then the pies; if you have a plain rice pudding to
bake, it should be put in the middle of the front, and have two or three
shovels of coals put round it, if the oven is rather cool. Close the
oven with a wooden stopper made to fit it; after they have been in a few
minutes, see that they do not brown too fast; if so, keep the stopper
down a little while. Pies made of green fruit will bake in
three-quarters of an hour; but if the fruit has been stewed, half an
hour will be long enough.
Rusk, or rolls, take about half an hour to bake in a brick oven; if you
should have to open the oven very often before the bread is done, put in
a few shovels of coals and shut it up.
When all is taken out, fill the oven with wood ready for the next
baking.
There is nothing in any department of cooking that gives more
satisfaction to a young housekeeper than to have accomplished what is
called a good baking.
Graham Bread.
Take six quarts of unbolted flour, one tea-cup of good yeast, and six
spoonsful of molasses; mix them with a pint of milk, warm water, and a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make a hole in the flour and stir this
mixture in it, till it is like batter; then proceed as with fine flour.
Mould it, when light, into four loaves Have your oven hotter than for
other bread, and bake it fully one hour and a half. It is an excellent
article of diet for dyspeptic and sedentary persons.
Dyspepsy Bread.
This is three-fourths unbolted flour, and the remaining fourth common
flour, and is risen and made as other light bread, but should be baked
rather more.
Yeast.
It is important to those that make their own bread, to make their own
yeast, or they cannot judge of its strength. The best is the
old-fashioned hop yeast, which will keep for six weeks in winter.
Put a pint of hops in a pot, with a quart of water; cover it tightly,
and let it boil slowly for half an hour; strain it while boiling hot on
a pint of flour, and a heaped table-spoonful of salt; stir it well, and
let it stand till nearly cool; when put in a tea-cupful of good yeast;
if it is not sweet, put in a little salaeratus, just as you stir it in;
keep it in a warm place till it rises, when put it in a stone jug, and
cork it tightly. Keep it in a cool place in summer, but do not let it
freeze in winter; shake it before you use any.
When your yeast jug is empty, fill it with water, and let it soak; wash
it well, and if it should smell sour, rinse it with salaeratus water. If
you have a garden, raise your own hops by all means; pick them by the
first of September, or they will lose their strength; dry them on sheets
spread on the garret floor.
If you buy hops, choose light green ones, with the yellow dust about
them. Brown hops have generally stayed too long on the vines.
Another Method.
Put two handsful of hops into three pints of water; let it boil to one
quart; when cold, strain it on to a pint of best flour, a table-spoonful
of salt, half a pint of sugar-house molasses, and a tea-cup of good
yeast: as it rises, skim off the top several times, when the yeast looks
white bottle it up tight and it will keep for several weeks.
Corn Flour Dry yeast.
Put a large handful of good hops in a quart of water; cover it close,
and let it boil nearly half away, when strain it over corn flour; it
must all be wet, but not so soft as for bread; put in a large spoonful
of salt, and mix it well; when about milk warm, put in two
table-spoonsful of yeast, (observe that the yeast is lively,) rub it
through with your hands; it must be so stiff as just to stick together;
set it in a warm place to rise, which it should do in a few hours. When
light, rub in more corn flour, and scatter it in dishes, very thin, (or
put it on a cloth on a large waiter, spread thinly.) It should be dried
quickly, or it may turn sour, either in the sun, (which is best,) or a
warm stove room; stir it over frequently; when perfectly dry, cover it
close, either in a jar or wooden box, and keep it in a dry closet.
Select a sunny day, and begin early in the morning, as by this method
you may have your yeast dry by night. Half a tea-cupful is enough for
two loaves of wheat bread, (it should be soaked in water some minutes
before using it,) and it is generally best to put in half a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus, as dry yeast is more apt to turn sour than
the liquid yeast.
Some good housekeepers use this yeast where hops are scarce, and it
answers very well. It will keep good six weeks or two months.
Potato Yeast.
Boil four large potatoes with a tea-cupful of hops tied loosely in a
bag; mash the potatoes in a pan, with a spoonful of salt, and four of
flour; pour the hop-water on it, and mix all together; when nearly cold,
put in two table-spoonsful of yeast; put it in a quart jar, and let it
rise; it will do to use in five or six hours. This yeast is much weaker
than the first receipt; but it has this advantage,--that with a pint of
it you may knead up four loaves of bread at night without making rising.
It is best to make this yeast once a week, always being careful to have
the jar sweet before you put it in.
Potato Yeast with Sugar.
To about a quart of potatoes, boiled and made thin enough with warm
water to pass through a sieve, add, when cold, a tea-cupful of sugar, a
table-spoonful of salt, and a gill of common yeast. This is a quick
yeast, but will not keep so long as those before mentioned.
Dry Yeast.
Put a pint of hops in half a gallon of water; cover it close and boil it
down to one half; strain it over flour enough to make a thick batter;
when nearly cold, put in a tea-cup of yeast, and three table-spoonsful
of salt; when well risen, work in as much corn meal as will make it as
stiff as biscuit dough; add a spoonful of sugar and one of ginger; when
it rises again, make it out into little cakes, which must be dried in
the shade, and turned twice a day. If made in dry weather, this yeast
will keep for several months, and is useful when hops are scarce; it
should be kept in a tight box, or a bag hung up in a dry place.
Milk Yeast.
If you have no yeast, you may make some with milk, to rise with. Take a
pint of new milk and stir in it two tea-spoonsful of salt, and half a
tea-cup of flour; keep it moderately warm by the fire, and it will
lighten in about an hour; stir in flour enough to make a large loaf of
bread, with more milk or water. This yeast should be used immediately,
and will do to lighten hop yeast. To thicken half a gallon of water with
a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little salt and flour, makes very good
yeast when you cannot get hops. It will do to use in a day.
Superior Boiled Milk Rolls.
Boil a quart of new milk; pour it on a quart of flour, while boiling
hot, and stir it well; when nearly cold, add two tea-spoonsful of salt,
two table-spoonsful of lard, and half a tea-cup of good yeast; set it in
a warm place to rise for about two hours; when light, work flour in it
on the cake-board, and, when quite smooth, mould it out into rolls, and
put them in a baking-pan, which has been rubbed with lard or butter; set
them in a warm place to rise again;--if the weather is warm, on a table
in the kitchen, but if cold, set them by the fire. When light, put them
in a cool place till you are ready to bake; they should have a moderate
heat, and will bake in half an hour. In winter they may be moulded out
and placed in the bake pan over night for breakfast, or some hours
before wanted for tea, and kept in a cool place till half an hour before
baking, when set them near the stove to rise up. With the addition of
nutmeg and sugar, you may make nice rusk.
Egg Rolls.
Boil a quart of new milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, the same
of lard, and a little salt; beat up two eggs, and pour the boiling milk
on them, stirring all the time; when nearly cold, add a tea-cup of yeast
and as much wheat flour as will make it a thick batter, when quite light
knead it up as bread, and let it lighten before moulding out; grease the
pans, and bake them with a moderate heat. A little sugar and water
rubbed on just before baking rolls makes them glossy.
Soft Rolls.
Rub two ounces of butter into two pounds of flour; stir in as much
boiling milk as will make a soft dough, when cold enough, add half a
tea-cup of yeast, and a little salt; beat it well with a spoon, and
let it rise as long as bread; mould them out in pans, and bake as
other rolls.
Water Rolls.
Make a rising of a quart of warm water, a little salt, a tea-cup of
yeast, two spoonsful of butter and flour; let this rise, and knead it
with as much flour as will make a soft dough, and work it well; when it
has risen again, mould it out, and bake half an hour.
A nice griddle cake may be made by rolling this out, and baking it on
the griddle or dripping-pan of a stove.
Potato Rolls.
Boil potatoes enough to make a quart when mashed, which should be done
with a rolling-pin on a cake-board; mix these with a gallon of flour, a
spoonful of butter, one of lard, and some salt; stir in water sufficient
to make dough, not quite so stiff as for light bread, and a tea-cup of
yeast; knead it for half an hour, and set it to rise; when it is light,
set it away in a cold place, and as you require it, cut off a piece;
mould it in little cakes, and let them rise an hour before baking. These
rolls will keep several days in cold weather. If the dough should get
sour, mix in some salaeratus.
Another Way.
Boil a quart of pared potatoes--pour off the water, mash them, add half
a pint of sweet milk, warmed, and a small table-spoonful of salt; stir
well, and pour it scalding hot into a quart of flour; add cold milk
enough to make it the right consistence for rising; stir in half a tea
cup of yeast, and set it by to rise, it will soon be light, and is then
to be made into dough, with shortened flour, as other rolls, and made
out into cakes; and after standing in a warm place to become light
again, which should not take long, bake with rather a quick heat. These
rolls may be eaten warmed over.
Mush Rolls, without Milk or Eggs.
When milk is scarce, (or for a change,) you can make good rolls with
mush. Take a pint of corn meal, pour on it three pints of boiling
water--stirring it as you pour; put in three ounces of lard, a
table-spoonful of salt, and when milk warm, put in two table-spoonsful
of yeast, then mix in wheat flour, and make it a soft dough; cover the
pan close, set it in a warm place till it begins to rise; as soon as
light, set it in a cold place; mould them out an hour before you bake
them, and allow them to rise in the dripping-pan. It will do to bake in
a large cake rolled out.
Twist Rolls.
Boil a pint of milk, put in a small lump of butter and a little salt;
beat up an egg and put in, when nearly cold, with a spoonful of yeast
and some flour; when light, knead in more flour to make it quite stiff;
work it well, and let it rise again; grease a dutch-oven or spider,
flour your hands, and roll it out in rings, or round several times, a
little higher in the middle. They will be nearly all crust, and suit
delicate persons that cannot eat other warm bread.
French Rolls.
To one quart of sweet milk, boiled and cooled, half a pound of butter,
half a tea cup of yeast, a little salt, and flour enough to make a soft
dough, beat up the milk, butter and yeast in the middle of the flour,
let it stand till light, in a warm place; then work it up with the
whites of two eggs, beaten light; let it rise again, then mould out into
long rolls; let them stand on the board or table, to lighten, an hour or
two, then grease your pans and bake in a oven or stove.
Bread Rolls.
In the morning, when your bread is light, take as much as would make one
loaf; pour boiling water on half a pint of corn meal--stir it well--add
a little salt, spread open the dough and work in the mush, with the
addition of a table-spoonful of lard or butter, and a little flour, work
well and mould out, placing them in your pans, and set them in a
moderately warm place to lighten for tea; bake in a stove, if the
weather is cold. This dough will keep two days, and may be baked as you
need them.
Maryland Biscuit.
Rub half a pound of lard into three pounds of flour; put in a spoonful
of salt, a tea cup of cream, and water sufficient to make it into a
stiff dough; divide it into two parts, and work each well till it will
break off short, and is smooth; (some pound it with an iron hammer, or
axe;) cut it up in small pieces, and work them into little round cakes;
give them a slight roll with the rolling-pin, and stick them, bake them
in a dutch-oven, brick-oven, or dripping-pan of a stove, with a quick
heat. These biscuits are very nice for tea, either hot or cold.
Light Biscuit.
Boil a quart of milk, and when nearly cold, stir it in the middle of
your pan of flour, with two spoonsful of yeast, and one of butter and
salt; let it lighten for two or three hours; knead the flour in it, and
let it rise again: a little while before you bake, roll it out, and cut
it with the top of your dredging-box. Let them rise a few minutes in the
dripping-pan.
Salaeratus Biscuit.
Warm a quart of sweet milk, and put in it half a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, and a heaped spoonful of lard or butter, and half a spoonful
of salt; pour this in as much flour as will make a stiff dough; work it
a quarter of an hour; mould and bake them as other biscuit.
Quick Biscuit.
Rub a small table-spoonful of lard into a quart of flour, and mix in two
tea-spoonsful of finely powdered cream of tartar, with a tea-spoonful of
salt; put a tea-spoonful of super carbonate of soda in a pint of warm
milk,--work it in and make the paste of ordinary consistence for biscuit
or pie crust, adding flour or milk, if either is needed; make it out in
biscuit form, or roll it about half an inch thick, and cut in
shapes,--bake them about twenty minutes.
Tea Biscuit.
Melt half a pound of butter in a quart of warm milk; add a spoonful of
salt, sift two pounds of flour, make a hole in the centre, put in three
table-spoonsful of yeast, add the milk and butter; make a stiff paste;
when quite light, knead it well, roll it out an inch thick, cut it with
a tumbler, prick them with a fork, bake in buttered pans, with a quick
heat; split and butter before sending them to table.
Dyspepsy Biscuit.
Make them as Maryland biscuit, except that, instead of either lard or
butter, you must use a portion of rich cream, beat or work them well,
and roll them moderately thin.
Salaeratus Cake.
Warm a pint of butter-milk, put in it a tea-spoonful of powdered
salaeratus, and a piece of lard the size of an egg; stir it into flour
till it is a soft dough; roll it out, and bake it on the griddle, or in
the dripping-pan of a stove. If you have no sour milk, put a
table-spoonful of vinegar in sweet milk.
Wafer Cakes.
Rub half a pound of lard into two pounds and a half of flour, add a
little salt and water sufficient to make a stiff dough: work it well for
half an hour, make it in small round lumps, and roll these until they
are as thin as possible; bake them with a slow heat and they will look
almost white. These are nice cakes for tea either hot or cold.
Short Cake.
To three quarts of flour take three-quarters of a pound of lard, and a
spoonful of salt; rub the lard in the flour, and put in cold water,
sufficient to make a stiff dough; roll it out without working in thin
cakes; have the bake-iron hot, flour it, and bake with a quick heat;
when one side is brown, turn and bake the other; when baked in the
dripping-pan of a stove, they do without turning;--you may cut them in
round cakes, if you choose. Some use half milk and half water; in that
case, less lard is required.
Cold Water Muffins.
Sift a quart of flour, add to it a little salt, a large spoonful of
yeast, beat the white of a fresh egg to a froth; after mixing the flour
up with cold water into a soft dough, add the egg; set it in a
moderately warm place. Next morning beat it well with a spoon, put it on
the bake-iron in round cakes; when one side is nicely brown, turn them;
keep them hot till sent to table, split and butter them. If you wish to
have muffins for tea, they should be made up early in the Morning.
Smith Muffins.
Boil a quart of new milk, have three pounds of flour, three eggs well
beaten, a quarter of a pound of lard, a table-spoonful of salt; rub the
lard in the flour and while the milk is still warm, (but not hot,) stir
it in the flour, put in the eggs, and a tea-cup of good yeast: beat all
well, and set them in a warm place to rise, when light they should be
set in a cool place till you are ready to bake them, which should be in
rings, or round cakes on the bake-iron, in a dutch-oven, or the
dripping-pan of a stove, butter just as you send them to table. If the
batter is kept in a cold place it will keep good for two days in winter.
Before baking muffins, or any kind of light cakes, taste the batter, and
if at all sour, put in a small portion of salaeratus, (previously
dissolved in hot water.)--In this way superior muffins may be made.
Mansfield Muffins.
Take a quart of milk, three eggs, quarter of a pound of butter or lard,
a tea-cup of yeast, and flour to make a soft dough; heat the whites of
the eggs alone, the yelks with the milk; melt the butter and stir it in
after all is mixed; bake them in rings, or in round cakes on the
griddle: split and butter before sending them to table.
Rice Muffins.
Pour a quart of milk on four heaped spoonsful of rice flour, stir it
well, and put in a little salt and wheat flour, to make it a proper
thickness, two eggs and two spoonsful of yeast, allow it four hours to
rise, and bake in rings, or thin it and bake as batter cakes.
Muffins.
Warm a pint of milk, and stir into it a pound and a quarter of flour, (a
quart of flour is about equal to a pound and a quarter,) and two eggs,
the yelks beaten with the batter, the whites alone, mix with these two
spoonsful of lively yeast and a little salt, let them rise, and when you
are nearly ready to bake them, stir in a large spoonful of melted
butter, butter the rings and bake on a griddle, or in the dripping-pan
of a stove. Split and butter before sending them to table.
Mush Muffins.
Make a quart of mush, put into it a lump of butter or lard, the size of
two eggs, and a little salt, previously to making the mush, have ready a
pint of light rising, stir into it a pint of new milk, and the mush,
with as much wheat flour as will make it a very thick batter, let it
rise four or five hours, and when light, set it in a cold place, till
you are ready to bake, dip a spoon in water each time, and put the
batter on the griddle in small cakes, or bake in rings. You may make it
a little stiffer, and roll it out to bake in large cakes. If it should
sour, put in a little salaeratus. If you have no milk, water will do
instead. They will be nice toasted.
A Loaf of Muffin Batter.
Stir into a pint of mush a small lump of butter, a little salt, a pint
of milk, and wheat flour to make a thick batter; stir into it half a tea
cup of yeast, and let it rise, when it is light, butter a pan, pour it
in and bake, eat it hot, at breakfast or supper. It will bake in a
shallow pan in half an hour, if in a deep vessel, allow more time.
Boiled Milk Muffins.
Boil a quart of new milk, and pour it boiling hot, on as much flour as
will make a thick batter, put in a table-spoonful of butter, and the
same of lard, two tea-spoonsful of salt, half a tea cup of yeast, one
egg beaten; allow time to rise from six to eight hours; when perfectly
light, set them in a cool place, till you are ready to bake, when you
may use rings, or not, as you please--but be sure to butter the rings.
Cream Muffins.
Take a quart of sour cream, and two eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of
salt; stir the eggs into the cream, gradually; add sifted flour enough
to make a thick batter, dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as much
vinegar as will cover it, and stir it in at the last; bake in small
cakes on the griddle, or in muffin rings in the dripping-pan of a stove.
Waffles.
Make a batter of a pound and a half of flour, quarter of a pound of
melted butter, and two large spoonsful of yeast; put in three eggs, the
whites and yelks beaten separately; mix it with a quart of milk, and put
in the butter just before you bake, allow it four hours to rise; grease
the waffle-irons, fill them with the batter--bake them on a bed of
coals. When they have been on the fire two or three minutes, turn the
waffle-irons over,--when brown on both sides, they are sufficiently
baked. The waffle-irons should be well greased with lard, and very hot
before each one is put in. The waffles should be buttered as soon as
cooked. Serve them up with powdered white sugar and cinnamon.
Quick Waffles.
Take a pint of milk, and beat into it three eggs, and enough wheat flour
to make a thick batter; add a table-spoonful of melted butter, and a
little salt; bake them immediately. Some persons add two table-spoonsful
of sugar, and a little cinnamon; others dust loaf sugar and cinnamon, or
nutmeg over each waffle, as it is baked.
Rice Waffles.
To six spoonsful of soft boiled rice, add two tea-cups of water or
milk, and some salt, stir in three tea-cups of ground rice, and bake as
other waffles.
Flannel Cakes.
Warm a quart of milk, put in a spoonful of butter, a little salt, and
two eggs well beaten, stir in flour till it is a thin batter, and two
spoonsful of yeast; beat all well together, adding the eggs at the
last; allow it five hours to rise, and bake it on the griddle in cakes,
the size of a breakfast plate. Do not butter them till you send them to
the table.
Mush Flannel Cakes.
Mix a pint of corn mush with two of wheat flour, a spoonful of butter or
lard, two eggs and half a tea-cup of yeast; make it in a batter with
water or milk, and bake like buckwheat cakes.
Bread Batter Cakes.
Soak slices of stale bread in cold sweet milk for half an hour, then put
it over the fire, and let it come to a boil; and mash it well, when
nearly cool, add wheat flour enough to make a stiff batter, beat this
together with two eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a table-spoonful of
good yeast, let it rise and bake as buckwheat cakes, if light before you
are ready, set them in a cold place.
Butter-milk Cakes.
You may make a very good batter cake without eggs. To a quart of
butter-milk, put a piece of lard, the size of an egg; warm them
together, and stir in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus; make it in a thin
batter with flour; beat it a few minutes, and bake it as other cakes.
Buckwheat Cakes.
Take quart of buckwheat flour, half a pint of wheat flour, and a
spoonful of salt; make them into a thick batter, with milk-warm water,
put in a half tea-cup of yeast, and beat it well, set it by the fire to
rise, and if it should be light before you are ready to bake, put a
tea-cup of cold water on the top, to prevent it from running over, if it
should get sour, pour in a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in hot
water, just before you bake.
It is best to make them up quite thick, and thin them with a little warm
water before you bake; butter them just as you send them to table. If
you can get brewers' yeast, it is much better for buckwheat cakes. In
very cold weather, they may be kept made up for several days, and baked
as required.
Sally Lunn.
Warm a quart of milk with a quarter of a pound of butter, and a heaped
spoonful of sugar, beat up three eggs, and put in, with a little salt,
and flour enough to make it stiffer than pound cake, beat it well, put
in a tea cup of yeast, and let it rise, butter a fluted pan and pour it
in, bake it in a quick oven, slice and butter it. If you wish tea at six
o'clock, set it to rise at ten in the morning. Bake it an hour.
Butter-milk Batter Cakes.
Soak pieces of dry stale bread in a quart of butter-milk, until soft,
break in two eggs, add a little butter or lard, and salt and flour
enough to make it stick together, beat it well, add a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, dissolved in warm water; thin it with a little sweet milk,
and bake as other batter cakes. They may be prepared in a short time.
Toast.
Cut your bread (which is better to be stale) in tolerably thick slices,
brown it slowly before the fire on each side; you may either butter it
dry, or mix butter in water, with a little salt added, and after making
it boiling hot, pour over each slice as you send it to table.
A Dish of Milk Toast for Breakfast.
Boil a quart of rich milk, take it off, and stir in half a pound of
fresh butter, mixed with a small spoonful of flour, let it again come to
a boil; have ready a dish of toast, pour it from a spoon over each
piece, and what remains, pour over the whole, keep it covered and hot,
till you send to table.
General Remarks on making Bread of Indian Corn Meal.
A wooden spoon with a long handle, is the best for stirring and mixing
the bread or cakes. It requires more salt than other bread, and should
be well mixed or beaten. If it is mixed over night, it should generally
be done with cold water, and set in the cellar or some cool place in
summer, in winter it requires rather a warmer place to stand. It sours
more easily than bread made of other flour. In the morning, if you find
that it is at all acid, dissolve half a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in
warm water, and stir it just before it is put to bake. Where milk is
used, it should be baked immediately, and the richer the milk, the more
palatable it is. Whatever you bake this bread in, should be well greased
first, as it is more apt to adhere to the oven than some other kinds of
flour. It should bake with a quick heat.
When you buy salaeratus, pound it fine, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle,
and cork it tight. Some persons keep it dissolved in water, but you
cannot judge of the strength of it so well.
Corn Meal Porridge.
Put on to boil in a sauce-pan a quart of milk, mix a small tea-cup of
corn meal with half a pint of cold water, (let it settle, and pour off
what swims on the top,) then stir it in well to keep it from being
lumpy; let it boil only a few minutes; add salt to the taste. This makes
a good breakfast for children, and is a light diet for an invalid. It
can be seasoned with sugar.
Mush, Mush Cakes, and Fried Mush.
Mush will keep for several days in cool weather; the best way of making
it is to have a pot of boiling water, and stir in corn meal, mixed with
water, and salt enough to season the whole; let it boil, and if it is
not thick enough you can add more meal; keep stirring all the time to
prevent it from being lumpy. It should boil an hour.
To make the cakes, take a quart of cold mush, mix in it half a pint of
wheat flour, and a little butter or lard, make it out in little cakes
with your hands, flour them and bake them on a griddle or in a dripping
pan. Fried mush is a good plain dessert, eaten with sugar and cream. Cut
the cold mush in slices, half an inch thick, or make them into small
cakes, dip them in flour, and fry them in hot lard.
Journey Cake.
Pour boiling water on a quart of meal, put in a little lard and salt,
and mix it well, have an oak board with a rim of iron at the bottom, and
an iron handle fastened to it that will prop it up to the fire; put some
of the dough, on it, dip your hand in cold water and smooth it over;
score it with a knife, and set it before coals to bake.
Corn Batter Cakes.
Take a quart of good milk, three eggs, a little salt, and as much sifted
corn meal as will make a thin batter; beat all well together, with a
spoonful of wheat flour to keep them from breaking, bake in small cakes,
keep them hot, and butter just as you send to table. Another way to make
corn batter cakes, is to take a quart of corn meal, two eggs, a small
lump of butter or lard, and mix it up with milk, or half water, if milk
is scarce, and bake them either thin or thick.
Rice Cakes.
Take a pint of soft boiled rice, a pint of milk, a little salt, and as
much corn meal as will make a thin batter with two eggs; beat all
together, and bake as corn batter cakes, or make it thicker and bake
it in a pan.
Corn Bannock.
To one quart of sour milk, put a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved
in water; warm the milk slightly, beat up an egg, and put in corn meal
enough to make it as thick as pudding batter, and some salt; grease a
pan and bake it, or you may put it in six or eight saucers.
Virginia Pone.
Beat three eggs, and stir them in a quart of milk, with a little salt, a
spoonful of melted butter, and as much sifted corn meal as will make it
as thick as corn batter cakes; grease the pans and bake quick.
Lightened Pone.
Take half a gallon of corn meal, and pour boiling water on one-third of
it; mix it together with warm water till it is a thick batter; put in
two table-spoonsful of lively yeast, and one of salt; stir it well and
set it by the fire to rise; when it begins to open on the top, grease
the dutch-oven and put it to bake, or bake it in a pan in a stove.
Cold Water Pone.
Make a stiff batter with a quart of Indian meal, cold water and a little
salt; work it well with the hand; grease a pan or oven, and bake it
three-quarters of an hour. Eat it hot at dinner, or with milk at supper.
Indian Bread with Butter-milk.
To one quart of butter-milk, slightly warmed, put a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus, dissolved in water, two eggs, well beaten, a table-spoonful
of melted butter or lard, a little salt; stir in with a spoon as much
Indian meal as will make a thick batter; beat it for a few minutes,
grease your pans, and bake quickly. If you bake this quantity in two
pans, a half hour will be sufficient, or if in one, it will take an
hour. Look at it often while baking, as it is liable to burn. An
excellent recipe.
Little Indian Cakes.
Put a spoonful of lard in a quart of meal, and two tea-spoonsful of
salt, pour boiling water on half the meal, stir it; then add as much
cold water as will enable you to make it out in cakes of a convenient
size, bake on the bake-iron over the fire.
Maryland Corn Cakes.
Mix a pint of corn meal with rich milk, a little salt, and an egg, it
should be well beaten with a spoon, and made thin enough to pour on the
iron; take in cakes the size of a breakfast plate; butter and send them
hot to table.
A Virginia Hoe Cake.
Pour warm water on a quart of Indian meal, stir in a spoonful of lard or
butter, some salt, make it stiff, and work it for ten minutes, have a
board about the size of a barrel head, (or the middle piece of the head
will answer,) wet the board with water, and spread on the dough with
your hand, place it before the fire, prop it aslant with a flat-iron,
bake it slowly, when one side is nicely brown, take it up and turn it,
by running a thread between the cake and the board, then put it back,
and let the other side brown. These cakes used to be baked in Virginia
on a large iron hoe, from whence they derive their name.
Batter Bread with Yeast.
Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, into a quart of com meal, add
a little salt, make it in a batter with two eggs and some new milk, add
a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little
pans, and bake with a quick heat.
Carolina Corn Rolls.
Take a pint of corn meal; pour over it sufficient boiling water to make
a very stiff dough, then add a table-spoonful of salt, and permit it to
stand until about milk-warm; work it well with the hand, then make out
the rolls, of an oblong shape, and bake them from half to three-quarters
of an hour, according to their size. The addition of a small lump of
butter or lard is an improvement. If they are rightly made, they will
split on the top in baking, and can be eaten by those who cannot partake
of other preparations made of corn flour.
Mixed Bread.
Put a little salt, and a spoonful of yeast, into a quart of flour; make
it sufficiently soft with corn meal gruel; let it rise; bake in a mould.
New England Hasty Pudding, or Stir-about.
Boil three quarts of water in an iron pot; mix a pint of Indian meal in
cold water, and make it thin enough to pour easily; when the water
boils, pour it in; stir well with a wooden stick kept for the purpose;
it takes about an hour to boil; salt to your taste; stir in dry meal to
make it thick enough, beating it all the time. Eat it with milk or
molasses, or butter and sugar. This is said to be a wholesome diet for
dyspeptic patients, and makes a good meal for children.
Corn Muffins.
Warm three pints of milk, and stir into it as much corn meal as will
make it as thick as pudding batter, add two handsful of wheat flour,
two tea-spoonsful of salt, three eggs, and a tea-cup of yeast. Beat the
whole well together, and let it rise about six hours, when bake as
other muffins.
Soaked Crackers for Tea.
Pour boiling water on crackers, put in some butter and a little salt;
cover them close and keep them warm till tea is ready; if you have milk,
boil it, and pour over instead of water. This is easily prepared.
PIES, PUDDINGS, CAKES, &c.
To Make Common Pies.
One pound of lard to a gallon of flour will make very good common pies.
Work the lard in the flour, put in some salt, and wet it with water,
make it so that it can just be rolled out, when you have put in the
fruit, wet the crust with water, put on the top and close it up, stick
it with a fork on the top.
To Stew Fruit for Pies.
All fruits that are not fully ripe should be stewed and sweetened. To
boil a gallon of molasses at a time, and keep it to sweeten pies, is
cheaper than sugar, and answers a very good purpose, where there is a
large family. When fruit is fully ripe it does very well to bake in
pies, without being stewed.
After washing the dried fruit, put it on to stew in a bell-metal kettle
over the fire, or in a tin pan in a stove, let it have plenty of water,
as it swells very much, and if it seems dry, put in more water. Apples
take longer to stew than peaches, and should have more water. Fruit
stewed in this way is very good to put on the table to eat with meat. Do
not stir the fruit while it is stewing, or it will burn. Dried cherries
and damsons may be stewed in the same manner, adding the sugar before
they are quite done.
Pie Crust.
Sift a pound and a half of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling;
cut in it a quarter of a pound of lard, mix it with water, and roll it
out; cut half a pound of butter, and put it in at two rollings with the
flour that was left out.
For making the bottom crust of pies, cut half a pound of lard into a
pound of flour, with a little salt; mix it stiff, and grease the
plates before you make pies; always make your paste in a cold place,
and bake it soon.
Some persons prefer mixing crust with milk instead of water.
Paste for Puddings.
Sift a pound of flour, have half a pound of butter and quarter of a
pound of lard, save out a quarter of the flour for rolling, cut the lard
into the remainder, and mix it with water; roll it out, and flake in
half of the butter; dust over it some of the flour, close it up; roll it
again, and put in the rest of the butter. This quantity will make crust
for five or six puddings.
Another Way.
To three and a half pounds of sifted flour, put two pounds of lard, and
a piece of volatile salts (as large as a full sized nutmeg) dissolved in
a little water;--make a pretty stiff paste; then roll in three-quarters
of a pound of butter. This will make about eight pies and twelve shells.
Puff Paste.
Sift a pound of flour, and take out a quarter for rolling, divide a
pound of butter into four parts, cut one part of the butter into the
flour with a knife, make it a stiff dough with water, roll it out, and
flake it with part of the butler, do this three times till it is all in,
handle it as little as possible, and keep it in a cool place. This
quantity will make crust sufficient for three puddings and ten puffs.
They should bake with a quick beat, but do not let them burn, they will
take from ten to fifteen minutes to bake, according to the number of
layers of paste. Do not put on the preserves till a short time before
they are eaten.
Rich Mince Pies.
Take four pounds of beef, boiled and chopped fine, pick and chop three
pounds of suet, wash two pounds of currants, and one of raisins; grate
the peel of two lemons, and put in the juice, pound a spoonful of dried
orange peel, slice an ounce of citron, and chop twelve large apples, mix
these together with three pounds of sugar, half a pint of wine, and the
same of brandy--and sweet cider to make it a proper thickness, put in
mace and nutmeg to your taste. If the cider is not sweet, you must put
in more sugar before the pies are baked, cut several places in the top
of each with a pair of scissors.
Mince Pies not so Rich.
Take four pounds of beef after it has been boiled and chopped, one of
suet, two of sugar, two of raisins, and four of chopped apples, mix
these together with a pint of wine and cider, to make it thin enough,
season to your taste with mace, nutmeg and orange peel; if it is not
sweet enough, put in more sugar. Warm the pies before they are eaten.
Where persons are not fond of suet, put butter instead, and stew the
apples instead of so much cider.
Farmers' Mince Pies.
When you kill a beef, save the head for pies; it is some trouble to
prepare it, but it is very nice for the purpose. Split the head, take
out the brains and eyes, wash it well in cold water, and soak it all
night with two hog's heads that have been cleaned; in the morning, boil
them till you can take out the bones easily; skim off the froth as it
rises, or it will stick to the meat; pick out the bones, and chop it
fine, with three pounds of suet. This should be done the day before you
want to bake.
Mix to this quantity of meat, two gallons of chopped apples, four pounds
of raisins, half a gallon of boiled molasses, a pint of currant wine, a
tea-cup of rose brandy, an ounce of cinnamon, orange peel and mace, from
two to four nutmegs, and sweet cider enough to make it the right
thickness; if the cider is not sweet, put in more molasses; when all is
mixed, it is best to bake a small pie, as you can alter the seasoning,
if it is not to your taste. If you have not raisins, dried cherries or
small grapes, that have been preserved in molasses, are very good, or
stewed dried apples, instead of green; and where you have no cider, stew
the apples in plenty of water, so as to have them very soft; a little
good vinegar, sweetened and mixed with water, also does instead of
cider, but is not so good.
This will make about forty pies, and if you have a convenient way of
keeping them, you may bake all at once, as they will keep for two months
very readily when the weather is cold. If you do not bake all at once,
put what is left in a jar, cover the top with melted suet, and over this
put a piece of white paper, with a tea-cup of spirits poured on the
top; tie it up and keep it where it will not freeze. Where persons have
a large family, and workmen on a farm, these pies are very useful.
Rhubarb Pie.
Peel the stalks, cut them in small pieces, and stew them till very soft
in a little water; when done, mash and sweeten with sugar; set it away
to cool; make a puff paste, and bake as other pies. Some prefer it
without stewing, cutting the stems in small pieces, and strewing sugar
over them before the crust is put on. These pies will lose their fine
flavor after the first day. They take less sugar than gooseberries.
Peach Pie.
Take mellow clingstone peaches, pare, but do not cut them; put them in
a deep pie plate lined with crust, sugar them well, put in a
table-spoonful of water, and sprinkle a little flour over the peaches;
cover with a thick crust, in which make a cut in the centre, and bake
from three-quarters to one hour.
Sweet Potato Pie.
Boil the potatoes, skin and slice them; put a layer of potatoes and a
layer of good apples sliced thin in a deep dish; put potatoes and apples
alternately till the dish is filled, mix together wine, water, sugar,
butter and nutmeg, and pour over, cover it with crust, and bake as
oyster pie.
Pork Mince Pies.
Take pieces of fresh pork that have been left from sausage meat, or any
trimmings of the hams or shoulders; boil them, then chop. Have two heads
nicely washed and cleaned, boil, pick out the bones and chop them; mix
with the other meat, and season as you do other mince pies, they do not
require any suet. The lower crust of mince pies need not be so rich as
the top; always cut several places in the top crust with scissors, to
keep the juice from wasting. When you warm mince pies, do it gradually,
and do not have the crust scorched. Some prefer them cold. When the pies
are very plain, a little preserve syrup, and a glass of wine added is an
improvement.
Currant Pie.
After stemming green currants, scald them, and allow them to stand
awhile; pour off the water; have the crust in your plates; put in the
currants, sweeten them well; put in a little water, a dust of flour and
a little orange peel. Gooseberries are prepared in the same way, but
require more sugar. Cherries should not be scalded.
Pumpkin Pudding.
Choose a yellow pumpkin, with a fine grain, pare and cut it in small
pieces, boil it in plenty of water, and take it up as soon as it is
done, or it will soak up the water; to a gallon of pumpkin, stewed and
mashed, put two quarts of milk, eight eggs, half a pound of butter, half
a tea-cup of lemon or rose brandy; nutmeg and sugar to your taste; bake
it in deep plates, with a bottom crust.
Apple Pudding.
Take three pints of stewed apples, well mashed, melt a pound of
butter, beat ten eggs with two pounds of sugar, and mix all together
with a glass of brandy and wine; pat in nutmeg to your taste, and bake
in puff paste.
Quince Pudding
Take six quinces, pare them, cut them in quarters, and stew them, in a
little water with lemon peel; cover them and let them cook gently till
soft, when mash, or rub them through a sieve; mix them with sugar till
very sweet, season with mace and nutmeg; beat up four eggs and stir in
with a pint of cream; bake it in paste.
Potato Pudding.
Take a pound and a half of well mashed potatoes; while they are warm put
in three-quarters of a pound of butter; beat six eggs with
three-quarters of a pound of sugar, rolled fine, mix all well together,
and put in a glass of brandy; season with nutmeg, mace or essence of
lemon, and bake in paste.
Cocoanut Pudding.
Take three-quarters of a pound of grated cocoanut, with the brown skin
taken off, half a pound of sugar, the same of butter, the whites of six
eggs, beaten light, half a pint of cream, a glass of brandy, or
rose-water, and a quarter of a pound of crackers, pounded fine, beat
them together and bake in paste. If you wish the pudding rich, take a
pound of butter, the same quantity of cocoanut, of sugar and whites of
eggs, omitting the crackers and cream. Season as above. This quantity
will fill six dessert plates of large size.
Sweet Potato Pudding.
Boil the potatoes, take off the skin, mash and strain them while warm;
to a pound of potatoes put half a pound of butter; beat six eggs with
half a pound of loaf-sugar, add a little mace or nutmeg; mix all
together, and bake with or without paste.
Lemon Pudding.
Grate the rind of six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and
strain it; beat the yelks of sixteen eggs very light, put to them
sixteen table-spoonsful of powdered sugar, not heaped, with four
crackers finely powdered; beat it till light; put a puff paste in your
dish and bake in a moderate oven.
Another Way.
Take one pound of potatoes strained through a sieve, half a pound of
butter, the same of rolled sugar, the juice of two lemons and the
peel of one; beat five eggs, and mix all together with a glass of
wine and a nutmeg.
A Preserve Pudding.
Take a deep dish, butter it well and spread a layer of preserves,
without syrup--either quinces, citron, apples or peaches; rub together a
pound of fresh butter, and the same of powdered loaf-sugar, and add the
yelks of sixteen eggs well beaten; pour this on the preserves, bake it
in a quick oven for half an hour; it may be set by till the next day;
beat the whites of the eggs as for island, seasoning with currant jelly,
and spread it over the pudding cold, just as it goes to table. This
makes a rich dish and is eaten without sauce. This quantity will bake in
four ordinary pie plates.
Arrow Root Pudding.
Take four table spoonsful of arrow root, mixed in a little cold milk;
pour on this a quart of boiling milk, beat six eggs with three table
spoonsful of sugar, and stir all together with a spoonful of butter,
bake it twenty minutes in paste.
Rice Pudding.
Pour a quart of boiling milk on a pint of rice flour, stir it well, and
put in six spoonsful of sugar, one of butter, and four eggs, beat all
together, and bake in deep plates, with or without crust.
Another Way.
Boil half a pound of rice till soft, when nearly cold stir in half a
pound of white sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, and three eggs
well beaten; grate in half a nutmeg, stir in a pint of rich milk; pour
all in a yellow dish and bake half an hour; then, put a thick coating of
loaf sugar on the top, and eat hot, with or without cream.
Pudding Of Whole Rice.
Boil a pint of washed rice in milk or water, till soft, put in a lump of
butter, five eggs, and sugar to your taste, season with essence of
lemon, or lemon peel, and mix in cream to make it thin enough to pour,
bake it in paste, in deep plates.
A Pudding Of Corn Meal.
Pour three pints of boiling milk on nearly half a pint of sifted
corn meal, stir in half a pound of butter, add four eggs, a little
nutmeg, rose brandy, and the grated peel of a lemon, sweeten it, and
bake it in paste.
Corn Pudding in Paste.
To two pounds of mush moderately warm, put three-quarters of a pound of
butter, the yelks of six eggs, the rind of one lemon, and juice of two;
sugar and nutmeg to your taste, and bake in paste as potato puddings.
This is much admired.
Richmond Pudding.
Take one pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, half a pound of currants
rubbed in flour, a pound and a half of grated bread, a pound of suet
shred fine, eight eggs, two glasses of brandy, and two of wine; beat
them all together, adding the eggs at the last; dip your bag or cloth in
boiling water and flour it well; pour in the pudding and tie it up,
leaving room for it to swell; allow it four hours to boil; eat it with
white sauce.
Suet Pudding.
Take half a pound of suet chopped fine, four tea-cups of flour, and five
eggs; beat these together with a quart of milk, and half a spoonful of
salt; put in three tea-cups of raisins just before you tie it up; they
should be rubbed in flour to prevent them from sinking; dried cherries,
or pared dried peaches, are very good instead of raisins; scald the
cloth and flour it; leave room for the pudding to swell. If you put
one-fourth corn meal, you can do with fewer eggs.
Cheese Cakes.
Take one quart of curd, after the whey has been strained off, mix with
it half a pound of fresh butter, an ounce of pounded blanched almonds,
the whites of three eggs, a tea-cup of currants; season with sugar and
rose water to your taste, and bake in plates with paste.
Baked Apples.
Wash and core your apples, and in the vacancy left by the core, put
brown sugar, and bake them in a stove or oven.
Batter Pudding with Green Fruit.
Make a batter as for suet pudding. If you have small fruit, put it in
whole; if apples, chop them fine; boil it three hours.
Custard Bread and Butter Pudding.
Fill a pan with slices of buttered bread, with raisins, grated nutmeg
and sugar over each slice; beat six eggs with a tea-cup of sugar; add
two quarts of rich milk, and pour it over the bread and butter; bake it
in a stove or oven.
Balloon Puddings.
Mix a pint of rich milk with a pound and a quarter of flour; break
nine eggs; beat the yelks with the batter, the whites alone; when they
are mixed, stir in three-quarters of a pound of melted butter; grease
cups or bowls with butter; pour in the batter, and bake them half an
hour; if in a dutch-oven, put some water in the bottom; eat them with
white sauce.
Plain Rice Pudding.
Put two quarts of good milk in a tin pan, with a tea-cup of whole rice,
the same of stemmed raisins, and a little nutmeg or cinnamon, and sugar
to your taste. If you bake it in a dutch-oven, it is best to put a
little water in the bottom before you set it in; bake it till the rice
is soft, and there is a brown crust on the top.
A Rice Dish with Fruit.
Put a tea-cup of rice in a quart of milk, and boil it very slowly to
keep it from burning; when done, add a little salt, a tea-cup of cream,
and sugar enough to sweeten it; have ready, in a deep dish, any fruit
that is in season,--cherries, blackberries or apricots, apples, or
peaches, cut up and well sweetened, but uncooked; spread the rice
roughly over, and bake it slowly two hours. It may be eaten with cream,
and nutmeg, and is quite as good cold as warm.
Bread Pudding.
Bread pudding is made out of bread that is too dry to use; cut it fine,
boil it in milk, and mash it well; beat four eggs and put in, with half
a pound of raisins; boil it an hour and a half, or bake it.
Bread and Apple Pudding.
_To be eaten with Sauce_.
Put a layer of buttered bread in the bottom of a well buttered dish,
with chopped apples, sugar, grated bread and butter, and a little
pounded cinnamon; fill up the dish with alternate layers of these
articles, observing that it is better to have the inner layer of bread
thinner than that of the top and bottom. This is a nice dish for those
who cannot partake of pastry.
Custard Hasty Pudding.
Put a quart of new milk on to boil; then mix a tea-cup of rice flour
with a little milk, two eggs, and three spoonsful of sugar; beat it, and
when your milk boils, stir it in; let it boil five minutes--when pour it
out on some buttered toast, in a bowl or dish, and grate nutmeg over it.
Elkridge Huckleberry Pudding.
One pound of flour, one of light-brown sugar, eight eggs--beat as
sponge cake, and add one quart of berries, nicely picked, washed, and
allowed to dry, bake as sponge cake. This maybe served with sauce;
either Lot or cold.
Huckleberry Pudding.
Make a batter of five eggs to a quart of milk, and a little butter;
pick, wash, and rub in flour a pint or more of huckleberries, put them
in, and bake as long as other puddings, or boil it in a bag.
Green Corn Pudding.
Cut the green corn through the grain, and scrape it off the cob with the
back of a knife; prepare a batter made of a quart of rich milk, two
eggs, and wheat flour, and a little salt; then add the corn, and beat it
well for a few minutes: it should be of a consistence to pour easily;
grease the pan, and pour it in; bake with quick heat in a stove or
spider, about half an hour. Six ears of corn will be enough for a quart
of milk, or you may double the quantity; eat it with butter, sugar and
cream, molasses, or any sauce that is convenient.
Baked Pudding.
Boil a quart of milk, and stir into it half a pint of corn meal and a
tea-spoonful of salt--mix this well together; beat two eggs, stir in
when nearly cold; add a tea-cup of chopped suet, two table-spoonsful of
sugar, a little spice--grease a pan, and pour it in; bake three-quarters
of an hour. Eat it with sugar and cream, or molasses sauce.
A Boiled Indian Pudding.
Boil a quart of milk, and stir in meal to make it a thick batter; put in
a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cup of suet, a spoonful of sugar; mix;
these well together, add two eggs, well beaten. If you have dried
peaches, soak them; sprinkle them with dry flour, and put them in, or
put in raisins, previously rubbed with wheat flour-beat it well; have
your pot boiling, scald the bag, flour it, and put in the pudding,--it
will boil in two hours. Eat with sugar and cream, molasses, or any kind
of pudding sauce.
Boiled Bread Pudding.
Take a loaf of stale light bread, tie it in a cloth, boil it an hour,
and eat it with sauce.
A Bird's Nest Pudding.
Pare and core some apples, enough to fill a deep dish, they should be
ripe, and such as will cook easily. Make a custard of five eggs, to a
quart of milk, and sugar and nutmeg to taste; pour this over, and bake
half an hour.
Little Puddings in Pans.
Beat four eggs very light; make a batter of two tea-cups of flour, three
of milk, and one of cream; pour in the eggs, and beat all well together;
put in a spoonful of melted butter; grease your shallow pins or cups,
and bake from twenty to thirty minutes; eat them with sauce, or sugar,
cream and nutmeg.
Switzerland Pudding.
Make a hatter of five eggs, a quart of milk and flour; pare and core
enough good apples to cover the bottom of your pan, fill the holes
where the cores came out with sugar, grease the pan, lay them in, and
pour the batter over, bake it an hour and a half, and make wine sauce
to eat with it.
Boiling Puddings.
In boiling puddings, you must observe to have plenty of water in the
pot; the pudding should be turned frequently, have the water boiling
when it goes in, and do not let it stop. Have a tea-kettle of water by
the fire to pour in as it evaporates. When the pudding is done, it
should be dipped in a pan of cold water, to prevent its adhering to
the cloth.
Screw Dumplings.
Roll out some paste thin, in a long strip, lay in preserves of any
kind, or stewed fruit, well sweetened, roll it up and close it tight,
pin it up in a towel, and boil it an hour, eat it with butter, sugar
and cream, or sauce.
Large Dumplings.
Take green fruit of any kind--peaches, apples, cherries, blackberries,
or huckleberries, make crust as for pies, roll it out, put in the fruit,
and pin it in a cloth, boil it two hours.
Peach and Apple Dumplings.
Make crust as for plain pies, cut it in as many pieces as you want
dumplings, pare and core the apples, roll out the crust, and close them
up, have the water boiling when they go in, and let them boil
three-quarters of an hour. Peaches pared and stoned make very good
dumplings, eat them with sauce of any kind, or sugar, cream and butter.
Light Bread Dumplings
Take as much lightened dough as will make a loaf of bread, work into it
half a pound of stemmed raisins, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it an
hour and a half.
Rice Dumplings
Wash and pick a pint of rice, boil it in water till it is soft; have
some apples pared and cored whole, fill the holes with sugar, cover them
over with the rice, and tie each one separately in a cloth; boil them
till the apples are done.
Indian Suet Dumplings
Chop beef suet fine, and to a pint of Indian meal, take a table-spoonful
of the suet and a little salt; pour on boiling water enough to make a
stiff dough, work it well, make into round cakes, and boil in clear
water. These are good when vegetables are scarce, to eat with meat, or
as a dessert with sugar or molasses.
Corn Dumplings.
When you boil corned beef, new bacon, or pork, you can make dumplings,
by taking some grease out of the pot, with some of the water, and
pouring it hot on a quart of Indian meal, mix and work it well, (it will
not require salt,) make it into little round cakes; (they should be
stiff, or they will boil to pieces;) take out the meat when it is done,
and boil the dumplings in the same water for half an hour. They may be
eaten with molasses, and make a good common dessert.
Pan Cakes.
Take five eggs to a quart of milk, make a thin batter with flour, have a
little hot lard in the frying-pan, and pour in enough batter to cover
the bottom; turn and fry the other side; if eggs are scarce, a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus will supply the place of two. Eat them with
wine and sugar.
Water Pan Cakes--a cheap Dessert.
Stir a quart of warm water in sufficient flour to make a batter of
moderate thickness; dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, with a little
salt, into a tea-cupful of butter-milk, or sour cream; beat it well; put
a little lard in a frying-pan, and when it is hot, fry them. They are
much better to be eaten hot, with sauce, sugar and cream, or any thing
you may fancy. This is a very cheap dessert, and has been thought nearly
equal to pan cakes made with milk and eggs.
Apple Fritters.
Allow four eggs to a quart of milk; make a thick batter with flour, and
beat it well; stir in a quart of apples, chopped fine: have a frying-pan
with hot lard, and drop a spoonful in a place; fry them light brown on
both sides, and eat with sugar and wine, or sweet cider.
Rice Fritters.
To a pint of rice flour add a tea-spoonful of salt and a pint of boiling
water; beat four eggs and stir them in, have hot lard in a frying-pan,
and fry them as other fritters.
Indian Meal Fritters.
Take a quart of butter-milk, (in which dissolve a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus,) stir in meal to make a batter of suitable thickness, a
tea-spoonful of salt and two eggs; beat all well together, and fry in
hot lard, as other fritters. If you like, you can put in chopped apples.
Eat with sugar or molasses.
Snow Fritters.
Take of light new fallen snow, three table-spoonsful for every egg you
would otherwise use--that is, if you would wish the quantity that three
eggs would make in the usual way, take nine table-spoonsful of snow,
and stir in a quart of rich milk that has been setting in a very cold
place, so that it will not melt the snow, and destroy its lightness; put
in a tea-spoonful of salt, and enough wheat flour to make a stiff
batter; have ready a frying-pan with boiling lard, and drop a spoonful
in a place as with other fritters, and set the remainder in a cold place
till the first are done. Eat them with wine sauce, or sugar, butter and
cream, or any thing you fancy.
Rice Flummery.
Rice that is ground coarse, in a hand-mill, is much better for making
flummery than the flour you buy: put three pints of milk to boil, mix
with water two tea-cups of ground rice, and stir it in the milk when it
boils; while the milk is cold, put in it two dozen peach kernels,
blanched, and rolled with a bottle; wet your moulds with cold cream or
water; keep stirring the rice till it is thick, when pour it out in the
moulds; just before dinner turn them out on dishes, have cream, sugar
and nutmeg mixed, to eat with it.
Rice Milk.
Take a tea-cupful of rice, boil it till about half done, and let all
the water be evaporated; then add the milk, and beat an egg with some
flour, and stir in; let it boil n few minutes, and season with sugar
and nutmeg.
Wine Sauce for Puddings.
Mix a spoonful of flour in a tea-cup of water, with two spoonsful of
sugar and one of butter; stir this in half a pint of boiling water; let
it boil a few minutes, when add a glass of wine and some nutmeg.
White Sauce.
Take half a pound of powdered white sugar, and quarter of a pound of
butter, beat them well together with a glass of wine, and grate in half
a nutmeg. A little currant jelly is preferred by some in this sauce
instead of wine.
Cream Sauce.
Boil half a pint of cream, thicken it a very little, and put in a lump
of butter; sweeten it to your taste, and after it gets cold add a glass
of white wine; this is good to eat with boiled rice, plain pudding, or
apple dumplings.
Molasses Sauce.
Put half a pint of molasses to boil in a skillet, with a piece of butter
the size of an egg; when it has boiled a few minutes, pour in a tea-cup
of cream, and grate in half a nutmeg; this is the most economical way of
making sauce.
Egg Sauce.
Take the whites of three eggs and the yelks of two, beat them till
very light, and add a large table-spoonful of butter ready creamed,
with sugar and nutmeg to your taste; boil three glasses of wine, and
pour over the other ingredients, put it over the fire, and let it
boil two minutes, stirring all the time. This is nice sauce for any
kind of pudding.
Cherry Toast.
Stone and stew a quart of ripe cherries, sweeten them, place some slices
of buttered toast in a deep dish, and put the stewed cherries over them.
A little powdered cinnamon or grated nutmeg may be put on the toast.
Apple Custard.
Lay a crust in your pie plates, slice apples thin and half fill the
plates, pour over a custard made of four eggs to a quart of milk,
sweeten and season it; bake it slowly.
Custard baked in Cups.
Beat up five eggs with two heaped spoonsful of sugar, mix these with a
quart of rich milk and a little nutmeg; fill the cups, pour water in the
bottom of a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and set them in and bake them
till thick.
Boiled Custard.
Put on to boil a quart of new milk; have ready a dozen peach kernels,
scalded, peeled, and rubbed fine with a bottle, beat five or six eggs,
with some sugar, and when the milk boils stir them in with the kernels;
keep stirring till it thickens, but do not let it boil, or it will
curdle; then take it off the fire, pour it in a pitcher, and continue to
stir till it is nearly cold, when pour it into your cups, and grate
nutmeg over the top of each. If you wish to have it flavored with lemon,
boil some peel with the milk. This custard may be put in a glass bowl,
and an island on the top.
Cold Custard.
Sweeten half a gallon of milk, put into it a table-spoonful of rennet
wine, and let it stand in a warm place till it begins to come, when it
should be set in cold water till dinner time; just as you take it to
table, pour some cream on it, and grate nutmeg over the top.
Cream Custard.
To a pint of thin cream, take one egg, and beat and season as other
custard; bake it in a plate with paste; this quantity is sufficient
for one large plate, and is more delicate than custard made in the
usual way.
Ice Custard with Vanilla.
Boil three pints of rich milk with as much vanilla as will give it a
good flavor; sweeten it to your taste; have ready four eggs well beaten,
pour the boiling milk on them, and keep stirring till cool; when put it
to freeze.
Custard with Raisins.
Stone and cut a tea-cup of raisins, put them in a quart of milk; when it
boils stir in five eggs well beaten, with two table-spoonsful of sugar,
and a little lemon peel; keep stirring till it boils again, then take it
off the fire, and stir till nearly cold; when put it in cups, or in a
large bowl; beat the whites of three eggs with sugar, and when quite
cold put them on the top of the custard.
To Boil Custard in Water.
Beat the eggs, sugar and seasoning together, and put it in a pitcher or
nice stone jar; put in the milk and stir it well together; set the
pitcher in a pot of boiling water, and stir till it is cooked, when take
the pitcher out and stir till nearly cool. Custard should never be
boiled or baked two much--a minute too long will sometimes spoil it.
Whips.
Grate the peel of a lemon in a pint of cream, sweeten it with loaf
sugar, and whip it well; beat the whites of three eggs and mix with it;
put apple jelly, seasoned with lemon, in the bottom of your glasses, and
as the froth rises put it on the top of the jelly.
Trifle.
Put slices of sponge cake or Naples biscuit in the bottom of a deep
glass dish; on this put slices of preserved citron, or apples preserved
with lemon; pour over this a boiled custard, and on the top put a whip
made by the foregoing receipt.
Floating Island.
Beat the whites of five eggs till the beater will stand up in them; then
add, a little at a time, four spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar, and
currant jelly, or preserved syrup of any kind; put rich milk in the
bottom of a glass, or china bowl, and put the island on the top. In
making floating island, you should allow the whites of six eggs to six
persons. You can have very good custards at the same time with the yelks
of the eggs.
Apple Float.
To a quart of apples, slightly stewed and well mashed, put the whites of
three eggs, well beaten, and four table-spoons heaping full of loaf
sugar, heat them together for fifteen minutes, and eat with rich milk
and nutmeg.
Carrageen or Irish Moss Blancmange.
Wash in three waters half an ounce of Carrageen moss; drain and put it
in two quarts of new milk, let it boil for a few minutes, strain it in
a pitcher, wet the moulds, and pour it in while hot; let it stand till
it becomes thick, when it may be eaten with sugar and cream, seasoned
with peach or rose water, or with a lemon rolled in the sugar. Some
prefer seasoning the blancmange before putting it in the moulds. It
will keep in a cool place two days, and is better to be made the day
before it is eaten.
To Keep Suet for several Months.
Chop the suet you wish to preserve until summer as fine as for mince
pies or puddings, then add a table-spoonful of salt to three
table-spoonsful of suet; mix all well together, and put it in jars. Keep
it tied up close, as exposure to the air makes it strong. It should be
soaked an hour before you wish to use it, to remove the salt taste.
Skim Curds.
Put to boil a gallon of sweet milk; when it fairly boils, pour in a
quart of butter-milk; in a few minutes the curd will rise, which skim
off and set by, to cool for dessert; season it as you help to it at
table, with cream and sugar to the taste.
Whey Skim Curds.
Boil the whey, and put in a pint of sour butter-milk; when the curds
rise to the top take them off, and set them in a cold place; they make a
nice dessert to eat with sugar, cream and nutmeg.
Cheese Curds.
Put to boil a gallon of skim milk, stir into it two spoonsful of rennet
wine; when it turns, dip up the curds and set them away to cool; eat
them with sweetened cream and nutmeg.
Rennet Wine for cold Custards or Curds.
Rub the salt from a nicely dried rennet, and cut it up; put it in a
bottle, and fill it up with good wine. If care is taken to keep it
filled up, it will last for several years, to make cold custard and
cheese curds.
To Preserve Milk to use at Sea.
To every quart of new milk put a pound of loaf-sugar; let it boil very
slowly in an iron pot, over clear coals, till it is as thick as thin
cream--stirring it all the time, pour it out in a pitcher, and stir till
it is cold; put in bottles, cork it tight, and put sealing wax over the
corks; it must be shaken before it is used.
SYRUPS, ICES, &c.
Lemon Syrup.
Clarify a pound of loaf or Havana sugar, or if you wish to make a large
quantity, allow half a pint of water to every pound of sugar, and boil
it, skimming it when the scum arises, until it is of the consistency of
honey; then to every pound of sugar, add an ounce of tartaric acid. If
you do not find it sour enough, after it has stood two or three days,
add more of the acid. If you like the taste of oil of lemon, add a few
drops. A small quantity of the syrup prepared in this way, poured into
cold water, makes a refreshing drink in warm weather.
Lemon Syrup for Seasoning.
Pare the lemons very thin, and put the peel to boil in a quart of water;
cover it, to keep in the flavor; put two pounds of loaf sugar to the
peel of a dozen lemons, and boil it till it becomes a rich syrup; keep
it corked up in a bottle, to season ice cream.
Syrup of Lemon Juice.
Dissolve three pounds of loaf-sugar in three quarts of water, squeeze
and strain lemons enough to make a quart of juice; boil it slowly with
the water and sugar, and take off the scum as it rises; when it is quite
clear, strain and bottle it. It will supply the place of fresh lemons
when they cannot be had.
Pine Apple Syrup.
Pare the pine apples, cut them in pieces, and to three pounds of pine
apple put a quart of water; cover it and let it boil till very soft,
when mash and strain it; to a pint of this juice put a pound of sugar,
boil it till it is a rich syrup, and keep it corked up in bottles to
season ice cream.
Almond Cream.
Take a pound of blanched almonds, and roll them fine with a bottle; mix
them with a few drops of rose-water, and stir them into a quart of cream;
sweeten it with loaf-sugar, put it in a pot over the fire, and stir it
till it thickens.
Tincture of Vanilla.
Vanilla beans, well bruised, half an ounce; French brandy, one gill; let
it stand one week, and it will be fit for use. Keep it corked tight.
This article will keep any length of time, and is very convenient for
seasoning ices.
Superior Receipt for Ice Cream.
One gallon of cream, two pounds rolled loaf-sugar, one tea-spoonful of
oil of lemon. If for vanilla cream; use a table-spoonful of tincture
of vanilla, two eggs beaten; mix well and freeze in the usual way. The
seasoning should be well mixed with the sugar, before it is added to
the cream; by this means, it will be all flavored alike. This has been
much admired.
Coloring for ice cream, may be made in this way: take of powdered
cochineal, cream of tartar and powdered alum, each two drachms; of salts
of tartar, ten grains; pour upon the powders half a pint of boiling
water; let it stand for two hours to settle, or filter through paper.
Use as much of this infusion as will give the desired shade. This
produces a brilliant pink color.
Freezing Ice Cream.
Take a bucket of ice and pound it fine; mix with it two quarts of salt;
put your cream in a freezer; cover it close, and immerse it in the
bucket; draw the ice round it, so as to touch every part; after it has
been in a few minutes, put in a spoon, and stir it from the edge to the
centre. When the cream is put in a mould, close it and move it in the
ice, as you cannot use a spoon without waste.
Ice Cream with Lemon.
Roll two fresh lemons, in as much powdered loaf-sugar as will sweeten a
quart of cream; if you wish the juice, you can put some in with more
sugar; freeze it. A good plan is to rub the lemon on a large lump of
sugar, and then use the sugar in sweetening the cream.
Ice Cream with Fruit.
Mix the juice of the fruit with as much sugar as will be wanted before
you add the cream, which need not be very rich.
Pokeberry Juice to Stain Ices.
Mash and strain ripe pokeberries; to each pint of juice put a pound of
sugar; boil them together till it becomes a jelly; when cold put it in
a jar and tie it close; use a small quantity of this to stain ice
cream or jelly.
Isinglass Jelly.
To one ounce of shaved isinglass, put a quart of water; boil it down, to
a pint, and strain it through a flannel bag; add some sugar and wine;
stir it and put it in glasses.
Blancmange.
Shave an ounce of isinglass, and dissolve it in boiling water; then boil
it in a quart of new milk; strain it and sweeten it to your taste;
season as you prefer, with rose water, cinnamon, or vanilla.
Blancmange of Jelly.
To one pint of calf's foot jelly, add a pint of cream, a little mace,
and a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it fifteen minutes,
stirring it constantly; strain it through a flannel bag, and when nearly
cold put in n glass of white wine; wet your moulds with cold cream
before putting it in.
Calf's Foot Jelly.
Split the feet, and soak them in cold water, four or five hours; wash
them clean, and put them to boil in six quarts of water; when it has
boiled down to one-half, strain it through a colander, and skim off all
the fat that is on the top; set it away to cool, and when the jelly is
quite stiff, wipe it with a towel, to take off any grease that should
remain; cut it in pieces, and pare of the discolored parts; put it in
your preserving kettle, with half a pint of wine, the juice and peel of
two lemons, mace and sugar to your taste, and the whites and shells of
six eggs; after it has boiled twenty minutes, pour in a little cold
water, to make it settle; if any scum arises, take it off; let it boil
five minutes longer, and take it off the fire; keep it covered for about
an hour, when strain it through a bag that has been dipped in hot water,
and put it in your glasses.
When eggs are used in calf's foot and other jellies, care should be
taken to have the ingredients cool. If the jelly is hot when the eggs
are added, it cannot be clarified so well--they should only cook by
heating the jelly after they have been diffused, by stirring them
through it.
Raisins in Syrup.
Make a syrup of half a pound of sugar to a pint of water, boil and skim
it; put in five bunches of raisins, and let them boil twenty minutes; if
you prefer, you can pick off the stems.
To Blanch Almonds and Peach Kernels.
Pour boiling water on them, which will make them peel easily; either
roll them with a bottle on the cake board or pound in a mortar, with a
little loaf-sugar; they should not be pounded too much or they will be
oily; peach kernels make a fine flavoring for custard, but as they
contain prussic acid, do not use too many.
Snow Cream.
Take the richest cream you can procure, season it with a few drops of
essence of lemon, or syrup of lemon peel, and powdered white sugar, and
if you choose a spoonful of preserve syrup, and just as you send it to
table, stir in light newly fallen snow till it is nearly as stiff as
ice cream.
Kisses.
Beat the whites of eight eggs till they will stand alone; put with them,
a little at a time, a pound of powdered sugar; roll a lemon in some of
the sugar till the flavor is extracted. After it is beaten very well,
drop it in heaps about the size of half an egg on a sheet of paper;
smooth them over with a spoon, and let them be of a regular shape; bake
them in an oven that has been moderately heated, till they are of a pale
brown color; do not have the oven too cool, or they will run together;
take them from the papers carefully, and stick two together.
CAKES.
Remarks on Making and Baking Cake.
The materials for making cake should be of the best quality, as your
success very much depends on it. Flour should be dried and sifted, sugar
rolled fine, spices pounded and sifted. Where brown sugar is used, it
should be spread on a dish and dried before rolling it. I have known
very good pound cake made with brown sugar; also jumbles, &c. Persons
that make their own butter sometimes use it fresh from the churn, which
prevents the necessity of washing the salt out of it for cake, and it
mixes more readily than hard butter. Currants should be picked over,
washed and dried; raisins should be stemmed and stoned. When these
preparations are made the day before, it is a great assistance. Eggs
should be fresh, or they will not beat light: in beating the whites,
take a broad flat dish, and beat them until you can hold the dish upside
down,--this is a test of their lightness. A large bowl is best for
mixing and beating cake. You must use your hand for mixing the sugar and
butter, and as you add the other ingredients, you may take a large
wooden spoon; beat it some time after all is mixed. The oven should be
ready to bake immediately, as standing makes cake heavy. A brick oven is
the most certain,--and over your pans of cake, you should spread
several layers of newspaper, to prevent its browning too suddenly. Cake
requires more time than bread: a large cake should stay in the oven from
an hour and a half to two hours, turning and looking at it from time to
time; when you think it is sufficiently baked, stick a broad bright
knife in the centre; if it is dry and free from dough when drawn out,
the cake is likely to be done, though sometimes this is not a certain
test, and you will have to draw a little from the centre of the cake
with the knife. A broom straw will sometimes answer in a small cake
instead of a knife. A large stone pan, with a cover, is the best for
keeping cake, or a large covered bowl.
Icing for Cake.
Roll and sift a pound of loaf-sugar; whip the whites of three eggs; put
in the sugar gradually, and beat it for half an hour; if it is so thick
that it will not run, put in some rose water; let the cake be nearly
cool; dry it in an oven that is nearly cool.
Another Way.
Put the white of one egg and a little rose water into half a pound of
pulverized sugar, and heat them together till they stand; when it is
nearly light enough, add a few drops of lemon juice, or a small portion
of tartaric acid, dissolved in a _little_ water. It must be beaten in a
bowl which has never had any thing greasy in it, (either cream or
butter). The cake must have a little flour sifted over it, and wiped off
with a towel, then cover it with a thin coat of the icing, set it under
the stove or in a place that is a little warm, and let it harden; then
add the second coat thicker; this will he perfectly white, but the first
is always dark and has crumbs through it.
A Rich Fruit Cake.
Have the following articles prepared before you begin the cake: dry and
sift four pounds of flour, four pounds of butter with the salt washed
out, two pounds of loaf-sugar pounded, one ounce of nutmegs grated, an
ounce of mace pounded; wash four pounds of currants; dry, pick, and rub
them in flour; stone and cut two pounds of raisins; slice two pounds of
citron, blanch a pound of sweet almonds and cut them in very thin
slices; break thirty eggs, separate the whites and yelks, and beat them
till very light; work the butter with your hand till it is soft as
cream; put in alternately the flour, sugar and eggs. When all are mixed
in, and the cake looks very light, add the spice, fruit, almonds, and
half a pint of brandy; set it in a well heated oven to bake; when it has
risen, and the top is beginning to brown, cover it with paper; let it
bake four hours, and when it is nearly cool, ice it. This will keep a
long time in a stone pan, covered close.
A cheaper Fruit Cake.
Take four pounds of flour, three of butter, three of sugar, two of
raisins, one of currants, two dozen eggs, an ounce of mace, three
nutmegs, and a half pint of brandy; if you want it dark, put in a little
molasses; mix the ingredients together, as the above fruit cake, and
bake it from two to three hours.
Fruit or Plum Cake.
Dry and sift a pound of flour, roll a pound of sugar, and beat it with a
pound of butter, and the yelks of ten eggs well beaten; wash and dry a
pound of currants and rub them in flour; stone and cut half a pound of
raisins, and mix in with a glass of rose brandy, and a grated nutmeg, or
mace; when all the rest are well mixed together, beat up the whites of
the eggs, and add them; bake it an hour and a half.
Pound Cake.
Wash the salt from a pound of butter, and beat it with a pound of loaf
sugar till it is as soft as cream; have a pound of flour sifted, and
beat ten eggs, the whites and yelks separately; put alternately into the
butter and sugar the flour and eggs, continue to beat till they are all
in, and the cake looks light; add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and
half a wine-glass of brandy; butter the pan, and bake it an hour; when
it is nearly cold, ice it. If you want a very large cake, double the
quantity. You can tell when a cake is done by running in a broom-straw,
or the blade of a bright knife; if it comes out without sticking, it is
done, but if not, set it back. You can keep a cake a great while in a
stone pan that has a lid to fit tight.
White Cake.
Beat the whites of twenty eggs; wash the salt out of a pound of butter;
sift a pound of flour, roll a pound of loaf-sugar, blanch a pound of
almonds; roll them fine with a bottle, and mix them with rose water.
Work the butter, sugar and almonds together till they look like cream;
have the eggs beaten very light, and add them and the flour alternately
till you get all in; beat the whole together till it is very light; have
a pan buttered, and put it in a heated oven to bake; when it begins to
brown, put white paper over the top; bake it about three hours; when it
is nearly cold, prepare an icing, flavored with rose water; put it on
the top and sides.
Washington Cake.
Take a pound and three-quarters of sugar, the same of flour,
three-quarters of a pound of butter, eight eggs, a pint of milk, and mix
them as a pound-cake; just as it is ready to bake, dissolve a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus in a little sour cream, and stir in; season
with nutmeg and rose brandy, or essence of lemon; bake it as pound cake.
Some persons put in a tea-spoonful of lemon juice just before baking.
Madison Cake.
Take a pound and a quarter of flour, and the same of sugar and butter;
five eggs, a pound, of raisins, and one of currants; two glasses of wine
or brandy; mace, nutmeg, and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in a
pint of new milk; bake it as pound cake.
Indian Pound Cake.
Take three-quarters of a pound of Indian meal sifted, and one-quarter
of wheat flour; roll a pound of sugar, work into it three-quarters of a
pound of butter; season with nutmeg and rose brandy; add four eggs
beaten light; mix and bake as other pound cake.
Rice Flour Pound Cake.
Take seven eggs, a pound of rice flour, one of sugar, and half a pound
of butter; season it with rose water and nutmeg; mix and bake it as
other pound cake, and ice it.
Sponge Cake.
Balance twelve fresh eggs with sugar, and six with flour; beat the eggs
very light, the whites and yelks separately; mix alternately the sugar
and eggs, and add the grated peel of a lemon; butter a large pan, or
several small ones; add the flour just as it is put in the oven,
stirring it just sufficiently to mix. Beating it after the flour is
added makes it heavy; pour it in, and put it to bake as soon as
possible. This makes a good pudding, with white sauce. One-half rice
flour is an improvement.
Rice Sponge Cake.
Take three-quarters of a pound of rice flour, one pound of white sugar,
finely powdered, and ten eggs; beat the yelks with the sugar, the
whites alone; add them and the flour to the yelks and sugar, a little
at a time; season it with rose brandy and nutmeg, and bake it in
shallow pans.
Sponge Cake in Small Pans.
Take twelve eggs, with the weight of them in sugar, and the weight of
six of them in flour; beat the yelks with the sugar, the whites alone;
season with nutmeg or grated lemon peel; put all together, adding the
flour the last; stir it quickly after the flour is added, as it will
make it heavy to beat it much; grease several small pans and pour it in,
bake with a quick heat, and they will be done in half an hour, or less,
according to the size. They are pretty iced.
Lemon Sponge Cake.
Take ten eggs, separate them, a pound of loaf-sugar, half a pound of
flour, the grated peel of two lemons and the juice of one; beat the
yelks with the sugar, the whites alone, when add them and sift in the
flour by degrees; beat well, have your pan buttered, and bake with a
quick heat either in a stove or dutch-oven, or a brick oven, the heat
should not be quite so great as for light bread--it will bake in
about an hour.
Cup Cake.
Take four cups of flour, three of sugar, one of melted butter, one of
sour cream, with a tea-spoonful of salaeratus dissolved in it, and three
eggs; season it with brandy and nutmeg; mix, and bake it as pound cake.
Loaf Cake.
Take about a pound of risen bread dough, work into it a tea-cup of
butter, three eggs beaten, a pound of sugar, a nutmeg grated and a
glass of brandy or wine; a pound of raisins, stoned and chopped,
should be added after it is well beaten; half a pint of cream slightly
warmed, with a table-spoonful of vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of
dissolved salaeratus should be stirred in just as you are ready to bake
it; also sifted flour enough to make it the proper consistence; bake
in a large pan, in a brick oven or stove, and it will require an hour
and a quarter.
Queen Cake.
Mix a pound of dried flour, the same of sifted sugar, and currants; wash
a pound of butter, add rose water--beat it well--a tea-cup of cream;
then mix with it eight eggs, yelks and whites beaten separately; add the
dry ingredients by degrees; beat the whole an hour, bake in little tins,
or saucers, filling only half.
Rich Jumbles.
Rub a pound of butter into a pound and a quarter of flour; beat four
eggs with a pound and a quarter of sugar; when very light, mix them with
the butter and flour; mix in a glass of rose water, and a nutmeg; roll
them in rings, and bake them slowly; sift powdered sugar over after they
are baked.
Common Jumbles.
Take a pound of flour, half a pound of butter, and three-quarters of
sugar, three eggs, a little nutmeg and rose brandy; mix the butter and
sugar together, and add the flour and eggs; mould them in rings, and
bake them slowly.
Molasses Jumbles.
Beat three-quarters of a pound of sugar, the same of butter, and three
eggs together; stir in half a pint of molasses; add rose brandy and
nutmeg, and enough flour to make a soft dough; roll it in rings, and
bake as other jumbles. By the addition of half a pint of molasses and a
tea-spoonful of salaeratus, you will have a common black cake, which may
be baked in one large pan.
Jumbles for Delicate Persons.
Roll a heaped pint of light-brown sugar, and rub it in two pints or
flour, half a pound of butter, and a dessert spoonful of cinnamon; beat
an egg, and mix it with half a tea-cup of rich milk (in which a very
small lump of salaeratus has been dissolved;) stir all together with a
wine glass of rose brandy; work it well, roll thin and cut them
out--bake with moderate heat.
Cup Jumbles.
Five tea-cups of flour, three of sugar, one heaped of butter, one of
sweet cream, three eggs and the peel of one lemon grated, or nutmeg, or
mace if you like; roll them thin, and bake in a quick oven.
Jackson Jumbles.
Three tea-cups of sugar, one of butter, five of flour, one tea-spoonful
of salaeratus in a cup of sour cream and two eggs; bake in a quick oven;
season them with the peel of a fresh lemon grated, and half a wine-glass
of brandy.
Macaroons.
Blanch a pound of almonds, beat them in a mortar, and put with them a
little rose water to keep them from oiling, the white of an egg, and a
large spoonful of flour; roll a pound of loaf-sugar, and beat the whites
of four eggs; beat them all together; shape them on white paper with a
spoon, and bake them on tin plates in a slow oven; let them be quite
cold before you remove them from the paper.
Naples Biscuit.
Beat twelve eggs till light; add to them a pound of dried flour and one
of powdered sugar; beat all together till perfectly light; put in some
rose water and nutmeg, and bike it in small shallow pans in a moderately
heated oven.
New Year Cake.
Mix together three pounds of flour, a pound and a half of sugar, and
three-quarters of a pound of butter: dissolve a tea-spoonful of
salaeratus in enough new milk to wet the flour; mix them together;
grate in a nutmeg, or the peel of a lemon; roll them out, cut them in
shapes, and bake.
Cider Cake.
Take a pound and a half of flour, three-quarters of sugar, and a quarter
of a pound of butter; dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus in as much
cider as will make it a soft dough, and bake it in shallow pans; season
it with spice to your taste.
Dover Cake.
One pound of flour, one of sugar, half a pound of butter, six eggs, half
a nutmeg, a spoonful of rose brandy; beat the butter and sugar together,
adding the other ingredients, the whites of the eggs beaten separately;
bake as pound cake.
Jelly Cake.
This cake can be made by the sponge, cup, or Dover cake recipe; have
shallow tin pans or plates of the same size, butter them, and pour in
the batter so as to be about half an inch thick when baked; they take
but a few minutes to bake of a light-brown; and as you take them from
the oven, put them on a china plate, with a layer of jelly between each
cake, till you have four or five layers; cut the cake in slices before
handing it. Currant jelly is to be preferred, but quince will answer, or
peach marmalade.
Almond Cake.
Ten eggs, one pound of loaf-sugar, half a pound of almonds, half a pound
of flour, one nutmeg; beat the yelks first, then put in the sugar,
beating them very light; blanch the almonds and pound them in a mortar,
with rose water or the juice of a lemon; add them alternately with the
flour, and the whites of the eggs well beaten. If you bake in one large
cake, it will require an hour and a half in a slow oven; in small pans,
it will take less time, and in either case, will require watching.
Raised Plum Cake.
Take three pounds of flour, and mix to it as much new milk as will make
a thick batter, and a tea-cup of yeast; when it is light, beat together
a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, and four eggs; mix this in with a
pound of raisins, stoned and cut, half a pound of currants, a grated
nutmeg, and a glass of rose brandy; bake it two hours.
Black Cake.
Rub a pound and a half of softened butter in three pounds of flour, add
a pound of brown sugar, rolled fine, a pint of molasses, a
table-spoonful of rose brandy, a nutmeg or some mace, four eggs well
beaten, a pound of raisins stoned and chopped; mix the whole well, and
before baking add a tea-cup of sour cream with a tea-spoonful of soda
dissolved in it--beat it up again, have the pans well buttered, and put
in about three parts full; this quantity will make about six cakes, in
bread pans; bake as bread and if it brown too much, put paper on it, if
it seems too stiff, add a little more molasses or cream. It will keep
several weeks in cold weather.
Bunns.
Take a pound and a quarter of flour, half a pound of butter, and
three-quarters of a pound of sugar, six eggs, half a pound of currants,
half a nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and a pint of new milk; mix all well
together, and put in half a tea-cup of yeast; let it rise, and when
light, bake it in shallow pans.
Butter-milk Cakes.
One pound of sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, three eggs, a
tea-cup of butter-milk, nutmeg or cinnamon to taste; add as much flour
as will make a dough that will roll out; cut in round cakes and bake
with a quick heat.
A Composition Cake.
One pound of sugar, one of flour, half a pound of butter, six eggs, two
and a half wine-glasses of milk, one tea-spoonful of soda and one of
tartaric acid; warm the milk and butter; add the sugar, then the yelks
of the eggs beaten light, then the whites and the flour alternately,
then the soda, (to be dissolved in half a wine-glass of water;) season
with nutmeg, mace, or a little essence of lemon, and add lastly, the
tartaric acid, dissolved in half a wine-glass of water. Bake it one hour
in an oven, as hot as is usual for bread; when brown at the top, cover
it with paper. A pound of dried currants is an agreeable addition.
Ginger Cup-cake.
Three cups of flour, one of sugar, one of molasses, one of butter, a
table-spoonful of ginger, one tea-spoonful of salaeratus, and three eggs;
bake in pans. A pound of stoned and chopped raisins is an improvement.
Light Ginger bread.
Take three cups of molasses, five of flour, one of sugar, three eggs,
and a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, dissolved in a cup of sour cream; work
the sugar with a quarter of a pound of butter; beat two dozen cloves,
and put in with two table-spoonsful of ginger; mix all together, and
bake in shallow pans or cups.
Crisp Ginger-cake.
Take three pounds of flour, one of sugar, and one of butter; mix these
together with three table-spoonsful of ginger, some cloves and anise
seed, and wet it with molasses; roll it thin; cut it in shapes, and bake
with a quick heat.
Ginger-bread Nuts.
Take a pound and a half of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar,
the same of butter, some cloves and cinnamon pounded fine, and an ounce
of ginger; mix these well together, and make it into a stiff dough, with
molasses; roll it thin, and cut it in small cakes.
Crullers.
Take two pounds of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, half a
pound of butter, six eggs, and some mace or nutmeg; mix the flour, sugar
and butter together, and wet it with the eggs; if too stiff, put in some
cream, roll the dough thin; cut it in shapes, and fry them in boiling
lard. The more lard there is, the less they will soak it up.
Rusk.
Take a quart of milk, a tea-cup of cream, half a pound of lard, quarter
of a pound of butter, a spoonful of salt, and boil them together; beat
well two eggs with a pound of sugar, and pour the boiling milk on them
gradually, stirring all the time; when nearly cold, add a tea-cup of
yeast, and flour sufficient to make a stiff batter; when quite light,
knead it up as bread, and let it lighten again before molding out; when
they are moulded out, wet them over with sugar and cream, and let them
rise a few minutes and bake them; grate a little sugar over when they
come out of the oven.
Rusk for Drying.
Boil a quart of milk, and put in it half a pound of butter, and a little
salt; when nearly cold, stir in a tea-cup of yeast, a pound of sugar,
and flour to make a batter; when it is light, knead it up with flour,
and let it rise again; grease your pans, and make it out in cakes, about
the size of a tea-cup, and an inch thick; put two layers in each part,
and bake them three-quarters of an hour; when take them out, break them
apart, and put the top ones in other pans, and let them dry slowly in
the oven for an hour or more.
This rusk will keep for months, and is very useful in sickness, to make
panada; it is also good for delicate persons that rich cake disagrees
with, or to take on a journey. Nutmeg or mace to your taste.
If you like it richer, two eggs may be put in.
Bread Rusk.
Take as much lightened dough, as would make a loaf of bread, spread it
open, and put in a tea-cup of sugar, some nutmeg and a piece of butter;
work it well, mould it out, and bake it with your bread; wet the top
with sugar and cream before it goes in the oven.
Dough-nuts.
Boil a quart of new milk and melt in it half a pound of butter; beat
three eggs with two pounds of sugar, and pour on them the boiling milk,
stirring all the time; when it is nearly cold, star in a tea-cup of
yeast, a spoonful of salt, and flour enough to make a stiff batter; when
this is quite light, knead in flour to make a soft dough, two grated
nutmegs and a little mace; let it rise again till it is very light; roll
it out thin, cut it in shapes, and fry them in hot lard; dust over
cinnamon and loaf-sugar, pounded fine, while they are hot.
Common Dough-nuts.
Pour a pint of boiling water into a pint of new milk, put in a quarter
of a pound of lard, and a table-spoonful of salt; stir in a tea-cup of
yeast and flour to make a stiff batter; let it rise, and when very light
put in two pounds of light-brown sugar, two nutmegs, and enough flour to
make a soft dough; work it well and let it rise again till it is very
light; roll out and fry as other dough-nuts.
PRESERVES, JELLIES, &c.
To Clarify Sugar.
To every four pounds of sugar put a quart of water and the whites of two
eggs; if you put in the egg after it gets hot, it will cook before it
has the desired effect; when it comes to a boil, and the scum rises,
pour in a little cold water; let it boil up; take it off to settle, and
skim it well; let it boil up, and skim it three times, when it will be
fit to preserve with. You should always clarify white Havana sugar.
Apples.
Apples should be preserved in November, and they will keep till June.
Take firm pippins, pare them and take out the cores, leaving them whole;
or after you have cored them, cut them across in two pieces, they will
then be in rings; put them in cold water as fast as they are pared, to
keep them from turning dark; make a syrup of a pound of loaf-sugar, and
half a pint of water to each pound of apples; wipe the apples, and put
in as many as will go in, without one laying on another; let them boil
swiftly till they look clear, then take them up carefully on dishes, and
put in some more; when all are done, if the syrup should seem too thin,
boil it up after the apples are taken out; cut the peel of several
lemons in thin rings, boil them in a little water till they are soft,
and throw them in the syrup after the apples are taken out; put the
syrup in a bowl, and set all away till the next day, when put the apples
in glass jars or large bowls, spread the lemon peel about them and put
the syrup on the top; paste several thicknesses of paper over, and set
them in a dry cool closet.
If you only want the apples to keep a few weeks, they may be done with
half a pound of sugar to a pound of apples, and will look and taste
quite as well.
Apples with Brown Sugar.
Pare and halve your apples, either pippins, red-streaks or wine-saps;
make a syrup of light-brown sugar, allowing half a pound to a pound of
the fruit; after boiling and clarifying the syrup, pour it over the
fruit, and set it by for two days, then cook them, and seasoned with
green ginger root they are excellent; they will not require much
cooking, and should be of a light-brown color.
Crab Apples.
Put the crab apples in a kettle with grape leaves in and around them,
with some alum; keep them at scalding heat for an hour, take them out,
skin them, and take out the seeds with a small knife, leaving on the
stems; put them in cold water, make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a
pound of apples; wipe the apples and put them in; let them stew gently
till they look clear; take them out, and let the syrup boil longer.
Currants.
Make a syrup of one pint of currant juice to three pounds of sugar; if
it is brown sugar, put in the white of an egg to clarify it; let it boil
and skim it; have three pounds of currants picked and stemmed; put them
in the syrup, and let them boil slowly, about twenty minutes; take them
up and let the syrup boil longer.
Pine Apples.
Pare and slice the pine apples, and make a syrup of a pound of sugar and
half a pint of water to a pound of fruit; clarify and skim it, then put
in the apples and let them cook gently for half an hour; if you do not
want to keep them long, much less sugar will do.
Blackberries.
Allow a pint of currant juice and a pint of water to six pounds of
blackberries; give them their weight in brown sugar; let them boil till
they appear to be done, and the syrup is rich. Blackberry jelly can be
made as currant jelly, and is good for sick children, mixed with water.
Blackberry Flummery.
Stew three pints of blackberries with one pint of sugar--soak a
tea-cup full of ground rice--and when the berries have been stewing
about fifteen minutes, stir in the rice, and stir the whole time
until it becomes thick. This should be eaten cold with cream, and
will keep two days.
Cherries.
To preserve four pounds of cherries, take one pint of currant juice,
into which put five pounds of sugar; when this boils up, take off any
scum that rises, and put in half of the cherries, with part of each stem
on; when they look so clear that you can see the stone, they are done;
take these up on a dish and put in the rest, and let them do slowly the
same length of time; take them up and let the syrup boil a few minutes
longer; do not put them in the jars till they are quite cold. Glass jars
are the best to keep all early fruits in, as you can then see if they
begin to ferment; if they do, you must boil them over; always put them
in a window where they will be exposed to the sun.
Common Cherries.
Stone the light-colored common cherries, and to every pound of
fruit, allow a pound of sugar, which boil up with the juice; after
you have skimmed it, throw in the cherries, and let them boil till
the syrup is rich.
Cherries for Common Use.
Stone twelve pounds of morel cherries; allow half a pound of brown sugar
to each pound of fruit, after it is stoned, let them cook slowly for two
hours; examine them through the summer, and if they show any signs of
fermentation, set them in a brick-oven, after the bread is done, or in a
dutch-oven of hot water, which keep at boiling heat for an hour.
It is a good plan to know the weight of your preserving kettle, as you
can then weigh the fruit in it, with a pair of steelyards.
Apricots.
Pour boiling water on the apricots and wipe them dry; then cut them in
half and take out the stone; make a syrup of their weight in sugar, and
a little water; when this has boiled, put in the fruit, and let it cook
slowly till it is clear, and the syrup is rich.
Ginger.
Scrape the outside from the green ginger, and boil it in a little water,
till it is soft; then take it out, and scrape off any spots that are on
it; make a syrup of half a pint of water to a pound of sugar and a pound
of ginger; let it boil slowly about half an hour; take it up and boil
the syrup a little longer.
Green Gage Plums.
Take an equal quantity of fruit and sugar, pour boiling water on the
plums, and wipe them dry; stick them over with a pin; make a syrup of
the sugar and some water, and when it boils, put in half of the
plums; let them do slowly till they are clear, then take them out and
put in the rest; if the syrup should be thin, let it boil longer. Do
not put them in the jars till the next day. Egg plums may be done in
the same way.
Green Lemons.
Take the young lemons, cut them in half, scrape them, and take out the
pulp; cut them in such shapes as you please; put them in a preserving
kettle and cover them with water; put in a little alum to green them,
and let them boil till they are transparent, then take them out and
drain them on a cloth; give the kettle another cleansing, and put them
in with their weight in sugar; let them stew gently, but be careful that
they do not boil; let them cook till the syrup is rich.
Raspberries.
Boil three pounds of raspberries in a pint of currant juice, for ten
minutes; put in four pounds of sugar, and let them boil half an hour, or
until it is a jelly. Paste paper over the jar.
Citron Melon.
Pare the melon and cut it in slices half an inch thick, without the
seeds; let it lay in salt and water for an hour, then wash the salt off,
and boil it in strong ginger tea; make a thin syrup and boil it again,
then make a syrup of a pound of loaf-sugar to a pound of citron, and
boil it in this till it is clear; season it with mace and lemon peel.
Watermelon Rinds.
Cut the rinds in any form you please; put them in strong salt and water,
with cabbage leaves over and around them, and set them in a warm place
till they become yellow; then wash them, and put them in a kettle with
alum and water, and grape or cabbage leaves over and through them; set
them on the fire, and keep it at scalding heat for two hours--but do not
let them boil. If they are not of a fine green color, change the water
and leaves; when they are green enough, put them in cold soft water for
three days, changing the water twice a day; then make a syrup of rather
more than a pound of sugar to a pound of melon, some sliced ginger, the
peel of a lemon, and a little mace; let them boil slowly fifteen
minutes, take them up, and boil them again at the end of a week.
Cantelopes, Cucumbers, or Melons.
Take young watermelons, cucumbers or cantelopes; scrape the melons, and
cut the rinds in shapes--leave the cucumbers whole; put them in a
preserving kettle with alum and water; cover them, and let them boil
till they are transparent; take them out, wash them in cold water, and
wipe each piece separately; have your kettle nicely cleaned, and give
them rather more than their weight in sugar; put a layer of sugar, and a
layer of melon, some slices of green ginger, and the rind and juice of a
lemon; let them stew over the fire till the syrup is rich; take them up,
and stew them over again in about a week.
Cranberries.
To preserve cranberries, allow them their weight in sugar; make a syrup
of the proportions of half a pint of water to two pounds of the sugar;
boil and skim it before you put the fruit in; then let them boil until
clear. To make sauce to eat with roast fowls, put three-quarters of a
pound of sugar to a pound of fruit.
Gooseberries.
Take the large gooseberries, pick off the stems and blossoms, give
them their weight in sugar; put them in the kettle alternately, with
the sugar, and pour over them a pint of water to four pounds of fruit;
let them boil gently till the scum arises; when this is taken off, let
them cook faster; when clear, take them up on dishes, and boil the
syrup longer.
Peaches.
Have sweet, white clingstone peaches--pare and stone them; to each
pound, take a pound of sugar made in a syrup, put the peaches in, and
when they look clear, take them up on dishes; let the syrup boil longer.
A New Mode of Preserving Peaches.
Pare, halve and weigh the peaches; put them in a preserving kettle of
boiling water, and to six pounds of peaches, put a tea-spoonful of soda
or pearl-ash; let them boil one minute; then take them out, and throw
them in cold water; scrape off the black scum which adheres to the
peaches; wipe and lay them on a dish; have the kettle cleaned, and put
the peaches in layers, with half their weight in sugar; they will not
require any water; let them cook slowly at first, then boil till
clear--when take them out, and let the syrup boil till it becomes rich.
The flavor of the peach is retained, and they are not so sweet as in
the old way.
Damsons.
Weigh out as much sugar as you have fruit; if it is brown you must
clarify it; put a pint of water to three pounds of sugar, make a syrup,
wash the damsons, put them in and let them cook slowly for half an
hour; then take them out on dishes, and let them dry in the sun for two
days, taking them in the house at night; boil the syrup half an hour
after the fruit is taken out; when done in this way they will be whole
and clear. You can make a jam by boiling them slowly for two hours; or
a jelly as currants.
To Preserve Strawberries.
Gather the strawberries in the mid-day, pick out the largest and best,
stem them, and to each pound of strawberries put a pound of loaf-sugar
and a glass of white wine; let them stand four or five hours; take off
the syrup so as not to mash the fruit, and clarify it; then put in the
strawberries, and to each pound put as much fine alum as will lay on
the blade of a penknife; let them boil up several times, and shake
them round in the kettle, but do not stir them with a spoon, as that
will mash them; a few minutes boiling is sufficient; after you take
out the fruit, let the syrup boil up, and when it is nearly cold pour
it over them in the jar; put a piece of white paper over the top, and
pour a spoonful of brandy on it; paste several thicknesses of paper
over the jar.
If you like your preserved strawberries, cherries, or peaches, to
have a fine pale color, allow them to bob half the time recommended
in the receipt, then spread the fruit thin on dishes, with but little
syrup, pour the rest of the syrup also on dishes, and set them daily
in the sun; if the weather be clear and the sun hot, four days will
be sufficient. Preserves done in this manner do not ferment. You
should spread a piece of gauze or netting over them to keep out
insects or dust.
Another Way.
To each pound of the fruit take a pound of crushed sugar; put them in
the preserving kettle, a layer of sugar and a layer of fruit; let them
stand a little while to make syrup before putting them over the fire;
they should boil fast for twenty minutes; watch them all the time,
taking off the scum as it rises; stir them gently without mashing the
berries; put them in jars, put brandy papers over them and paste or
tie them close. Preserves should never be put in jars that have had
pickles in them.
Tomatoes.
Take solid round tomatoes, scald and peel them, give them their weight
in sugar, put a layer of sugar and of tomatoes alternately; let them
boil slowly till the syrup forms, then boil faster, till clear, and the
syrup is rich; season with lemon peel, ginger or mace; some prefer the
yellow tomato for preserving.
Quinces.
Pick out the finest quinces, pare them, and cut them in halves, or in
rings; take the best of the parings and the seed, and boil them in water
till they are very soft, strain the liquor, and have the kettle cleaned
again, wash and weigh the quinces, and give them their weight in sugar,
put the sugar in the water the parings were boiled in--skin it, and put
in the quinces, let them boil very slowly till clear, take them up on
dishes, and boil the syrup longer.
Green Peppers.
Get peppers that have a sweet taste, take out the seeds, leaving on the
stems, lay them in salt and water for three days, changing the water
each day, then put them in a kettle with leaves around them, and a small
piece of alum, let them scald, but not boil, for two hours, take them
out, and let them lay in water three days, changing it twice each day,
then boil them in sugar and water fifteen minutes, then make a syrup,
allowing them their weight in sugar, and boil them gently in it half an
hour, take them out and boil the syrup longer.
Pumpkin.
Choose a fine grained, high colored pumpkin, fully ripe, cut it in thin
slices, about four inches long and two wide, to two pounds of pumpkin,
put two pounds of sugar in a bowl, cut the peel of two lemons in rings,
and squeeze the juice over the pumpkin, let it stand all night, the next
day put it on to preserve with two tea cups of water, let it cook gently
till the pumpkin seems clear and crisp, take it up, scald the lemon
peel, and boil it in the syrup, cool it on dishes, and put it in a jar.
Green Fox-Grape Jelly.
Fill a kettle with grapes, and let them boil with a pint of water till
the skins burst, mash and strain them, put a pound of sugar to a pint of
juice, and let it boil half and hour. Ripe fox-grapes may be made into
very nice jelly in the same way, and is very good to drink in sickness,
mixed with water.
Pears.
Pare and core the fruit, but leave the stems on; put them in a syrup
of a pound of sugar, and a half a pint of water to a pound of pears,
with some green ginger or lemon peel; boil the syrup half an hour
after they are done.
Ripe Fox-Grape Jam.
To two quarts of grapes, allow three pounds of brown sugar, and a pint
of water; have the grapes picked over and washed; put them all together
and let them boil more than an hour; take them up on shallow dishes, and
pick out as many seeds as you can with a spoon. This makes a good common
preserve when other fruits are scarce; they are also very good for pies.
Currant Jelly.
Pick the leaves from the currants and fill your kettle with them; put a
tea-cup of water to keep them from sticking; cover them with a plate and
let them boil slowly half an hour; take them out, and strain them
through a flannel bag; to every pint of juice put a pound of loaf-sugar;
let it boil till it is a thick jelly, which will be in about fifteen
minutes, and put it in tumblers or jars.
Lemon Butter or French Honey.
Take half a pound of butter, melt it in an earthen dish and squeeze in
the juice of six lemons; beat twelve eggs with two pounds of brown
sugar, stir it in with the rind of two lemons grated, mix it all
together, and let it boil twenty minutes, when it will be about the
consistency of honey; the flavor is agreeable, and it may be eaten on
bread, or as a sauce for boiled pudding.
Currant Syrup.
Prepare the currants as for jelly; to every pint of juice put a pint of
water and a pound of sugar; let it boil half an hour and skim it well;
if the flavor of the raspberry is preferred, it may be added in the
proportion of one pint of it to four of currant juice. It is a very
pleasant drink mixed with water in warm weather.
Quince Jelly.
Wash and wipe the quinces; cut them in small pieces, and take out the
seeds carefully; have your kettle cleaned and half full of water; throw
the quinces and seeds in till you get it full; cover them over and let
them boil till very soft; mash them well and strain them; to every pint
of juice put a pound of sugar; clean the kettle again, pour in the juice
and sugar, and let it boil till it forms a jelly; it should be put into
tea-cups, if you want to turn it out whole, with brandy papers on top,
and pasted over. It is a nice jelly to use with whips or trifle.
Apple Jelly.
Pare and quarter a preserving kettle full of pippin apples; cover them
with water, and lay a plate close over them; let them boil until
perfectly soft, taking the plate off to skim them; spread a coarse thin
cloth over a large bowl; pour the apples on the cloth, and let the juice
run through, without squeezing; hold the towel by the corners, and move
it gently; take three-quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar to a pint of the
juice, and boil it fast, skimming it, until it becomes jelly, which will
be in from ten to fifteen minutes, pour it in tumblers or glass jars,
and when quite cold, paste them over. This will keep a year. Red streak
apples make a fine red jelly, boiled with the skins on them. If you have
currant or grape jelly that has candied, they can be restored by making
some apple syrup, and mixing it hot; it will not require any more
sugar--about one-third apple juice; let it boil a few minutes. Very
sweet preserves that have candied can be improved by this process.
Apple Marmalade.
Apples make a very good marmalade when other fruits are scarce, and can
be done at any time through the fall, or winter, pare the apples, cut
them up, and put them to boil, with some water and green ginger scraped,
and tied up in a bag, after they have boiled an hour, take out the
ginger, and put in half a pound of sugar to one of fruit, let it cook an
hour longer.
Peach Marmalade.
Take soft yellow peaches, pare them, and cut them in quarters, give them
their weight in sugar, put the peaches in the preserving kettle with a
pint of water, without the sugar, and let them boil till they are well
cooked, covered over with a plate, when done, mash them in the kettle
till very fine, and stir in the sugar, let them cook slowly an hour, or
they may be finished in a stone jar in the oven, or set in a stove
boiler, and the water kept boiling all the time, they are not then so
likely to burn as when finished over the fire, they will do with less
sugar, if they are dried in the sun two days previous to preserving.
Another Way.
Pare and quarter the peaches, and to eight pounds of peaches, allow five
pounds of sugar, put them on, sugar and peaches at once, mixing them
through, let them stew slowly until a syrup forms, when they may cook
pretty fast for several hours, without once stirring, then take them up,
and mash them well, if the marmalade is not thick enough, spread it on
dishes, and dry in your oven after the bread is taken out. Quinces and
apples may be done in the same way.
Quince Marmalade.
Pare the quinces and cut them up fine, put the parings and cores to
boil, then strain them, put in the quinces, and let them boil till
soft-when mash them fine, and put in three-quarters of a pound of sugar
to a pound of fruit, let them cook gently for two hours, and take them
up in pint bowls; when cold, put brandy papers on the top of each, and
paste them over, they will turn out whole to put on table.
Marmalade of Mixed Fruits.
Pare equal quantities of peaches, apples, pears and quinces, cut them
fine, and put them to boil with a pint of water to six pounds of fruit,
let them cook thoroughly, but do not let them burn, take them out, and
mash them well, clean the kettle, and put them back, with half their
weight in sugar, let them cook very slowly for two hours.
Lemon Marmalade.
Soak the peel of lemons that have been left after making lemonade,
changing the water twice a day for three days, to extract the bitter,
boil them till soft, then mash and put in enough sugar to make it
pleasant to the taste; stew it a short time after the sugar is put in;
put it in a bowl, and when cold, cut it in slices for the table; it will
keep several weeks.
To Conserve Pears.
Have the nicest pears you can get, pare them, and leave on the stems;
take half a pound of loaf-sugar to a pound of pears; put them in the
kettle together, with water enough to moisten the sugar; if the pears
are very juicy, they will not need any; cover them over with a plate,
and let them boil very gently for two hours; take them out on dishes,
and boil the syrup to jelly, and put it away by itself; set the pears in
the sun, or in a moderately heated oven; when quite dry, sprinkle them
with loaf-sugar, and put them away in glass jars.
Peaches in Cider.
Scald and wipe the peaches; cut them from the stone, and dry them in the
sun two days; boil a gallon of sweet cider half away; put in the
peaches, and let them stew slowly till done; they will keep without any
sugar, but you can put some in, if you wish them sweeter.
Pears can be kept in the same way.
Peaches, &c. in Brandy.
Take fresh yellow peaches, or large clingstones, pour boiling water on
them, and wipe off the down; make a syrup of half a pound of sugar to
a pound of fruit, and boil and skim it; put in the peaches, and let
them cook for fifteen minutes; take them up without any syrup, and
cool them on dishes; boil the syrup down to half, and put an equal
quantity of peach or French brandy, pour this over the peaches after
they are in jars.
Plums or cherries may be done in the same way.
Grapes in Brandy.
Put some close bunches of grapes, not too ripe, in a jar, and prick each
one with a needle, strew over them half their weight in pounded rock
candy, and fill up the jar with brandy.
To Conserve Peaches.
Take the yellow peaches, pare them, and cut them from the stone in one
piece, to six pounds of peaches have two pounds of sugar, make a syrup
of three-quarters of a pound of sugar, and a little water, put them in,
and let them stay till they are quite clear, then take them up carefully
on a dish, and set them in the sun to dry, pound the sugar fine, and
strew over them, turning them over to let each part have some, do not
put much on at a time, and if any syrup is made, remove them to fresh
dishes, when they are sufficiently dry, lay them lightly in a jar, with
a little sugar between each layer.
If the peaches are sweet clings, three pounds of sugar to twelve of
peaches will be enough, if you dry them a day in the sun before they
are stewed.
Sauce of Cherries, or Damsons.
Allow half a pound of brown sugar to every pound of fruit, and to each
seven pounds a pint of molasses, and one of strong vinegar, let them
cook slowly, so as not to break the skins, take them up in a jar, put in
a few cloves, let the syrup boil longer, and pour it over.
Frosted Fruit.
Take large ripe cherries, apricots, plums or grapes; if cherries, cut
off half of the stem; have in one dish some white of an egg beaten, and
in another some powdered loaf-sugar; take the fruit, one at a time, and
roll them first in the egg, and then in the sugar; lay them on a sheet
of white paper in a sieve, and set it on the top of a stove or near a
fire till the icing is hard.
Grapes for Pies.
After the first frost, pick the wild grapes, and put them in a jar, free
from stems; fill it with boiling molasses, and tie it up close; set it
on a hot hearth, or on the top of a stove, in a pan of water, for
several days. These are very useful to make common pies in the winter.
Green Tomatoes for Pies.
Pick the green tomatoes before they are much frosted; scald them and
take off the skins; put them in your kettle and let them boil for half
an hour; cut them up, and put in a pound of sugar to three pounds of
tomatoes, and let them cook for half an hour longer; season them with
the juice and peel of a lemon, and put them away in jars. They make very
good pies in the winter, and resemble gooseberries.
Conserve of Roses.
Gather the leaves of the damask rose, while they are fresh; spread a
pound of loaf-sugar on your cake-board, and roll in about half a pound
of rose leaves, or as many as will work into it, have your kettle
cleaned, and stew them in it very gently for about half an hour; put it
in tumblers to use when you have a cough. It is very good for children
that are threatened with the croup; you should have some by the side of
the bed to use at night.
To keep Damsons for Pies.
To every twelve pounds of damsons take seven pounds of brown sugar; put
them together in a stone jar, a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar; tie
it up close, and set it in a heated oven; let it stay till it is cold,
and continue to set it in, after every baking, for several weeks; or you
can cook them on the top of a stove, in a pan of hot water.
Dried Cherries, &c.
Dried cherries should be kept in a jar, with sugar sprinkled among them;
they are very useful in sickness; a tea-cupful of cherries, with a quart
of boiling water poured on them, and left to draw for half an hour, with
sweetening, makes a very agreeable drink when you cannot get lemonade.
When stewed for pies you should allow them plenty of water, and not put
in the sugar till they are nearly done.
Boiling water poured on dried apples also makes a good drink in
sickness.
Apple Butter.
_With Remarks on the Use of Earthen Vessels_
Have your kettle well cleaned, and fill it early in the morning with
cider made of sound apples, and just from the press; let it boil half
away, which may be done by three o'clock in the afternoon; have pared
and cut enough good apples to fill the kettle; put them in a clean
tub, and pour the boiling cider over; then scour the kettle and put in
the apples and cider, let them boil briskly till the apples sink to
the bottom; slacken the fire and let them stew, like preserves, till
ten o'clock at night. Some dried quinces stewed in cider and put in
are an improvement. Season with orange peel, cinnamon or cloves, just
before it is done; if you like it sweeter, you can put in some sugar
an hour before it is done. If any thing occur that you cannot finish
it in a day, pour it in a tub, and finish it the next day; when it is
done put it in stone jars. Any thing acid should not be put in earthen
vessels, as the glazing is poisonous. This way of making apple butter
requires but little stirring; you must keep a constant watch that it
does not burn.
Pears and peaches may be done in the same way, and if they are sweet,
will not require sugar.
Another Way.
It is important to have a large copper or bell-metal kettle, into
which put the cider as soon as it comes from the press; put it over a
brisk fire, and boil it half away; then put the cider from the kettle
into clean stone jars, (warm the jars to prevent the danger of
breaking them;) have your apples pared and cut over night, as many as
would fill your kettle twice; have the kettle well cleaned, and in the
morning put in half the cider, and fill the kettle nearly full of
apples, and put it over a brisk fire; when they begin to boil up, stir
them down, which may be done two or three times, before you put in
your stick to stir constantly; then put in the rest of the apples and
cider, as fast as the kettle will take them, and boil it four hours
after the last apples are put in, stirring it all the time; you should
have for the purpose a stick made of hickory wood, somewhat like a
common hoe, with holes in it.
Candied Preserves, &c.
If your preserves candy, set the jars in hot water for half an hour; if
they are in glass jars put them in something else, as glass cracks
easily, when exposed to heat. Preserves made with white Havana sugar are
not so liable to candy as others. Common preserves are improved, and are
more certain to keep well, by being placed on flat dishes and set in a
brick-oven after the bread is taken out: they may remain two or more
hours without injury. When preserves are about to boil over, you should
have a common fan at hand and fan them, which will sometimes answer
instead of taking them from the fire.
Cider Marmalade.
Boil two gallons of sweet cider down to one gallon; have ready two
gallons of apples, pared and cut; pour the cider out of the kettle,
and clean it; then put in the apples, and pour the cider in, and two
or three pounds of sugar; if it will not hold all conveniently, add at
intervals; let them stew four hours; do not stir till they are nearly
done--stirring makes fruit stick to the kettle and burn; if you stir
once you must keep on. This is a pleasant sauce for dinner, or eaten
with bread and butter at tea, and will keep in a cool place through
the winter.
Tomato Figs.
Take six pounds of sugar, to one peck (or sixteen pounds) of ripe
tomatoes--the pear-shaped look best; put them over the fire (_without
peeling_) in your preserving kettle, their own juice being sufficient
without the addition of water; boil them until the sugar penetrates and
they are clarified. They are then taken out, spread on dishes, flattened
and dried in the sun, or in a brick-oven after the bread is taken out. A
small quantity of the syrup should be occasionally sprinkled over them
whilst drying; after which, pack them down in jars, sprinkling each
layer with powdered sugar. The syrup is afterwards concentrated and
bottled for use. They retain surprisingly their flavor, which is
agreeable and somewhat similar to the best figs. Ordinary brown sugar
may be used, a large portion of which is retained in syrup.
Molasses Candy or Taffy.
Put a quart of good molasses (not sugar house) in a dutch-oven or iron
pot, having previously greased it with butter; let it boil very fast,
stirring it all the time for fifteen minutes; then put in a tea-cup of
sugar and let it boil fifteen minutes longer, stirring all the time;
take a little out on a plate, and when it is brittle, pour it while hot
into tin plates rubbed with butter; put it in a cold place and break it
up when you want it for use; never put taffy in china or earthen plates,
as they would probably be broken in taking it out. Some think it an
improvement to add the kernels of black walnuts, nicely picked--put them
in just as you take up the taffy and give it one stir; a tea-cup of
kernels to a pint of molasses is a good proportion.
Walnut Cheese.
Take a pint of nice kernels and pound them in a mortar with two tea-cups
of brown sugar, and a table-spoonful of water; put it in cups or small
bowls and it will turn out like other cheese. It is a favorite
refreshment with some country children.
CORDIALS, WINES, VINEGAR, PICKLES, &c.
Peach Cordial.
Put a gallon of peach brandy into a wide-mouthed vessel, and five pounds
of fine flavored peaches, cut from the stone; boil five pints of water
with two pounds of loaf-sugar and a pound of peaches, till it is a clear
and rich syrup; pour this boiling hot on the brandy and stir it well;
put in two dozen peach kernels, blanched and pounded, and a little mace;
let it stand three weeks covered tight--at the end of which time, bottle
it for use. It is a nice seasoning for cake.
Quince Cordial.
Grate the quinces and strain them; to every quart of juice, put a pound
of loaf-sugar and a pint of spirits; boil, strain and bottle it.
Cherry Cordial.
Mash and strain the cherries, boil the juice, and to a gallon, put two
pounds of sugar, and half a pint of spirits; the sugar should be boiled
in it; skim and strain; when cold, bottle it.
Lemon Brandy.
Have a bottle three-quarters full of brandy; when you use lemons for
other purposes, pare off the yellow skin very thin, cut it small and
drop it in the bottle, till you get it full. Be careful not to put in
any of the tough white part, as that will give it a bitter taste; cork
the bottle and keep it to season cakes and puddings.
Rose Brandy.
Fill a large bottle with damask rose leaves, picked while they are
fresh; fill the bottle with brandy, or good spirits of any kind; cork it
tightly and set it away for use. It will bear filling up several times.
Blackberry Cordial.
Mash and strain the blackberries; put the juice on to boil in a brass or
bell-metal kettle; skim it well, and to each gallon of juice put three
pounds of sugar and a quart of spirits; bruise some cloves and put in.
This is valuable as a medicine for children in summer.
Rose Water.
Gather the damask rose leaves; have a tin pan that will fit under your
warming-pan; wring a thin towel out of water, spread it over the pan,
and put rose leaves on this about two inches thick; put another wet
towel on top of the leaves, and three or four thicknesses of paper on
it; put hot embers in the warming-pan, and set it on top of the paper,
propped up so as not to fall; when you renew the coals, sprinkle the
towel that is at the top of the rose leaves; when all the strength is
out of the leaves, they will be in a cake; dry this, and put it in your
drawers to scent the clothes; put another set of leaves in, sprinkle
the towels, and so till you have used up all your rose leaves. Rose
water is a very nice seasoning for cake or pudding; it should be kept
corked tightly.
Cologne.
Put into a bottle half an ounce of oil of lavender, one drachm of oil of
rosemary, two of essence of lemon, two of essence of bergamot, forty
drops of oil of cinnamon, and a little musk, if you like it; pour on it
three pints of best alcohol.
Blackberry Wine.
Gather the fruit when fully ripe, but before the sun has had time to
dry the juice; put it in a tub and pour in clear cold water enough to
cover it; mash it to a pulp with a wooden masher; strain it through a
linen bag or towel; a deal of juice will remain in the pulp, which in
order to get you must add some sugar to it, and boil it in your
preserving kettle, when you may strain again, and will have little left
but seeds; to every gallon of the liquor, add three pounds of good
brown sugar; pour it in a keg, (which should stand in a cellar, or cool
dry place:) let it stand two or three weeks, with the bung laid loosely
on; as the froth works out fill it up, (with some of the liquor kept
out for the purpose.) French brandy in the proportion of a quart to
five gallons, is an improvement. At the end of three or four weeks, it
may be closely bunged and put away in a safe dry closet, where it
should remain undisturbed for a year, when it may be racked off,
bottled and sealed over.
Gooseberry Wine.
Put three pounds of lump sugar in a gallon of water; boil and skim it;
when it is nearly cold, pour in it four quarts of ripe gooseberries,
that have been well mashed, and let it stand two days, stirring it
frequently; steep half an ounce of isinglass in a pint of brandy for two
days, and beat it with the whites of four eggs till they froth, and put
it in the wine; stir it up, and strain it through a flannel bag into a
cask or jug; fasten it so as to exclude the air; let it stand six
months, and bottle it for use; put two or three raisins in each bottle,
and cork it up.
Currant Wine.
Pick and mash the currants, either with your hands or a clean block, in
a tub; strain them, and to one gallon of juice, put two gallons of
water; and to each gallon of the mixture, put three pounds of sugar;
stir it until the sugar is dissolved, then put it in a clean cask that
has never been used for beer or cider; put it in a cellar or cool place,
and let it work out at the bung for several weeks; have a gallon of it
saved in a jug to fill up with, as it works out. When it is done
working, bung it up.
You may rack it off towards spring, or it will not hurt it to
stand a year.
If you want a barrel of wine, you must have eight gallons of currant
juice, sixteen of water, and seventy-two pounds of sugar; put in a quart
of brandy after it has done working; if you can get a clean brandy
barrel to put it in, it is better than a new one.
Another Way.
Mash well together equal quantities of currants and water, strain the
juice and to every gallon add three pounds of best brown sugar; fill the
cask two-thirds full, bung it tight and put clay over; by this means the
air is excluded while the process of fermentation is going on; the cask
should be iron-bound; rack it off and bottle or put in demijohns the
next spring after making.
Elderberry Wine, &c.
To each gallon of berries, put one of water; mash them in a tub, and
leave them two days, stirring them frequently; then strain them, and to
each gallon of juice put three pounds of brown sugar, and to every five
gallons, two ounces of bruised ginger, and one of cloves, which tie up
in a bag, and boil in the wine for an hour, and put it in a cask; when
it is nearly cold, put in two spoonsful of lively yeast; let it ferment
two days, and put in a pint of spirits with the bag of spice, and close
it up. This is excellent as a medicine for delicate or elderly persons.
Fill a bottle with elderberries, with a dozen cloves, and fill it up
with spirits. It is good to give children that have the summer disease;
mix a tea-spoonful of it with sugar and water for a child, or a
table-spoonful for a grown person.
Ginger Wine.
Boil nine quarts of water with six pounds of lump sugar, the rinds of
three lemons very thinly pared, and two ounces of face ginger pounded;
when it has boiled half an hour, skim it, and pour it on the juice of
two lemons: when nearly cold, add two spoonsful of yeast; put a pound of
raisins in the cask, with a half a pint of brandy, and half an ounce of
shaved isinglass; strain it in the cask, and stop it tight; bottle it in
six or seven weeks.
Raspberry Wine.
Pick over the raspberries, and to every quart put a quart of water;
bruise them, and let them stand two days; strain off the liquor, and to
every gallon put three pounds of lump sugar; stir it till the sugar is
dissolved, and put it in a clean barrel, or keg; at the end of two
months, bottle it, and put a spoonful of brandy, or a glass of wine in
each bottle.
Raspberry Vinegar, and its uses.
Put two pounds of raspberries in a large bowl, and pour on them two
quarts of white-wine vinegar; the next day, strain the liquor on two
pounds of fresh raspberries; let this stand a day, and strain it into a
stone jar; to each pint of the liquor put a pound of loaf sugar; stir
till it is dissolved, and put the jar in a sauce-pan of water, which
keep boiling for an hour; skim it, and bottle it when cold. This is used
not only as a refreshing drink, mixed with water, but is said to be of
use in complaints of the chest. No glazed or metal vessels should be
used in making it.
Spruce Beer.
Boil some spruce boughs with some wheat bran, till it tastes
sufficiently of the spruce; bruise some allspice, and put in; strain it,
and put two quarts of molasses to half a barrel; when it is nearly cold,
put in half a pint of yeast; after it has worked sufficiently, bung up
the barrel.
To Make Two Gallons of Beer.
Put two pounds of brown sugar in a jug, with a heaped spoonful of
ginger, and a pint of strong hop tea; pour in a gallon and a half of
warm water, and a tea-cup of yeast; leave out the cork a day--then
fasten it up, and set it in a cool place; or if you bottle it, put two
or three raisins in each bottle.
Harvest Beer.
To make fifteen gallons of beer, put into a keg three pints of yeast,
three pints of molasses, and two gallons of cold water; mix it well, and
let it stand a few minutes; then take three quarts of molasses, and
three gallons of boiling water, with one ounce of ginger; mix them well,
and pour into the keg, and fill it up with cold water.
A decoction of the root of sassafras is good to put in beer.
Porter Beer.
A pleasant drink in summer is to take one bottle of porter, five bottles
of water, and a pint of molasses, or a pound of sugar; make a spoonful
of ginger into a tea, and mix all well together; have seven clean
bottles, with two or three raisins in each; fill them, cork them tight,
and lay them on their sides on the cellar floor.
Molasses Beer.
Take five pints of molasses, half a pint of yeast, two spoonsful of
pounded ginger, and one of allspice; put these into a clean half-barrel,
and pour on it two gallons of boiling water; shake it till a
fermentation is produced; then fill it up with warm water, and let it
work with the bung out, a day, when it will be fit for use; remove it to
a cold place, or bottle it. This is a very good drink for laboring
people in warm weather.
To Make Cider.
To make cider that will keep sweet for a length of time, requires
particular attention to all the points. All the works and utensils in
use must be perfectly clean, so that nothing acid shall come in contact
with the pulp or liquor while pressing. The casks should be cleaned in
the following manner:
After washing each barrel clean, put in a lump of unslaked lime, and
pour in a gallon of boiling water; bung it up, and roll the barrel
several times a day, letting it lay with the bung down; in the evening,
empty out the lime-water, and wash the barrel clean in several waters;
after the water is drained out, burn a brimstone match in it, made of a
piece of coarse muslin one inch broad, and four long, dipped in melted
brimstone; light one end of the match, and put it in; put the bung on
slightly, so as to hold the other end, and allow air sufficient to make
it burn; when the rag has burned out, drive in the bung to keep in the
sulphuric gas, which, if allowed time, will condense on the sides.
The apples should be kept under cover, and secured from rain. After
they have laid to mellow for two or three weeks, select those that are
sound; break off the stems and leaves; have the trough perfectly clean,
and after they are ground, keep them from the sun and rain for
twenty-four hours; then press them, and fill into the casks; the first
running is always the best; each cask that is filled should be
numbered, so as to know the quality; and after they are all filled,
draw off and mix them, the weak with the strong; keep the casks filled
up with cider while they are fermenting; when the fermentation is
subsiding, there will be a thin white scum rise slowly: when this is
all off, lay on the bung lightly; rack it off in a few days in barrels,
in which brimstone has been used, and bung it tight; rack it off again
in March, and keep the bungs in tight.
To Make Vinegar.
You may always have good vinegar for pickling, and other purposes, by
taking a little pains. Get a tight whiskey barrel, if it is clean you
need not rinse it, and put into it ten gallons of the best vinegar you
can procure, with one quart of whiskey and one quart of molasses; every
day for a week, add a gallon of good cider that has not been watered,
and shake the barrel each time; let it stand in this state two weeks,
shaking the barrel frequently. After this, you may put in a gallon of
cider occasionally, with any that has been left at table, or the
settlings of decanters or bottles that have had wine in, but do not put
in any water. It will make much sooner in the garret or a warm place,
but if the barrel is fixed early in the summer, you will have plenty to
pickle with in the fall; taste it so as not to add cider too fast. Have
a phial with a string attached to it that you can put in at the bung.
You should have a barrel of good hard cider before you begin to make
vinegar. If you are in want of vinegar, fill a jug from the barrel, and
set it in the hot sun, where it will turn sour much quicker. It is a
good plan to keep a jug in a closet, where you can empty all the slops
of cider and wine; and when you get it full, empty it in the barrel.
After the pickling is done, you can put as much hard cider in the
barrel, a gallon at a time, as you have taken out, with a little
molasses, and half a pint of whiskey; if you put too much of the latter
it will prevent it from getting sour, but a little gives strength to
the cider, and the molasses increases the acidity, and helps to color
it. If you should have any juice of cherries, currants, or
blackberries, put it in, or if you can get cheap sour raisins, they
will be an improvement to the flavor of the vinegar; a tea-cup of burnt
sugar will give it a good color.
Vinegar made in this way will keep pickles good for several years. If
the cider has not sufficient strength it will take longer to make.
To Pickle Mangoes.
Pick your musk-melons at a proper age, before they get too hard;
make a slit in the sides and take out the seeds with a tea-spoon;
boil a pickle of ground alum salt, that will bear an egg, and let
the melons lay in this a week; then make a new pickle, and let them
lay in it another week; then wash them, and scald them in weak
vinegar, or sour cider, with cabbage leaves around the kettle; put
them in a jar, and put the vinegar and leaves in with them; leave
them two days, then wipe them carefully, and to two dozen mangoes,
have an ounce of mace, one of cloves, some nasturtions, small
onions, scraped horse-radish, and mustard seed sufficient to fill
them; fill up the inside of each one, and tie them round with
strings. Put them in your kettle with strong vinegar, and let them
scald a few minutes; then put them in a wide-mouthed jar, and pour
the vinegar over; have them covered close, and they will keep good
for several years. Large green tomatoes make good mangoes,
previously salted and drained, when fill them as other mangoes.
For Pickling Mangoes with Oil and Vinegar.
Cut a square piece out to remove the inside; lay them in salt and water
nine or ten days, and afterwards green them as any other pickle. For
stuffing, take two ounces of garlic, dried and pulverized, two ounces of
horse-radish, prepared as the garlic, two ounces of nutmegs, two ounces
of cloves, two ounces of mace, two ounces of whole mustard seed. When
the mangoes are large, put a small cucumber, and two beans in each. Wipe
each mango perfectly dry before the stuffing is put in; sew each up, and
tie twine around it; then put them in a pot, and pour the pot two-thirds
full of sharp vinegar; pour sweet oil on the top till covered. The
ingredients must be mixed with sweet oil. The spices, &c. mentioned, are
sufficient for a dozen mangoes.
Cucumbers.
Gather the cucumbers while they are small, lay them in a jar with salt
enough to make a pickle; pour in a little water, and if there is not
salt enough to cover them, in a few days put in more. At the end of two
weeks put them in a kettle, with cabbage leaves around and through them;
fill it up with weak vinegar, and let them scald three hours; put all in
a jar for three days, then take out the cucumbers, pour out the vinegar
and leaves; put them back in the jar, with some cloves, peppers,
horse-radish and mustard; boil some strong vinegar and pour over them.
Small Cucumbers.
Wash small cucumbers from two to four inches long; put a gallon of very
strong vinegar in a large jar, with mustard seed, scraped horse-radish,
and celery seed, a small portion of each, and a tea-cupful of salt; put
the cucumbers in the jar; tie them close. Martina's may be pickled in
the same way, or in the old way of pickling cucumbers.
To Pickle Cherries or Peaches.
If peaches, wipe them well with a coarse towel; if cherries, cut the
stems half off, but do not stone them; put them in jars, and to every
half gallon of vinegar it takes to cover them, put a pound of sugar, and
cloves and cinnamon to taste; boil and skim it well, and when nearly
cool pour it over the fruit; for three successive days pour off the
vinegar, and boil and pour it on again.
Peaches.
Pick out sound clingstone peaches; lay them in salt and water for a day,
then wipe them on a coarse cloth: boil up some strong vinegar, with a
little ginger, whole pepper and mustard seed; put the peaches in a jar
and pour this over.
White Walnuts.
Take full grown white walnuts, or butter-nuts, before the shells get so
hard that a pin will not run through easily; put them in a jar; boil a
pickle of ground alum salt that will bear an egg, skim it, and when it
gets cold; pour it on the walnuts; let them lay in this ten days; then
make another pickle as strong as the first, and leave them in it ten
days longer; then scrape each one carefully, until you get all the rough
skin off, wipe them with a very coarse cloth, and let them soak in cold
water two days; boil them in weak vinegar, and let them lay in this a
week; boil enough good vinegar to cover them; mix together scraped
horse-radish, mustard seed, cloves, red pepper, onions and garlic; put a
layer of the walnuts in a jar, and sprinkle the spice over; pour the
boiling vinegar over the top.
English Walnuts.
Gather them when nearly full grown, but not too hard; pour boiling salt
and water on them; let them be covered with it nine days, changing it
every third day; then take them out on dishes, and put them in the sun
to blacken, turning them over; then put them in a jar and strew over
them pepper, cloves, garlic, mustard seed and scraped horse-radish;
cover them with cold strong vinegar and tie them up.
Black Walnuts.
Gather the walnuts while you can run a pin through them; boil them in an
iron pot three hours, to soften the shell; put them in a tub of cold
water, hull and wash them, and put them in your jars; pour salt and
water over them, and change it every day for a week; at the end of that
time scald them in weak vinegar; let them stand in this three days, then
pour it off, and for half a bushel of hulled walnuts, have quarter of a
pound of cloves, a tea-cup of mustard seed, two spoonsful of black
pepper, a pint of scraped horse-radish, two pods of red pepper, some
sliced onions and garlic; put these in the jars with the walnuts, and
fill them up with strong cold vinegar.
Pickled walnuts will keep for six or seven years, and are as good at the
last as the first.
Virginia Yellow Pickles.
To two gallons of vinegar, put one pound of ginger, quarter of a pound
of black pepper, two ounces of red pepper, two of cloves, a tea-cup of
celery seed, a pint of horse-radish, a pint of mustard seed, a few
onions or garlic, and three ounces of turmeric to turn them yellow. The
above ingredients should be mixed together in a jar, and set in the sun
by the first of July, tied up close, with a block over each jar to keep
out the rain. Put whatever you intend to pickle in salt and water for
two or three days; then pour boiling salt and water on them; wash them
and drop them in the jars of vinegar.
You can pickle any thing in this way but walnuts. The same pickle, by
adding more vinegar to it, will do for two years; if the jars are set by
a fire, a much less time will do to take the strength out of the spices;
the turmeric should be tied up in a bag.
Tomatoes.
Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; lay them on dishes, and strew
salt thickly over them; let them stand for twenty-four hours,
occasionally pouring off the liquor that the salt extracts; then drain
them on a sifter, and gently squeeze them, as it is this juice that
weakens the vinegar and makes the pickles spoil; take a large jar, put
in a layer of tomatoes, then a layer of sliced onions, mustard seed,
cloves and white pepper, or whole black pepper; (you may if you like,
break two pods of red pepper and put in each jar.) When the jar is full,
pour very strong vinegar over, and in a few days they will be ready for
use, and will keep all winter. They retain much of the tomato flavor,
and should be kept in a cool place.
Another Way.
Take small round tomatoes when they are not too ripe; stick them with a
needle in several places, to keep the skin from bursting, and let them
lay a week in salt and water; then wash them and put them in a jar with
some cloves, pepper and small onions; cover them with strong cold
vinegar, and tie up the jar.
Pepper Mangoes.
Take fully grown green peppers, cut a slit in the side of each and take
out the seeds; make a strong brine and lay them in it for three days;
then soak them in clear water a day and night; pack them in a jar, and
pour boiling vinegar over them with a piece of alum; let them stay in
this three days, when boil the vinegar again, and pour over them; when
they are green, stuff them with chopped cabbage, mustard seed, cloves,
horse-radish, pepper, and a small onion in each; tie them up, put them
in a jar; boil fresh vinegar and pour over.
Observe always to have the kettle you boil vinegar in well cleaned;
never put pickles in common earthen-ware, as the glazing is poisonous.
Onions.
Peel small white onions and pour boiling milk and water over them; when
cold, put them in a jar, and make a pickle of strong vinegar, a little
mace, ginger, white mustard seed, and horse-radish; boil it and pour
over them.
If you want them to be white, do not put in black pepper or cloves.
Mushrooms.
Take the small round mushrooms that are pale pink underneath, with white
tops, and peel easily; put them in a jar with a little mace, white
mustard seed and salt; cover them with cold vinegar, and tie them close.
If you put in black pepper or cloves, it will turn them dark.
Nasturtions.
Have some strong vinegar in a jar with a little salt, and as you gather
the nasturtions, put them in, and keep the jar tied close.
Cherries.
Take sound morel cherries with the stems on, and put them in a jar; boil
spices in strong vinegar, and pour over them hot. Damsons may be done in
the same way. A little sugar improves the pickle.
Cabbage.
Take firm heads of purple cabbage, quarter them, sprinkle them with
salt, and let them lay three or four days, when shave them fine, drain
off the salt and put them in a jar, boil enough vinegar to cover them,
with horse radish, pepper and cloves, when nearly cold pour it on the
cabbage, and put in a little cochineal tied up in a bag, it will he fit
for use in a week.
Another Way.
Cut hard cabbage fine as for slaw, sprinkle salt through it, and let it
lay under a moderate pressure for twelve hours, then drain well through
a colander, slice a dozen raw onions, have a large jar in readiness, put
in a layer of cabbage, strew in some of the onions, a few cloves, a
tea-cupful of mustard seed, some whole black pepper, cut six half ripe
red pepper pods, and sprinkle in; add a little more salt, boil vinegar
and pour on sufficient to cover the mixture.
Cut Cucumbers.
Slice large cucumbers lengthwise--do not pare them--then cut them half
an inch thick; if you have small ones, slice them across, put them in
a large jar, and sprinkle them well with salt, after standing a day or
two, pour off the liquid the salt has extracted, drain them, and wash
the jar, and put the cucumbers in alternately, with sliced onions,
mustard seed, white pepper, whole black pepper and a few cloves, pour
over them strong vinegar, and tie close, keep them in a cool place,
but do not allow them to freeze in severe weather, as freezing spoils
the flavor of pickles. When pickles do not keep well, pour off the
vinegar, and put more on, but if the vinegar is of the best quality,
there is little fear of this. Putting alcohol on over paper, will
prevent their moulding.
Cucumber Catsup.
Take full grown cucumbers, pare them, and cut out the lines of white
pith, which are on three sides; cut them in slices about half an inch
thick; to six cucumbers, put one onion, sliced fine; then sprinkle them
with salt, placing the fruit in layers, with salt between;--next
morning, press the liquor from them; put them in _small jars,_ and fill
up with strong vinegar, seasoned with pepper, mustard seed, and salt, if
necessary. The small jars are recommended--as the cucumbers do not keep
well after they have been exposed to the air.
Tomato Catsup.
Take a peck of ripe tomatoes, wash and cut out the stems, but do not
peel them; put them over the fire in your bell-metal kettle, cover them,
and let them boil till soft enough to mash, when pour them in a colander
placed over a pan; drain them and throw away the liquid; then mash and
strain the tomatoes, a few at a time, through a ball sifter: this is
rather a tedious process; but, as the waste liquor has been previously
drained off, the catsup will require but about twenty minutes boiling;
throw in the spices before you take it up, fine pepper and salt,
mustard, and a few whole cloves, and sliced onions, if you like their
flavor; allow a tea-cup of strong vinegar to each bottle of catsup; part
of which may be put in with the spices, and the rest in each bottle on
top of the catsup, before you cork and seal them.
Walnut Catsup.
Gather the walnuts, as for pickling and put them in salt and water for
ten days, then pound them in a mortar, and to every dozen walnuts put a
quart of strong vinegar, and stir it every day for a week, then strain
it through a bag, and to every quart of liquor put a tea-spoonful of
pounded mace, the same of cloves, and a few pieces of garlic or onion,
boil it twenty minutes, and when cold, bottle it. White or black walnuts
are as good for catsup as the English walnut, and will keep good for
several years.
Green Tomato Catsup.
After the tomatoes have ceased to ripen, slice and put them in a jar,
with salt scattered through them, let them stand two days, then drain
them in a colander, put them in the jars they are to remain in, strewing
sliced onions, cloves, whole pepper, mustard seed, and one or two red
pepper pods through them, boil vinegar enough to cover them and pour
over, tie them close and put a plate on each jar.
Mushroom Catsup.
Take the largest mushrooms, those that are beginning to turn dark, cut
off the roots, put them in a stone jar, with some salt, mash them and
cover the jar, let them stand two days, stirring them several times a
day, then strain and boil the liquor, to every quart of which, put a
tea-spoonful of whole pepper and the same of cloves, and mustard seed,
and a little ginger, when cold, bottle it, leaving room in each bottle
for a tea-cupful of strong vinegar, and a table-spoonful of brandy; cork
them up and seal them over. Tomato Sauce.
Scald and peel a peck of ripe tomatoes; cut them in slices and lay them
on a large dish; cover well with salt each layer; the next morning put
the tomatoes in a colander or on a sifter, and drain off all the liquid;
then mash them with a wooden masher, and to each quart, put a pint of
strong vinegar, two table-spoonsful of white mustard seed, a dozen
cloves, a dozen grains of black pepper, an onion sliced and chopped, a
table-spoonful of salt; if mashed fine you can pour it out of
wide-mouthed bottles; put a table-spoonful of spirits in each bottle at
the top; cork tight, and seal. If you prefer putting the sauce in small
stone jars, put spirits on paper at the top of each. Spiced Peaches.
Take nine pounds of good ripe peaches, rub them with a course towel, and
halve them; put four pounds of sugar and a pint of good vinegar in your
preserving kettle, with cloves, cinnamon and mace; when the syrup is
formed, throw in the peaches, a few at a time, so as to keep them as
whole as may be; when clear, take them out and put in more; boil the
syrup till quite rich, and then pour it over the peaches. Cherries may
be done in the same way. Mushroom Sauce.
Gather large mushrooms, that have not turned dark, peel them and cut
off the stems; put them in a pan and strew salt over each layer; when
all are in, mash them well; then put them in a jar, put a plate on the
top, and set it in a pot of cold water; let it heat gradually, and
boil for fifteen or twenty minutes; to each quart of the pulp put
three tea-cupsful of strong vinegar, two tea-spoonsful of powdered
mace, or one of cloves, two of white mustard seed, one of black
pepper; put it in jars or wide-mouthed bottles, with a spoonful of
alcohol at the top of each, and secure it from the air. This is by
some preferred to the catsup.
TO CURE BACON, BEEF, PORK, SAUSAGE, &c.
To Cure Bacon.
To one thousand weight of pork, put one bushel of fine salt, one pound
and a half of saltpetre rolled fine and mixed with the salt; rub this on
the meat and pack it away in a tight hogshead; let it lay for six weeks,
then hang it up and smoke it with hickory wood, every day for two weeks,
and afterwards two or three times a week for a month; then take it down
and rub it all over with hickory ashes, which is an effectual remedy
against the fly or skipper. When the weather is unusually warm at the
time of salting your pork, more care is requisite to preserve it from
taint. When it is cut up, if it seems warm, lay it on boards, or on the
bare ground, till it is sufficiently cool for salting; examine the meat
tubs or casks frequently, and if there is an appearance of mould, strew
salt over; if the weather has been very warm after packing, and on
examining, you should find evidence of its spoiling, lose no time in
unpacking the meat; for a hogshead of hams and shoulders that are in
this state, have six pounds of brown sugar, three pounds of salaeratus,
mixed with half a bushel of salt; rub each piece with this, and as you
pack it in the hogshead, (which should be well washed and cleaned,)
sprinkle a little coarse salt over each layer of pork, and also on the
bottom of the hogshead. I have known this plan to save a large quantity
of pork, that would have been unfit for use, if it had not been
discovered and attended to in time. Some persons use crushed charcoal to
purify their meat. Shoulders are more easily affected than hams, and if
the weather is warm the ribs should be cut out of the shoulders. Jowls
also require particular care; black pepper, about a pound to a hogshead,
sprinkled on the meat before it is hung up to smoke, is valuable as a
preventive where flies are troublesome; have a large pepper-box kept
for the purpose, and dust every part that is exposed; pepper is also
good to put on beef before it is hung up to dry; wash it off before
cooking, and it does not injure the flavor.
To Pickle Pork.
Take out all the ribs, and cut it in pieces of about three pounds each;
pack it in a tight barrel, and salt it well with coarse salt; boil a
very strong pickle made of coarse salt, and when it is cold pour it over
the meat, and put a weight on the top; if you wish pork to keep, do not
put saltpetre in, as it injures the flavor.
To Cure Hams and Shoulders.
To cure five hundred weight of hams and shoulders, take fifteen quarts
of common salt, one pound and a half of saltpetre rolled fine, half a
pound of red pepper pods chopped fine, and four quarts of molasses; mix
them all together and rub the meat well, pack it down, cover it close,
and let it remain six weeks, then hang it up and smoke it with green
hickory wood for three weeks. If there is a damp spell of weather, it is
best to make a fire in your meat-house occasionally through the summer,
to keep the meat from moulding.
To Make a Pickle for Chines.
Rub the chines with fine salt, and pack them in a tight barrel, make a
pickle of coarse salt, strong enough to bear an egg, boil and skim it,
and when nearly cold pour it on, let there be enough to cover them, and
put a weight on the top. Chines are good smoked. It is best to make a
separate pickle for the heads; wash and scrape them, cut off the ears
and noses, and take out the eyes. The jowls may be packed and smoked
with the bacon. Sausage Meat, &c. Separate the tender parts of the meat
from the rough and bony pieces, and chop each sort separately, to
twenty-two pounds of meat have half a pound of salt, three heaped
table-spoonsful of sage, three of pepper, and two of thyme. If you have
a box large enough to hold this quantity, sprinkle it over the meat
before it is chopped, and it will be thoroughly mixed by the time it is
done. It is best to have a small piece fried to taste, and if it is not
seasoned right, it can be altered; you should have some pieces of fat,
chopped in with the meat. The sage and thyme should be carefully dried,
but not heated too much, neither should it be hung up too near the fire,
as it would spoil the flavor, rub it through a wire sifter, and if that
should not make it fine enough, pound it in a mortar or grind it in your
pepper mill. The pepper should be ground and ready some days before it
is needed, as the pork season in the country is (while it lasts) one of
the busiest in the year, every thing should be prepared beforehand that
you possibly can. It is a good plan to have plenty of bread and pies
baked, and a quantity of apples stewed, vegetables washed and ready to
cook, so that every member of the family, that is able, may devote
herself to the work of putting away the meat which is of so much
importance for the coming year, while some are cutting up the fat to
render into lard, others may be employed in assorting the sausage meat,
and cutting it into small pieces for the chopping machine, by trimming
off every part that can be spared. You can have one hundred pounds of
sausage from twelve hundred weight of pork, and since the introduction
of sausage choppers, a great deal more sausage is made, than formerly,
by the old method. Clean a few of the maws, and soak them in salt and
water, and fill them with sausage meat, sew them close, let them lay in
pickle for two weeks then hang them up, and when your meat is smoked,
let them have a few days smoke. In this way sausage will keep all
summer, and is very nice when boiled slowly for several hours, and eaten
cold. The best fat to chop in with sausage is taken from the chines or
back bones. To keep sausage for present use, put it in small stone pans,
and pour melted lard over the top; for later in the season, make muslin
bags that will hold about three pounds, with a loop sewed on to hang
them up by; fill them with meat, tie them tight, and hang them in a cool
airy place; they will keep in this way till August, when you want to fry
them, rip part of the seam, cut out as many slices as you want, tie up
the bag and hang it up again. If you have a large quantity, a sausage
chopper is a great convenience. Liver Sausage Take four livers, with the
lights and hearts, have two heads cleaned, and boil them with any
scraps, or skinny pieces you have, skim the pot, take out the livers
when they are done, and let the heads boil longer, when they are done,
pick out the bones, and chop all together, season with sage, thyme,
sweet marjoram, salt and pepper, put it in pans, and fry it as sausage.
Bologna Sausage Chop ten pounds of beef, with two pounds and a half of
the fat of fresh pork, pound one ounce of mace, and one of cloves, and
mix in, let it stand a day, then stuff it in large skins, let them lay
in brine ten days, then hang them up to smoke a few days, they can be
put in the same brine with beef or tongues. Hogs' Head Cheese Take off
the ears and noses of four heads, and pick out the eyes, and lay them in
salt and water all night, then wash and put them on to boil, take out
the bones carefully, chop and season them well, and pack it in bowls,
they will turn out whole, and may be eaten cold with vinegar, or fried
as sausage.
Pigs' Feet.
Pigs' feet should be well cleaned by dipping them in scalding water, and
scraping off the hairs, leave them in weak salt and water two days,
changing it each day; if you wish to boil them for souse, they are now
ready, but if the weather is cold they will keep in this a month. They
should be kept in a cold place, and if they are frozen there is no
danger of their spoiling, but if there comes on a thaw, change the salt
and water, soak them in fresh water all night before you boil them. In
this way they are good to eat with pepper and vinegar while hot, or may
be dipped in batter and fried after they are cold.
To make Souse.
Boil the feet till the bones come out easily, and pick out all the large
bones, pack them in a stone pan with pepper and salt, and cover it with
vinegar, they may be eaten cold, or dipped in flour and fried. Another
way is to pick out all the bones, season them with salt, pepper and
sage, and warm them up as you want to use them.
Pigs' feet, after being boiled, are very nice stewed as terrapins,
make the gravy with butter and water, they are nourishing food for
delicate persons.
Vessels for salting meat should be cleaned well after the meat is hung
up, and set on boards in the cellar, if they do not smell sweet, they
should be washed and soaked before meat is packed in them again. You
should see that the hoops are sound, and have covers made to fit them.
If taken care of in this way, they will last a number of years.
Scrapple.
Take eight pounds of scraps of pork, that will not do for sausage, boil
it in four gallons of water, when tender, chop it fine, strain the
liquor and pour it back into the pot, put in the meat, season it with
sage, summer savory, salt and pepper to taste; stir in a quart of corn
meal; after simmering a few minutes, thicken it with buckwheat flour
very thick, it requires very little cooking after it is thickened, but
must be stirred constantly.
Dried Beef.
An experienced housekeeper has furnished the following method for curing
and drying beef, which will keep good for two years, without being
injured by must or fly, and is much admired. Have the rounds divided,
leaving a piece of the sinew to hang up by, lay the pieces in a tub of
cold water for an hour, then rub each piece of beef that will weigh
fifteen or twenty pounds, with a handful of brown sugar and a
table-spoonful of saltpetre, pulverized, and a pint of fine salt,
sprinkle fine salt in the bottom of a clean tight barrel, and lay the
pieces in, strewing a little coarse salt between each piece; let it lay
two days, then make the brine in a clean tub, with cold water and ground
alum salt--stir it well, it must be strong enough to bear an egg half
up, put in half a pound of best brown sugar and a table-spoonful of
saltpetre to each gallon of the salt and water, pour it over the beef;
put a clean large stone on the top of the meat to keep it under the
pickle, (which is very important,) put a cover on the barrel; examine it
occasionally to see that the pickle does not leak,--and if it should
need more, add of the same strength; let it stand six weeks, then hang
it up in the smoke house, and after it has drained, smoke it moderately
for ten days, it should then hang in a dry place, before cooking, let it
soak for twenty four hours; a piece that weighs fifteen or twenty pounds
should boil two hours--one half the size, one hour, and a small piece
should soak six or twelve hours, according to size. Beef cured in this
way will make a nice relish, when thinly sliced and eaten cold, for
breakfast or tea, or put between slices of bread and butter for lunch,
it will keep for several weeks,--and persons of delicate stomachs can
sometimes relish a thin slice, eaten cold, when they cannot retain hot
or rich food.
This receipt will answer for all parts of the beef, to be boiled for the
dinner table through the summer.
To Cure Beef.
Make a pickle of six quarts of salt, six gallons of water, half a pound
of saltpetre, and three of sugar, or half a gallon of molasses, pack the
beef in a barrel, with fine and coarse salt mixed, when the pickle is
cold, pour it over, and put a weight on the top, let it stay two weeks,
when you can hang it up and smoke it, to boil through the summer, or
boil the pickle over again, and leave it in till you want to use it;
this is for two hundred pounds.
A New Method of Curing Beef.
Take six gallons of water, nine pounds of salt, (fine and coarse mixed,)
three pounds of sugar, one quart of molasses, three ounces of saltpetre,
and one ounce of pearl ash or salaeratus, boil and skim it well, and let
it stand till entirely cold, when pour it on beef that has been
sprinkled with salt for several days. You can boil of this beef from the
brine all winter, or hang it up, and smoke it with your bacon.
To Cure a Dozen Tongues.
Soak the tongues an hour in a tub of cold water to extract the blood,
and cut off most of the root, mix together a quarter of a pound of
saltpetre, finely powdered, one pound of brown sugar, and a pint of
salt, rub the tongues with this, and put them in a tight barrel; then
make a pickle that will bear an egg, which pour over them, turn them
every three days, and let them stay in the pickle two weeks, then smoke
them two days, and hang them up in a dry place; boil and skim the pickle
that the tongues have been in, and it will do for a round of beef.
Pickle for Two Rounds of Beef.
Cut the rounds in a suitable shape for drying, mix together two pints of
salt, one of molasses, or a pound of sugar, and half a pound of
saltpetre, rub them with this, and pack them in a tight vessel, make a
pickle that will bear an egg, and pour it over, put a weight on the top,
and let it lay for ten days, when take it out, and smoke it two days,
hang it up in a dry place, it will be fit to slice and broil in a week,
or cut it very thin, and stew or fry it with butter and cream. Legs of
mutton may be salted as rounds of beef, and will resemble venison, when
dried and chipped.
In preparing pickle for any kind of meat, observe that one gallon of
water will hold, in solution, a quart of salt and two ounces of
saltpetre.
To Corn Beef, Pork or Mutton.
Rub the meat well with salt, and pack it in a tub. If the weather is
warm, it will require a good deal of salt, but no saltpetre.
To Restore Meat that has been kept too long.
When meat has been kept too long in summer, it may be improved by
putting it in sour milk for several hours, or washing it in vinegar is
good, some hours before it is cooked, you must wash it well in cold
water several times, if it lays all night in sour milk, or salt and
vinegar, it should be put in soak early in the morning in cold water. In
very hot weather, when you have fresh meat, fowls, or fish left at
dinner, sprinkle them with strong vinegar, salt and pepper, warm this up
the next day, either as a fry or stew, the vinegar will evaporate, and
not injure the taste. Cold rock fish is good, seasoned with salt, pepper
and vinegar, to use as a relish for breakfast or tea.
To Keep Meat Fresh.
Where persons live a distance from market, and have no fresh meat but
what they kill, it is important to know how to keep it fresh. In winter,
if it is hung up in an out-house, it will keep very well for six weeks,
or more, when it has once frozen, it is safe till a thaw comes on, when
rub it with salt. In the summer, if you have an ice-house, you can keep
it without trouble. If rubbed with salt, and pinned in a cloth, it will
keep in the cellar two days, or by lowering it down your well, attached
to a rope, and changing the cloth every other day, it will keep good a
week in hot weather.
To Put up Herring and Shad.
Those that put up their own fish should be careful to have the barrels
tight and well cleaned, if the pickle leaks from them, they are liable
to spoil. Scale the fish and wash them, as it will save much time, when
you prepare them for cooking, take out the gills, but leave on the heads
of herrings.
The heads should be taken off the shad, and split them down the back,
put a layer of fish, then a layer of ground alum salt,--and after they
are packed, put on a weight to keep them down. If herring are well
cured, they will be good at the end of two years.
To Put up Herring, _According to the Harford Mode_.
First put the herring into the brine left from curing bacon, or, if you
have none of that description, make a brine that will bear an egg, and
let them remain in it thirty or forty hours; then, if for pickled
herring, change them into new brine, which must also bear an egg, and
head them up to keep. If for red herring, hang them up, and smoke them
thoroughly. A little saltpetre, added to the brine, is an improvement.
It is better to take out the roe.
BUTTER, CHEESE, COFFEE, TEA, &c.
Butter.
It is of the first importance that every thing connected with milk and
butter should be kept clean; if the milk acquires an unpleasant taste,
it communicates it to the butter. Tin pans are best to keep milk in, and
they should be painted on the outside to keep them from rusting when
they are put in water.
In summer, milk should be kept as cool as possible; before it is
strained, the pans and strainer should be rinsed with cold water, and
the milk not covered until it is cold, as soon as the cream rises
sufficiently, it should be skimmed, and put in a large tin bucket with a
lid that fits down tight, and stirred every day. Butter will be spoiled
by neglecting to stir the cream, a yellow scum will form on it, which
gives it an unpleasant taste. And if you leave a pan of milk till the
cream is covered with spots of mould, you had better throw it away than
put it in, as it will spoil the taste of a whole churning.
If you have no way of keeping your cream cool in hot weather, it ought
to be churned twice a week, the earlier in the morning the better.
Always put cold water in your churn the night before you use it, and
change it in the morning just before you put in the cream. When the
butter is gathering, take off the lid of the churn to let the heated air
escape, and move it gently, have your butter ladle and pan scalded and
cooled, take out the butter and work it till all the milk is out, scrape
some lumps of salt, and work in, cover it up, and set away in a cool
place till the next morning, when work it again.
If you have neither an ice, or spring house, a box by the side of the
pump, with a cover over it, is very convenient to put cream and butter
down the well, put them in tin kettles with covers to fit tight, and
fasten them to strong tarred ropes twenty feet long. The air of a well
will keep butter sweet for several weeks in the hottest weather. It is
best to have one kettle or basket to put the butter in that is used at
the table, it should be deep enough to hold five or six plates, each
covered with a saucer. It can be kept in this way as firm and sweet as
in an ice house. You can have a separate kettle to put a large lump of
butter in for seasoning vegetables. If you print butter for home use, it
is not necessary to weigh it, make it out in little lumps that will
weigh about half a pound, scald the print and ladle, and put them in
cold water, as you print each lump, lay it on a dish.
In winter it is more difficult to have good butter, as much depends on
the food of the cows, the milk should be kept in a cellar, where it will
not freeze, if you have a safe to keep it in, it need not be covered.
Cream takes much longer to rise in winter, after it has stood two days,
to put it on the top of a moderately heated stove will assist it, when
it is hot, set it away to skim the next day, when the cream will be
thick and rich, and churns easier.
If the weather is very cold, and the cream has been chilled, have a
large pot of water over the fire, set in the bucket when it is near
boiling heat, and keep stirring till it is milk warm, have the churn
scalded and put it in, by churning steadily, it will come as quick as in
summer, one good working answers very well for butter in winter, always
scald the churn before you put in the cream in cold weather.
To put up Butter for Winter.
Work it well, and salt it rather more than for table use, and pack it
in stone pans or jars, with a thin cloth on the top, and salt on it
an inch thick, keep it in a cool place, and if it is sweet when made,
it will keep good till spring. It should be tied up with paper to
exclude the air.
To Cure Butter that will keep for a Length of Time.
Reduce separately to a fine powder two pounds of the best fine salt, one
pound of loaf sugar and half a pound of saltpetre. Sift these
ingredients one above another, on a large sized sheet of paper, then mix
them well together, keep this mixture covered up close in a nice jar,
and placed in a dry closet.
When your butter is worked and salted in the usual way, and ready to put
in the jars, use one ounce of this composition to every pound of butter,
work it well into the mass.
Butter cured in this way, (it is said) will keep good for several years.
I have never kept it longer than from the fall until late in the spring,
it was then very sweet and good.
It will not do to use for a month, because earlier, the salts will not
be sufficiently blended with it. It should be kept in wooden vessels, or
nice stone jars. Earthen-ware jars are not suitable for butter, as during
the decomposition of the salts, they corrode the glazing; and the butter
becomes rancid and unhealthy.
A friend of mine, and a lady of much experience, remarked on reading the
above--"This is an admirable receipt, and by attention to its
directions, butter may be packed away with success even in the summer
months. Thus in cities during warm weather butter is often cheap, a
house-keeper may then purchase her winter supply.
"Select that which is sweetest and most firm, begin by putting a layer
of the prints in the bottom of a stone pot, press the butter down
close, so that no cavities for the admission of air may remain, then
strew more of the mixture over it, proceed in this manner until the
vessel is filled, when put on the top a small muslin bag filled with
salt, and tie the jar up close. It is very important to keep the butter
in a cool place."
A great deal depends on the butter being well worked. Persons that have
large dairies should always have a machine to work it. A large churning
may be more effectually cleared of the butter-milk in a few minutes,
than in the old way in an hour. By doing it quickly, it does not get
soft and oily in hot weather.
A Pickle for Butter.
To three gallons of water, add four and a half pounds of good brown
sugar, one and a half ounces of saltpetre, one ounce of salaeratus; put
them into an iron pot, and let them come to a boil; take off the scum;
when cold it is ready for use; the butter should be salted in the usual
way, and well worked; then made into rolls of two or three pounds each;
have little bags of coarse muslin, tie each roll in a bag and put them
in a large stone jar or clean firkin; when the pickle is entirely cold,
pour it over, and put a plate on the top, with a weight on it to keep
the butter under; tie it up close and keep it in a cold place; when a
roll is wanted, take it out of the bag, and slice it off for table use.
It should be put on little plates, and each covered with a saucer, to
exclude the air. If the butter is good when put up in the fall, it will
keep till you can get grass butter, in the spring. The jars for this
purpose should not have been previously used for pickles.
Cheese.
Persons living in the country sometimes have more milk than they can
use, of which cheese may be made. Put four gallons of new milk in a
clean tub that is kept for the purpose; skim your night's milk, and put
two gallons of it over the fire; when it is near boiling, put it in the
tub with the new milk, and the rest of the night's milk; it should be
rather more than milk warm, if it is too warm the cheese will have a
strong taste. The day before you make cheese, put a piece of rennet
three inches square in a tea-cup of water, and stir it in the milk;
cover the tub and let it stand in a warm place; when the curd begins to
form, cut it in squares with a long wooden knife, and spread a thin
towel over it. When the whey comes through the cloth, you can dip it off
with a saucer, then put a thin towel in the cheese vat, put in the curd,
spread the cloth over the top, put on the lid, and press it moderately
about half an hour; then put it back in the tub and salt it to your
taste; mix it well, and if you want it very rich put in a quarter of a
pound of butter; it is always better to skim the night's milk and put in
butter, as the cream is apt to press out.
Have a clean cloth in the vat, put in the curd, close it over and put on
the cover; if you have no cheese press, a heavy stone will answer the
purpose; press it very gently at first, to keep the richness from
running out. The next morning draw it out by the cloth, wash and wipe
the vat, put in a clean cloth, and turn in the cheese upside down; do
this morning and evening for two days; when you take out the cheese, and
put it on a clean board; set it where the mice and flies will not get at
it; rub it every morning with a little butter, and turn it three times a
day; dust it over with cayenne pepper if you cannot keep it from the
flies, and if it should crack, plaster on a piece of white paper with
butter; it is fit for use in two weeks.
Cheese made in this way has a rich, mild taste, and most persons are
fond of it. If you get eight gallons of milk a day, you may make cheese
twice a week, and still have butter for the family. You should keep four
thin cloths on purpose for cheese.
Pennsylvania Cream Cheese.
The cheese called by this name is not in reality made of cream. Take
three gallons of milk, warm from the cow, and strain it into a tub, have
a piece of rennet two inches square, soaked in half a pint of water for
several hours, drain off the water, and stir it in; when it is
sufficiently turned, cut the curd, spread a thin linen cloth over the
top, and as the whey rises, dip it off with a saucer, put the curd as
whole as possible into a cheese-hoop about the size of a dinner plate,
first spreading a wet cloth inside, then fold the cloth smoothly over
the top, put a weight on the top heavy enough to make the whey drain out
gradually. In six or seven hours it will be ready to take out of the
press, when rub it over with fine salt, set it in a dry dark place,
change it from one plate to another twice a day, and it will be fit for
use in less than a week.
To Prepare Rennet for making Whey or Cheese.
When the rennet is taken from the calf, wash it, lay it on a plate well
covered with salt, put more on in two days, keep it in a cold place, in
three or four days it will do to stretch on sticks, hang it up in a dry
cool place, with as much salt as will stick to it, when quite dry, put
it in a paper bag and hang it up, a piece two inches square soaked in
two table-spoonsful of water will make a cold custard, the same piece
salted and dried will do several times.
Cottage Cheese or Smearcase.
The best plan of making this dish, is to set the tin pan of clabber on
a hot stove, or in a pot of water that is boiling over the fire. When
the whey has risen sufficiently, pour it through a colander, and put
the curd or cheese away in a cold place, and just before going to
table, season it with salt and pepper to your taste, and pour some
sweet cream over it.
Roasting Coffee.
Pick out the stones and black grains from the coffee, and if it is
green, let it dry in an oven, or on a stove, then roast it till it is a
light-brown, be careful that it does not burn, as a few burnt grains
will spoil the flavor of the whole.
White coffee need not be dried before roasting, and will do in less
time. Two pounds is a good quantity to roast for a small family. The
whites of one or two eggs, well beaten, and stirred in the coffee when
half cold, and well mixed through it, are sufficient to clear two
pounds, and is the most economical way of using eggs. It will answer
either for summer or winter. Some persons save egg shells for clearing
coffee. Many persons use coffee roasters,--but some old experienced
housekeepers think that the fine flavor flies off more than when done in
a dutch-oven, and constantly stirred.
If you are careful, it can be done very well in the dripping-pan of a
stove. Let the coffee get quite cold, and put it away either in a
canister or tight box, and keep it in a dry place. Coffee may be roasted
in a dripping-pan in a brick oven. After the bread is taken out, there
will be heat sufficient, put about two pounds in a pan, stir it a few
times--it will roast gradually, and if not sufficiently brown, finish in
a stove or before the fire. If you have a large family, by using several
pans, six pounds of coffee can thus be roasted, and but little time
spent on it.
Boiling Coffee.
A large tea-cupful of unground coffee will be sufficient for six
persons, unless they take it very strong, (which is injurious to
health,) grind it, and put it in the tin pot, with half a tea-cup of
cold water, and the white of half an egg; shake it till it is mixed,
then pour boiling water on it, and let it stand close to the fire, and
just come to a boil, stir it, and do not let it boil over, let it keep
at boiling heat five or ten minutes; then take it from the fire, and put
in half a tea-cup of water to settle it, let it stand five minutes, and
pour it off,--if you wish it particularly nice, strain it through a thin
linen cloth, kept for the purpose, keep it by the fire till it goes to
table. If you boil coffee too long, the aromatic flavor flies off.
Tea, &c.
Always be sure that the kettle is boiling when you make tea, or the
flavor will not be so good, scald the pot, and allow a tea-spoonful for
each person. Let green tea draw by the fire from two to five minutes.
Black tea should draw ten minutes, and is much more suitable for
delicate persons than green. Persons with weak nerves should never drink
strong tea and coffee. I have known instances of persons being afflicted
with violent attacks of nervous head-ache, that were cured by giving up
the use of tea and coffee altogether, and their general health was also
improved by it. Before pouring out tea, it should be stirred with a
spoon that the strength of each cup may be alike.
Milk is the best drink for children, but if that cannot be had,
sweetened water, with a little milk, will do.
A New Mode of Preparing Chocolate.
Have a pound of chocolate pulverized, and put in a jar, with the same
quantity of rice flour, and an ounce of arrow-root, put on coals a
quart of milk, when it boils, stir in a heaped table-spoonful of the
above preparation, (dissolved in a tea-cup of water,) keep stirring it
until it boils again, when pour it out, drink it with sugar and cream
to your taste.
This is called by some "Rac-a-haut" chocolate, and is very nice for
delicate persons, as well as those in health.
LARD, TALLOW, SOAP AND CANDLES.
Rendering Lard.
The leaf lard should be rendered by itself, as it does not take so long
as that with the skin on. Cut it up fine and put it in a clean pot with
half a pint of water, stir it frequently and let it boil fast at first,
when the cracklings are light-brown and float on the top, it is nearly
done, and should cook slowly, when done, strain it into your vessels
with a thin cloth put over a colander. If you put lard in stone or
earthen jars, it should be cooled first, as there is danger of their
cracking, white oak firkins with iron hoops, and covers to fit tight,
are good to keep lard, and if taken care of will last for twenty years.
The fat that has the skin on should be cut very fine, taking the skin
off first. It takes longer to boil than leaf lard, and there is more
danger of burning, put a pint of water in the pot.
The skins should be boiled alone, and will do for soap-fat after the
lard is out of them.
Soak the inside fat all night in salt and water; wash it in the morning,
and put it to boil without any water in the pot. It is not so nice as
other lard, and should be strained by itself. It does very well for
frying. Lard keeps well in large tin vessels with tight covers and is
not apt to mould.
Rendering Tallow.
Cut the tallow fine, and put it to boil in a large pot with a quart of
water; stir it frequently and keep it boiling moderately for six hours;
when the cracklings begin to turn brown, it should boil very slowly
till done.
Put a little water in the bottom of your dutch-ovens or tin pans, and
strain it in with a cloth over the colander, or the settlings will run
through and hurt the looks of your candles.
Soap.
It requires some care and experience to have good soap; but when you
once get beforehand, it is easy to keep up the supply if the ashes are
good. The leystand should be made of cedar or pine boards, in the shape
of a mill-hopper, and have holes bored in the bottom for the ley to run
through; have four posts planted in the ground to support it; let it be
high enough for a small tub to set under.
If you cannot have it under a shed, there should be a tight cover of
boards to protect it from the rain. Put some sticks in the bottom of the
leystand, and some straw, and pack in a bushel of ashes, then half a
peck of lime, and when it is half full of ashes, put in two buckets of
water, and another when you get near the top; pack it well, and put on
some more water; then cover it over; pour on hot water three times a day
for several days. When you are ready to make soap, have a large pot of
water, which must be kept boiling, and put it on as fast as it will
bear, save the strongest ley by itself, (if the ley will float an egg,
it will answer,) have your soap-fat laying in strong ley through the
winter, put a gallon of this in a large pot, and put to it a gallon of
the strongest ley; let it boil an hour, stirring it often, then put in
two gallons more of strong ley, when this has boiled, put in weak ley
till the pot is full, let it boil an hour or two slowly, and be careful
that it does not go over, cool some on a plate, and if thick, it is
done, but if not, boil it longer. Put it away in a tight barrel, and
prepare to make more soap, if you have two large pots both of them can
be kept going at the same time. Several barrels of soap can be made from
one ley stand. A large oil cask is good to keep soap in. If a barrel
leaks, set it under a spout in a rain, or fill it with water. It is of
the greatest importance to keep the soap-fat in strong ley. Have an oil
barrel in the cellar, half full of strong ley, and put in cracklings,
bacon skins, pot skimmings, beef bones, or any scraps, when eaten by ley
it will take but little boiling. It is much the easiest and safest way,
where there are children, to make the soap without boiling. Put four
gallons of soap-fat that has been eaten with ley, in a barrel with eight
gallons of strong ley, stir it two or three times a day, for a week or
two, then fill it up with weaker ley, you may have several barrels
making at a time, so as always to have some for use, it takes some time
to make it in this way. But if you are careful, and once get ahead, you
need not boil the soap unless you prefer it so, if your ley is not
strong, dissolve potash in hot water and add to strengthen it.
Hard Soap.
Have fifteen pounds of clean fat to twenty gallons of clear strong ley;
let it boil until thick, when put in half a peck of coarse salt; if it
does not curdle in two hours, put in more salt till it does, then pour
it out in a tub to cool till the next day, when put on your pot with
some weak ley, cut the soap out of the tub and boil it in this an hour,
then put it in the tub, let it get cold, cut it in squares and put it on
a board to dry. Unless you have plenty of ashes and soap-fat, it is much
cheaper to buy hard soap than to make it. If you have but a barrel full
of ashes you can make a barrel of soap, bore a hole in the bottom of a
barrel, put a few sticks across, when half full of ashes put in a quart
of lime and some water; keep the hole plugged up till you are ready to
make the soap.
You can have a barrel of ashes put in the cellar in winter to use for
washing and scrubbing, keep a tub under it to hold the ley as it drops.
Potash Soap.
Persons living in cities frequently have grease that would do to make
soap, but are at a loss for ley, in consequence of burning coal instead
of wood. Twelve pounds of pure grease of any kind, put with ten pounds
of potash in an oil barrel, and filled with water, makes good thick
soap, and is much cheaper than buying hard soap. It should be stirred
frequently, and if the ingredients are put together in warm weather, and
the barrel stands where it can be exposed to the heat of the sun,
without danger of getting rain in it, it will be fit for use in a few
weeks without the aid of fire, if you wish to make soap immediately put
three pounds of potash, four of grease, and about ten gallons of water
in a large iron pot, boil it over the fire, and it will make good thick
soap in a few hours, it need only boil long enough to dissolve the
potash, which is sometimes in very hard lumps. If you use the crumbled
potash, you must put rather more of it, as it is not so strong, and a
little lump of quick lime will make it turn quicker.
Another Receipt.
Two days before you wish to commence your soap, pour about two gallons
of boiling water on ten or twelve pounds of potash, to dissolve it, then
put it in an iron pot or kettle, with ten gallons of rain water, hang it
over the fire, and when it has dissolved, pour twelve pounds of grease,
which has been purified by boiling in water, (or weak ley,) into a well
hooped barrel, (an oil barrel from which one head has been taken, and
the bung well fastened, is best,) then pour the water in which the
potash was dissolved over the grease in the barrel, and stir it for half
an hour; afterwards fill up the barrel with cold soft water, and stir it
every day for two weeks. If at the end of that time, the fat swims on
the top, beat a pound or two more of potash fine, throw it in the
barrel, stir it well, and the soap will be finished.
Labor-saving Soap.
Take two pounds salt soda, two pounds yellow bar soap, ten quarts of
water. Cut the soap in thin slices, and boil all together two hours, and
strain it through a cloth, let it cool and it is fit for use. Put the
clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pail of water in
which you boil them, add one pound of the soap. They will need no
rubbing, merely rinse them out, and they will be perfectly clean and
white. This soap can be made for two cents per pound.
Ley and Soda Preparation for Washing Clothes.
To sixteen gallons of water, put one gallon of lime water; twelve ounces
of soft soap, or if hard soap it must be first melted, and four ounces
of soda, put them together in your wash kettle, and when nearly boiling,
put in the clothes, being careful to have them as much of a kind as
possible, they should be wet first with common water, boil one hour,
then wash, scald and blue as usual. The limestone should remain in the
water at least four days before it is used, and be about of the strength
of lime-water for drinking, and the same stone will do for several times
if good. The ley will do for boiling a second set of clothes by adding a
little more, and afterwards for towels and coarse things. Prints and
flannels must not be boiled.
Volatile Soap, _And Directions for Washing Clothes._
Cut up three pounds of country bard soap into three pints of strong ley;
simmer it over the fire until the soap is dissolved, and add to it three
ounces of pearl-ash, pour it into a stone jar, and stir in half a pint
of spirits of turpentine, and a gill of spirits of hartshorn, cover the
jar tight, and tie a cloth over it.
To use the soap, have a tub half full of water as hot as you can bear
your hands in, assort the clothes, and, beginning with the cleanest of
them, rub a small quantity of the soap on the soiled parts of each
article, and immerse them in the water one by one, until it will cover
no more, let them soak for fifteen or twenty minutes, then stir them
well for a few minutes, and boil them for half an hour in eight or ten
gallons of water, to which a table-spoonful of the soap has been added,
rinse them, using blue water where it is required as usual, and they are
ready for drying. After the white clothes are finished, the same waters
will answer for the colored ones, adding hot water and more soap. By the
use of this soap, most of the rubbing can be dispensed with, and it is
not injurious to the texture of the clothes. It has been proved that the
clothes washed in this way are more durable than with the common soaps,
and the rubbing required in connection with them.
It is particularly recommended for washing flannels, and calicoes. The
above quantity is sufficient for a family of four or five persons for a
month, varying slightly as the clothes are more or less soiled. Its
cheapness recommends it to all housekeepers.
Candles.
Weigh the tallow, then you can judge how many candles you can make, six
and eight candles to the pound do very well for working and reading by,
ten to the pound does to use in the kitchen or to carry about the house.
Put the wicks on the rods the day before you expect to make candles, and
dip them in a little melted tallow, you can then straighten them out.
Have a large pot nearly half full of hot water, melt the tallow in
another pot and fill it up, and keep more tallow at the fire to fill in
as it is used out, put coals under the pot to keep it at a proper heat.
Have poles set on stools about a foot apart, to support the rods, dip
the rods in the pot, alternately, until they are as large as you wish
them. Wax makes candles burn longer, but turns them yellow. The best way
is, to put in two pounds of wax, when you first begin to dip, and it
will be used up before they are dipped the last time, when they are
done, cut off the ends and put them in boxes. Most good managers in the
country make enough candles at a time to last a year. If you have not
enough tallow to dip candles, you can mould some mutton tallow is very
good for this purpose.
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.
Clear Starching.
Wash your muslins nicely; rub hard soap on them, and pour boiling water
on, let them lay in this half an hour, or if they are very yellow, boil
them in water that has a little blue, in a bell metal kettle, let them
dry in the sun, boil your starch half an hour, as it will be clearer,
and the things will take less clapping, rub the starch over the muslin
until it is well covered, then clap it a few times, afterwards stretch
out the muslin and hold it to the fire until it smokes, then stretch,
clap, and shake it until the piece is dry enough to iron. When you begin
to starch, have a pile of plates near, and as fast as the things are
ready to iron, fold them up, and put them between the plates to keep
moist. It is a good plan to have a board about three feet long and a
foot wide, with a piece of blanket tacked on round the edges, to iron
your collars and handkerchiefs on.
There is an art in doing up muslins, which will take but little time
when once it is acquired. The same directions answer for clear starching
crape, (which must first be bleached as flannels are done,) and add some
drop lake to the blue coloring. In cold weather, to rub your hands over
with a little clean tallow prevents them from chapping, and will not
alter the appearance of the muslin.
To make Corn Starch.
Gather the corn when it is a proper age for table use; have a large tin
grater, and grate the corn into a clean vessel, into which drop the
cobs as you grate them until the vessel is about half full, rub the
cobs and squeeze them dry as possible, and put them into another vessel
of clean water, rub and squeeze them again the third rinsing will take
all the starch out, let it settle, and then pour all the starch
together and strain it through a coarse cloth, and then through a
flannel, and let it settle until the next morning, when you will find a
thick yellow substance under the water, covering the pure white article
in the bottom of the vessel, remove the yellow substance and pour clean
water on the starch and stir it up, as soon as it settles thoroughly
again, pour off the water and put the starch on dishes, and set it in
the sun to dry. When you want to use it, moisten it with cold water and
pour boiling water on, till it is the right consistency for use. It
requires no boiling.
Potato Starch.
Pare the potatoes and scrape or grate them in a pan of water, when this
is done stir them well, and let them stand a few minutes to settle, pour
off the water and the pulp from the top; pour water on the starch that
has settled, and stir it up, let it settle again, when it will be nice
and white, and may be put on plates to dry in the sun, after which it
may be put away in a box or paper bags. It maybe used immediately. Stir
it in boiling water as other starch, but boil it much less. It is said
that potato starch will injure muslins when left to lay by for some
time, it is used in some preparations of confectionary, and answers the
same purpose as Poland starch.
To make Common Starch.
Mix a pint of wheat flour with cold water, till it is the consistence of
batter, stir it into a gallon of boiling water, let it boil a few
minutes, when strain it and mix in the blue--when it is ready to thin
for white clothes. Some put a small piece of tallow in the starch as it
boils--it makes it clearer.
Washing Calicoes, &c.
Calicoes may be kept from fading by washing them in the suds after white
clothes, if it requires more soap, stir it in the water, as putting it
on the garment will fade it, have the water moderately warm, and put in
a handful of salt, when all the dirt is out, rinse them in clean water,
starch, and hang them to dry on the wrong side, where they will get the
air but not the sun. Alum is good to set colors. If you want to wash a
calico dress, which you know will fade, make a corn mush, and as it
boils, pour off half, which use as soap in washing the dress, and with
the other half, (which should be boiled well,) starch it, and hang it
out immediately. In washing bed quilts, to prevent fading, spread them
on the clean grass wrong side up, this prevents the colors running into
each other.
For chintz or lawn dresses have very nice starch, and clap it into them,
after they are hung on the line, they iron much better this way, and
look almost like new, sometimes to wash the cuffs and lower part
carefully, and press it all over, will do without washing the whole
dress. For ironing the skirt have a narrow ironing board, covered with a
piece of blanket, to slip inside the dress.
Table Cloths, &c.
When two or three spots get on a table cloth, dip a towel in clean water
and rub them off, and dry the cloth before it is put away, this saves
washing, and if done carefully it will look like a clean cloth. If table
cloths are stained with fruit, pour boiling water on the spots before
soap is put on, when it is so deep that this will not take it out, apply
lemon juice and salt, dry it in the sun, and put it on several times.
You should always have cup-plates, as the marks of a coffee-cup spoils
the appearance of a cloth, and the stain is hard to get out. When table
cloths and towels get yellow, soak them in sour milk several days.
Unbleached table cloths are very good to save washing in winter, and can
be laid by in summer, care should be taken to hang them to dry in the
shade, as that will keep them from bleaching. New table cloths do not
require any starch, but those that are partly worn look better for a
little, every thing washes easier that has starch in. Nice table cloths,
and all fine things, after being sprinkled and folded, should be tightly
rolled up in towels, and ironed till perfectly dry, they will then
retain their gloss. Large table cloths should be brushed clean from
crumbs, and folded without shaking, as that tumbles them; those in daily
use should be put under a press--a heavy book is suitable, or a board
may be made for the purpose; they will keep in credit much longer than
when laid in a drawer. It is well to put a common muslin cloth under a
damask one on the table, as it improves the appearance.
Flannels.
Have the water in which you wash flannel as hot as you can bear your
hands in, and rub the soap in the water, or it will shrink the flannel.
The water it is rinsed in should also be hot.
When flannels have become yellow and fulled up, I have often smoked them
with brimstone, and they will be as white as new, and the fulled places
will open. The best plan is to have a box or chest, with strings put
across to hang the flannels on, and a drawer to pull out where you can
set in a pan with coals and brimstone. Have the flannels nicely washed,
and put them in wet, close it up till you think it wants more brimstone,
when you can pull out the drawer and renew it.
After they are bleached, they should hang up in the air to let the smell
of the brimstone escape. If you have but a few things to do, you can put
strings across the top of an old barrel, (with both the heads out,)
cover it with a thick cloth, and lift it up to put in a pan of brimstone
and coals. Always wash scarlet flannel with hard soap.
Mending Clothes.
All clothes should be looked over before they are put away, and if any
require mending it must not be neglected; a broken stitch that can be
mended in a few minutes, if left till it has been worn again, will
require much more time. If young housekeepers suffer their mending to
get behind hand, it will discourage them. After mending a shirt, it
should be pressed before it is put away. If stocking heels are run while
they are new, and the thin places darned in time, it saves much work.
Washing Windows.
A little soda dissolved in the water is valuable for washing windows;
do not let it run on the sash, or it will stain the paint; rinse them
in clear water, and wipe dry with a clean soft towel. When they are but
little soiled, clear water will answer, but if smoked or coated with
any thing, soda should be always used. Some persons rub their windows
with soft buckskin or newspaper, when they are dry and clean, to give
them a polish.
To Make White or Colored Washes, Dyeing, &c.
Take half a bushel of unslaked lime, slack with boiling water, covering
it during the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through a
fine sieve or strainer, and add to it a peck of clean salt, previously
dissolved in warm water, three pounds of ground rice boiled, to a thin
paste; stir in, boiling hot, one pound of Spanish whiting, one of clean
glue, dissolved by soaking it well, and simmering over a slow fire in a
small kettle within a larger one containing water; add five gallons of
boiling water to the whole mixture; stir it well, and if you are not
ready to use it, cover it close. It should be put on quite hot; for this
purpose, it can be kept in a kettle on a portable furnace. Coloring
matter may be added to make any shade desired. Spanish brown stirred in
will make a pink color, more or less deep according to the quantity, a
delicate tinge of this is very pretty for inside walls. Indigo mixed
with the Spanish brown makes a delicate purple, or alone with the
mixture, a pale blue. Lamp-black, in moderate quantity, makes a slate
color, suitable for the outside of buildings.
Lamp-black and Spanish brown together, produce a reddish stone color,
yellow ochre, a yellow wash, but chrome goes further and makes a
brighter color. It is well to try on a shingle, or piece of paper, or
board, and let it dry to ascertain the color. If you wash over old
paper, make a sizing of wheat flour like thin starch, put it on, and
when dry, put on the coloring, for a white-washed wall, make a sizing
of whiting and glue water. This precaution should always be taken before
using chrome yellow or green, as the previous use of lime injures the
color of the chrome. When walls have been badly smoked, add to your
white-wash sufficient indigo to make it a clear white.
To Mix White-wash.
Pour a kettle of boiling water on a peck of unslaked lime, put in two
pounds of whiting, and half a pint of salt, when all are mixed together,
put in half an ounce of _Prussian blue,_ finely powdered, add water to
make it a proper thickness to put on a wall.
White-wash for Buildings or Fences.
Put in a barrel, one bushel of best unslaked lime, pour on it two
buckets of boiling water, and when it is mixed put in six pounds of fine
whiting, fill up the barrel with water, stir it well, and keep it
covered from the rain, let it stand several days before you use it, when
stir it up; thin it with milk as you use it, and put half a pint of salt
to each bucket full. This makes a durable wash for a rough-cast or frame
house, or for fences; the salt prevents it from peeling off.
Chrome Yellow-wash.
Mix four pounds of whiting with as much water as will go over the room;
dissolve a tea-cupful of glue, and put in; then wash the walls with
this to prevent the lime from affecting the chrome; if they come in
contact, the walls will be striped, and will not look at all well. Mix
a wash of whiting, water and glue, and color it with two pounds of
chrome yellow. After walls have been yellow, and you want to have them
white, they must be washed over with whiting and glue, and then
white-washed in the usual way.
Yellow Ochre wash.
Dissolve a pound of glue in hot water, and stir into it three pounds of
yellow ochre, and one of whiting; mix it well, and thin it with water or
skim milk. It is a suitable wash for a common room or kitchen.
Lamp-black mixed with molasses, and put in white-wash, makes a good
color for a kitchen.
To Dye Orange Color.
For five pounds of woolen yarn, have one pound of annotta; dissolve it
in boiling water, and put it in a pot of soft water with half a pound of
pearl-ash; boil them ten minutes, stirring it well; wet the yarn in
soap-suds; put it in, and let it boil twenty minutes; then hang it in
the sun, and when dry, if it is not deep enough, dip it in again; and
after it is thoroughly dry, wash it in soap and water.
Green-wash.
Take four pounds of blue vitriol, pound it fine, and mix with it three
pounds of beat whiting, and half a pound of potash; pour on them six
quarts of boiling water, and mix in half a pound of glue dissolved in
water. Wash the walls with whiting before it is put on.
Chrome Yellow for Dyeing Carpet Rags.
Dissolve the chrome in warm water in an earthen vessel; dip the rags in
vinegar and water, then in the chrome dye, and hang in the sun to dry.
This color will stand for years in a rag carpet, and is very little
trouble. Six cents worth of chrome will dye several pounds.
To Dye a Dark Drab.
For ten pounds of cotton or wool, have half a bushel of maple bark, the
same of sumach berries, and a peck of walnut hulls or bark; put a layer
of this in an iron pot, and a layer of the wool, till all is in; cover
it with water, and boil it slowly for three hours, keeping the pot
filled with water; then hang it out, and when dry, wash one skein, and
if it is not dark enough, strain the dye, and put in a tea-cup of
copperas; put in the yarn, and let it scald a few minutes; take it out,
dry it, and wash it well with soft soap and water.
To Dye Cotton or Woollen Black.
To each pound of yarn, have one ounce of copperas, nine of logwood, a
handful of salt, and a quart of good vinegar, which boil with copperas
ten minutes in a brass kettle; shave the logwood, and boil it in an iron
pot; when the color is extracted, strain it into the vinegar; put in the
yarn, and let it simmer twenty minutes stirring it; then hang it in the
air, and if it is not black enough, boil it over. You should have a
clear day to do all coloring in.
Cedar Dye.
Boil the boughs of cedar in two or three gallons of water, for several
hours, in an iron vessel; strain it off, add half a tea-spoonful of
copperas, put it on the fire, and put in the articles you wish to dye;
let them boil a few minutes, then hang them up to dry. This will dye
sage color, and can be used for cotton, woollen or silk, and has the
advantage of retaining its color. The cedar boughs should he used in the
fall of the year, when the berries are on them. Pear bark is an
improvement and makes the color darker.
To Dye Olive.
Make a strong sage tea, and add copperas and alum till it is dark;
strain it; dip the cloth or silk in weak soap-suds, and then in the dye,
and air it, till it is the color you wish.
Maple bark and copperas make a good dark color for common purposes.
To Dye Yellow.
Boil peach leaves when they are turning yellow in the fall, with a
little alum.
Onion skins boiled with alum make a good yellow.
To Dye Brown.
Take young walnuts, with some of the leaves and bark; wash your wool in
soap-suds; put a layer of it in a barrel, and a layer of the walnuts;
fill it up with water, and put a weight on the top; at the end of a week
wring it out, and let it lay in the hot sun two hours; put it back in
the dye, and at the end of another week, sun it again; keep it in until
sufficiently dark, when wash it in soap-suds. This makes a pretty brown
that will not fade, and is stronger than when dyed with copperas.
To Dye Red.
To four pounds of yarn, take one pound of fine alum, and boil it in
as much water as will cover the yarn; put in the yarn, and let it
boil gently half an hour; then take it out and dry it; make a dye of
two pounds of madder, and two ounces of crude tartar pulverized, and
boil it; then put in the yarn, and let it boil half an hour; take it
out and air it, and if it is not dark enough, put it in again, and
boil it longer.
Brazil Wood Dye.
Tie two pounds of red or Brazil wood in a thin bag, and boil it for
several hours in a brass or copper kettle in water; take out the Brazil
wood and add a pound of alum, then put the rags in, and let them boil
some time; hang them in the sun, and dry without washing them. This will
dye woolen _red_, and cotton _pink_. Washing in soap suds will change it
to purple.
Lead Color.
Take four ounces of red wood, two of logwood, half an ounce of pounded
nut-galls, and quarter of a pound of green copperas; boil them in ten
gallons of water, and strain it; wash the wool or cloth in soap-suds,
put it in, and let it remain till it is as dark as you wish it; dry it
in the sun, and wash it in soap-suds. Sugar paper, boiled in vinegar,
makes a good lead color for stockings.
To Dye Scarlet.
Take one pound of blood root, and one pound of madder, boil them in six
gallons of ley, then stir them three or four times in twenty-four
hours, till there are signs of fermentation. This dyes ten pounds of
cotton or linen.
To Dye Yarn Green.
Take one ounce of best Spanish indigo, finely powdered, and half a pound
of oil of vitriol; put them in a bottle, and let them stand in the sun a
week; shake it often, but do not cork it tight, lest it should burst the
bottle; take four pounds of black-oak bark, and the same of hickory,
shave them fine, and soak them till wet through; then boil them in ten
gallons of water till all the color is extracted; when take out the
chips, put in a pound of alum; shake the bottle of indigo and vitriol,
and pour it in; let them boil together a few minutes, and put in the
yarn; turn it over several times, and let it boil half an hour; then
spread it out in the sun for about an hour, and wash it well in strong
soap-suds through two waters, to keep it from becoming tender. This will
color ten pounds of yarn. You may have a fine blue color by omitting the
bark. It will not answer for any thing but wool or silk, as the vitriol
will destroy linen or cotton.
To Dye Cotton Blue.
Boil a pound of chipped logwood in water enough to cover the cotton;
take out half a gallon, and dissolve in it an ounce of verdigris, and
one of alum; boil the yarn in the logwood water an hour, stirring it,
and keeping it loose; then take it out, and mix in the verdigris; put
back the yarn, and let it boil four hours, stir all the time, and
take it out every hour to give it air, dry it in the sun, and the
next day boil it in soap-suds. This will dye six pounds of cotton a
deep blue. After it is done, you may put in as much more, and it will
dye a pale blue.
To Keep Apples in Winter.
Pick them carefully, so as not to bruise them; put them in an
out-house, exposed to the north, either in boxes, or barrels, or lying
in heaps; after they have been several weeks in this situation, pick
them over and put them in barrels which should be headed; if the
weather is not severe, let them remain in this cold situation as long
as it will be safe, without their being frozen, then remove them to the
cellar. Do not shut the windows till the severe weather comes on. Some
persons pack them, in dry chaff, or sand, and put them in barrels and
boxes in a cool garret.
Directions for Making Matresses.
If you have an old curled hair matress, you can make two, that will be
equally useful as those that are composed of curled hair, by using
cotton and hackled corn husks, in alternate layers with the hair. Some
persons use a quantity of green corn, and save all the husks, and strip
them with a fork, or hackle, and spread them on a garret floor to dry;
they are nicer in this state than prepared from the dry husk; but if you
have not sufficient, take the dry husks from corn that has been stripped
off the top and blade in the field, and have it hackled as flax; for one
matress, have as much as will fill two flour barrels tightly packed;
sixteen pounds of refuse cotton, (such as is sometimes sold very low at
the factories,) and half the hair of an old matress, (which should be
well picked;) measure the bedstead you wish it for, and allow to each
breadth of the ticking, a quarter of a yard in length over; for a small
matress less should be allowed, and the same in width, (as it takes up
in making;) cut the side strips as deep as you wish the matress, fit the
corners, cut out a place for the foot posts, or fit each end square
alike; after the bottom and sides are sewed together, run a tuck all
round to save binding, sew the tick in a quilting frame, and stay it to
the end pieces as a quilt; put a table under to support the weight,
(which can be shifted as it is sewed;) first put a layer of hair, then
cotton, then husks alternately, till it is done; be careful to let the
hair be next the ticking; put some all round the sides and edges. When
all is in, put on the top, and baste it down with strong thread; then
with a chalk line strike across, to form squares to sew it by. Have a
long needle prepared and polished smoothly, threaded with twine, or
several strands of strong shoe thread; this should be well waxed, and
long enough to go through and back again; have tufts, or two pieces of
strong cloth prepared, to secure the stitches on both sides; one person
should be under the frame, to pull the needle through and put it back;
it should be tied tightly as possible; when you have done stitching, the
matress should be sewed all round, taken out of the frame and the raw
edges bound. They can be made of cotton and husks, without hair, or
cotton alone. Those that have sheep can use the coarse wool, (and such
as is not profitable for manufacturing,) with the husks, it is more
elastic than cotton. Many persons are deprived of one of the greatest
comforts in summer, and sleep on feathers, when a little care in
preparing the materials, and putting them together would furnish your
chambers with the most healthy and pleasant beds; a large cotton sheet
should be kept on a matress, or a case made of unbleached muslin, this
covering should be occasionally washed and starched. If you cannot get
husks, straw will answer, or hay.
To Make a Rag Carpet.
Ten pounds of purple warp, ten of green, four of yellow, seven of red,
will make a pretty stripe, mingled and arranged according to your fancy;
the above quantity of warp, with fifty-eight pounds of rags will make
forty-two yards, yard wide. In most cities warp can be purchased ready
colored. A very good proportion is a pound and a quarter of rags, and
three-quarters of a pound of warp to the yard. Save all the scraps in
cutting out work; have a bag for the purpose hanging in a convenient
place, and when you have leisure cut them. Old muslin garments that are
not worth giving away, may be torn in strips and colored. In cutting out
clothes for boys, from men's garments, there will always be scraps and
strips. By purchasing a little red flannel to mix in, the appearance is
improved. A carpet wears cleaner to be about one-third cotton, and
two-thirds woollen rags to mix the colors. Do not sew a strip that is
longer than three yards, and the cotton should be much shorter, as the
warp is usually of that material, there is more danger from fire.
To Keep Furs and Woollens.
Crack the grains of black pepper, and sprinkle in among your furs and
woollen clothes; after they have been shaken and aired, fold them smooth
and put them in linen bags or sheets; keep them in a large trunk or dark
closet, and look at them once through the summer to see that they are
safe. Tobacco and camphor are also good to pack them in, but the smell
continues with them a long time, and is disagreeable to some persons.
They should be well shaken and aired before they are worn.
To Keep Curtains.
Take the curtains down in the spring, shake them carefully and brush the
dust from them; let them air a day, but not so that the sun will fade
them; then fold them neatly, and pin them up in sheets.
Moreen or worsted curtains require the same care as woollen cloths.
To Keep Blankets in Summer.
If you have any blankets that are soiled and require washing in the
spring, have it nicely done; when they are perfectly dry, put them on a
bedstead in a spare chamber, keeping out one to use on each bed through
the summer; spread a large sheet over; tuck under all round, and secure
the corners with pins; tins will keep them from dust and moths, and
makes a good bed to use in hot weather.
Carpets, &c.
When you take up carpets in the spring to put down matting, have them
well shaken, and if there are any spots on them, they should be washed
off with a stiff brush and dried; if there is oil or grease spilt on
them, mix up whiting or nice clay with water; spread it on both sides of
the spot, and baste thick paper over it. When dry, fold it up the size
of a bedstead, and pin a coarse sheet round it. In this way they will be
secure from moths, and the addition of a few quilted comforts on the
top, makes a very pleasant bed in summer. The small moth-fly appears
early in the summer, and should always be destroyed when seen, as the
moth is produced from the eggs which they deposit in woollens; by being
careful to kill them when they first come, a house may be kept nearly
clear of them. Select the softest brooms for sweeping carpets, as stiff
ones wear them out.
House Linen.
Have a book in which to set down all the bed and table linen, towels and
napkins; every article of which should be marked and numbered, and
counted at least once a month.
To Clean Paint.
Rub some whiting very fine on a plate; have ready some clean warm water,
and a piece of flannel, which dip in the water and squeeze very dry;
then take as much whiting as will stick to the flannel, and rub the
paint to remove dust or grease, then wash it well with clean water and
wipe it dry with a soft cloth.
Bran boiled in water, and left to settle, is very good to clean paint;
use a soft cloth or flannel; it will take off fly specks and impart a
gloss to the paint; wipe it quite dry. Unless soap is used with great
care, it will injure paint.
Varnished paint requires nothing but clean warm water and to be
wiped dry.
To Clean Bedsteads.
In the summer, bedsteads should be brushed and searched every week; if
they are infested with bugs, boil the sacking in ley and water, or put
it in an oven, on some boards, after the bread is taken out, to kill the
eggs; fill a large bottle with red pepper pods of the strongest kind,
and fill it up with vinegar; put this in each crack of the bedsteads
every morning, until they entirely disappear; never omit to search the
bedsteads longer than a week. It is a good way to fill up all the cracks
of the bedsteads with resin soap. After they are cleaned, move the bed
from the wall and fill up every crack in the plastering with calcined
plaster and water, or putty.
Sometimes bed-bugs are brought in the cleanest houses before the family
are aware of it. When persons return from travelling, the trunks should
always be examined before they are taken into the chambers, or put away;
a little care at the proper time will prevent much trouble. Some persons
scald their bedsteads with boiling vinegar; the acid is said to dissolve
the shell of the egg. If poison is used, great care is necessary.
It is said that lard is good to use on bedsteads that are infested with
bugs; the grease prevents their increase. All the cracks should be
filled after the bedstead has been well searched.
To Clean Floors.
Scour all the spots with soap and sand, then go all over with the long
scrubbing brush, a few boards at a time; rinse it well and wipe it dry.
A floor that has been well cleaned, and dried without being walked on,
will keep clean much longer than one that has been half done; too much
soap or ley makes a floor look yellow.
Bare floors are very pleasant in summer, and when they get a few spots,
they can be taken out with dry white sand, and a shoe-sole, and will not
need scrubbing more than two or three times in a summer.
Cleaning Cellars--Rats, Roaches.
In the spring, cellars should be swept, and all refuse vegetables taken
out; if left till warm weather, they will become putrid, and endanger
the health of your family. The sprouts should be rubbed from the
potatoes; all the barrels should be moved and swept under. Have boards
laid on the floor for meat and fish barrels, and after they are emptied,
have them washed and drained ready for use. Empty flour barrels should
be swept out and the heads and hoops saved. Have lime sprinkled over the
cellar floor twice during the summer, or oftener if it should be
necessary. If the windows are kept shut in warm weather, the air will be
unwholesome. Do not trust to servants, examine and see that it is done
thoroughly.
The apartments where cold meat and milk are kept should be cobwebbed and
swept once a week, and the safe washed out at least that often. If the
cellar is paved with brick, keep a part of it washed clean, to set cold
meat and milk on; cover them with tin pans and put a weight on the top
if rats are troublesome. If there are rat holes have them stopped with
pieces of brick, and broken glass bottles; never use ratsbane without
the greatest caution, as it is a dangerous remedy. No food or milk
should be in the cellar at the time, and keep it locked up all the while
it is there. I have heard of lives being lost by it. Have water set
about in pans for the rats to drink, and after three days, clear it all
away and have the cellar cleaned and aired before putting any thing in
it. Several persons have been in great danger from burning the arsenic;
when it is used it should be put deep in the ground and covered up.
Mice are kept under by a good cat, and traps. If roaches are
troublesome, set bowls or deep dishes, with molasses and a plate on the
top, with room for them to get in, and set it close to a wall. I have
seen hundreds caught in this way in one night, and it is much safer than
setting any thing poisonous about the kitchen or pantry. They should be
burnt in the morning, and the dishes set again at night. If you find a
closet infested with ants, remove every thing that will attract them,
scald and clean it well, and they will soon leave it. It is said that
strips of cotton or linen dipped in spirits of turpentine, and placed
about the closets, will drive them away.
Mats should be placed at all the outside doors, and at the top and
bottom of the cellar stairs.
Putting Straw under Carpets.
It is thought that carpets wear better when straw is spread over the
floor before they are put down, and it will prevent the dust from rising
so much. Care should be taken to have them well tacked down, as it is
dangerous on account of fire. Where straw is used, they may be kept down
a much longer time without being shaken.
Picking Geese, &c.
When you pick geese and ducks, have a tub of boiling water; dip each one
in, turning it over to let every part be well scalded, and as each one
is scalded, wrap it up in a cloth, and when they are nearly cold, pick
them. In this way the pen feathers are loosened, and they can be picked
much cleaner. Wetting the feathers does not hurt them if they are well
dried. They should be put in bags, and frequently sunned. Baking them in
the oven after the bread comes out, cures them more thoroughly than any
other way. Turkey and chicken feathers are not so good for beds as goose
and duck; they may be picked in the same way.
Marble, &c.
Marble mantles should be washed but seldom; wipe off spots with a damp
cloth, and rub them dry. Hearths should be washed with soap and water.
When there is a spot of grease, mix clay or whiting with soft soap, and
put on. Soap-stone hearths may be scoured with soap and fine sand, and
washed off.
To Restore Colors taken out by Acid, &c.
Hartshorn rubbed on a silk or woollen garment will restore the color
without injuring it. Spirits of turpentine is good to take grease or
drops of paint out of cloth; apply it till the paint can be scraped off.
Rub French chalk or magnesia on silk or ribbon that has been greased and
hold near the fire; this will absorb the grease so that it may be
brushed off.
To make New Feather Beds.
In making new feather beds, put half a pound of cayenne, and half a
pound of black pepper in each bed; this will prevent the moths from
getting into new feathers that have not been well cured. It is best to
air your beds frequently, and shake them up, even if they are not slept
in. It is the oil in the feathers that makes them smell bad, and when in
constant use the heat of the body dries it up gradually; when beds or
pillows have acquired this unpleasant smell, open them and put a few
pounded cloves in each.
When new beds are covered with cases, the moth will sometimes eat
through without its being discovered. Covers also prevent the air from
sweetening the feathers, and when new they should never be covered
unless in use. When beds are slept on, it is best to have a thick cotton
sheet, or if it is cold weather, a blanket between the under sheet and
the bed, and have them washed and aired occasionally.
To Clean Silver.
Wash the silver in soda water, rub it with whiting, and polish it with a
piece of dry buckskin. Embossed silver requires a stiff brush. Another
way is to let the silver lay in chalk and water for an hour, then take
it out, and wipe it dry on flannel; polish it with a piece of buckskin.
Britannia Ware.
First wash it clean in soap-suds, then rub it with a woollen cloth and
whiting, and polish off with dry buckskin.
Brass.
First rub the brasses with turpentine, vinegar or whiskey, then with
rotten-stone and a woollen cloth, and polish off with a piece of
soft leather.
For brasses that have been long out of use, chalk and vinegar may be
used.
To Clean Stoves or Grates.
Have the stove slightly warm, and if there is rust on it rub it off with
a dry brush; mix some black lead or British lustre with boiling water,
rub it on a small part of the stove at a time, and polish it with a
stiff brush. If the stove needs but little cleaning, wet the spots with
water, dust a little lead on the brush and rub it quickly. The black
lead should be washed off several times a year, and then renewed. Sheet
iron stoves should be rubbed with a woollen cloth, as a brush is apt to
streak. The lead may be mixed with the white of an egg in cold water.
Alum water is good to mix lustre; it prevents the stove from rusting.
To polish the hearth of a Franklin stove, rub it over with a piece of
grindstone, or use coarse sand with the sole of a shoe; when it begins
to look bright, polish it with pumice stone.
Cement to Mend Cracks in Stoves.
Take two parts of ashes, three of clay, and one of sand; mix them well
together with water, and put it on when the stove is cold. It is also
good to stop a leak in a roof.
Fire-proof Cement.
Slack a peck of lime in boiling water; put into it three pounds of salt,
three of brown sugar, and one of alum; mix them well together, and color
it with lamp-black or ochre. This has been recommended to put on the
roof of a building that is exposed to fire.
To Take Spots out of Mahogany.
Put a piece of paper on the spot, and hold a warm iron over it, then rub
it with a waxed cloth. If furniture is hurt with flies, it should be
well washed with a cloth, and rubbed with a cork and a waxed cloth.
Varnished furniture should be first rubbed with sweet oil, and then with
a waxed cloth.
To Take Grease out of Floors.
Mix clay or fullers' earth with ley, and put a thick coat on the grease
spot; scrape it off every few days, and put on more. To put soft soap on
the place, and rub it over with a hot iron, will take out the grease.
Wash for Hearths.
Mix red ochre in milk, and put it on the hearths with a brush.
Blacking for Boots and Shoes.
Take one ounce of vitriolic acid, one wine-glass of olive oil, two
ounces of ivory black, an ounce of gum arabic, a quart of vinegar, and a
tea-cup of molasses; put the vitriol and oil together, then add the
ivory black and other ingredients; when all are well mixed, bottle it.
To Make Boots and Shoes Water-proof.
Take one pint of linseed oil, one ounce of Burgundy pitch, two of
beeswax, and two of spirits of turpentine; melt them carefully over a
slow fire. With this you may rub new or old shoes in the sun, or at a
short distance from the fire, and they will last longer, never shrink,
and keep out water.
To Make Blacking for Morocco Shoes.
Pound some black sealing wax, and put in a bottle with half a pint of
alcohol; shake it frequently, and when it is dissolved, you may rub it
on morocco shoes when they are scaled or defaced, and they will look
almost like new; dry it on in the sun.
To Grease Eggs for Winter.
In the spring when eggs are plenty and cheap, it is very well to put up
several hundred, to use in the winter, when it is very difficult to get
them, even in the country.
Grease each egg with sweet lard, and as you do so, lay them in a keg or
jar, or old tin vessels that are out of use; put them in a dry closet
and keep them covered over; if they are put in the cellar, they are
liable to mould, which spoils them entirely. Do not put in any cracked
ones, or they will injure the rest. In this way they have been known to
keep a year, and were nearly as good for puddings, or batter cakes, as
fresh eggs. They do not do to boil, or make pound or sponge cake, as
they lose part of their lightening property.
To Keep Eggs in Lime Water.
Pour two gallons of hot water on a pint of lime and half a pint of
salt; put the eggs in a jar or keg, and when it is cold, pour it over
them, and put them in a cellar to keep; be sure that there are no
cracked ones. Eggs may be kept a month or longer, spread out separately
on dishes, so as one will not lay on another. They will keep best in a
dark closet.
To Clean Soiled Eggs.
When eggs are discolored from laying on the ground, wash them first
in strong vinegar, and then in cold water, and wipe them dry on a
soft towel.
Chloride of Lime.
A few spoonsful of chloride of lime dissolved in some water in a bowl or
saucer, is very useful to purify the apartment of an invalid, or in any
case where there is an unpleasant smell, of any kind. It is a cheap
article, and should always he kept convenient where there is sickness in
the house.
To Take Lime out of Cloth.
Lime spots on woollen clothes may be effectually removed, by putting a
little strong vinegar on the part, which completely neutralizes the
lime, and does not usually effect the color; but it will be safest to
wash it over with a cloth dipped in water, and rub it till nearly dry.
Hartshorn and alcohol mixed together are very useful in taking spots out
of cloth or merino, applied with something that will not leave lint.
To Take Wax or Spermaceti out of Cloth.
Hold a red hot flat-iron within an inch or two of the cloth, and this
will make the wax or spermaceti evaporate entirely; then rub the place
with a towel (that is free from lint) or clean brown paper.
To Remove a Stopper from a Decanter.
Wet a cloth with hot water and wrap it round the neck of the bottle;
this will cause the glass to expand, and the neck will be enlarged so as
to allow of the stopper to be withdrawn, without any trouble.
Precautions against Fire.
Perhaps it may not be improper to remark that houses have been saved
from being destroyed by fire at night, by there having been buckets of
water left in the kitchen.
Never go to bed without seeing that there is a supply in readiness.
Housekeepers should also arrange their family affairs so as to have as
little going about with lights by servants as possible. Chimneys should
be swept at proper intervals, and if you burn them, let it be on a rainy
morning and never at night.
To Take Ink and Stains out of Linen.
Dip the spotted part in pure melted tallow, then wash out the tallow and
the ink will come out with it. If you get a stain of fruit of any kind
on linen, boil a little new milk, and dip the parts in and out for a few
minutes; this must be done before any water is used, or it will not be
likely to succeed. Oxalic acid, or salt and lemon juice are good, and
care should be taken to rinse the articles well after the application.
Herbs, Gardens and Yards.
If you have a garden, be careful to raise herbs, both for cooking and to
use in sickness. Parsley, thyme, sage and sweet marjoram occupy very
little room in a garden, and cannot very well be dispensed with for
kitchen use; and every family should have a bunch of wormwood; it is a
fine tonic, either made while fresh, cut fine, with cold water, or after
it has been dried, made with boiling water. Tansey is also a useful
herb. Hoarhound is excellent for coughs, and is particularly useful in
consumptive complaints, either as a syrup or made into candy. Balm is a
cooling drink in a fever. Catnip tea is useful when you have a cold, and
wish to produce a perspiration, and is good for infants that have the
colic. Garlic is good for colds, and for children that have the croup;
you should have some taken up in the fall to use through the winter. The
root of elecampane gathered in the fall, scraped, sliced, and strung
with a needle and thread to dry, will keep its strength for several
years, and is useful for a cough with hoarhound. Rue is a valuable herb,
a tea made of it and sweetened is good for worms.
It is not expected that persons living in a town should have room in
their garden for herbs, but they are generally to be purchased at
market, and should always be kept in the house, as sometimes in the
winter they are much needed when it is difficult to find them.
Herbs should be spread out on a cloth to dry; turn them every day; when
dry, put them in thick paper bags, and close up the top, so as to
exclude the air. They can be kept hanging up, or laid on the shelf of a
closet, where they will not be affected by damp.
Such herbs as sage, thyme and sweet marjoram, when thoroughly dry,
should be pounded, sifted, and corked in bottles. Parsley should be cut
fine with a pair of scissors, dried, and put in bottles; it is nearly as
good this way as when fresh; keep it in a dark closet.
Where you have a garden, do not throw away the soap-suds that are left
from washing, as they are very good to water herbs and flowers.
It is very important to have early vegetables. A garden that is spaded,
or ploughed in the winter, is ready to plant much earlier. There are
many things that will bear the spring frosts without injury, and if
planted early will be ready to grow when the fine weather comes.
Tomatoes should be sowed in boxes or a hot-bed to be ready to
transplant.
The scrapings of a cellar are good to put in the garden to enrich it.
Ashes sprinkled on a yard, or grass plat, will keep down the coarse
grass, and produce white clover.
The grass should be cut out of a brick pavement with a knife, and
boiling ley poured on to kill the roots.
Seeds should be saved as they ripen, from the finest plants; they should
be kept in a box with a tight lid to keep them from mice.
Greasers for Bake-irons.
Take pieces of fat from the back bone, or chine of pork; cut them in
pieces of half a pound each; leave the skin on; salt them. They will
do to grease the bake-iron where you have buckwheat cakes every
morning in winter, and should be kept in a cool place; after remaining
in salt several weeks, they may be hung up in an airy place. This is
nicer than suet.
Cement for the Tops of Bottles or Jars.
Take equal parts of rosin and brick-dust pounded fine; a lump of
beeswax; stew them together, and keep in an old tin, melting it when you
want to seal your bottles or jars.
Cement for Mending Cast-iron.
To mend a crack or sand hole in an iron pot, beat up the white of an
egg, and mix equal weight of salt and sifted ashes; work it very smooth
and fill up the crack, let it harden before it is used. If it is a large
sand hole you wish to mend, put in a rivet and secure it with the
cement, if it gets loose it is easily fastened by the same process.
Weather Proof Cement.
Take of fine sand one part, two of clay, three of ashes; mix with
linseed oil to the consistency required. Put it on with a towel or
brush. It is said to become as hard as marble.
To Cleanse Vials, &c.
Put ashes and water in each one, and boil them in water, letting them
heat gradually. Pie plates may be cleansed in the same way. Iron pots
that have been used for boiling milk, may be cleaned by boiling ashes
and water in them.
Mending China with Milk.
China can be mended if not too badly broken, by boiling it in skim milk,
it should be entirely clear of cream, or the oily particles will prevent
its adhesion. Tie the pieces with tape or fine cord, put them into a
kettle of cold milk, and let them boil two hours, then take it off the
fire, and when cold take the china out, and set it away; let it stand
for several months. China pitchers, tea-pot lids, cup-plates and
dishes, have been used for years after being mended in this way.
Mending China with White Lead.
Take the bottom of an old paint keg, and carefully with a small knife,
put it on the edge of glass or china, close the parts together, and
place away; if badly broken, mend the small parts first, and set away;
then when dry, putty the edges you wish to join carefully, and set on
the top shelf of a closet, where it will be undisturbed for a year.
Linseed Oil for Furniture.
For polishing mahogany or walnut furniture, (that has never been
varnished) linseed oil has been recommended. It possesses a tendency to
harden and become solid, on long exposure to the air. It is this
peculiar quality that renders it useful in its application to furniture.
Rub the furniture you wish to polish (having previously washed all the
wax from it with soap and water) all over with the oil; a small piece of
sponge is suitable for the purpose, let it remain a few minutes so as to
sink in the wood; then rub it in with a soft cloth, and again with a
clean cloth. Do this every other day and your table will soon be fit to
use for breakfast or tea without fear of spoiling the polish; when you
wash it off it should be done with plain warm water, as soap will injure
it. It is best not to use a table till it has had several rubbings with
the oil, and then apply it once a week. The pores being filled with the
application it becomes hard. Always give a table that is in use a rub
with a dry cloth every morning.
For Filtering Water.
Put a thick layer of pounded charcoal, (say six inches,) at the bottom
of a large earthen flower-pot; over this, lay a bed of fine sand, which
has been washed, (to prevent its giving a taste to the water;) pour the
water in the filterer and put a large stone pitcher under to receive it.
On A Larger Scale.
Prepare a tight barrel by charring it on the inside, (by having some
hickory or oak shavings burnt in it,) then put in half a peck of quick
lime, and fill it with water. After the lime water has stood in the
barrel for two weeks, it will be ready for use.
This preparation of the barrel is necessary to remove the acid from the
wood, which would communicate an unpleasant taste to the water.
Fit a partition in the barrel, (perforated with many holes,) about three
inches from the bottom of the barrel, and having put in a tube, to go
down from the top through the partition nearly to the bottom, put on the
perforated partition some broken charcoal, then finer charcoal a foot
thick, then about a foot of clean washed sand.
To use this filter pour the water through the tube, (which should be
open at the top like a funnel;) the water runs to the bottom, and
filters upward, leaving all the impurities at the bottom.
The pure water is drawn off from the top of the barrel by means of a
spile or faucet.
To Keep Water Cool in Summer, when you have not Ice.
Where you live at a distance from water, and wish to keep it cool, put a
large stone vessel in the coldest place you can find; fill it with
water, cover it with a towel and wrap a wet cloth around it; this will
keep it cool for some hours, which is a comfort in warm weather.
To Purify Water.
To put a small lump of lime into your water-cask is useful. Agitating
and exposing it to the air, will help to keep it fresh.
Strain muddy water through a sieve, in which a cloth or sponge, (or a
layer of fine sand or charcoal,) has been placed.
Hard water may be softened and rendered suitable for washing, by
adding to every twelve gallons of water, about a quarter of a pound
of sal soda.
Gum Arabic Paste.
Pulverize in a mortar an ounce of gum arabic, pour on boiling water and
stir it till dissolved; do not put too much water. If you wish to keep
this paste any length of time, put it in a wide-mouthed phial, and pour
alcohol over it; keep it corked, and as you use it, you may thin it with
water if required; put it on with a feather or brush.
Preserving Kettles.
Bell-metal, copper and brass kettles require very nice cleaning
immediately before they are used, or it will endanger your health.
Vinegar with salt or ashes should be used; save the vinegar that is left
in the pickle jars for this purpose.
To Clean Knives and Forks.
In some families the knives are a great care to the housekeeper, but by
proper management it is rendered easy. After using them, they should be
wiped with a cloth, dipped in warm water, then wiped dry, (the handles
should never be put in hot water,) then polish them with Bristol or Bath
brick, which, with the rubbing cloths, should be kept in a small box,
with a strip of leather nailed on one edge, on which to polish them
after they are rubbed with the brick.
Knives that are not in daily use should be wrapped in raw cotton and
then in paper, and if kept in a dry place will not be liable to rust.
To Clean Teeth. _With Remarks on Fixing the Habit, &c._
Pulverized charcoal mixed with honey, is very good to cleanse teeth, and
make them white. A little Peruvian bark put in a phial with lime water
is excellent to use occasionally by those that have offensive teeth; and
tincture of myrrh mixed with a little water, may be used with advantage,
to harden the gums. A little Peruvian bark put in the teeth just before
going to bed, and washed out in the morning, is an excellent
preservative of teeth. It is very important for parents to insist on
children cleaning their teeth, at least, it is well for them to begin
before they lose their first set, as it makes them last longer, and
fixes the habit, which is of great importance.
To Clean Kid Gloves.
Take a piece of flannel; moisten it with a little milk; rub it on a cake
of mild soap, and apply it to the soiled spots on the gloves; as soon as
the dirt is removed, rub the spot with a dry piece of flannel, and dry
them on the hands. Care must be taken that the gloves are not made too
wet, or they will have a wrinkled appearance. Dark gloves that are worn
in winter, should be exposed to the sun for about a quarter of an hour
in the spring, before putting them away, or they will be liable to spot.
To Clean Papered Walls.
Cut the crust off of stale bread very thick, and rub the walls carefully
from top to bottom, in a straight line, using a fresh piece of bread as
soon as it looks much soiled.
To Take Old Putty from Window Glass.
Warm an iron, and rub it on the glass opposite the putty; this melts the
oil, and you may easily remove the putty.
Cutting Glass for Mending Windows.
If you want to cut glass for mending windows, and have no diamond, dip a
piece of cotton twine into turpentine, and stretch it tightly across the
glass where you wish to break it; then set the string on fire, and after
it is burned, break the glass while it is warm.
SIMPLE REMEDIES.
The following remedies are for diseases which occur in almost every
family, and have been proved to be useful in a number of instances. As
most old housekeepers have their favorite recipes, it is for the young
and inexperienced these are particularly intended, and may be used with
safety, when a physician is not at hand.
Remarks upon a Deeply Seated Cough.
It is very important to begin in time with a cold. Consumption is
sometimes prevented by very simple remedies. To put Burgundy pitch
plasters on the breast and back of the neck, often has a good
effect; they should be re-spread frequently, and when one part is
irritated, change them to another place. Put one on your side if you
have a pain there.
Flannel should be put on next the skin by all means, which, with the
above simple remedies, will cure a cold, if begun with in time.
I have frequently known new flannel put on those that usually wore it,
greatly to benefit a delicate person. The increased irritation of the
new flannel acts on the pores of the skin and promotes circulation. Hair
soles worn in the shoe, or socks made of flannel, or soft buckskin worn
under the stockings, are very good to keep the feet warm and dry.
Persons predisposed to consumption should have nourishing food, and not
eat too much at a time; they should avoid strong tea or coffee, and
drink milk. Eggs, oysters, fresh fish and fowls, are very good for them.
Fruit of all kinds is useful.
They should take exercise in the air, particularly riding on horse-back,
or take a short walk, but not so as to be fatigued; to work moderately
in a garden, when the ground is not too damp, is good exercise for a
delicate person; the smell of fresh earth, and of flowers, is beneficial
to both body and mind. After taking exercise, a glass of lemonade is
very refreshing, and promotes appetite.
If there should be perspiration at night, change the sheets and
pillow-cases frequently, and the under garments; air the chamber and
bed-clothes every day; if the weather is too damp to raise the windows,
shake up the bed, and leave it unmade half of the day, and put it out in
the sun occasionally.
By all means avoid strong medicine, or any thing that has a tendency to
weaken the body.
Sometimes blisters are used with very good effect; also, rubbing the
breast and back with camphor or spirits, or with a piece of dry flannel.
Taking anodyne drops, particularly laudanum, should be avoided, if
possible; they may still the cough during the night, but it will come on
with increased violence in the morning; they weaken the stomach,
increase the fever, and sometimes cause delirium.
Everything that tends to excite or irritate the mind, should be kept
from them. It is very important to talk cheerfully to sick persons,
particularly if confined to their chamber, which can be done without
lightness or trifling.
If they see gloomy faces around them, it has a very disheartening
effect; and, if the mind sinks, such is its intimate connection with the
body, that it is hard to raise it.
I have known persons by judicious management to live for many years,
after it was thought they were in a deep decline, by avoiding weakening
medicines, taking exercise on horse-back and on foot, and never
indulging in a full meal.
Sometimes such persons have very good appetites, and it is a
satisfaction to their friends to see them eat heartily; but they should
eat something frequently, rather than over-load the stomach too much.
When they come in hungry from a ride, to beat up an egg with a
tea-spoonful of wine, and a little sugar and nutmeg put in a tumbler
with some milk, and taken with a cracker or biscuit, or a piece of thin
toast broken up in it, has a very strengthening effect.
Persons are seldom benefitted by a strict diet, but it is sometimes
enforced till they lose their appetite and cannot eat.
If the weather is so that exercise cannot be taken out of doors, some
method should be devised for taking it in the house. Rubbing furniture
and playing battle-door, are good exercise for a female, but should not
be taken too much at a time.
Men that are confined to the house are sometimes very much at a loss
what to do; if such would purchase a few tools, and appropriate a spare
room as a workshop, it would promote their health. I have known men that
were but little acquainted with the use of tools, do many useful and
ornamental pieces of work, that were greatly valued by their friends;
and the exertion kept their spirits from sinking, when the weather was
too inclement to take exercise in the open air.
For a Cough.
Take a wine glass of the juice of the green hoarhound, or if that cannot
be obtained, a strong decoction from the dry herb will answer; mix it in
half a pint of new milk, sweetened either with sugar or honey; take this
half an hour before breakfast. It has been known to cure obstinate
coughs, and persons that have taken it for four weeks or more, have
gained strength and flesh, and the pain in the breast was relieved.
Flannel should be worn.
Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup.
Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the
fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water,
cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it
and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar;
when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it.
Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes
flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup.
Brown Mixture for a Cough.
Take of paregoric, liquorice and gum arabic, each an ounce, from fifty
to one hundred drops of antimonial wine and two gills of hot water; mix
them well together, and when cold, bottle, and cork it tight; take two
tea-spoonsful at a time; if it should nauseate, give a smaller
quantity. If this produce profuse perspiration avoid going in the air
unless well wrapped up. This has been useful in the latter stages of
the whooping cough.
Ginger Tea. _With Remarks on its Use, &c._
Strong ginger tea, sweetened and taken hot on going to bed, is very
good. Where persons have been exposed to the air, and think they have
taken fresh cold, keep the feet warm by taking a hot brick to bed, and
do not increase the cold the next day. If it is not deeply seated,
taking this a few nights will give relief. A piece of ginger root, kept
about the person to chew, is good for a tickling in the throat, which
many persons are subject to, when sitting in close heated apartments, in
lecture rooms, or places of worship.
Lemon Mixture for a Cough.
Put two fresh eggs in a jar; cover them with the juice of six large
lemons; let it stand until the hard shell of the eggs is eaten off; then
beat it together; strain it, and add half a pound of rock candy, one
gill of brandy and two table-spoonsful of sweet oil.
Mixture of Lemon Juice and Honey.
Take half a pint of honey and squeeze the juice of four lemons on it;
mix well together, and add a small portion of sugar; take a tea-spoonful
every time the cough is troublesome.
Hoarhound Candy.
Put two pounds of sugar in a pint of hoarhound tea, as strong as can be
made, which may be done by drawing two sets of hoarhound in the same
water, till the strength is out of each; when it is cold, mix in the
sugar and the white of an egg; when it begins to boil, take off the scum
as it rises, boil it slowly till it becomes thick, so that when you drop
it on a plate, it will be hard and crisp, and pour it out in plates that
have been greased with a little sweet butter; when cold, you can break
it up for use, and tie it up in a jar. This is quite as useful as the
candy you buy, and is much cheaper; it is very convenient for persons
that have a cough, to have a little box of this about them to take when
there is a tickling in the throat.
Mustard Bath for the Feet--Soap Stones, &c.
It gives relief to a bad cold in the early stages, to soak the feet in
warm water, in which you have put half a tea cup of salt and two table
spoonsful of pulverized mustard, and to drink ginger tea. You may keep
your feet in the bath for half an hour, and then retire with a warm soap
stone wrapped in a cloth and placed near them. A soap stone, the size of
a brick will, when thoroughly heated, keep warm till morning, and is
invaluable for an elderly person or one that suffers with cold feet.
Liverwort Syrup.
Make a quart of strong liverwort tea by extracting two sets of herbs in
the same water, tie a tea cup of flaxseed in a bag and put with it; keep
it covered while drawing; when the strength is all out, strain it on a
pound of sugar, and let it boil slowly till it is thick--keeping it
covered to prevent the strength from going off, when cold, bottle it,
and set the bottle in a cool place while using it. Take a table-spoonful
at a time about six times a day. This has been used for a cough with
great benefit.
For Sore Throat.
Make a gargle of cayenne pepper, honey and spirits, or sage tea, with
alum and honey, or figs boiled, mashed and strained, and use it once
in two hours. If it is very bad, steam the mouth with a funnel held
over hot vinegar, and put on a hot poultice of hops, boiled in weak
ley and thickened with corn-meal; there should be a little lard spread
over; renew it every time it gets cold. Another very good poultice, is
hot mush strewed with powdered camphor; put it on as hot as can be
borne, and change it when cold. A purgative should be given, either of
senna and salts, castor oil; or rhubarb and soap pills. An emetic is
of great importance, and has caused the throat to break when persons
have been very ill.
Sore throats have been cured when quinsy was apprehended, by using
powdered camphor and lard on flannel. It is a good way, when persons are
subject to it, to keep an ounce of camphor mixed with lard, in a
wide-mouthed bottle, or jar; and corked tight. The cayenne pepper and
honey gargle should also be kept ready mixed, and used when the first
symptoms appear; or in a violent attack, a plaster of snuff and lard may
be applied with benefit, keeping it on only a few minutes at a time.
Sometimes a bag of hot ashes sprinkled with vinegar, and applied hot as
can be borne, has cured a sore throat in one night. Persons that have
been afflicted for years with repeated attacks of sore throat and
quinsy, have been cured by bathing the throat, neck and ears with cold
water every morning. The constant use of the shower bath is very
important. Keep the feet warm.
Molasses Posset for a Cold.
Take a pint of the best molasses, a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger, a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and let them simmer together for
half an hour: then stir in the juice of two lemons, or if you have not
these, two table-spoonsful of strong vinegar; cover over the sauce-pan,
and let it stand by the fire five minutes longer. Some of this may be
taken warm or cold.
For Whooping Cough.
Dissolve a scruple of salts of tartar in a gill of water, put in half a
scruple of pulverized cochineal, sweeten it with loaf sugar, give an
infant a tea-spoonful of this mixture four times a day, and a child four
years old or upwards, a table-spoonful. In some cases the relief is
instantaneous.
Another Remedy.
Half a pint of honey, half a pint of vinegar, two table-spoonsful of
sweet oil stewed together a few minutes; when cold put it in a bottle,
and put in a tea-spoonful of laudanum; shake it well, and give a
table-spoonful when the cough is troublesome, and a dose just before
going to bed. For an infant of six months, a small tea-spoonful is a
dose, and for a child of four years, two tea-spoonsful. Where there is
not much fever, a little port or claret wine, mixed with sugar and
water, and taken with toast broken in it, is beneficial. Children should
be taken out riding if possible, and should be well wrapped up.
For the Croup.
Put the child in warm water, and keep up the temperature by putting in
more hot water; keep it in fifteen or twenty minutes, then wipe it dry
and put it in a warm bed, or wrap a blanket round it and hold it on the
lap; give it an emetic, and put powdered garlic and lard to the throat
and soles of the feet; keep up the perspiration, by giving a few drops
of antimonial wine every half hour. The next morning give it a dose of
rhubarb tea or castor oil, and keep it from the air for several days.
This treatment has been very beneficial when a physician was not at
hand; and nothing had been done till his arrival, perhaps the child
would have been too far gone to recover. In cases of croup, to wet a
piece of flannel with, alcohol, and apply it to the throat as hot as it
can be borne, has often a salutary effect, applied frequently. It is
also good to use for a bad cold, &c.
Molasses stewed with a lump of butter, and a table-spoonful of vinegar,
taken just before you go to bed, and to grease the nose, forehead and
breast with mutton tallow, will sometimes cure a child without any thing
else. To pound garlic in a rag and squeeze out the juice, mix it with
molasses, and give a tea-spoonful at a time, has given relief when a
child was very ill. Sliced onions, or garlic stewed with sugar and
water, or molasses, is very good to take for a cold. Where children are
subject to the croup, you should always have a pot of water over the
fire, and light-wood near, to heat it as quick as possible. Children
that are subject to these attacks should have their feet kept warm and
dry, and always wear flannel next to the skin.
It is the duty of parents to make use of the most simple remedies, which
may always be in readiness, and, if applied in time, may prevent the
necessity of giving strong medicines, which injure the constitutions of
young children. The least symptom of the disease should be attended to.
Lobelia is a certain remedy for croup. If the case is light, a few drops
of the tincture, increasing the dose according to the age of the child,
given at short intervals, will cause it to vomit and prevent danger; but
if the attack is a severe one, you should give the "third preparation of
lobelia;" for a child of ten years, ten drops, and so on in proportion;
mix it with sugar and water. Every mother should keep lobelia at hand,
as it has been known to give certain relief in many cases.
A child of twelve months, may take of the tincture ten drops every
fifteen or twenty minutes, till it acts as an emetic, or relieves by
perspiration; one of two or three years may take twenty or thirty drops.
The third preparation is of much greater strength than the tincture.
Infants' Colic, &c.
Tea made of catnip, and sweetened, given to an infant when it appears to
be in pain, is often useful. Sweet marjoram tea also relieves pain, and
has a soothing effect on the nerves.
To put the feet in warm water, and put a warm piece of flannel to the
stomach, is important; but if neither of these relieve the child, put it
in warm water for about ten minutes, and cover it from the air
carefully; wipe it dry, and keep it warm afterwards. A little weak
ginger tea is good for the colic; as also tea made of dried damask rose
leaves; a tea-spoonful of leaves will make a tea-cupful of tea.
Uneasiness is frequently caused by their stomachs being overloaded with
food, and care should be taken in this respect.
Having lately met with some remarks in the "Baltimore American," with
which I am much pleased, I take the liberty of inserting them.
"Narcotics and anodynes cannot be given with too much caution, the
sensitive and nervous system of an infant should never be acted upon by
these powerful drugs unless in extreme cases, and of these, few mothers
should presume to judge. Two drops of laudanum, says the London Medical
Gazette, have been known to kill an infant; and a single drop, it is
said, stole the life of a new born babe.
"The most experienced medical men never administer medicines of this
class to the very young, without exercising the utmost caution, and
making the most accurate calculations.
"In the present day, the more general diffusion of correct facts in
physiology and pathology has caused a large class of young mothers to
reject the old system of giving narcotic drugs to infants. In carrying
out this salutary reformation like all other reformers, they have a
strong opposition to contend with; old fashioned nurses do much harm in
opposing all nursery reformations, consequently young mothers will have
a hard task to execute.
"Too many have not the steady courage to hold on to the end in mild, but
firm opposition to all erroneous, but well meant interference. But there
are others whose pure and unswerving love for their tender off-spring
keeps them firm to their duty; to these the next generation will owe
much. They are the little band of true-hearted reformers, whose good
example will be like leaven, spreading until its influence is felt
throughout the wide circle of maternal responsibility."
Summer Diseases.
The food of children in summer, should be light and nourishing; if of
milk, be careful that it is sweet. If you cannot get it fresh as often
as you want it, boiling will keep it sweet. Sour milk and improper
food sometimes bring on the summer disease, which is easier prevented
than cured.
A little rhubarb tea or tincture, with a small quantity of prepared
chalk, will sometimes check it in its early stages, but the most
effectual medicine that I have tried is called by some apothecaries,
"red mixture," of which I will give a recipe.
Chicken water, slightly salted, is very good; make but a little at a
time, and have it fresh.
Rice gruel, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and a little nutmeg, is
nourishing. To make a drink of slippery-elm, shave the bark fine and put
it in water; strain it, mix it with milk, and sweeten it. Elderberry and
blackberry cordials are also good in cases where there is no fever.
The stomach and back should be bathed with spirits, and a little bag of
pounded spices, wet with spirits, applied to the stomach, may be used
with safety, when not within reach of a physician.
A bark jacket has been used with success in many instances, cut it out
of fine muslin, to be double, spread it open, and cover one side with
about two ounces of the best Lima bark, and twelve pounded cloves; put
on the other side, sew it up, and quilt it across; put on shoulder
straps and strings of soft ribbon; sprinkle it with spirits twice a day.
The child should have the benefit of the morning and evening air. If it
is not convenient to ride it out, walking will answer, in the arms of a
careful nurse, carried on a pillow, with an umbrella to protect its eyes
from the light.
When a child is taken sick in a city, removing it to the country often
has a beneficial effect. Milk thickened with arrow root is good diet for
children. Flour dried in an oven for several hours, and used to thicken
milk or water, is also good, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and is
nutritious. They should eat but a small portion of any thing at a time.
To cut slices of lean fresh beef or mutton, put it in a bowl, and pour a
pint of boiling water on it, and let it set close to the fire for an
hour, is very good to give children occasionally, with but little salt;
the stomach will sometimes retain this when other things are rejected.
As thirst is an attendant on this disease, much salt should be avoided
in all their food. Every thing about a sick child should be kept clean,
and its clothes well aired before changing them. If it is too ill to
carry out of doors, have it changed from one room to another, and the
apartment it left well aired.
Children who are afflicted with this disease, sometimes crave fruit.
Ripe peaches, fresh from the tree, or ripe apples, baked or roasted
before the fire, may he occasionally administered in small quantities
with perfect safety.
To make toast-water, the bread should be toasted on both sides very dry,
and boiling water poured on it.
I hope these hints will be useful to persons that cannot procure a
physician, which is often the case in the country.
Mustard Whey.
Boil a pint of milk, and the same of water, with an ounce and a half of
bruised mustard seed, until the curd separates--when strain the whey.
This is a most desirable way of administering mustard; it warms and
invigorates the system, promotes the different secretions, and in the
low state of nervous fevers, will often supply the place of wine. It is
also of use in chronic rheumatism, palsy and dropsy.
Red Mixture.
Take sixteen grains of powdered rhubarb, thirty of soda, fifty of
prepared chalk, and two drops of the oil of spearmint, mixed in a vial
with two ounces of water; keep it corked up and shake it before giving a
dose. A child of ten months old should take a tea-spoonful every three
or four hours. If there is much pain, two drops of laudanum may be added
to every other dose. A table-spoonful is a dose for a grown person.
Erysipelas.
The decoction of sarsaparilla has proved useful in cases of erysipelas.
Take two ounces of sarsaparilla, one of sassafras, one of burdock root,
and one of liquorice; boil them slowly in three pints of water, keeping
it covered close, until reduced to one-half. Take two table-spoonsful
four times a day.
While taking medicine for the erysipelas, meat and all strong food
should be avoided, and every thing that has a tendency to inflame the
blood. Dusting the parts affected, with rye or buckwheat flour,
sometimes has a cooling effect, and bathing with camphor or spirits will
allay the irritation.
Nettle rash is very much like erysipelas, and the same treatment is good
for both. Slippery-elm bark, chipped, and let to stand in cold water
till it becomes thick, is a very cooling drink. It may be filled up the
second time. Barley water is also a suitable drink.
Erysipelas is frequently brought on by violent exercise, and the
perspiration being checked too suddenly. Persons that have once had it,
should avoid extremes of heat and cold, and pay strict attention to
diet--not eating any thing that disagrees with them. All acids,
particularly pickles, are improper.
The stomach should be cleansed by emetics. Small and frequent doses of
senna and salts, if taken just at going to bed, will not occasion much
sickness, and tend greatly to relieve the system of this unpleasant
disease. Where the case is slight, the rhubarb pills sometimes give
relief. The pores of those that are subject to it are generally open,
and flannel should be worn all the year, to prevent too sudden a check
of perspiration.
Magnesia, Charcoal and Salts.
Form a valuable compound for family use: one ounce of each mixed
together, and put in a wide-mouthed bottle; it is useful for head-ache,
or diseases of the skin. Cases of erysipelas have been cured by its
continued use. Take a tea-spoonful of the mixture, in a little water two
or three times a day, or on going to bed at night. Persons of sedentary
occupations, that are in the habit of taking pills, will find it to
their relief to use this simple remedy. It has been found beneficial in
cases of tetter and ringworm in the head, using at the same time, as a
wash on the part affected, borax dissolved in strong vinegar.
In cases of erysipelas, the "charcoal mixture" has been used with great
benefit; it is excellent for purifying the blood. Take it in small doses
for two or three weeks, then discontinue it, and take it again at
intervals. If this medicine should be found unpleasant, take a
tea-spoonful of jelly, or something of that kind after it. It will
answer quite as well to keep the magnesia, charcoal and salts in
separate bottles, and mix them just as you take the dose, taking about
an even tea-spoonful of each.
For Dropsy.
Put a quarter of a pound of cream of tartar, and a pound of new nails,
in a stone jug, with half a gallon of water, let it stand three or four
days, occasionally shaking it; take a table spoonful three times a day,
on an empty stomach, and half an hour after each dose, take two
spoonsful of mustard seed or scraped horse-radish. If the swelling
abates, you may take the medicine less frequently, or omit every other
day, but do not leave it off until you are entirely cured. After it has
stood some time, it becomes stronger, when you may put in more water.
This has been highly recommended for the dropsy.
Another Remedy.
Take a quart of gin, put into it one handful of the white buds of the
common pine; shake it frequently, and take half a wine glassful at a
time, twice a day, about an hour before a meal, and occasionally eat a
little brown mustard seed; this should be persevered in, and has been
known to afford great relief, in two obstinate cases.
For Rheumatism
Persons are liable to have the rheumatism from taking cold in the
winter. Where the pain is most violent, put on plasters of Burgundy
pitch, spread on leather. Persons that are subject to it, should always
keep pitch in the house to use, as it will give relief; a silk
handkerchief tied round the joint, keeps it warm and relieves stiffness.
If the pain is in the back part of the head, put a blister on the neck,
by all means. When persons have a bad spell of rheumatism, they should
always take medicine, and avoid eating meat for a few days. Equal parts
of rhubarb and castile soap, made into pills, with a little water, is a
valuable medicine for rheumatism, and suits aged persons; the pills
should be taken at night on going to bed. They are easily made, and
should always be at hand: it is valuable as a cathartic in almost every
case where mild medicine is necessary. The use of the shower bath is
also beneficial. Flannel should always be worn next the skin, and the
feet kept dry. Bathing with camphor sometimes relieves the pain, but
there is a danger of driving it to a more vital part. Salt and water is
useful to bathe for the rheumatism, when it is of long-standing.
Deafness, Remarks, &c.
A remarkable case of deafness was cured by the following remedy: (An
aged person, whose hearing had been very good, gradually became so deaf
as not to be able to hear common conversation; after suffering some
months, the patient thought of trying the following remedy:) of honey,
brandy and sweet oil, each a tea-spoonful, warm and mix well together;
sew a soft linen rag to the eye of a strong darning needle; dip this mop
in the mixture while warm, and put it in the ear; hold it in till cold,
when renew and move it gently about; by so doing, wax that had
accumulated, hardened, and stopped the cavity, was discharged, and the
hearing of the patient restored. Wool should be worn in the ears, and an
occasional use of the mixture; also flannel round the head at night. A
young person was relieved by the persevering use of the following
remedies: Put a small blister of Spanish flies behind the ears, very
high up on the hard part, so as to be clear of the leaders (or it will
occasion pain); when drawn, dress them in the usual way, and as soon as
healed renew them; repeat this several times, keeping wool in the ears
dipped in sweet oil, and at night put in small pieces of fat bacon that
has been boiled, and tie a handkerchief around to keep them warm. When
the blisters are healed, the hair should be cut short, to enable the
patient to bathe the head in cold water, which should be poured from a
pitcher; begin with it a little warm and gradually get it colder; this
should be persevered in, even in cold weather; wipe the head and tie it
up till dry. I have been induced to make these remedies public, by
seeing several interesting young persons suffering from deafness, with a
hope that they may be of use.
Remedy for Sick Head-ache.
A table-spoonful of table salt; dissolved in a pint of water, as warm as
you can drink it; take at two doses, and drink freely of luke-warm
water, until it causes vomiting; put a hot brick to the feet, and avoid
the air, which will check the perspiration.
The Oil of Butter. _A Remedy for Dysentery, &c._
Put half a pound of fresh butter in a quart of boiling water, to extract
the salt; let it melt and boil up. If there should be any curds on the
top, take them off, then skim off the clear butter, and keep it covered
by the fire; give from one to two table-spoonsful at a time, three or
four times a day.
This is useful in cases of dysentery, and is also soothing to the
stomach, after violent vomiting for a long time. Sometimes a plaster of
mustard put on the stomach stops vomiting.
For Dysentery and Diarrhoea.
The following prescription from an eminent physician has proved
valuable: Take of calcined magnesia two drachms, of aromatic spirits of
ammonia two and a half drachms, of water half a pint, mix well together,
and as a dose for a grown person, give a table-spoonful every half hour
until relieved.
Some country nurses recommend dittany tea, or spice-wood berries boiled
in new milk. A large poultice on the stomach and bowels, made of new
milk, thickened with light bread, has given relief--keeping it warm.
Be careful to keep the patient's feet warm, and to bathe the back and
stomach with spirits. Where the dittany and spice-wood cannot be
obtained, other aromatics, as cinnamon and cloves, are good substitutes.
Remedies for the Dysentery and Cholera Morbus.
Take the roots of the low running blackberry or dewberry; make a strong
tea; sweeten it, and drink it occasionally. Take a large apple; cut out
the core, and wrap in wet paper; cover it up in hot ashes, and when
cooked, take off the paper and eat it cold.
Take one pint of good hard cider, that is entirely sound, put a
table-spoonful of hot ashes into it, and stir it as soon as it settles;
take a table-spoonful once every hour for a grown person, until relief
is obtained.
Remedy for the Ear-ache.
Mix a few drops of French brandy with sweet oil and a drop of laudanum,
and pour it in the ear a little warm.
Another valuable remedy is to take a few wood lice, and stew them in a
little lard, (which should be very pure,) for three or four minutes;
then strain it and pour some in the ear before it gets cool.
This gives almost immediate relief. The heart of a roasted onion put
warm in the ear, and tie around the head a silk handkerchief, has
given relief.
A Wash for Sore Ears.
Make a tea of the black or candle-alder, wet a soft rag with it, and lay
it on; it should be applied three times a day, and occasionally wash it
with castile soap and water. The patient should take a mild purgative.
If the ears are very much inflamed, there should be a bread and milk
poultice put on occasionally. Elder ointment is also beneficial.
Weak Eyes.
Make a strong decoction of chamomile flowers, by boiling them in new
milk; with this bathe the eyes several times a day--continue it for
several weeks; to bathe the eyes in cold water before going to rest, is
also good. Pure rye whiskey is very good to bathe weak eyes. Persons
that are afflicted with sore eyes, have often been benefitted by putting
a small blister behind the ears, very high up on the hard part, so as to
avoid the leaders. Infants should not be exposed to the light too soon;
it sometimes weakens the sight and seriously injures the eyes. The pith
of sassafras put in water, is good to bathe inflamed eyes; a decoction
of young hyson tea is also used with benefit. Persons afflicted with
weak eyes should avoid a strong light, and should not strain their eyes
with reading or sewing at night. I have known small doses of "charcoal
mixture," relieve the eyes when there was slight inflammation. Attention
to diet is necessary. Fold a linen handkerchief, dip it in cold water,
and bind it over the eyes at night on retiring, and you will experience
relief. Pain in the eyeballs is also relieved, by gently rubbing the
finger and thumb over the lids towards the nose. This was published some
years since, and I have known it give relief and strengthen the eyes.
For Worms.
Equal parts of salt and sugar, taken while fasting, are good for worms;
a tea-spoonful is sufficient for a child two years old; to take half a
cup of chamomile, rue or wormwood tea, with a little sugar, two hours
before breakfast, is also good. Give a dose of senna after they have
been taking this three days. It is very important to bruise garlic and
rue, to apply to the stomach; put it in a bag, and wet it with spirits
every day. The garlic and rue is said to keep the worms out of the
stomach. Wormseed oil, a few drops at a time, has given relief, but
should be used cautiously. Old cheese grated and given to a child, has
been known to afford relief: it is also beneficial when a child is
seized with sudden illness from having eaten too many cherries.
For Tooth-ache.
Reduce two drachms of alum to a very fine powder, and mix with it seven
drachms of nitrous spirits of ether; apply it to the tooth. Alum burnt
on a hot shovel, and powdered, is sometimes good; also half a drop of
the oil of cinnamon, on a piece of cotton or lint, where the tooth is
hollow. Cayenne pepper on cotton, and moistened with spirits of camphor,
has been known to afford relief. A poultice of hops applied to the
cheek, or a piece of raw cotton with red pepper dusted on it, or a
mustard plaster, will relieve a swelling which proceeds from tooth-ache.
Cure for Cholera Morbus.
Put a table-spoonful of hot ashes in half a pint of good hard cider, and
give the patient three table-spoonsful of it at a time. This has given
relief in half an hour.
Another cure is to take a soft cork and hum it thoroughly; when it
ceases to blaze, powder the coal very fine on a plate. Mix a
table-spoonful of this powder with a little milk or water, or any thing
agreeable to the palate; repeat the dose till the disorder ceases, which
it generally does after two or three doses. This has given relief to a
person in the greatest agony with the bilious colic.
For Colic.
Drink strong ginger tea, while hot, and put hot bricks to the stomach
and feet; if this does not give relief, take a dose of rhubarb or
castor oil. Persons subject to the colic should keep a piece of ginger
about them to chew after eating; wear flannel next the skin, and be
careful to keep the feet dry: they should avoid strong coffee and tea,
and eat nothing that disagrees with them. Dry toast without butter,
and crackers, are good for persons that have the colic. For violent
cases, take two table-spoonsful of brandy, and half a tea-spoonful of
black pepper.
For Bilious Colic and Indigestion.
Pour three quarts of boiling water on a quart of hickory ashes and a
tea-cup of soot; let it stand a day, then filter it, and if the
complaint is bad, take a wine-glassful before and after each meal. This
has been very beneficial to persons with the above complaint.
Warner's Cordial for Gout in the Stomach.
Take one ounce of rhubarb, two drachms of senna, two of fennel seed, two
of coriander seed, one of saffron, and one of liquorice; stone and cut
half a pound of good raisins, and put all in a quart of good spirits;
let it stand in a warm place for ten days, shaking it every day; then
strain it off and add a pint more spirits to the same ingredients; when
all the strength is extracted, strain it and mix the first and last
together. Take from two to four spoonsful of this cordial in as much
boiling water as will make it as hot as you can take it; if the pain is
not removed in half an hour, repeat the dose, and if your stomach will
not retain it, add ten drops of laudanum.
Dr. Warner remarks, "after twenty years' experience of this medicine in
myself and others, it is impossible for me to speak of it in terms
higher than it deserves. When the vital parts are affected, persons
subject to the gout should never sleep without it in their chamber."
Cure for Tetter.
Take one tea-spoonful of powdered Spanish flies, put them in half a pint
of French brandy; wash the part affected occasionally. This has been
highly recommended to me, as a remedy for tetter on the hands, but I
have never seen it tried.
For Cramp in the Stomach.
Dissolve a tea-spoonful of table salt, in a tea-cup of warm water; if
this does not stop the vomiting and cramp, repeat the dose; this is very
useful in stopping the operation of an emetic, when it has continued too
long. Flannel cloths dipped in hot spirits, and sprinkled with cayenne
pepper, and applied to the stomach, sometimes relieves the pain; a
mustard plaster is also of use.
For Cramp.
A foot-board to the bedstead is of great service, when you are taken
with the cramp in the night, and by placing the foot against it, will
sometimes give relief. Another remedy is to tie a string round the limb,
between the body and the pain, about as tight as a physician does to
draw blood; wear a bandage filled with pounded brimstone round the limb,
to prevent a return of it. Sometimes to hold a roll of brimstone in each
hand will relieve the cramp, and persons subject to it should keep some
by the bed-side to use in the night.
For Scalds and Burns.
When persons are badly scalded or burned, to put raw cotton on
immediately, and wet it with spirits, is very good; other remedies are,
linseed oil and lime water; starch and cream; scraped potatoes,
molasses, and eggs beaten up and put on immediately. Almost any thing
will relieve the pain, that excludes the air. Be careful not to break
the skin, as it will be longer in healing.
If a foot is scalded, pour cold water over it and cut the stocking. You
should be careful to use linen rags about a burn, as cotton rags cause
irritation.
After the place begins to heal up, a salve may be applied, made of equal
parts of Burgundy pitch, beeswax, sheep's tallow, and sweet oil, melted
together over the fire; renew it twice a day, washing the place each
time with milk and water, and a little castile soap. A wash of weak
sugar of lead water, is also good for burns. A poultice of powdered elm
bark mixed with water, and put on frequently, wetting the sore with
thick cream, is also soothing; be careful that the limb does not
contract, as there is great danger if the sinews are affected. If there
should be fever, a mild cathartic should be given. "Comstock's Pain
Extractor" sometimes gives great relief; you may also apply immediately,
with benefit, a tea-spoonful of air-slaked lime and a table-spoonful of
lard; sift the lime and rub them well together. For a burn by vitriol or
any caustic substance, apply whites of eggs mixed with powdered chalk,
putting it on with a feather. Linen rags dipped in cold water and
changed every few minutes, I have known applied day and night to give
relief to a bad burn on the foot; but avoid putting the foot in water,
although it gives present relief, it is dangerous.
For Ague.
Take half an ounce of coarsely powdered race ginger, infused in three
gills of boiling water; when cool, strain and sweeten it; and for a
dose give a heaped tea-spoonful of Peruvian bark, in a wine-glassful
of the ginger tea, every two hours during the absence of the fever.
To one ounce of best Peruvian bark, add two ounces of cloves
powdered, and a half an ounce of cream of tartar; mix them well, and
give two tea-spoonsful at a time every two hours: when clear of
fever, begin at four in the morning, and give it until twelve at
noon. Wormwood seed, a heaped tea-spoonful in a cup of water, as a
dose, is also good. A third recipe is to take two ounces of best Lima
bark, twelve heaped tea-spoonsful of magnesia, to be well mixed
together, and divided into twelve doses. Take four doses on each well
day, at intervals of four hours each, this has cured a number who had
suffered with ague a long time.
Chilblains.
Put as much alum in hot water as will make it very strong, put the feet
in when it is as hot as can be borne, and keep them in till it is cold,
warm it over, and soak them every evening till they are entirely cured,
by beginning in time, it need only be applied two or three times.
When blisters are formed, take one ounce of camphor, one of sheep's
tallow, and one of sweet oil, stew them together gently till it becomes
an ointment, and rub the feet with it.
Take an ounce of glue, and melt it in a pint of hot water over the fire,
stir it until the glue is dissolved, pour it out and dip the part that
is affected in this dilution until the uneasiness or burning is allayed,
which is mostly in a few minutes.
Lockjaw.
If lock-jaw is apprehended from a scratch or wound, bathe the injured
part frequently with weak ley, or warm pearl ash water, make a poultice
by boiling bitter herbs in weak ley, and thicken it with corn-meal; put a
little grease in just as you put it on. Bacon skin and the rind of fresh
pork bound tightly on, are said to be good.
Falls.
If a child receives a fall, examine every part, and rub your hand on its
back to tell if any part is injured. There are instances of persons
being cripples for life, from receiving a hurt, that was not known of at
the time. To rub with camphor and sweet oil, and bathe the child in warm
water, is soothing.
For the Bite of a Spider.
Moisten a slice of wheat bread with sugar of lead, or pearl-ash water;
bind it on, and keep wetting it as it becomes dry. If the place swells
very much, take a table-spoonful of sweet oil every hour, till it is
relieved. To drink water with salaeratus dissolved in it has been useful.
For the Sting of a Bee.
Rub the place with hartshorn or salaeratus water, immediately after it is
stung, to prevent it from swelling; bruised peach leaves bound on, are
also good, and laudanum, where it is very painful. If it swells very
much, apply a poultice of onions and cream, or ley and bitter herbs.
For Bruises.
The oil of St. Johnswort applied on lint, is an excellent remedy for
bruises, and if used immediately will prevent the blood from settling on
the place; when children get their fingers or toes mashed, this is very
good, and soon gives relief; salt butter is also very good. The leaves
of the Jamestown weed, mashed with cream, are good for a stone-bruise.
For Felons.
Make a poultice of quick lime slaked in soft soap, and bind it on the
finger; renew it every half hour. The leaves of Jamestown weed, bruised
with cream or lard, are also good. Also, roast coarse salt in a piece of
wet brown paper, or a cabbage leaf, about twenty minutes; when cool,
pound it and mix it with resin soap; bind it on the felon; it is said to
be a certain cure. The white of egg, with unslaked lime, has been known
to give immediate relief.
For a Sprained Limb.
Strong vinegar and salt, put on brown paper, will soon cure a slight
sprain, if applied frequently. If very painful, a bath should be made of
bitter herbs, bran and vinegar, put on as hot as you can bear it. Great
care should be taken not to use the limb too soon after it has been
sprained. Some sprains of several months' standing have been greatly
relieved by taking several electric shocks a day. St. Johnswort oil is
good to rub on a sprained limb.
For a Sprained Ancle.
Of chalk, soft soap, salt, and brandy, take a spoonful each, and add the
white of an egg; beat the mixture, and spread it on raw cotton, and
apply it at once, when it will generally afford relief; and after
repeatedly changing, it may be left off in twenty-four hours. The ancle
is often weak when recovering, and benefit is derived from pouring cold
water on it from a pitcher held high above you. Tallow and salt, mixed
and spread on a piece of muslin, are good for a sprain.
Cuts or Wounds, &c.
When cuts bleed very much, tie a handkerchief tight above the wound, or
place a finger on it until you can get a physician: in the country,
persons should be supplied with a surgical needle and adhesive plaster,
and have lint scraped and linen rags in a convenient place. Balsam apple
put in a bottle when fresh, and whiskey poured on it, is an excellent
application for fresh cute or bruises. For the stick of a needle or pin,
try to make it bleed, and hold the finger in strong vinegar and salt, as
hot as you can bear it, this will prevent a gathering. A mashed finger
should be held in hot water a few minutes. No. 6 is a most valuable
remedy for cuts or wounds; bind a linen rag over the cut, and pour on
the No. 6.
For Tetter, Warts, &c.
Dig up the pocoon root that grows in the woods, wash and slice it, and
put it in a bottle with strong vinegar; bathe the parts with it several
times a day. Celandine root is also good, used in the same way, and
either of them will remove warts and ringworms.
Poisons, Accidents, &c.
These are valuable remedies, and should hold a place in the memory of
every one, if possible.
Mix a spoonful of powdered mustard in a tumbler of warm water, and drink
it immediately; it acts as an emetic, and has proved effectual where an
ounce of poison had been taken into the stomach. Where the skin is
poisoned, use a wash of smartweed steeped in water, or mix soot and
cream, and apply it frequently; bruised Jamestown weed and cream is also
good. If you have been exposed to poisonous plants, wash your face and
hands immediately in salt and vinegar, or salt and water. When
"corrosive sublimate," has been swallowed, the whites of two eggs taken
immediately will neutralize the poison, and change the effect to that of
a dose of calomel.
Persons struck by lightning should be laid on the ground, and pour water
over them till life is restored. When "oil of vitriol" or "aqua fortis"
have been swallowed in large quantities, sweet oil should he taken, (as
much as can be retained on the stomach.) For "oxalic acid," give
magnesia or chalk and water.
For "tartar emetic," give Peruvian bark and water, (or a strong
decoction of green tea, if you have not the bark.) For "saltpetre," give
an emetic of mustard seed with water, and afterwards elm bark mucilage,
and small doses of laudanum. This is also good in cases where arsenic
has been swallowed.
When a child has swallowed a cent, pin or needle, give it the white of
egg immediately; this forms a coating round the metal, and prevents
injury in most cases; then give moderate doses of medicine, such as
castor oil or salts.
When a fish bone has been swallowed, take the white of an egg, which
will help to carry it down the throat; also cut a hard crust of bread.
Insects taken into the stomach, may generally be destroyed by taking a
small quantity of vinegar and salt. When insects get into the ears, use
a little salad oil, or melted lard.
Tar Ointment for the "Milk Crust."
Take a quarter of a pound of lard, and the same of sheep's tallow, three
table-spoonsful of tar, an even spoonful of sulphur, an ounce of white
turpentine, a lump of beeswax the size of a hickory-nut, the same
quantity of powdered resin and scraped chalk, a tea-cupful of the inside
bark of elder, a little celandine, southern wood, and English mallows;
bruise the herbs, and put them on to boil, with the lard and tallow, and
a little water to keep it from burning; when all the strength is out,
strain them, and put the grease back in the pot, with the tar, and add
the other ingredients a little at a time, and stir till all is melted;
then strain it in a jar, and keep it covered for use.
Tar ointment is good for ringworms in the head, which some children
have, and has cured children where the head and face was covered with
what is called the "milk crust."
Before it is applied, the place should be washed with milk and water,
and a gentle purgative should be administered occasionally. Rhubarb tea
is good for this purpose.
If it is wanted in the winter, when you cannot get all the herbs green,
dried ones will do; and when made, it will keep good several years.
If there is much hair on the head of a child, it should be cut off
before this is put on.
It is very dangerous to give infants that are affected with the milk
crust, calomel, or any strong medicine. They should he carried out in
the air occasionally, and not kept all the time in a warm nursery;
sometimes a change of food is attended with a good result.
There have been instances of infants dying very suddenly, where powerful
medicines had been administered.
Hop Ointment.
Take a table-spoonful of the yellow dust of hops, and put it in three
spoonsful of melted lard, and mix it well; put it away in a cup for use.
This has proved beneficial in cases of swelling of the breast; when cold
has been taken, it will sometimes backen gatherings; bathe the place
with a warm hand several times a day, and keep flannel over it. Young
mothers should keep this ready, as it is much better than preparations
of camphor, which are injurious.
Precipitate Ointment, &c.
Take one ounce of Venice turpentine, half an ounce of powdered
precipitate, half a pound of lard, and two table-spoonsful of cold
water; mix the turpentine and precipitate together with a knife; then
add the lard and water, a little at a time, till it is well mixed; then
put it in little boxes. This is useful to dry up a breaking out on the
face or hands; care should be taken while using it, not to take cold.
Camphor dissolved in alcohol, or any white spirits, is very good to use
on pimples on the face.
Blister Ointment.
Sometimes after a blister has been drawn with cabbage leaves, it becomes
very sore and inflamed; a salve may be made of the leaves of evergreen,
(a plant which grows in gardens with a thick leaf;) pound the leaves,
and stew them in cream or sweet lard; spread it on a fine linen rag, and
apply it to the blister after it has been washed with milk and water.
Another salve for blisters is to bruise the leaves of the English
mallows with a little southern wood; stew them in sweet lard until they
are crisp, and strain it; apply it three times a day. This is good to
heal a burn.
Lily Ointment.
Gather the flowers of the sweet white lily, while they are fresh, and
stew them in sweet lard. This is good for a swelling, or sore.
Elder Ointment for Burns, &c.
After peeling off the outside bark of the elder, scraps off the green
bark that is under, and stew it in lard till it is crisp; then strain it
in a jar, and put it away to heal a blister or burn, or an old sore.
St. Johnswort Ointment, and its Uses.
Gather the yellow flowers of St. Johnswort while in full bloom; put them
in a wide-mouthed bottle, and fill it with equal quantities of lard and
sweet oil; tie a skin over it, and hang it in the sun for a month; then
strain it, put it back in the bottle, and cork it up. This is one of the
most effectual remedies for bruises, or for a mashed foot or hand. It
should always be kept where there is a family of children.
Ointment for Mortification.
Take the berries, leaves and bark of the black alder, and bruise them
well in a mortar; stew them in lard for an hour, stirring all the time;
then strain it, and add a small piece of beeswax.
A poultice can be made for mortification, of the berries, leaves
and bark of black alder, boiled in sweet cream, and thickened with
wheat bread.
Another good poultice may be made of the inmost bark of sassafras root,
pounded and boiled in weak ley, and thickened with corn meal. The
patient should drink tea made of the roots of sassafras and burdock.
Bread and Milk, and Flaxseed Poultices.
Boil half a pint of sweet milk, and thicken it with crumbs of bread; let
it boil till soft. This is the mildest poultice that can be made.
A tea-cup of flaxseed boiled till soft, requires no addition to make a
good poultice.
Hop Poultice, and its Uses.
Boil a handful of hops in a pint of water till very soft; when thicken
it with corn meal. This is very good for a sore throat, tooth-ache, or
swelled face.
Onion Poultice.
Slice the onions and boil them in water till very soft; then mash and
boil them with milk and some crumbs of bread. This will draw a bile or
gathering to a head very soon.
Lily Root Poultice.
Pound the roots of the sweet white lily, and put them on to boil in rich
milk; when soft, thicken it with crumbs of bread. This is a most
valuable poultice for a gathering, and has given relief in many
instances where the suffering was great.
Cream Poultice.
Put to boil a tea-cup of cream; mix two spoonsful of flour in milk, and
stir in when it boils.
Ley Poultice.
Tie a spoonful of ashes in a rag, and boil it in a pint of water for
fifteen minutes, with some catnip or life-everlasting; when the herbs
are soft, take out the ashes, and thicken it with corn meal; spread some
grease over as you apply it.
Adhesive Plaster.
Take three pounds of resin, one-quarter of a pound of beeswax,
one-quarter of a pound of mutton tallow, melt together in an iron pan;
then pour out about one-third into a bucket of water, turn up the edges
until you can take hold with the hands and pull it as you would
shoemakers' wax: grease papers and put the plaster on them for use; you
may then pour out the rest and treat it in the same way.
A Valuable Salve for Burns and other Sores.
Take of high mallows, heal-all, night shade, and elder bark, a large
handful, and about half the quantity of Jamestown weed; boil them for
several hours; strain off the liquid, and add to it one pound of
beeswax, one pound of mutton tallow, one pound of resin, half a pound of
lard; boil them slowly for about two hours, and let it cool on the
liquid. This salve will do to apply immediately to a burn or scald, or
after other remedies have been used; it is also good to heal old sores
or gatherings.
Deshler's Salve for Gatherings or Sores.
Take half a pound of sheep's suet, the same of resin and beeswax, a
quarter of a pound of thick turpentine, and half a pint of linseed oil;
pound the resin, and cut the beeswax and suet; put them over the fire
with the other ingredients, and keep stirring till they are mixed, but
do not let them boil; put it in a jar, and tie it up. It is good for
burns, biles, gathered breasts, &c.
Salve for Corns, or Bunions.
Take a pint of sweet oil, half a pound of red lead, two ounces of
Venice turpentine, two of beeswax, and one of white turpentine; boil
the oil and red lead in brass or bell-metal till they turn brown,
stirring it constantly; have the wax and white turpentine sliced, and
put them in by degrees; take it off the fire, and stir till all is
melted; then add the Venice turpentine, and continue to stir till it is
cold; when dip your hands in cold water, and make it out in rolls about
two inches long; wrap each roll up in paper, and keep them in a box.
After soaking and scraping the corn, bind it on, spread on a soft rag.
To warm a small piece of common adhesive plaster and apply it, gives
almost immediate relief.
Sassafras Poultice.
Take the bark of the root and mash, or pound it; boil it in a
little water, and take out the bark, and thicken it with crumbs of
bread, and milk.
Balsam Apple in Spirits.
Cut a ripe balsam apple in small pieces, and fill a bottle with it; pour
Holland gin on it.
This retains its strength for years, and is useful to take a few drops
at a time for the colic; it is also valuable to apply with sugar to a
cut or wound.
Cure for Bites.
Use equal quantities of resin soap, brown sugar, and powdered resin,
worked well together, with a few drops of molasses. A poultice of
onions, sassafras, or bread and milk may be used with advantage. For
mosquito bites, apply spirits of hartshorn and camphor.
For Scurvy of the Gums.
Take a quarter of an ounce of bark, and a piece of new lime the size of
a hazle-nut; put them in a bottle with half a pint of water; wash the
mouth with this three times a day.
For an Infant's Sore Mouth.
Make a strong sage tea; put in a little bark and borax or alum, with
honey to sweeten it; cork it up in a vial, and wash the child's gums
with it three times a day, using a fresh rag every time.
For Affection of the Kidneys.
Boil some onions soft, mash, and apply them where the pain is seated.
This has given great relief.
For a Gathering on a Finger.
Mix together equal parts of castile soap and chalk; wet it with camphor,
and bind it on, or dip the finger in honey and camphorated spirits, as
hot as you can bear. A little burnt alum put on lint is good; also a
bread and milk poultice, with pounded sassafras root stewed in it, and
renewed frequently. Honey and camphor mixed is useful for gatherings
that have been of long standing.
Take of the following ingredients a tea-spoonful each: black pepper
powdered finely, ginger, spirits of camphor, laudanum, and honey; beat
them well with the yelk of an egg, and thicken with rye flour, or if you
cannot obtain rye, corn and wheat flour mixed will answer; this will
form a soft poultice, and should be applied in sufficient quantity to
keep moist, and changed once a day. I have known this to cure several
gatherings that threatened to be severe.
Huxham's Bark Tincture.
Take two ounces of bark, three drachms of Virginia snake root, one ounce
of orange peel, and one quart of good spirits; set it in a warm place,
and shake it daily for two weeks; then pour it off, and add a pint more
spirits to the ingredients.
This is very useful to take, when recovering from the ague or bilious
fever, or in the fall of the year; when these are apprehended, take two
tea-spoonsful a day, before breakfast and dinner.
Wine Bitters for Debility, &c.
Take two ounces of chamomile flowers, two of centaury flowers, one of
iron filings, and an ounce and a half of Jesuit's bark; put these in two
quarts of good wine, and set it in the sun three days, shaking; it
frequently. Half a wine-glass of this taken, twice a day, with water, is
useful in cases of debility, where there is no fever.
Chamomile, and wormwood teas, are both excellent tonics, as is also wild
cherry tree bark, made in strong tea, and taken cold.
Spice Wood Berries.
Boil in a pint of new milk, a table-spoonful of bruised spice wood
berries. This has a very healing effect in cases of dysentery, and
summer disease in children.
Spiced Rhubarb.
Take two ounces of rhubarb, half an ounce of cloves, the same of
cinnamon, and quarter of an ounce of mace; stew them in a pint and a
half of water till one half is evaporated; then strain it and add
half a pint of good spirits. Two tea-spoonsful is a dose for a child
a year old, with the summer disease, and two table-spoonsful for a
grown person.
For Chapped Lips.
Put a tea-cupful of rich cream over some coals to stew with three
table-spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar. This has a healing effect.
Another remedy, equally good, is to a tea-cupful of honey, add half the
quantity of mutton tallow, and stew together till well mixed; pour it
out in a cup, and keep stirring till cold.
For chapped hands, mix together equal quantities of rich cream and
strong vinegar, and rub it over every time you wash your hands.
Bathing.
Almost every family, even if their circumstances be moderate, can have a
shower bath; they may save the expense, by improved health and strength;
one bucket full of cold water is sufficient. You should wear on the head
an oil-cloth cap. For a person in strong health, the bath may be taken
on first rising in the morning; but for one disposed to be delicate, two
or three hours after breakfast is the most proper time. To produce
warmth, rub the person with a crash towel, or horse hair glove. You
should be careful to take some exercise after the bath, or you will be
more liable to take cold. Never take a bath soon after a meal, as that
is injurious. Persons subject to colds, sore throat, rheumatism, sick
head-ache, nervous disease, or general debility, have been greatly
benefited by the daily use of the shower bath. Children that are
oppressed with heat are much refreshed, and will rest well after a bath;
the water should be moderated for them. Infants should be bathed every
morning in a tub of water about milk warm, and may be very early
accustomed to its use; they will become fond of it, and are less liable
to take cold from exposure to the air. They generally take a refreshing
nap after coming out of the bath. They should not be allowed to remain
in more than five or ten minutes; should be well wiped with a soft
towel, and then rubbed with flannel and dressed; their clothes being
warmed to prevent a chill.
Elderberry Jam for Colds, &c.
A quart of nicely picked elderberries, to a pound of loaf-sugar and a
tea-cup of water; let them boil slowly for an hour. If you prefer it
without the seeds, strain the berries after boiling them for a few
minutes, before you add the sugar. This is useful and agreeable for
colds, taken through the day, or at night, when the cough is
troublesome. It is said also to purify the blood, and is taken to
prevent erysipelas.
Black Currant Jelly, a Remedy for Sore Throat.
Take ripe black currants, mash and strain them, and to every pint of the
juice, add a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it until it becomes a jelly. It
is valuable for sore throats.
Quince seeds dried, and boiling water poured on them, make a useful
gargle for sore throat.
Lavender Compound.
Pick the lavender blossoms, and put them in a bottle, with a few blades
of mace, and some cloves; fill up the bottle with good spirits, and let
it stand corked up, till all the strength is extracted; when strain it
off, and color it with a little cochineal.
FOOD FOR THE SICK.
Remarks on Preparing Food for the Sick.
Few young persons understand cooking for the sick. It is very important
to know how to prepare their food in an inviting manner; every thing
should be perfectly clean and nice. Avoid giving an invalid any thing
out of a cup that has been used before; even if it is medicine, it will
not be so hard to take out of a clean cup. It is well to have a stand or
small table by the bed-side, that you can set any thing on. A small
silver strainer that will just fit over a tumbler or tea-cup, is very
useful to strain lemonade, panada or herb tea.
If you want any thing to use through the night, you should prepare it,
if possible, beforehand; as a person that is sick, can sometimes fall
asleep without knowing it, if the room is _kept perfectly still._
Boiled Custard.
Beat an egg with a heaped tea-spoonful of sugar; stir it into a
tea-cupful of boiling milk, and stir till it is thick; pour it in a bowl
on a slice of toast cut up, and grate a little nutmeg over.
Panada.
Put some crackers, crusts of dry bread or dried rusk, in a sauce-pan
with cold water, and a few raisins; after it has boiled half an
hour, put in sugar, nutmeg, and half a glass of wine, if the patient
has no fever.
If you have dried rusk, it is a quicker way to put the rusk in a bowl
with some sugar, and pour boiling water on it out of the tea-kettle.
If the patient can take nothing but liquids, this makes a good drink
when strained.
Egg Panada.
Boil a handful of good raisins in a quart of water; toast a slice of
bread and cut it up; beat two eggs with a spoonful of sugar, and mix
it with the bread; when the raisins are done, pour them on the toast
and eggs, stirring all the time; season to your taste with wine,
nutmeg and butter.
Oat-meal Gruel.
Mix two spoonsful of oat-meal, with as much water as will mix it easily,
and stir it in a pint of boiling water in a sauce-pan until perfectly
smooth; let it boil a few minutes; season it with sugar and nutmeg, and
pour it out on a slice of bread toasted and cut up, or some dried rusk.
If the patient should like them, you can put in a few raisins, stoned
and cut up. This will keep good a day, and if nicely warmed over, is as
good as when fresh.
Corn Gruel.
Mix two spoonsful of sifted corn-meal in some water; have a clean
skillet with a pint of boiling water in it; stir it in, and when done,
season it with salt to your taste, or sugar, if you prefer it;
Arrow-root.
Moisten two tea-spoonsful of powdered arrow-root with water, and rub it
smooth with a spoon; then pour on half a pint of boiling water; season
it with lemon juice, or wine and nutmeg. In cooking arrow-root for
children, it is a very good way to make it very thick, and thin it
afterwards with milk.
Sago.
Wash, the sago, (allowing two table-spoonsful to a quart of water,) and
soak it an hour; boil it slowly till it thickens; sweeten it with
loaf-sugar, and season it with wine or lemon juice.
Tapioca Jelly.
Wash the tapioca well, and let it soak for several hours in cold water;
put it in a sauce-pan with the same water, and let it boil slowly till
it is clear and thick; then season it with wine and loaf-sugar. The
pearl tapioca will require less time to soak, and no washing. Allow
three table-spoonsful of tapioca to a quart of water.
Milk Porridge.
Put half a pint of milk, and the same of water, in a sauce-pan to boil;
mix two spoonsful of wheat flour in milk till very smooth, and stir in
when it boils; keep stirring it five minutes, when pour it in a bowl and
season with salt.
Barley Water.
Boil two table-spoonsful of barley in a quart of water; it is a cooling
drink in fevers. If the weather is cold, you can make a larger quantity.
Some boil whole raisins with barley; take it with or without seasoning.
To Poach Eggs.
Put a pint of water in a clean skillet, with a little butter and salt;
when it boils, break two eggs in a plate, and put them in; in about a
minute, take them up on a plate, in which there is a slice of bread
toasted and buttered. This is a very delicate way of cooking eggs.
Barley Panada.
Boil a small tea-cup of barley in water till it is soft, with a
tea-cup of raisins; put in nutmeg and sugar, and break in it toast or
dried rusk.
Calf's Foot Blancmange.
Put a set of nicely cleaned feet in four quarts of water, and let it
boil more than half away; strain through a colander, and when it is
cold, scrape off all the fat, and take out that which settles at the
bottom; put it in a sauce-pan, with a quart of new milk, sugar to your
taste, lemon peel and juice, and cinnamon or mace; let it boil ten
minutes and strain it; wet your moulds, and when it is nearly cold put
it in them; when it is cold and stiff it can be turned out on a plate,
and eaten with or without cream. This is very nice for a sick person,
and is easily made.
Cream Toast.
Cut a slice of stale bread, and wet it with cream; toast it slowly and
butter it; this is very nice for an invalid, and an agreeable change.
Milk Toast &c.
Boil a tea-cup of milk, and put in a spoonful of butter; toast a slice
of bread and moisten it with water, then pour on the boiling milk. This
is very good for sick persons, and can be eaten without much exertion.
In making water-toast, the butter should be melted in boiling water, and
put on while hot.
To Stew Dried Beef.
Chip some beef very thin, pour hot water on it, and let it stand a
minute or two, then drain it off, and stew it in a skillet with a
little cream and butter. If it is preferred dry, it may be fried in
butter alone.
To Stew Ham, &c.
Cut a slice of ham into small pieces, and pour boiling water on it; let
it soak a few minutes to extract the salt, and stew it in a little
water; just before it is done, put in some cream and parsley.
If you broil ham that is uncooked, it should always be soaked in water a
few minutes.
To Stew Chickens or Birds.
When sick persons are tired of broiled chickens, or birds, it is well to
stew them for a change; the wing, with part of the breast of a chicken,
will make a meal; stew it in a little water, and put in parsley, cream,
pepper and salt, just as it is done.
Chicken Water.
If you have a small chicken, it will take half of it to make a pint of
chicken water. Cut it up and put it to boil in a covered skillet with a
quart of water; when it has boiled down to a pint, take it up, and put
in a little salt and slice of toasted bread. This is valuable in cases
of dysentery and cholera morbus, particularly when made of old fowls.
Beef Feet.
Soak the feet and have them nicely cleaned; boil them slowly, and take
off the scum as it rises; when they are soft and tender, take them up,
and separate the bones from the glutinous part, which is very nice for a
sick person, and conveys nutriment in a form that will hardly disagree
with the most delicate stomach, and has been, taken when nearly all
other food was rejected; a few drops of vinegar, and a little salt,
renders it more palatable.
Beef Tea, &c.
Take a piece of juicy beef, without any fat, cut it in small pieces,
bruise it till tender, put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it
tight; put this in a pot of cold water, set it over the fire, and let it
boil an hour or more.
When a person can take but a small quantity of nourishment, this is very
good. Mutton may be done in the same way.
Mutton and Veal Broth.
Boil a piece of mutton till it comes to pieces; then strain the broth,
and let it get cold, so that the fat will rise, which must be taken off;
then warm it, and put in a little salt. Veal broth may be made in the
same way, and is more delicate for sick persons.
Wine Whey.
Boil a pint of milk, and put to it a glass of white wine; set it over
the fire till it just boils again, then set it off till the curd has
settled, when strain it, and sweeten to your taste.
Rennet Whey.
Warm a pint of milk, but do not let it get too hot, or it will spoil the
taste of the whey. Wash the salt from a piece of rennet the size of a
dollar, and put it in the milk; when it turns, take out the rennet; wash
and put it in a cup of water, and it will do to use again to make whey.
If you have rennet in a bottle of wine, two tea-spoonsful of it will
make a quart of whey; but if the person has fever, it is best to make it
without wine.
Mulled Jelly.
Take a table-spoonful of currant or grape jelly, and beat with it the
white of an egg, and a little loaf-sugar; pour on it half a pint of
boiling water, and break in a slice of dry toast, or two crackers.
Mulled Wine.
Beat together an egg, a glass of wine, and a spoonful of sugar; pour on
it half a pint of hot water; stir all the time to keep it from curdling,
and when you pour it in a tumbler, grate a little nutmeg over it.
Toast Water.
Cut slices of bread very thin, and toast dry, but do not let it burn;
put it in a pitcher, and pour boiling water on it. Toast water will
allay thirst better than almost any thing else. If it is wanted to drink
through the night, it should always be made early in the evening.
Apple Water, &c.
Roast two apples, mash them and pour a pint of water on them; or slice
raw apples, and pour boiling water on them.
Tamarinds, currant or grape jelly, cranberries, or dried fruit of any
kind, make a good drink.
Coffee.
Sick persons should have their coffee made separate from the family, as
standing in the tin pot spoils the flavor. Put two tea-spoonsful of
ground coffee in a small mug, and pour boiling water on it; let it set
by the fire to settle, and pour it off in a cup, with sugar and cream.
Care should be taken that there are no burnt grains.
Chocolate.
To make a cup of chocolate, grate a large tea-spoonful in a mug, and
pour a tea-cup of boiling water on it; let it stand covered by the fire
a few minutes, when you can put in sugar and cream.
Black Tea.
Black tea is much more suitable than green for sick persons, as it does
not affect the nerves. Pat a tea-spoonful in a pot that will hold about
two cups, and pour boiling water on it. Let it set by the fire to draw
five or ten minutes.
Rye Mush.
This is a nourishing and light diet for the sick, and is by some
preferred to mush made of Indian meal. Four large spoonsful of rye flour
mixed smooth in a little water, and stirred in a pint of boiling water;
let it boil twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Nervous persons who
sleep badly, rest much better after a supper of corn, or rye mush, than
if they take tea or coffee.
DOMESTICS.
Hints on the Management of Domestics, &c.
Some families are always changing their domestics, and weary their
friends with complaints of those they have, and inquiries for others.
Deliberate before you make a change; if servants are honest, speak the
truth, and have an obliging disposition, it is better to bear with a few
defects, than to discharge them; these are qualifications for the
foundation of a good servant; and some of the most valuable I have had,
were such as could hardly be put up with at first. By being patient, and
speaking to them in a kind manner, they become attached and fearful of
doing any thing to offend.
When they break any thing, or an accident occurs, accustom them to
inform you of it immediately. Few mistresses, of well regulated minds,
will be offended when openly told of accidents; but if they are left to
be found out, you always feel more disposed to blame and reprove them.
By speaking to them in a mild and forgiving manner, careless servants
will become more careful.
A considerate mistress may, without loss of dignity, make them feel that
she regards it as her duty to be their friend, and that she feels
herself under an obligation to advise them in difficulties and promote
their comfort.
We should reflect that theirs is a life of servitude, and if they
over-exert themselves, or are too much exposed in early life, it
will bring on disease that will shorten their days, or render old
age a burden.
Some young persons are too indolent to wait on themselves, and ring for
the servants on the most trifling occasions; when if they were
accustomed to perform these little offices, their health would be much
better, and we should not hear of so many complaints, the result of
want of exercise. All female servants should have time to attend to
their clothing; many have to work so hard through the day that their
only leisure is at night, and then they hurry over their things in a
careless manner.
Where your circumstances permit, a good man-servant is a valuable
acquisition; and they are sometimes more easily governed than females.
If mistresses were better informed, they would not complain so much of
the ignorance and awkwardness of their domestics. Always give them their
orders in time. If a new dish is to be cooked, superintend its
preparation yourself.
If you are capable of directing, a cook will soon learn to do without
your constant attention.
If they are slow in their movements, insist on their beginning early to
prepare a meal, so that there will be time sufficient for every thing to
be done properly.
If you expect company, have every thing prepared, that can be done with
safety, the day previous. In summer there are but few things that can be
done without risk of spoiling: a ham or tongue may he washed ready to
boil; castors and salt-stands put in order, and pastry or dessert
prepared, that will not spoil by being kept a day.
In winter, many things can be kept for days in a state of preparation
for cooking; and it greatly assists the work of the family, to have
every thing done beforehand.
Do with as few domestics as possible; assist with the work yourself,
rather than keep one too many. Those that take orphan children to bring
up, are often rewarded for their trouble; as sometimes a girl of fifteen
will be more useful than one much older: and where a family is small it
does very well, but in large families, a little girl is so often called
from her work, that it has a tendency to unsettle and make her careless.
Never allow your children to call on or interrupt servants when at their
work or meals, to do any thing which a child could do for itself;
children that treat domestics with respect, will generally find them
willing to render any assistance in their power. I have known a few
housekeepers, who have kept the same servants for years, who have
assisted in rearing the children, until they almost viewed them as their
own, and these were not faultless. If they had been discharged for
trifles, they might have wandered, from one family to another, without
being attached to any, until they became so indifferent, as not to be
worthy of employ, but by the kindness and patience of their employer,
they became so grateful and attached, as to be a treasure to her family.
When they become weary of such constant servitude, would it not be
better, instead of discharging, to give them time for rest and
recreation in visiting their friends? I have known them to return,
renewed in health and spirits.
Encourage them to lay by as much of their wages as they can possibly
spare, in such institutions as are thought the most safe, that they may
have something to look to in case of sickness, or any event which would
require its use.
Promote their reading in such books as are suited to their capacities;
they sometimes have a little leisure, that could be well filled up in
this way. I have found it to increase the happiness of those under my
care, to encourage a fondness for reading, and improving their minds; it
tends to keep them from unprofitable company, and too much visiting, to
which so many are addicted.
Young girls should make and mend their own clothes, and keep them in
good order, and they should be taught to knit. The material of which
stockings are composed costs but little, and they wear much better than
those that are bought. Knitting fills up leisure moments, and promotes
industrious habits; and when age comes on, they will have a resource,
although it appears so simple, yet if it is not learned while young it
is hard to acquire when old.
When servants are guilty of faults that cannot be looked over, instead
of publicly reproving them, take an opportunity when alone, and talk
coolly; tell them of your sorrow at being obliged to notice their
conduct, encourage them to pursue a different course, and that you will
forgive them if they will strive to do better. I have known them much
improved by this mode of treatment.
By inspecting every department, not only will waste be prevented, but
dishonesty. In cities many persons find it necessary to lock up nearly
every thing; and it is a lamentable state of things that so few are to
be trusted.
Sometimes treating servants with confidence will have a good effect;
but let them be aware that you have a knowledge of every thing that
is going on.
Some young persons are completely at the mercy of their domestics. I
have known great uneasiness to be experienced, and much loss; but by
showing a little moral courage, and discharging those that are
irreclaimable, an ascendancy was gained. Never suffer them to treat you
with disrespect or impertinence. If it is known that they will be
discharged for these faults, they will be on their guard.
If you have taken a boy or girl, to bring up as a domestic, endeavour to
teach them, at least to spell and read; they are sometimes very fond of
their books, and if you once get them to reading, it will become to them
a favorite evening amusement; I have known them take up their books on
every occasion of leisure, I have seen boys that worked hard through the
day, spend all the evening with their books, slate, and occasionally a
little writing. Sometimes, I have in the evening felt fatigued and
listless, and would much rather read, and amuse myself, than go out to
teach two or three in the kitchen; but in attending to this, (which I
consider a duty,) have felt a sweet reward--indeed, their grateful
thanks expressed by words, have encouraged me to keep on. I have thought
a little instruction in this way, arouses their faculties, and tends to
make them more industrious. When I have been prevented from teaching
them for some time, by indisposition, or other causes, I have observed
they were not so cheerful in the performance of their work. If they are
reading any thing they do not fully understand, take a little time to
explain it to them. It will be, my young friends, like sowing the good
seed, and you, as well as they, will receive the reward.
I wish to encourage you in the most affectionate manner to attend to
_this_ duty; you will find it will strengthen you in the performance of
others. "The more we exert our faculties, the more we can accomplish.
He that does nothing, renders himself incapable of doing any thing.
While we are executing one work, we are preparing ourselves to
undertake another."
REMARKS.
Remarks on Carving, &c.
I do not think it necessary to say much on the subject of carving, as
those who are accustomed to sit at a well ordered table, and who observe
the manner of the host and hostess, can soon acquire the art, both of
carving and helping with ease. And when placed at the head of their own
table, the knowledge thus gained will be found a great assistance.
The proper time for children to acquire good habits at meals, is not
when there is company; it should be an every day lesson. As when parents
are engaged with their friends or guests, they have no time to devote to
the manners of their children, and to reprove them at table is very
unpleasant, as well as mortifying.
Young children will soon acquire the manner of sitting quietly till they
are helped, if they are made to understand that they will not be
permitted to eat with their parents and friends, unless they behave with
propriety.
I have thought it a great assistance to the good order of a large
family, for every member to be punctual in their attendance at meals,
and all to sit down together, with a short pause before the carving and
helping commences. In those moments of quiet, the heart is sometimes
awakened to a feeling of gratitude to the Almighty dispenser of our
blessings.
At the table, different members of the family meet; and where affection
and kindness, those aids to true politeness, preside, it is truly a
delightful treat to be the guest of such a family.
Every symptom of selfishness should be discouraged, for if suffered to
take root in a child, it lays the foundation of much that is
disagreeable to themselves and others.
Inculcate this excellent rule, "of doing unto others, what you wish
others to do unto you," and always preferring others to yourself.
It is the custom in some well regulated families, to permit the younger
members, (as they arrive at a suitable age,) to take turns in presiding,
not only at breakfast and tea, but at the dinner table. I have known
quite young girls that had been taught in this way, carve a fowl or
joint of meat with ease and grace. In helping, they should be taught not
to over-load the plate, as it takes away the appetite of some persons to
be helped too largely.
The gravy should be stirred so that all may be helped alike, and a small
quantity put on the meat or fowl, to which it belongs, and not on
vegetables unless it is particularly desired.
If there should be a rare dish on the table, it is best to hand it round
and let every one help himself, after it has been nicely cut up. Ham is
much nicer to be cut in very thin slices. So is salt beef and tongue.
Young housekeepers in selecting their dishes for dinner, (if they have
not an experienced cook,) should avoid those that are difficult to
prepare. Never try a new dish when you expect company. Your guests
will be more gratified with a neat and moderate table, with a few
plain and well cooked dishes, accompanied with the smiling countenance
of the hostess, than with a great variety of ill cooked and badly
arranged viands.
Economy the Source of Charity.
If your circumstances will not admit of giving away much, you can, by
economy, give a little, and a blessing will attend it. There are few of
the very poor, that know how to repair old clothing to advantage; a
garment will be of much more service, that is well mended before it is
given to them.
It has been remarked, that the poor are ungrateful, and forget the
favors conferred upon them.
I have seldom found them deficient in this respect; and when they are,
if we would reflect, that if some of us received no more than we
deserve, we should be but poorly off.
We know in our own families, how acceptable is a nice present of
something that a sick member can eat; and it is sometimes the means of
restoring the appetite, when any thing cooked in the house is rejected.
The feeling of love with which it is presented, is as a cordial to a
sick person.
How much more acceptable will something nourishing be to one oppressed
with poverty, as well as sickness.
When the rich are diseased, the physician often finds it necessary to
enjoin strict abstinence; but very different is it with the poor, who
frequently suffer for want of nourishment.
When the mother of a poor family is ill, how greatly are her sufferings
augmented by the knowledge that her children are deprived of her
services; and how acceptable to such a family would be a loaf of bread,
or a large bowl of soup, which could be made of materials that would
hardly be missed.
Dried beans or peas, and onions, are a cheap and valuable addition to
soup; also cold vegetables. The liquor that fresh meat is boiled in,
should be carefully saved for that purpose, if there are those near you
that need it.
It may seem at first troublesome to a young housekeeper, to take the
necessary care to save for the poor. It is certainly much easier to let
the cook have her own way, and waste or not, as she pleases; but for
your encouragement my young friends, permit me to say, you will be
sweetly rewarded for your attention to them.
One eminent for his charities, near the close of life, made this remark:
"What I spent I lost, but what I gave away remains with me."
To Encourage Children in Acts of Kindness to the Aged and Afflicted.
Young children may early be taught to administer to the wants of the
aged and infirm.
Some mothers are in the practice of giving a small sum of money to their
children, as a reward for some little service or piece of work that they
have done. The money thus obtained, to be laid out for a sick or old
poor person. This method has an excellent effect on the minds of
children; it incites them to industry, teaches self-denial, and the
feelings of love and charity which are thus early instilled into their
tender minds, make a lasting impression.
If they spent their little fund in trifles for their own use, they would
acquire a habit of selfishness; which, when once formed, it is most
difficult to eradicate. I have remarked the pleasure with which children
will relate the incidents of a visit, which they have been permitted to
make to a poor family; and it is a refreshment to persons advanced in
life, to see a young family thus trained.
As soon as little girls can sew, they should be encouraged to make
garments for the poor, or repair their own old ones as a present to a
child of their own size, or make patchwork out of old dresses for a bed
covering for poor people. Their being permitted to do these things,
should be as a reward for good behavior and attention to their lessons
or other duties.
When they are old enough to make a loaf of bread, a pie, or a little
plain cake, allow them to do it, and take as a present to, or make broth
or panada for a sick person. This teaches them to prepare these things
while young, and may be useful to them in after life.
How cheering it must be to the aged or afflicted, to see smiling young
faces enter their dwellings, bearing their little offerings of food or
clothing, the work of their own hands.
Be encouraged my dear young mothers; if you thus train your children to
works of charity, you will be doubly blessed.
Early Rising Promotes Punctuality.
It is an old and true saying, "that if you waste an hour in the morning,
it is seldom recovered all that day." This dispirits you, and the next
day there is still something left undone.
A late riser is rarely punctual in her engagements, and more of the
happiness of married life depends on forming a habit of strict
punctuality, than young persons are generally aware of.
If you are distressed at having acquired habits of late rising, and
want of punctuality, remember by perseverance, they can be overcome.
Fix an hour for rising, and let nothing but illness prevent your being
up at that time. While forming this useful habit, you should retire to
rest early.
Many things can be better attended to at an early, than a late hour in
the morning.
Where families rise before the sun, the day seems much longer; all the
active employments of the early riser are accomplished before her later
neighbors have finished their breakfast.
The duties of the bath and toilet being performed, her chamber well
aired and arranged--and her parlor in order, she is ready for the more
quiet employments of reading and sewing.
In a well regulated household, servants perform their duties with life
and energy. Determine on an hour for your meals, and if all the members
of the family adhere to it, scrupulous exactness will soon be
established.
Hints to Young Wives.
The authoress is well aware of the difficulties which surround a young
wife on her first setting out, particularly if situated at a distance
from the kind mother who has hitherto directed her, with servants who
watch every movement, and who will soon discover whether the new
mistress is qualified for the task she has undertaken.
Accustom yourself to rise early; fix a certain hour, and let nothing but
indisposition prevent your being up at the appointed time. By this means
your affairs will all be arranged in good season, and you will have time
for recreation, in walking, riding, or in reading such authors as will
tend to strengthen and improve your mind.
Young persons removed from large families often suffer greatly from
loneliness, whereas, if they were occupied with household affairs, they
would not feel so severely the absence of their husbands while attending
to business.
Be punctual to the hour that has been fixed on for your meals, and let
good order prevail in every department of which you have the command. A
mistress of a family is much happier, who knows how every thing is going
on from the garret to the cellar. By inspecting every thing you soon
become interested, and we all know when that is the case, the most
difficult pursuits become easy and pleasant.
And with what pleasure will a young wife welcome her husband to his
meals, when her conscience assures her that she has done her best, and
that nothing is neglected; and how will it lighten his labors to
reflect, when absent, that the partner he has chosen, is performing her
duty at home.
I am fully persuaded that the formation of domestic happiness, is
generally laid the first year of marriage: therefore, my young friends,
act well your part; if you desire to be treated with confidence you must
merit it. If you keep an exact account of all your expenses, there will
be less danger of living beyond your income, of which there have been so
many lamentable instances.
Never buy any thing because it is recommended as being cheap; many cheap
things amount in time to a large sum. In selecting furniture, let
utility, not fashion, govern your choice; some young persons furnish
their parlors so extravagantly, that necessary and useful articles are
neglected, for want of means to purchase them. Be persuaded that
happiness does not consist so much in having splendid furniture, as in
attending to the every day comforts of those around you. If you marry
without the useful knowledge necessary for governing your family, lose
no time in acquiring it.
There is a time when most young girls show a fondness for domestic
affairs before they are old enough to go into company, when it would be
an agreeable change to be absent from school and assisting their
mothers; the knowledge thus acquired would never be lost.
Many a young man who commenced with fair prospects, has been ruined
through his wife's ignorance of domestic duties, and she has suffered
from the consequent diminution of his esteem and love.
I once knew a lovely and accomplished young lady, accustomed to every
indulgence, who, on her marriage, removed several hundred miles from her
parents, to reside in the country, where servants were difficult to
procure. This delicate and sensitive young creature was much distressed
by her ignorance of almost every thing connected with housekeeping; and
after suffering repeated mortifications, concluded to learn to do the
work herself; and when this dearly bought knowledge was acquired, she
was able to teach her ignorant servants; and resolved, if ever she had
daughters, to use every means in her power to teach them.
When a prudent wife is made acquainted with the circumstances of her
husband, she will endeavor strictly to keep within their bounds; always
remembering that losses and events, over which he has no control, may
occur and greatly reduce his income. And how will it assist her to bear
a reverse of fortune, if she has acted with discretion; it will
strengthen the wife to encourage and cheer her partner, and enable him
to struggle through difficulties which were thought insurmountable.
Happiness will not forsake such a family though they lose almost every
thing, the peace which is the result of a good conscience will remain;
this will strengthen them to begin anew, and the Divine blessing will
attend such efforts.
A few Remarks to Encourage Young Housekeepers in their First Attempts.
As bread is the most important article of food, one of your first
attempts should be to make a few loaves of good bread and rolls, of the
most simple kind. Bread rolls are very easily made. If you succeed
tolerably, it will encourage you to try again. When you make cakes,
begin with the simple kinds; plain jumbles or cakes that you can roll
out, or crisp ginger-bread. Sponge cake is easier than those that have
butter in them; I have known young persons succeed very well with it.
Bread rusk is also easily made, or a few plain pies. Do not trust the
baking to an ignorant person, but superintend it yourself. Sometimes
baking in a stove, is protracted by the dampness of the wood. Before you
bake, have dry wood prepared. Watch the time; it is a good plan to have
a clock near the kitchen. Do not have too many things on hand at once;
but perfect yourself in the knowledge of a few important dishes. If you
make good yeast you will be more certain of good bread, light cakes and
rolls. To cook a steak nicely, is also important; and with a dish of
potatoes well cooked, a dish of cold slaw and an apple pie, or a little
stewed fruit, will make a good plain dinner.
When your family is small, you can have something nice every day,
without cooking much. Veal cutlets, and mutton chops, are easy to cook,
and may be prepared in a short time. If you have a fowl, and boil it,
you can save the soup, and warm it over for the next day. A cold roast
fowl may be hashed. On days that you have cold meat, a batter pudding,
or plain rice pudding, is easily prepared.
If you wish to have an early breakfast, make every preparation that you
can, over night; set the table, have the relish cut, ready to cook, or
to warm over--and cold bread may be sliced, and wrapped in a cloth to
keep it moist. Coffee should be ground, and dry fuel, and water at hand.
With these preparations, breakfast may be ready in half an hour from the
time the fire is made. If you have warm corn bread, or rolls, it will
require more time; but if you have them made up over night, and put in a
cool place, they will not sour, and can soon be baked. Maryland biscuit
are very convenient, as they are always ready, and will keep good a
week. I have found it a great advantage to set the table over night,
particularly if you have a separate room to eat in; although it takes
but a short time, every minute is important in the morning.
Where the mistress washes the breakfast things, and puts them in their
proper places, and counts the spoons, and other articles, she can see
when any thing is missing. A mop is useful for glass and china; keep a
pan, or a small tub, for the purpose of holding the water, which should
not be too hot. If tea things are put in very hot water, it will be apt
to crack them or they will look smeared. Put a little soap in the
water, wash the glass first, then the silver, then the cups and
saucers, and lastly, the plates and knives and forks. If spoons have
been used with eggs, put them to soak immediately, to prevent their
turning dark. Have a common waiter for the pan to stand in and on it
drain your tea things. Spoons when used with care, require polishing
but seldom, as it wears the silver away. Dinner dishes should be washed
first in moderately warm water and soap, rinsed in hot water, and
drained before wiping. Put every thing in its proper place, and inspect
your pantry and cellar frequently. Sometimes things are forgotten, for
want of attention, until they are spoiled. Air the cellar frequently;
do not let refuse vegetables accumulate, or any thing that would be
likely to cause sickness.
You should provide coarse towels of different kinds, for china and
glass, and for the dinner dishes, also knife cloths, have them marked
and kept in their proper places. Some persons have their towels washed
out every day, but it is better to save them for the weekly wash. If
towels are thrown aside damp, they are liable to mildew. You should keep
dusters of several kinds. Old silk handkerchiefs, are best for highly
polished furniture, or an old barege veil answers a good purpose. For
common purposes, a square of coarse muslin, or check is suitable. You
should keep one floor cloth for chambers, and one for the kitchen. Keep
brooms for different purposes; always use a soft one for carpets, as
soon as they wear stiff, they will do for the kitchen, or pavements.
Pouring a little hot water on a broom, softens it for carpets. You may
save tea leaves, to sprinkle over your carpet, when you give a thorough
sweeping, this will brighten it, and occasionally to wipe it over, with
a cloth, that has been wrung out of hot water cleanses it, of course,
this is only required for carpets in constant use.
It is of great importance to health, that sleeping apartments should be
well aired and swept. If you sleep in an apartment, where there has been
fire during the day, it should be well aired before going to bed, or if
the room is close, have a little air admitted, so as not to blow on
persons that are asleep. A window that will lower from the top is an
advantage. Beds should be well aired before they are made, take the
clothes off, and leave them at least an hour. In pleasant weather, you
may keep chamber windows hoisted, for several hours, and even in cold
weather, the windows may be kept up a short time, and if on any
occasion, you may be obliged to have the beds made without airing, turn
the clothes half way down, and leave them for several hours. Some
persons have cheap calico covers, to spread over beds, while the room is
swept, this is a good plan, on account of the dust. Bolster and pillow
tucks wear better, if you have a check case basted on, this should be
changed, washed and starched occasionally. It is a good plan also to
have check covers for matresses and feather beds, but the covers should
not be kept on beds that are not in use, lest they should be liable to
moth. In winter a blanket should be put next a bed that is not often
slept in, or for a delicate person, and be particularly careful, that
sheets are dry before they are put away.
In summer it is most healthy to have your chamber floor bare, and have
it washed occasionally. It is important to examine your clothes, after
they come from the wash, and see that they are perfectly dry before they
are put away.
CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS.
A few flowers and plants, when properly taken care of, are ornamental to
the windows of a parlor, or sitting room; and will repay the care that
is bestowed on them. Begin with a few that are easy to cultivate, and
you will probably succeed. Persons that are fond of flowers, and have
collected a number, are generally willing to give their young friends a
few plants; and where we succeed in raising a fine plant from a slip, or
cutting, we value it more than one that has been purchased at a
green-house. Geraniums, cactus', wax plants, cape and catalonian
jessamines, and some others, are easily cultivated in a parlor. Roses,
camelias, and azaleas bloom best in a moderate temperature, as the heat
of a parlor (unless very large) dries the buds, and prevents their
coming to perfection. I have known these to bloom beautifully in a room
that was very slightly heated--either over one in which there was fire,
or in an apartment next a stove room. If the weather is very cold, they
should be removed to a warmer room, until it moderates. The windows that
are open to the south are best. When the blossoms have matured, you can
bring them to the parlor; but if there is much heat, they will not
remain perfect so long as in a moderate room.
Roses are sometimes troubled with insects, which should be brushed off
with a feather, and the plants washed with a decoction of tobacco, (not
too strong,) they will not bloom when thus infested. There is another
insect that fastens itself to the bark of lemon trees, and other plants;
frequent washing with soap suds and brushing the sterns, removes it, and
some times wash the leaves with a sponge, when the weather is too cold
to put them out of doors. Setting them out in a warm rain, or watering
them well all over the foliage, is very reviving to plants. Be careful
to have pieces of old broken earthen-ware at the bottom of each pot, to
drain them, or the plants will not thrive. The earth should be sometimes
removed, and an occasional re-potting, is an advantage; being careful
not to disturb the roots. A mixture of charcoal and sand, and rich earth
of more than one kind is thought best. Earth fresh from the woods is
good for pot-plants, as well as borders, but should always be mixed with
a stronger soil. Roses that are planted round a house, should have a
deep and rich soil made for them, and they will then bloom beautifully
all the season.
Pot plants should in summer be placed in a situation where they wilt not
be exposed to intense heat. Some persons place their pots in the earth
on the north side of the house; others keep them in a porch where they
can get some sun. They require much more water in summer. The wax plant
blooms beautifully in summer, and should be kept in a sheltered
situation, not exposed to the wind; it should have a strong frame of
wood and wire to run on, well secured in a tub or box. Hyacinths and
crocuses should be planted in pots, boxes, or small tubs, in rich earth,
in October or November; a small painted tub is very suitable, and will
hold a dozen hyacinths, and as many crocus roots. The most beautiful I
ever saw in a window, were planted in this way, by keeping some in the
sun, and others in the shade you can have a succession of blooms, they
are also pretty in root glasses, but this plan will exhaust the roots.
After blooming in the house, they should be planted in the garden. The
same roots will not answer the next year for parlor culture, they
increase very fast in the garden by proper care.
There is something refining to the mind in the cultivation of flowers,
either in a garden or in pots. Many hours that would be weary or lonely,
are thus pleasantly occupied, and the mind refreshed.
I now take leave of the reader, with a sincere desire, that these
remarks may be of use, and that the receipts which I have been at some
pains in compiling and arranging, may be acceptable.
INDEX
A.
Accidents--poisons taken by mistake, remedies for,
Acid, to restore Colors, &c.,
Acts of Kindness, to Encourage Children in,
Adhesive Plaster,
Ague, Cure for,
Alamode, Beef,
Almond Cake,
Almond Cream,
Almonds, to Blanch.
Apple Butter,
Apples, Baked,
Apple and Bread Pudding,
Apples, Crab, to Preserve,
Apple Custard,
Apple Dumplings,
Apple Float,
Apple Fritters,
Apple Jelly,
Apple Marmalade,
Apples, Pine,
Apples, to Preserve,
Apples, Pine, Syrup,
Apple Pudding,
Apples, to Stew for Pies,
Apple Water,
Apricots, preserved,
Arrow-root,
Arrow root Pudding,
Asparagus,
B.
Bacon--to Cure,
Bacon, Dumplings,
Bacon Fraise,
Baking in a Brick-oven,
Baking in a Dutch-oven,
Baking in a Stove,
Balloon Pudding,
Balls, Force Meat,
Balsam-apple, &c.,
Bannock, Corn,
Bark Tincture,
Bath, Mustard,
Bathing,
Batter Pudding,
Barley Panada,
Barley Water,
Batter Bread with Yeast,
Batter, a Loaf of Muffin,
Beans, Green, for Winter use,
Beans, Lima,
Beans, String,
Bean Soup,
Beds, Feather,
Bedsteads, Cleaning,
Bee, Sting of a,
Beef Alamode,
Beef, Curing,
Beef, Dried,
Beef Kidney, to Fry,
Beef Pudding, Baked,
Beef Shin Soup,
Beef Spiced in Irish style,
Beef Steak Pie,
Beef Steak Pudding,
Beef Steak,
Beef Tea,
Beef, Fried,
Beef, Roasted,
Beef, Pickle for two Rounds,
Beef, Pork, or Mutton Cured,
Beef, Stewed, for the Sick,
Beef, Stuffed, Round of,
Beef's Feet,
Beef's Heart, Baked,
Beef's Tongue, to Boil,
Beer, Harvest,
Beer, Molasses,
Beer, Porter,
Beer, Spruce,
Beer, to make two Gallons,
Beets,
Berries, Spice Wood,
Biles, Cure for,
Bilious Colic,
Birds' West Pudding,
Biscuit, Dyspepsy,
Biscuit, Light,
Biscuit, Maryland,
Biscuit, Naples,
Biscuit, Quick,
Biscuit, Salaeratus,
Biscuit, Tea,
Bitters, Wine,
Brittania Ware,
Black Cake,
Black Currant Jelly,
Black Walnuts, to Pickle,
Blackberries, to Preserve,
Blackberry Cordial,
Blackberry Flummery,
Blackberry Wine,
Blacking for Boots and Shoes,
Blacking for Morocco Shoes,
Blancmange of Jelly,
Blancmange of Moss,
Blancmange,
Blancmange, Calf's Foot, for the Sick,
Blankets,
Blister Ointment,
Blue, to Color Cotton,
Boiling Fresh Meat,
Boiling Puddings,
Bologna Sausage,
Boots and Shoes, to make Water-proof,
Brain Cakes,
Brains and Tongue,
Brandy, Lemon,
Brandy, Peaches in,
Brandy, Rose,
Brass, to Clean,
Brazil Wood Dye,
Bread and Apple Pudding,
Bread Batter Cakes,
Bread of Indian Meal, remarks on making,
Bread Pudding,
Bread Rolls,
Bread Rusk,
Bread,
Bread, Batter, with Yeast,
Bread, Corn Meal,
Bread, Dyspepsy,
Bread, Graham,
Bread, Indian,
Bread, Light,
Bread, Mixed,
Brick Oven Directions,
Brick Oven, to Bake in,
Broth, Mutton and Veal,
Brown Mixture for a Cough,
Brown, to Color,
Bruises,
Buckwheat Cakes,
Bunions,
Bunns,
Burns and Scalds,
Butler,
Butter for Winter Use,
Butter, a Pickle for,
Butter to Keep a Length of Time,
Butter-milk, Batter Cakes,
Butter, Drawn,
C.
Cabbage, to Boil,
Cabbage, to pickle,
Cake, Almond,
Cake, Remarks on Making and Baking,
Cake, Black,
Cakes, Brain,
Cakes, Bread Batter,
Cakes, Butter milk,
Cakes, Butter milk Batter,
Cakes, Buckwheat,
Cake, Composition,
Cakes, Corn Batter,
Cakes, Cheese,
Cake, Cider,
Cake, Crisp Ginger,
Cake, Cup,
Cake, Dover,
Cake, Flannel,
Cake, Fruit, Cheap,
Cake, Fruit, Rich,
Cake, Ginger Cup,
Cake, Icing for,
Cake, Indian Pound,
Cake, Jelly,
Cake, Journey,
Cake, Lemon Sponge,
Cake, Loaf,
Cakes, Little Indian,
Cakes, Maryland Corn,
Cake, Madison,
Cakes, Mush Flannel,
Cake, New Year,
Cakes, Pan,
Cake, Pound,
Cake, Plum or Fruit,
Cake, Plum, raised,
Cake, Queen,
Cake, Rice, Sponge,
Cake, Rice Pound
Cakes, Rice
Cake, Sponge,
Cake, Sponge, in Small Pans,
Cake, Salaeratus,
Cake, Short,
Cake, Virginia Hoe,
Cake, Washington,
Cakes, Wafer,
Cake, White,
Calf's Foot, Blancmange,
Calf's Foot Jelly,
Calf's Head to Boil,
Calf's Head, to Brown,
Calf's Head Soup,
Candles,
Candied Preserves,
Candy, Hoarhound,
Cantelopes, to Preserve,
Calicoes, Washing,
Carolina Corn Rolls,
Carrageen or Irish Moss Blancmange,
Carpets, Rag,
Carpets, to put Straw under,
Carrots,
Catsup, Cucumber,
Catsup, Mushroom,
Catsup, Tomato,
Catsup, Green Tomato,
Catsup, Walnut,
Cauliflowers,
Carving, Remarks on,
Cedar Dye,
Celery Sauce,
Cellars, Cleaning,
Cement, Fire-proof,
Cement for Bottles,
Cement for mending iron,
Cement, Weather proof,
Chapped Lips,
Charity, Economy the Source of,
Charcoal, Magnesia and Salts,
Cheese,
Cheese Cakes,
Cheese, Cottage,
Cheese Curds,
Cheese, Pennsylvania Cream,
Cheese, Hogshead,
Cheese, Walnut,
Cherries, Dried,
Cherries, to Pickle,
Cherries and Peaches, to Pickle,
Cherries to Preserve,
Cherry Cordial,
Cherry Sauce,
Cherry Toast,
Chickens, to Broil,
Chickens, to Fry,
Chickens, to Fry, in Batter,
Chickens, Fricasseed,
Chickens in Paste,
Chicken, Cold, with Vinegar,
Chicken Pie,
Chicken Pudding,
Chickens, to Roast,
Chicken Salad,
Chickens Stewed with Rice,
Chickens Stewed with Corn,
Chickens, to Stew, for the Sick,
Chicken Soup,
Chicken Water
Chilblains, Remedy for,
China, Mending,
Chines,
Chocolate, for the Sick,
Chocolate, Racahaut,
Chops, Mutton,
Chloride of Lime,
Cholera Morbus,
Chrome Yellow Wash,
Cider, to make,
Cider Marmalade,
Citron Melon,
Clams, to Fry and Stew,
Clear Starching
Cleaning Bedsteads,
Cleaning Cellars,
Cleaning Floors,
Cleaning Kid Gloves,
Cleaning Paint,
Cleaning Silver,
Cleaning Stoves,
Cloth, to take Lime out of,
Cloth, to take Wax out of
Cocoanut Pudding,
Cod Fish, Salt,
Coffee, to Boil and Roast,
Coffee for the Sick,
Cold Custard,
Cold Slaw,
Colds, Remedy for,
Colic,
Colic, Bilious,
Colic, Infants,
Cologne,
Colors taken out by Acids, to Restore
Coloring,
Conserve, Peaches to,
Conserve, Pears to
Conserve of Roses,
Cooking for the Sick,
Cordial, Blackberry,
Cordial, Cherry,
Cordial, Peach,
Cordial, Quince,
Cordial, Warner's,
Cordials, Wines. &c.,
Corn Bannock,
Cora Beef, to Boil.
Cora Gruel,
Corn Batter Cakes,
Corn Bread,
Corn Dumplings,
Corn Flour, Dry Yeast of,
Corn Fritters,
Corn Meal Porridge,
Corn Meal Pudding,
Corn Muffins,
Corn Pudding in paste,
Corn Starch,
Corn, Green, for Winter use,
Corn, Green, to Boil,
Corn, to Fricassee,
Corns, Salve for,
Cottage Cheese, or, Smearcase,
Cough, Brown Mixture for a,
Cough, for a,
Cough, Remarks on a,
Cough, Whooping,
Cough, Lemon Mixture for a,
Crab Apples, to Preserve,
Crackers, Soaked,
Cracks in Stoves, to Mend,
Cramp in the Stomach,
Cramp,
Cranberries,
Cream Cheese,
Cream Sauce,
Cream, Almond,
Cream, Custard,
Cream, Ice, Freezing,
Cream, Poultice,
Cream, Snow,
Cream, Toast,
Crisp Ginger Bread,
Croup, for the,
Crullers,
Cucumber Catsup,
Cucumbers, Cut, to Pickle,
Cucumbers, to Fry or Slice,
Cucumbers, to Pickle,
Cucumbers, to Pickle, Small,
Cucumbers, to Preserve,
Cultivation of Flowers,
Cup Cake,
Curds, Cheese,
Curds, Skim,
Curds, Whey Slam,
Currant Jelly,
Currant Jelly, Black,
Currant Pie,
Currant Syrup,
Currant Wine,
Currants, to Preserve,
Curtains,
Custard Baked in Cups,
Custard Bread Pudding,
Custard for the Sick,
Custard Hasty Pudding,
Custard, Apple,
Custard, Boiled,
Custard, Cold,
Custard, Cream,
Custard, Ice,
Custard, to Boil in Water,
Custard, with Raisins,
Cutlets, Veal,
Cuts and Wounds, Remedy for,
Cutting Glass,
Cymblings, or Squashes,
D.
Damson Sauce,
Damsons for Pies,
Damsons, to Preserve,
Deafness,
Debility, Bitters for,
Decanter, to Remove a Stopper from,
Diseases, Summer,
Domestics, on the Management of,
Dough-nuts,
Drab, to Color,
Drawn Butter,
Dressing, or Stuffing,
Dried Beef,
Dried Beef, to Stew,
Dropsy,
Ducks, to Roast,
Dumplings, Apple, and Peach,
Dumplings, Bacon,
Dumplings, Corn,
Dumplings, Drop,
Dumplings, Large,
Dumplings, Light Bread,
Dumplings, Rice,
Dumplings, Stew,
Dumplings, Suet,
Dutch-ovens, to Bake in,
Dyeing Black,
Dyeing Brown,
Dyeing Carpet Rags,
Dyeing Cotton, blue,
Dyeing Drab,
Dyeing Lead Color,
Dyeing Olive,
Dyeing Orange,
Dyeing Red,
Dyeing Scarlet,
Dyeing with Brazil Wood,
Dyeing with Cedar boughs,
Dyeing Yarn Green,
Dyeing Yellow,
Dysentery,
Dyspepsy Biscuit,
Dyspepsy Bread,
E.
Ear-Ache, Remedy For,
Early Rising Promotes Punctuality,
Ears, Wash for Sore,
Earthen Vessels,
Economy, the Source of Charity,
Egg Panada,
Egg Plant, to Bake,
Egg Plant, to Fry,
Egg Rolls,
Egg Sauce,
Eggs in Lime-water,
Eggs to Grease, for Winter use,
Eggs, to Boil,
Eggs, to Clean Soiled,
Eggs, to Fry,
Eggs, to Poach,
Elder Ointment,
Elderberry Jam for Colds,
Elderberry Wine,
Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup
English Walnuts,
Erysipelas,
Eyes, Wash for Weak,
F.
Falls,
Feather Beds,
Felons,
Figs, Tomato,
Filtering Water,
Fire, Precautions against,
Fish, Fresh, to Boil,
Fish, Fresh, to Fry,
Fish, Oysters, &c.,
Fish, Rock, to Stew or Bake,
Fish, Salt Cod, to Boil,
Flannel Cakes,
Flannels, to Wash,
Flaxseed Poultice,
Floating Island,
Float, Apple,
Floors, to Clean,
Floors, to take Grease out of,
Flour, to Brown for Gravy,
Flowers, the Cultivation of,
Flummery, Blackberry,
Flummery, Rice,
Food for the Sick,
Force Meat Balls,
Fowls to Bake,
Fox Grape Jam,
Fraise Bacon,
Freezing Ice Cream
French Honey,
French Rolls,
Fresh Meat, to Boil,
Fresh Meat, to Keep,
Fresh Meat, to Restore when kept too long,
Fresh Shad, to Bake,
Fricassee, Chickens to
Fricassee, Cora, to
Fricassee, Tomatoes to
Fritters, Apple,
Fritters, Corn,
Fritters, Indian Meal,
Fritters, Oysters,
Fritters, Rice,
Fritters, Snow,
Fruit Cake,
Fruit to Stew for Pies,
Fruit, Frosted,
Furniture, Linseed Oil for,
Furs and Woollens, to Keep,
G.
Gardens and Yards,
Gathering on a Finger,
Geese, to Pick,
General Remarks, &c.
Giblet Pie and Soup,
Ginger Cup-cake,
Ginger Tea,
Ginger Wine,
Ginger, to Preserve Green,
Ginger-bread Nuts,
Ginger-bread, Crisp,
Ginger-bread, Light,
Glass, to Cut,
Gloves, to Clean Kid,
Goose, to Roast,
Gooseberries, to Preserve,
Gooseberry Wine,
Gout,
Graham Bread,
Grapes for Pies,
Grapes in Brandy,
Grates and Stoves, to Clean,
Gravy with Roast Turkey,
Gravy, Hash,
Gravy, to Brown Flour for,
Grease, to take out of Floors,
Greasers for Bake Irons,
Green Beans for Winter use,
Green Corn Pudding,
Green Peppers, to Preserve,
Green Tomato Catsup,
Green Wash,
Green, to Color,
Greens, to Boil,
Gruel, Corn,
Gruel, Oat Meal,
Gum Arabic Paste,
Gumbo Soup,
Gums, Scurvy of,
H.
Ham, to Bake,
Ham, to Boil,
Ham, to Fry,
Ham, to Stew, for the Sick,
Hams, to Cure,
Hash made of Fowls,
Hash, Veal,
Hash Gravy,
Hasty Custard Pudding,
Hasty Pudding of Indian Meal,
Head-ache, Remedy for,
Hearths, a Wash for,
Heating a Brick-oven,
Herbs, Gardens and Yards,
Herring and Shad,
Herring, Harford,
Herring, Trash, to Pot,
Herring, to Boil,
Hints to Young Wives,
Hoarhound and Elecampane Syrup,
Hoarhound Candy,
Hoe Cake,
Hogshead Cheese,
Hominy to Boil or Fry,
Honey and Lemon Juice for a Cough,
Hop Ointment,
Hop Poultice,
Housekeepers, to Encourage in their First Attempts,
House Linen, Care of,
Huckleberry Pudding,
Huckleberry Pudding, Elkridge,
Huxham's Buck Tincture,
I.
Ice Cream Freezing,
Ice Cream superior Receipt for Making,
Ice Cream with Fruit,
Ice Cream with Lemon,
Ices, to Stain,
Icing, for Cake,
Ice Custard with Vanilla,
Indian Bread with Butter milk,
Indian Corn Remarks on the Use of,
Indian Pound Cake,
Infant's Colic,
Infant's Sore Mouth,
Irish Stew,
Irish Moss Blancmange,
Island, Floating,
Isinglass Jelly,
J.
Jam, Elderberry,
Jam, Green Fox Grape,
Jam, Ripe Fox Grape,
Jelly, Apple,
Jelly, Blancmange of,
Jelly, Black Currant,
Jelly, Currant,
Jelly, Calf's Foot,
Jelly, Cake,
Jelly, Green Grape,
Jelly, Isinglass,
Jelly, Mulled,
Jellies Preserves &c.,
Jelly, Quince,
Jelly, Tapioca,
Jelly, Tomato,
Journey Cake,
Jumbles Common,
Jumbles, Cup,
Jumbles for Delicate Persons,
Jumbles, Molasses,
Jumbles, Jackson,
Jumbles, Rich,
K.
Kettles, Preserving, to clean,
Keeping Apples for Winter use,
Kid Gloves, to clean,
Kidney, to fry Beef with,
Kidneys, Affections of the,
Kisses,
Knives and Forks, to clean,
L.
Labor Saving Soap,
Lamb, to Roast,
Lamb, to Stew or Fry,
Lard, Rendering,
Lavender, Compound,
Lead Color,
Lemon Brandy,
Lemon Butter,
Lemon Ice Cream,
Lemon Juice, Syrup of,
Lemon Marmalade,
Lemon Mixture for a Cough,
Lemon Pudding,
Lemon Syrup,
Lemon and Honey for a Cough,
Lemon, Green, to Preserve,
Lettuce,
Ley Poultice,
Ley and Soda, Preparation for Washing,
Light Biscuit,
Light Bread Dumplings,
Lily Ointment,
Lily Root Poultice,
Lima Beans,
Lime, Chloride of,
Lime, to take, out of Cloth,
Linen, House,
Linen, to take Ink and Fruit Stains out of,
Linseed Oil for Furniture,
Liver Sausage,
Liver, to Fry Veal's,
Liver, to Fry,
Liverwort Syrup,
Loaf Cake,
Locked Jaw,
M.
Macaroons,
Mackerel, to Boil,
Madison Cake,
Magnesia, Charcoal and Salts,
Mahogany Furniture,
Mangoes with Oil and Vinegar, Pickling,
Mangoes,
Mangoes, Pepper,
Mansfield Muffins,
Marble,
Marmalade of mixed Fruits..
Marmalade, Apple,
Marmalade, Cider,
Marmalade, Lemon,
Marmalade, Peach,
Marmalade, Quince,
Maryland Biscuit,
Maryland Com Cakes,
Matresses, Directions for Making,
Meat, Fresh, to Restore,
Meat, Roasting,
Meat, to Boil Fresh,
Meat, to keep Fresh,
Melon Citron, to Preserve,
Mending China,
Mending Clothes,
Milk Porridge,
Milk Rolls,
Milk Toast,
Milk Yeast,
Mince Pies,
Mince Pies, Farmers,
Mince Pies, Pork,
Mixture, Brown, for Cough,
Molasses Beer,
Molasses Candy,
Molasses Jumbles,
Molasses Posset, for a Cold,
Molasses Sauce,
Mortification, Ointment for,
Muffin Batter, a Loaf of,
Muffins,
Muffins, Boiled Milk,
Muffins, Cold Water,
Muffins, Corn,
Muffins, Cream,
Muffins, Mansfield,
Muffins, Rice,
Mulled Jelly,
Mulled Wine,
Mush Cakes, Fried Mush,
Mush Flannel cakes,
Mush Muffins,
Mush Rolls,
Mush,
Mush, Rye,
Mushroom Catsup,
Mushroom Sauce,
Mushrooms, to Pickle,
Mushrooms, to Stew and Fry,
Mustard Bath, for the Feet,
Mustard Whey,
Mutton Chops,
Mutton Soup,
Mutton and Veal Broth,
N.
Naples Biscuit,
Nasturtions,
New Year Cake,
O.
Oat-meal Gruel,
Ointment, Blister,
Ointment, Elder,
Ointment, Hop,
Ointment, Lily,
Ointment, Precipitate,
Ointment, St. Johnswort,
Ointment, Tar,
Ointment, for Mortification,
Olive, to Color,
Omelet,
Onion Poultice,
Onions Pickled,
Onions, to Boil,
Orange, to Color,
Oven, Baking in a Dutch,
Oven, Brick, Directions for Heating,
Oyster Fritters,
Oyster Pie,
Oyster Pie, Baltimore,
Oyster Plant, or Salsify,
Oyster Sauce,
Oyster Soup,
Oysters and Fish,
Oysters, Pickled,
Oysters, Scolloped,
Oysters, to Brown,
Oysters, to Fry,
P.
Paint, to Clean,
Pan Cakes,
Pan Cakes, Water,
Panada,
Panada, Barley,
Panada, Egg,
Papered Walls,
Parsnips,
Paste, Gum Arabic,
Paste, for Puddings or Pies,
Pea Soup,
Peach Dumplings,
Peach Marmalade,
Peach Pie,
Peaches in Brandy,
Peaches in Cider,
Peaches, Pickled,
Peaches, Spiced,
Peaches, to Conserve,
Peaches, to Preserve,
Pears, to Conserve,
Pears, to Preserve,
Peas,
Pepper Mangoes,
Peppers, Green, to Preserve,
Picking Geese,
Pickle for Butter,
Pickle for Chines,
Pickled Oysters,
Pickled Pork,
Pickles, Vinegar, &c.,
Pickles, Yellow,
Pie Crust, to Make,
Pie, Beef Steak,
Pie, Chicken,
Pie, Currant,
Pie, Mince,
Pie, Oyster,
Pie, Peach,
Pie, Pork Mince,
Pie, Puddings, &c.,
Pie, Rhubarb,
Pie, Sweet Potato,
Pies, to Stew fruit for,
Pies, to make Common,
Pig, to Roast a,
Pigeons,
Pigs' Feet,
Pigs' Head,
Pine Apple Syrup,
Pine Apples,
Plaster, Adhesive,
Plum Cake,
Plum Cake, raised,
Plums, Green Gage,
Poached Eggs,
Poison, Remedy for,
Poke and Greens,
Pokeberry Juice, to Stain Ices,
Pone, Cold Water,
Pone, Lightened,
Pone, Virginia,
Pork Stew Pie,
Pork, or Mutton, to Corn,
Pork, to Fry and Stew,
Pork, to Pickle,
Pork, to Roast,
Porridge, Corn Meal,
Porridge, Milk,
Porter Beer,
Pot Pie,
Potash Soap,
Potato Starch,
Potato Yeast,
Potato Yeast, with Sugar,
Potatoes, Sweet,
Potatoes, to Boil,
Potatoes, to Fry,
Potatoes, to Stew,
Poultice, Bread and Milk,
Poultice, Cream,
Poultice, Flaxseed,
Pound Cake,
Poultice, Hop,
Poultice, Onion,
Poultice, Ley,
Poultice, Lily,
Poultice, Sassafras,
Precautions against Fire,
Precipitate Ointment,
Preserves, Candied,
Preserves, Jellies, &c.,
Pudding of Corn Meal.
Pudding of whole Rice,
Pudding, Apple,
Pudding, Arrow Root,
Pudding, Baked Beef,
Pudding, Baked,
Pudding, Balloon,
Pudding, Beef Steak,
Pudding, Bird's Nest,
Pudding, Boiled Indian,
Pudding, Boiling,
Pudding, Bread,
Pudding, Butter,
Pudding, Chicken,
Pudding, Coaco nut,
Pudding, Custard Bread,
Pudding, Custard Hasty,
Pudding, Elkridge, Huckleberry,
Pudding, Huckleberry,
Pudding, Lemon,
Pudding, New England Hasty,
Pudding, Plain Rice,
Pudding, Potato,
Pudding, Preserve,
Pudding, Pumpkin,
Pudding, Quince,
Pudding, Rice,
Pudding, Richmond,
Pudding, Suet,
Pudding, Sweet Potato,
Pudding, Switzerland,
Pudding. Green Corn,
Puddings, in little Pans,
Puff Paste,
Pumpkins, to Bake,
Pumpkins, to Boil,
Pumpkins, to Dry,
Pumpkins, to Preserve,
Putty, to Remove,
Q.
Queen Cake,
Quick Biscuit,
Quick Waffles,
Quince Jelly,
R.
Rabbits and Squirrels,
Racahaut Chocolate,
Rag Carpet, to make a,
Raisins in Syrup,
Raspberries, to Preserve,
Raspberry Vinegar,
Raspberry Wine,
Rats and Roaches, to destroy,
Red Mixture,
Red, to Color,
Remarks on Carving, and the behavior of children at table,
Remarks to Encourage Young Housekeepers in their first attempts,
Remarks upon a Cough,
Remedies, Simple,
Rendering Lard and Tallow,
Rennet Whey,
Rennet Wine,
Rennet, for Cheese,
Rheumatism,
Rhubarb Pies,
Rhubarb, Spiced,
Rica Pudding,
Rice Cakes,
Rice Dish with Fruit,
Rice Dumplings.
Rice Flour Pound Cake,
Rice Flour Sponge Cake,
Rice Flummery,
Rice Fritters,
Rice Milk,
Rice Muffins,
Rice Pudding, Plain,
Rice Waffles,
Rice, Stewed with Chicken,
Rice, to Boil,
Rich Fruit Cake,
Richmond Pudding,
Roasting Coffee,
Roasting Meat,
Rock Fish, to Stew or Bake,
Rolls, Boiled Milk,
Rolls, Bread.
Rolls, Carolina Corn,
Rolls, Egg.
Rolls, French,
Rolls, Mush,
Rolls, Potato,
Rolls, Soft,
Rolls, Twist,
Rolls, Water,
Rose Brandy,
Rose Conserve,
Rose Water,
Rusk for Drying,
Rusk,
Rusk, Bread,
Rye, Mush,
S.
Sago,
Salad, Chicken.
Sally Lunn,
Salsify or Oyster Plant,
Salt Cod,
Salt Salmon, to Boil,
Salt Shad, to Boil,
Salt Shad, to Broil,
Salve for Burns,
Salve for Corns,
Salve, Dealer's,
Salaeratus Biscuit,
Salaeratus Cake,
Sassafras Poultice,
Sauce, Celery,
Sauce, Cream,
Sauce, Egg,
Sauce, Molasses,
Sauce, Mushroom,
Sauce, Oyster,
Sauce, Tomato,
Sauce, White,
Sauce, Wine,
Sausage Meat,
Sausage, Bologna,
Sausage, Liver,
Scalds and Burns,
Scarlet, to Dye,
Scolloped Oysters,
Scrapple,
Screw Dumplings,
Scurvy of the Gums,
Shad, to Broil, or Bake,
Shad, to put up, and Herring,
Short Cake,
Silver, to Clean,
Simple Remedies,
Skim Curds of Whey,
Skim Curds,
Slaw, Cold,
Smearcase, or Cottage Cheese,
Snow Cream,
Snow Fritters,
Soap Stones,
Soap,
Soap, Hard,
Soap, Later Saving,
Soap, Potash,
Soap, Volatile,
Sore Mouth, Infants,
Sore Throat, for a,
Soup of Dried Beans,
Soup, Beef Shin.
Soup, Calf's Head,
Soup, Chicken,
Soup, Giblet,
Soup, Gumbo,
Soup, Mutton,
Soup, Oyster,
Soup, Pea,
Soup, Shin,
Soup, Vegetable,
Soups,
Souse,
Spermaceti, to take out of cloth,
Spice-wood Berries,
Spiced Beef,
Spiced Peaches,
Spider, for the Bite of a,
Sponge Cake,
Sprained Ankle,
Sprained Limb,
Spruce Beer,
Squashes, or Cymblings,
Squirrels and Rabbits,
St. Johnswort Ointment,
Stains, to take out of Linen,
Starch, Common,
Starch, Corn,
Starch, Potato,
Starching Clear,
Steak, Beef,
Stew, Irish,
Sting of a Bee,
Stir-about,
Stopper, to Remove from a Decanter,
Stoves or Grates, to Clean,
Stoves, to Mend,
Straw under Carpets,
Strawberries,
String Beans,
Stuffing, or Dressing,
Suet Pudding,
Suet, to keep Several Months,
Sugar, to Clarify,
Summer Diseases.
Sweet Bread, Veal,
Sweet Potato Pie,
Sweet Potato Pudding,
Sweet Potatoes,
Switzerland Pudding,
Syrup of Lemon Juice,
Syrup, Currant,
Syrup, Hoarhound, and Elecampane,
Syrup, Lemon,
Syrup, Liverwort,
Syrup, Pine Apple,
Syrup, Raisins in,
Syrups and Ices,
T.
Table Cloths,
Taffy, or Molasses Candy,
Tallow, to Render,
Tapioca,
Tar Ointment,
Tea,
Tea, Beef,
Tea, Black,
Tea, Ginger,
Teeth, Cleaning the,
Terrapins,
Tetter, Cure for the,
Tetter, Warts, &c.,
Throat, Sore,
Tin Kitchens, Roasting in,
Tincture, Huxham's Bark,
Toast Water,
Toast for the Sick,
Toast, Cream,
Toast, Milk,
Tomato Catsup,
Tomato Figs,
Tomato Jelly,
Tomato Omelet,
Tomato Sauce,
Tomatoes for Winter Use,
Tomatoes, Green, for Pies,
Tomatoes, to Bake,
Tomatoes, to Broil,
Tomatoes, to Fry,
Tomatoes, to Pickle,
Tomatoes, to Preserve,
Tomatoes, to Stew,
Tongue and Brains,
Tongue, to Boil,
Tongues, to Cure a Dozen,
Tooth-ache,
Trifle,
Turkey, to Boil,
Turkey, to Roast,
Turnips,
Twist Rolls,
V.
Vanilla,
Veal Cutlets,
Veal Hash,
Veal and Lamb, to Roast,
Veal and Mutton Broth,
Veal's Liver, to Fry,
Veal, Stuffed Leg of,
Veal, to Boil,
Veal, to Fry and Stew,
Vegetable Soup,
Vegetables,
Vegetables, to keep, in Winter,
Vermicelli,
Vials, to Clean,
Vinegar, Raspberry,
Vinegar, to Make,
Virginia Hoe Cake,
Virginia Pone,
Virginia Yellow Pickles,
Volatile Soap,
W.
Waffles,
Wafer Cakes,
Waffles, Quick,
Waffles, Rice,
Walls, Papered, to clean,
Walnut Catsup,
Walnut Cheese,
Walnuts, Black, to Pickle,
Walnuts, English,
Walnuts, White, to Pickle,
Warner's Cordial,
Warts,
Wash for Hearths,
Wash for Sore Ears,
Washes, White or Colored,
Washing Calicoes,
Washing Windows,
Washington Cake,
Water, Apple,
Water, Filtering,
Water, to Purify,
Water, to keep Cool in Summer,
Watermelon Rind,
Wax and Spermaceti, to take out of cloth,
Weather proof, Cement,
Whey, Rennet,
Whey, Skim Curds,
Whey, Wine,
Whips,
White Beans, Dried,
White Sauce,
White wash, to Mix,
Whooping Cough, for,
Wine Sauce,
Wine Whey,
Wine, Blackberry,
Wine, Currant,
Wine, Elderberry,
Wine, Ginger,
Wine, Gooseberry,
Wine, Mulled,
Wine, Raspberry,
Wine, Rennet,
Wines, Cordials, &c.,
Woollens and Furs, to keep,
Woollens, to Dye,
Worms,
Wounds and Cuts,
Y.
Yeast,
Yeast Dry,
Yeast, Corn,
Yeast, Milk,
Yeast, Potato,
Yellow Ochre wash,
Yellow Pickles,
Yellow wash, Chrome,
Yellow, to Dye,
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and
Hints to Young Housekeepers, by Elizabeth E. Lea
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