English Housewifery Part 22

Take a side of fresh salmon, take out the bone, cut off the head and scald it; you must not wash it but wipe it with a dry cloth; cut it in three pieces, season it with mace, pepper, salt and nutmeg, put it into a flat pot with the skin side downward, lie over it a pound of b.u.t.ter, tie a paper over it, and send it to the oven, about an hour and a half will bake it; if you have more salmon in your pot than three pieces it will take more baking, and you must put in more b.u.t.ter; when it is baked take it out of your pot, and lie it on a dish plate to drain, and take off the skin, so season it over again, for if it be not well seasoned it will not keep; put it into your pot piece by piece; it will keep best in little pots, when you put it into your pots, press it well down with the back of your hand, and when it is cold cover it with clarified b.u.t.ter, and set it in a cool place; so keep it for use.

390. _To make a_ CODDLIN PIE.

Take coddlins before they are over old, hang them over a slow fire to coddle, when they are soft peel off the skin, so put them into the water again, then cover 'em up with vine leaves, and let them hang over the fire whilst they be green; be sure you don't let them boil; lie them whole in the dish, and bake them in puff-paste, but leave no paste in the bottom of the dish; put to 'em a little shred lemon-peel, a spoonful of verjuice or juice of lemon, and as much sugar as you think proper, according to the largeness of your pie.

391. _To make a_ COLLIFLOWER PUDDING.

Boil the flowers in milk, take the tops and lay then in a dish, then take three jills of cream, the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of two, season it with nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, sugar, sack or orange-flower water, beat all well together, then pour it over the colliflower, put it into the oven, bake it as you would a custard, and grate sugar over it when it comes from the oven.

Take sugar, sack and b.u.t.ter for sauce.

392. _To make Stock for_ HARTSHORN JELLY.

Take five or six ounces of hartshorn, put it into a gallon of water, hang it over a slow fire, cover it close, and let it boil three or four hours, so strain it; make it the day before you use it, and then you may have it ready for your jellies.

393. _To make_ SYRRUP OF VIOLETS.

Take violets and pick them; to every pound of violets put a pint of water, when the water is just ready to boil put it to your violets, and stir them well together, let them infuse twenty four hours and strain them; to every pound of syrrup, take almost two pounds of sugar, beat the sugar very well and put it into your syrrup, stir it that the sugar may dissolve, let it stand a day or two, stirring it two or three times, then set it on the fire, let be but warm and it will be thick enough.

You may make your syrrup either of violets or gilliflowers, only take the weight of sugar, let it stand on the fire till it be very hot, and the syrrup of violets must be only warm.

394. _To pickle_ c.o.c.kLES.

Take c.o.c.kles at a full moon and wash 'em, then put them in a pan, and cover them with a wet cloth, when they are enough put them into a stone bowl, take them out of the sh.e.l.ls and wash them very well in their own pickle; let the pickle settle every time you wash them then clear it off; when you have cleaned 'em, put the pickle into a pan, with a spoonful or two of white wine and a little white wine vinegar, to you taste, put in a little Jamaica and whole pepper, boil it very well in the pickle, then put in you c.o.c.kles, let 'em have a boil and skim 'em, when they are cold put them in a bottle with a little oil over them, set 'em in a cool place and keep 'em for use.

395. _To preserve Quinces whole or in quarters_.

Take the largest quinces when they are at full growth, pare them and throw them into water, when you have pared them cut them into quarters, and take out the cores; if you would have any whole you must take out the cores with a scope; save all the cores and parings, and put them in a pot or pan to coddle your quinces in, with as much water as will cover them, so put in your quinces in the middle of your paring into the pan, (be sure you cover them close up at the top) so let them hang over a slow fire whilst they be thoroughly tender, then take them out and weigh them; to every pound of quince take a pound of loaf sugar, and to every pound of sugar take a pint of the same water you coddled your quinces in, set your water and sugar over the fire, boil it and skim it, then put in your quinces, and cover it close up, set it over a slow fire, and let it boil whilst your quinces be red and the syrrup thick, then put them in pots for use, dipping a paper in brandy to lie over them.

396. _To pickle_ SHRIMPS.

Take the largest shrimps you can get, pick them out of the sh.e.l.ls, boil them in a jill of water, or as much water as will cover them according as you have a quant.i.ty of shrimps, strain them thro' a hair-sieve, then put to the liquor a little spice, mace, cloves, whole pepper, white wine, white wine vinegar, and a little salt to your taste; boil them very well together, when it is cold put in your shrimps, they are fit for use.

397. _To pickle_ MUSCLES.

Wash your muscles, put them into a pan as you do your c.o.c.kles, pick them out of the sh.e.l.ls, and wash them in the liquor; be sure you take off the beards, so boil them in the liquor with spices, as you do your c.o.c.kles, only put to them a little more vinegar than you do to c.o.c.kles.

398. _To pickle_ WALNUTS _green_.

Gather walnuts when they are as you can run a pin through them, pare them and put them in water, and let them lie four or five days, stirring it twice a day to take out the bitter, then put them in strong salt and water, let them lie a week or ten days, stirring it once or twice a day, then put them in fresh salt and water, and hang them over a fire, put to them a little allum, and cover them up close with vine leaves, let them hang over a slow fire whilst they be green, but be sure don't let them boil, when they are green pat them into a sieve to drain the water from them.

399. _To make_ PICKLE _for them_.

Take a little good alegar, put to it a little long pepper and Jamaica pepper, a few bay leaves, a little horse-radish, a handful or two of mustard-seed, a little salt and a little rockambol if you have any, if not a few shalots; boil them altogether in the alegar, which put to your walnuts and let it stand three or four days, giving them a scald once a day, then tie them up for use.

A spoonful of this pickle is good for fish-sauce, or a calf's head ash.

400. _To pickle_ WALNUTS _black_.

Gather walnuts when they are so tender that you can run a pin thro'

them, p.r.i.c.k them all with a pin very well, lie them in fresh water, and let them lie for a week, s.h.i.+fting them once a day; make for them a strong salt and water, and let them lie whilst they be yellow, stirring them once a day, then take 'em out of the salt and water, and boil it, put it on the top of your walnuts, and let your pot stand in the corner end, scald them once or twice a day whilst they be black.

You may make the same pickle for those, as you did for the green ones.

401. _To pickle_ OYSTERS.

Take the largest oysters you can get, pick them whole out of the sh.e.l.l, and take off the beards, wash them very well in their own pickle, so let the pickle settle, and clear it off, put it into a stew-pan, put to it two or three spoonfuls of white wine, and a little white wine vinegar; don't put in any water, for if there be not pickle enough of their own get a little c.o.c.kle-pickle and put to it, a little Jamaica pepper, white pepper and mace, boil and skim them very well; you must skim it before you put in your spices, then put in your oysters, and boil them in the pickle, when they are cold put them into a large bottle with a little oil on the top, set them in a cool place and keep them for use.

402. _To pickle large_ CUc.u.mBERS.

Take cuc.u.mbers and put them in a strong salt and water, let them lie whilst they be throughly yellow, then scald them in the same salt and water they lie in, set them on the fire, and scald them once a day whilst they are green; take the best alegar you can get, put to it a little Jamaica pepper and black pepper, some horse-radish in slices, a few bay leaves, and a little dill and salt, so scald your cuc.u.mbers twice or thrice in this pickle; then put them up for use.

403. _To pickle_ ONIONS.

Take the smallest onions you can get, peel and put them into a large quant.i.ty of fair water, let them lie two days and s.h.i.+ft them twice a day; then drain them from the water, take a little distill'd vinegar, put to 'em two or three blades of mace, and a little white pepper and salt, boil it, and pour it upon your onions, let them stand three days, so put them into little gla.s.ses, and tie a bladder over them; they are very good done with alegar; for common use, only put in Jamaica pepper instead of mace.

404. _To pickle_ ELDER BUDS.

Take elder buds when they are the bigness of small walnuts, lie them in a strong salt and water for ten days, and then scald them in fresh salt and water, put in a lump of allum, let them stand in the corner end close cover'd up, and scalded once a day whilst green.

You may do radish cods or brown buds the same way.

405. _To make the_ Pickle.

Take a little alegar or white wine vinegar, and put to it two or three blades of mace, with a little whole pepper and Jamaica pepper, a few bay leaves and salt, put to your buds, and scald them two or three times, then they are fit for use.

406. _To pickle_ MUSHROOMS.

Take mushrooms when fresh gather'd, sort the large ones from the b.u.t.tons, cut off the stalks, wash them in water with a flannel, have a pan of water ready on the fire to boil 'em in, for the less they lie in the water the better; let them have two or three boils over the fire, then put them into a sieve, and when you have drained the water from them put them into a pot, throw over them a handful of salt, stop them up close with a cloth, and let them stand two or three hours on the hot hearth or range end, giving your pot a shake now and then; then drain the pickle from them, and lie them in a cloth for an hour or two, so put into them as much distill'd vinegar as will cover them, let them lie a week or ten days, then take them out, and put them in dry bottles; put to them a little white pepper, salt and ginger sliced, fill them up with distill'd vinegar, put over 'em a little sweet oil, and cork them up close; if your vinegar be good they will keep two or three years; I know it by experience.

You must be sure not to fill your bottles above three parts full, if you do they will not keep.