The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 77

TUTTI FRUTTI ICE-CREAM.

Take two quarts of the richest cream and add to it one pound of pulverized sugar and four whole eggs; mix well together; place on the fire, stirring constantly, and just bring to boiling point; now remove immediately and continue to stir until nearly cold; flavor with a tablespoonful of extract of vanilla; place in freezer and, when half frozen, mix thoroughly into it one pound of preserved fruits, in equal parts of peaches, apricots, gages, cherries, pineapples, etc.; all of these fruits are to be cut up into small pieces and mixed well with frozen cream. If you desire to _mold_ this ice sprinkle it with a little carmine, dissolved in a teaspoonful of water, with two drops of spirits of ammonia; mix in this color, so that it will be streaky or in veins like marble.

ICE-CREAM WITHOUT A FREEZER.

Beat the yolks of eight eggs very light, and add thereto four cupfuls of sugar, and stir well. Add to this, little by little, one quart of rich milk that has been heated almost to boiling, beating all the while; then put in the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth.

Then boil the mixture in a pail set inside another containing hot water. Boil about fifteen minutes or until it is as thick as a boiled custard, stirring steadily meanwhile. Pour into a bowl to cool. When quite cold, beat into it three pints of rich sweet cream and five teaspoonfuls of vanilla, or such other flavoring as you prefer. Put it into a pail having a close-fitting cover and pack in pounded ice and salt,--_rock salt_, not the common kind,--about three-fourths ice and one-forth salt. When packed, before putting the ice on top of the cover, beat the custard as you would batter, for five minutes steady; then put on the cover and put the ice and salt over it, and cover the whole with a thick mat, blanket or carpet and let it stand for an hour. Then carefully uncover and sc.r.a.pe from the bottom and sides of the pail the thick coating of frozen custard, making every particle clear, and beat again very hard, until the custard is a smooth, half-congealed paste. Do this thoroughly. Put on the cover, ice, salt and blanket, and leave it for five or six hours, replenis.h.i.+ng the ice and salt if necessary.

_Common Sense in the Household._

FROZEN PEACHES.

One can or twelve large peaches, two coffeecupfuls of sugar, one pint of water and the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth; break the peaches rather fine and stir all the ingredients together; freeze the whole into form.

Frozen fruit of any kind can be made the same way; the fruit should be mashed to a smooth pulp, but not thinned too much. In freezing, care should be taken to prevent its getting lumpy.

FROZEN FRUITS.

The above recipe, increasing the quant.i.ty of peaches, raspberries or whatever fruit you may use, and adding a small amount of rich cream, make fine frozen fruits. In freezing, you must be especially careful to prevent its getting lumpy.

LEMON ICE.

The juice of six lemons and the grated rind of three, a large sweet orange, juice and rind; squeeze out all the juice and steep it in the rind of orange and lemons a couple of hours; then squeeze and strain through a towel, add a pint of water and two cupfuls of sugar. Stir until dissolved, turn into a freezer, then proceed as for ice-cream, letting it stand longer, two or three hours.

When fruit jellies are used, gently heat the water sufficiently to melt them; then cool and freeze. Other flavors may be made in this manner, varying the flavoring to taste.

PINEAPPLE SHERBET.

Grate two pineapples and mix with two quarts of water and a pint of sugar; add the juice of two lemons and the beaten whites of four eggs.

Place in a freezer and freeze.

RASPBERRY SHERBET.

Two quarts of raspberries, one cupful of sugar, one pint and a half of water, the juice of a large lemon, one tablespoonful of gelatine. Mash the berries and sugar together and let them stand two hours. Soak the gelatine in cold water to cover. Add one pint of the water to the berries and strain. Dissolve the gelatine in half a pint of boiling water, add this to the strained mixture and freeze.

ORANGE-WATER ICE.

Add a tablespoonful of gelatine to one gill of water; let it stand twenty minutes and add half a pint of boiling water; stir until dissolved and add four ounces of powdered sugar, the strained juice of six oranges and cold water enough to make a full quart in all. Stir until the sugar is dissolved; pour into the freezing can and freeze.

(See LEMON ICE.)

ALMOND ICE.

Two pints of milk, eight ounces of cream, two ounces of orange-flower water, eight ounces of sweet almonds, four ounces of bitter almonds; pound all in a marble mortar, pouring in from time to time a few drops of water; when thoroughly pounded add the orange-flower water and half of the milk; pa.s.s this, tightly squeezed, through a cloth; boil the rest of the milk with the cream and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon; as soon as it is thick enough, pour in the almond milk; give it one boiling, take it off and let it cool in a bowl or pitcher before pouring it into the mold for freezing.

CURRANT ICE.

A refres.h.i.+ng ice is made of currants or raspberries, or equal portions of each. Squeeze enough fruit in a jelly-bag to make a pint of juice; add a pint each of the water and sugar; pour the whole, boiling hot, onto whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and whip the mixture thoroughly. When cool, freeze in the usual manner. Part red raspberry juice is a much finer flavor.

Any juicy fruit may be prepared in this manner.

DUMPLINGS AND PUDDINGS

It depends as much upon the judgment of the cook as on the materials used to make a good pudding. Everything should be the best in the way of materials, and a proper attention to the rules, with some practice, will ensure success.

Puddings are either boiled, baked or steamed; if boiled, the materials should be well worked together, put into a thick cloth bag, previously dipped in hot water, wringing it slightly and dredging the inside _thickly_ with flour; tie it firmly, allowing room for it to swell; drop it into a kettle of _boiling_ water, with a small plate or saucer in the bottom to keep it from sticking to the kettle. It should not cease boiling one moment from the time it is put in until taken out, and the pot must be tightly covered, and the cover not removed except when necessary to add water from the _boiling_ tea-kettle when the water is getting low. When done, dip immediately in cold water and turn out. This should be done just before placing on the table.

Or b.u.t.ter a tin pudding-mold or an earthen bowl; close it tight so that water cannot penetrate; drop it into boiling water and boil steadily the required time. If a bowl is used it should be well b.u.t.tered and not quite filled with the pudding, allowing room for it to swell; then a cloth wet in hot water, slightly wringing it, then floured on the inner side, and tied over the bowl, meeting under the bottom.

To steam a pudding, put it into a tin pan or earthen dish; tie a cloth over the top, first dredging it in flour, and set it in a steamer.

Cover the steamer closely; allow a little longer time than you do for boiling.

Molds or basins for baking, steaming or boiling should be well b.u.t.tered before the mixture is put into them. Allow a little longer time for steaming than for boiling.

Dumplings boiled the same way, put into little separate cloths.

Batter puddings should be smoothly mixed and free from lumps. To ensure this, first mix the flour with a very small portion of milk, the yolks of the eggs and the sugar thoroughly beaten together, and added to this; then add the remainder of the milk by degrees, then the seasoning, then the beaten whites of eggs last. Much success in making this kind of pudding depends upon a strict observance of this rule; for, although the materials may be good, if the eggs are put into the milk before they are mixed with the flour, there will be a custard at the top and a soft dough at the bottom of your dish.

All sweet puddings require a _little_ salt to prevent insipidity and to draw out the flavor of the several ingredients, but a grain too much will spoil any pudding.

In puddings where wine, brandy, cider, lemon juice or any acid is used, it should be stirred in last and gradually, or it is apt to curdle the milk or eggs.

In making _custard puddings_ (puddings made with eggs and milk), the yolks of the eggs and sugar should be thoroughly beaten together before any of the milk or seasoning is added, and the beaten whites of eggs last.

In making puddings of bread, rice, sago, tapioca, etc., the eggs should be beaten very light, and mixed with a portion of the milk, before adding them to the other ingredients. If the eggs are mixed with the milk, without having been thus beaten, the milk will be absorbed by the bread, rice, sago, tapioca, etc., without rendering them light.

The freshness of all pudding ingredients is of much importance, as one bad article will taint the whole mixture.

When the _freshness_ of eggs is _doubtful_, break each one separately in a cup before mixing them all together. Should there be a bad one amongst them, it can be thrown away; whereas, if mixed with the good ones, the entire quant.i.ty would be spoiled. The yolks and whites beaten separately make the articles they are put into much lighter.

Raisins and dried fruit for puddings should be carefully picked and, in many cases, stoned. Currants should be well washed, pressed in a cloth and placed on a dish before the fire to get thoroughly dry; they should be then picked carefully over, and _every piece of grit or stone_ removed from amongst them. To plump them, some cooks pour boiling water over them and then dry them before the fire.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STATE DINING ROOM.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BLUE ROOM.]

Many baked pudding recipes are quite as good boiled. As a safe rule boil the pudding _twice as long_ as you would bake it; and remember that a boiling pudding should never be touched after it is once put on the stove; a jar of the kettle destroys the lightness of the pudding.