English Housewifery Part 19

333. _To make_ CORDIAL WATER _of_ COWSLIPS.

Take two quarts of cowslip peeps, a slip of balm, two sprigs of rosemary, a stick of cinnamon, half an orange peel, half a lemon peel, a pint of brandy, and a pint of ale; lay all these to steep twelve hours, then distil them on a cold still.

334. _To make_ MILK PUNCH.

Take two quarts of old milk, a quart of good brandy, the juice of six lemons or oranges, whether you please, and about six ounces of loaf sugar, mix them altogether and drop them thro' a jelly bag; take off the peel of two of the lemons or oranges, and put it into your bag, when it is run off bottle it; 'twill keep as long as you please.

335. _To make_ MILK PUNCH _another Way_.

Take three jills of water, a jill of old milk, and a jill of brandy, sweeten it to your taste; you must not put any acid into this for it will make it curdle.

This is a cooling punch to drink in a morning.

336. _To make_ PUNCH _another Way_.

Take five pints of boiling water and one quart of brandy, add to it the juice of four lemons or oranges, and about six ounces of loaf sugar; when you have mixed it together strain it thro' a hair sieve or cloth, and put into your bowl the peel of a lemon or orange.

337. _To make_ ACID _for_ PUNCH.

Take gooseberries at their full growth, pick and beat them in a marble mortar, and squeeze them in a harden bag thro' a press, when you have done run it thro' a flannel bag, and then bottle it in small bottles; put a little oil on every bottle, so keep it for use.

338. _To bottle_ GOOSEBERRIES.

Gather your gooseberries when they are young, pick and bottle them, put in the cork loose, set them in a pan of water, with a little hay in the bottom, put them into the pan when the water is cold, let it stand on a slow fire, and mind when they are coddled; don't let the pan boil, if you do it will break the bottles: when they are cold fasten the cork, and put on a little rosin, so keep them for use.

339. _To bottle_ DAMSINS.

Take your damsins before they are full ripe, and gather them when the dew is off, pick of the stalks, and put them into dry bottles; don't fill your bottles over full, and cork them as close as you would do for ale, keep them in a cellar, and cover them over with sand.

340. _To preserve Orange Chips to put in gla.s.ses_.

Take a seville orange with a clear skin, pare it very thin from the white, then take a pair of scissars and clip it very thin, and boil it in water, s.h.i.+fting it two or three times in the boiling to take out the bitter; then take half a pound of double refined sugar, boil it and skim it, then put in your orange, so let it boil over a slow fire whilst your syrrup be thick, and your orange look clear, then put it into gla.s.ses, and cover it with papers dipt in brandy; if you have a quant.i.ty of peel you must have the larger quant.i.ty of sugar.

341. _To preserve_ ORANGES _or_ LEMONS.

Take seville oranges, the largest and roughest you can get, clear of spots, chip them very fine, and put them into water for two days, s.h.i.+fting them twice or three times a day, then boil them whilst they are soft: take and cut them into quarters, and take out all the pippens with a penknife, so weigh them, and to every pound of orange, take a pound and half of loaf sugar; put your sugar into a pan, and to every pound of sugar a pint of water, set it over the fire to melt, and when it boils skim it very well, then put in your oranges; if you would have any of them whole, make a little hole at the top, and take out the meat with a tea spoon, set your oranges over a slow fire to boil, and keep them skimming all the while; keep your oranges as much as you can with the skin downwards; you may cover them with a delf-plate, to bear them down in the boiling; let them boil for three quarters of an hour, then put them into a pot or bason, and let them stand two days covered, then boil them again whilst they look clear, and the syrrup be thick, so put them into a pot, and lie close over them a paper dip'd in brandy, and tie a double paper at the top, set them in a cool place, and keep them for use. If you would have your oranges that are whole to look pale and clear, to put in gla.s.ses, you must make a syrrup of pippen jelly; then take ten or a dozen pippens, as they are of bigness, pare and slice them, and boil them in as much water as will cover them till they be thoroughly tender, so strain your water from the pippens through a hair sieve, then strain it through a flannel bag; and to every pint of jelly take a pound of double refined sugar, set it over a fire to boil, and skim it, let it boil whilst it be thick, then put it into a pot and cover it, but they will keep best if they be put every one in different pots.

342. _To make_ JELLY _of_ CURRANS.

Take a quartern of the largest and best currans you can get, strip them from the stalks, and put them in a pot, stop them close up, and boil them in a pot of water over the fire, till they be thoroughly coddled and begin to look pale, then put them in a clear hair sieve to drain, and run the liquor thro' a flannel bag, to every pint of your liquor put in a pound of your double refin'd sugar; you must beat the sugar fine, and put it in by degrees, set it over the fire, and boil it whilst any skim will rise, then put it into gla.s.ses for ale; the next day clip a paper round, and dip it in brandy to lie on your jelly; if you would have your jelly a light red, put in half of white currans, and in my opinion it looks much better.

343. _To preserve_ APRIc.o.c.kS.

Take apric.o.c.ks before they be full ripe, stone and pare 'em; then weigh 'em, and to every pound of apric.o.c.ks take a pound of double refined sugar, beat it very small, lie one part of your sugar under the apric.o.c.ks, and the other part at the top, let them stand all night, the next day put them in a stew-pan or bra.s.s pan; don't do over many at once in your pan, for fear of breaking, let them boil over a slow fire, skim them very well, and turn them two or three times in the boiling; you must but about half do 'em at the first, and let them stand whilst they be cool, then let them boil whilst your apric.o.c.ks look clear, and the syrrup thick, put them into your pots or gla.s.ses, when they are cold cover them with a paper dipt in brandy, then tie another paper close over your pot to keep out the air.

344. _To make_ MARMALADE _of_ APRIc.o.c.kS.

Take what quant.i.ty of apric.o.c.ks you shall think proper, stone them and put them immediately into a skellet of boiling water, keep them under water on the fire till they be soft, then take them out of the water and wipe them with a cloth, weigh your sugar with your apric.o.c.ks, weight for weight, then dissolve your sugar in water, and boil it to a candy height, then put in your apric.o.c.ks, being a little bruised, let them boil but a quarter of a hour, then gla.s.s them up.

345. _To know when your_ SUGAR _is at_ CANDY HEIGHT.

Take some sugar and clarify it till it comes to a candy-height, and keep it still boiling 'till it becomes thick, then stir it with a stick from you, and when it is at candy-height it will fly from your stick like flakes of snow, or feathers flying in the air, and till it comes to that height it will not fly, then you may use it as you please.

346. _To make_ Marmalade _of_ Quinces _white_.

Take your quinces and coddle them as you do apples, when they are soft pare them and cut them in pieces, as if you would cut them for apple pies, then put your cores, parings, and the waste of your quinces in some water, and boil them fast for fear of turning red until it be a strong jelly; when you see the jelly pretty strong strain it, and be sure you boil them uncovered; add as much sugar as the weight of your quinces into your jelly, till it be boiled to a height, then put in your coddled quinces, and boil them uncovered till they be enough, and set them near the fire to harden.

347. _To make_ Quiddeny _of_ Red Curranberries.

Put your berries into a pot, with a spoonful or two of water, cover it close, and boil 'em in some water, when you think they are enough strain them, and put to every pint of juice a pound of loaf sugar, boil it up jelly height, and put them into gla.s.ses for use.

348. _To preserve_ GOOSEBERRIES.

To a pound of ston'd gooseberries put a pound and a quarter of fine sugar, wet the sugar with the gooseberry jelly; take a quart of gooseberries, and two or three spoonfuls of water, boil them very quick, let your sugar be melted, and then put in your gooseberries; boil them till clear, which will be very quickly.

349. _To make little_ ALMOND CAKES.

Take a pound of sugar and eight eggs, beat them well an hour, then put them into a pound of flour, beat them together, blanch a quarter of a pound of almonds, and beat them with rose-water to keep 'em from oiling, mix all together, b.u.t.ter your tins, and bake them half an hour.

Half an hour is rather too long for them to stand in the oven.

350. _To preserve_ RED GOOSEBERRIES.

Take a pound of sixpenny sugar, and a little juice of currans, put to it a pound and a half of Gooseberries, and let them boil quick a quarter of an hour; but if they be for jam they must boil better than half an hour.

They are very proper for tarts, or to eat as sweet-meats.

351. _To bottle_ BERRIES _another Way_.

Gather your berries when they are full grown, pick and bottle them, tie a paper over them, p.r.i.c.k it with a pin, and set it in the oven; after you have drawn, and when they are coddled, take them out and when they are cold cork them up; rosin the cork over, and keep them for use.