The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House Part 12

To keep an _Hare_ a long Time.

As soon as 'tis kill'd and discharged of its Entrails, take care that all the Blood be dried away with Cloths about the Liver, for there it is apt to settle, then dust the Liver well with Pepper; and fill the Body with Nettles, or dry Moss, for these will not raise a ferment as Hay and Straw will do, when they come to be wet; then fill the Mouth with Pepper, and it will keep a long time.

To keep _Wild-Ducks_ fresh.

Draw them, and fill the Body with red Sage, after the inside is well pepper'd; and likewise pepper the inside of the Mouth, leave on the Feathers. A Goose may be serv'd the same way.

But if they be too long kept, or through want of Care, they should receive a taint; then, when they are pull'd, wash the Inside very well, with Vinegar and Water, and dry it well with a Cloth; and sc.r.a.pe away, if need be, what are call'd the Kidneys; then strew the Inside afresh with Pepper, and hang them up for an Hour or two, where the Air may pa.s.s through them.

Some in such a case will put an Onion into the Body, which does very well towards restoring it to a freshness; then wash out all, and prepare it for the Spit.

Helps towards the Preservation of _Fish._

If you would keep Fish long, kill them as soon as they are out of the Water, and take out their Gills; then fill their Heads as much as may be, with Pepper, and wipe them very dry, and pack them in dry Wheat-Straw.

_T. R._

To make _Wine_ of _White Elder-berries,_ like _Cyprus_ Wine from Mrs.

_Warburton_ of _Ches.h.i.+re._

To nine Gallons of Water, put nine Quarts of the Juice of White Elder berries, which has been pressed gently from the Berries, with the Hand, and pa.s.sed thro' a Sieve, without bruising the Kernels of the Berries; add to every Gallon of Liquor three Pounds of _Lisbon_ Sugar, and to the whole Quant.i.ty put an Ounce and a half of Ginger, sliced, and three quarters of an Ounce of Cloves; then boil this near an Hour, taking off the Sc.u.m, as it rises, and pour the whole to cool, in an open Tub, and work it with Ale-Yeast, spread upon a Toast of white Bread, for three Days, and then tun it into a Vessel that will just hold it; adding about a Pound and a half of Raisins of the Sun split, to lie in the Liquor till we draw it off, which should not be till the Wine is fine, which you will find about _January_.

This Wine is so like the fine rich Wine brought from _Cyprus_, in its Colour and Flavour, that it has deceiv'd the best Judges, These Berries are ripe in _August_, and may be had at the Ivy-House at _Hoxton_.

To make _Wine_ of _Black Elder-berries,_ which is equal to the best _Hermitage_ Claret; from _Henry Marsh,_ Esq. _of Hammersmith._

Take nine Gallons of Spring Water, and half a Bushel of Elder-berries, pick'd clean from the Stalks; boil these till the Berries begin to dimple, then gently strain off the Liquor, and to every Gallon of it put two Pounds of good _Lisbon_ Sugar, and boil it an Hour; then let it stand to cool, in an open Tub, for if it was to cool in the Copper, or Bra.s.s Kettle, it was boil'd in, the Liquor would be ill-tasted. When it is almost cool, spread some Ale-Yeast upon a Toast of White Bread, and put it into the Liquor, to work three Days in the open Tub, stirring the Liquor once or twice a Day, and then tun it in a Vessel of a right size, to hold it: At the same time add to every Gallon one pound of Raisins of the Sun whole, and let them lie in the Cask till the Wine is drawn off.

Such a small quant.i.ty of Wine, as is here directed, will be fit to bottle the _January_ next after it is made, but larger Casks should not be drawn off till _March_ or _April_.

A Receipt from _Barbadoes,_ to make _Rum;_ which proves very good.

In _Barbadoes_ the Rum is made of the Sc.u.m and Offal of the Sugar, of which they put one ninth part, or eighth part, to common Water, about eighteen Gallons, all together, in a wooden open Vessel or Tub; cover this with dry Leaves of Palm, or for want of them, with the Leaves of _Plata.n.u.s_ or the Leaves of Fern in _England_, or the Parts or Leaves which Flagg-Brooms are made of. Let this remain for nine Days, till it changes of a clean yellow Colour, and it will be then fit to distil; then put it into an Alembic, and you will have what we call the Low-Wines. A Day or two after distil it again, and in the Cap of the Still, hang a small muslin Bag of sweet Fennel-Seeds, and the Spirit will be of a fine Flavour. Some will use Anniseed in the Bag, and some use a little Musk with the sweet Fennel Seeds, or else distil the Spirit twice, _viz._, once with the sweet Fennel-Seeds, and the next with a little Musk.

_N.B._ The wooden Vessels, or open Tubs, must not be made of any Wood that is unwholesome, or sweet-scented; such as Deal, Firr, or Manchineel.

In _England_, Treacle may be used with equal Success, and is cheap enough to get a good livelihood; as appears by the several Ways mention'd above, that have been privately experienced.

To make _Citron-Water,_ from _Barbadoes._

Take Citron, or Lemon Flowers, for the word Citron in _French_ signifies Lemon; though we generally in _England_ esteem the large Lemons to be Citrons, and the middle-siz'd we call Lemons, and the smallest of that race is call'd the Lime. In these, however, there are as many varieties as we have in Apples, one is finer flavour'd than the other. The Oranges too are of as many different Sorts, the Rind of one pleasanter than the other, and the Juice likewise, and so are the Flowers various in their Smells, some more odorous than others; yet all these are used indifferently, according to the Kinds that happen to grow upon the several Estates, where the Citron-Water is made, and this is the Reason why one Sort is better than another; and therefore, those who have the most pleasant Sorts, make the best Waters of this Kind.

We must take, either of Citron, Lemon, or Orange-Flowers, four Ounces to a Gallon of clean Spirit, or _French_-Brandy; put these in the Spirits, with two Pounds of white Sugar-Candy, beaten fine: then take of the best Citron-Peels, or Lemon-Peels, six Ounces, and let them steep in the Spirits till the Liquor is strong enough of every Ingredient; and when that is done, pour it off, through a Sieve. And in some places they put about half a Drachm of Musk to six Gallons of Liquor; and this has been sold for sixteen s.h.i.+llings the Quart in _London_.

To make fine _Vinegar._

There is no doubt but the making of Vinegar will be a considerable Article, seeing that few of our fine Preparations for the Table can be made without it. A Gentleman of great note has given me the following Receipt for it, _viz._

To nine Gallons of Water, put eighteen Pounds of _Malaga_ Raisins, chopt a little, Stalks and all; put this into a Cask, bound with Iron Hoops, and place it in the warmest Exposure you can find in the open Air: then take a _Florence_ Flask, divested of its Straw, and put the Neck of it into the Bung-hole, fixing it as close as may be, with some Linnen-Cloth, and a little Pitch and Rosin melted together. By this Means, if the Weather prove fair and warm, your Vinegar will be fit for Use in three Weeks time. The use of the Gla.s.s, is, that in the heat of the Day it will fill itself with the Liquor, and when the cool of the Evening comes on, that Liquor will again be return'd into the Cask; by which means the Liquor will become sour much sooner than it will otherwise do. As soon as it is clear, draw it off.

To make _Irish Usquebaugh;_ from Lord _Capell's_ Receipt, when he was Lord Lieutenant of _Ireland._

To every Gallon of _French_-Brandy, put one Ounce of Liquorice sliced, one Ounce of sweet Fennel-Seeds, one Ounce of Anniseeds, one Pound of Raisins of the Sun split and stoned, a quarter of a Pound of Figs split, two Drachms of Coriander-Seeds, let these infuse about eight or nine Days, and pour the Liquor clear off, then add half an Ounce of Saffron, in a Bag, for a Day or two, and when that is out, put in a Drachm of Musk. If when this Composition is made, it seems to be too high a Cordial for the Stomach, put to it more Brandy, till you reduce it to the Temper you like. This is the same Receipt King _William_ had when he was in _Ireland_.

To make Green _Usquebaugh._

To every Gallon of _French_-Brandy put one Ounce of Anniseeds, and another of sweet Fennel-Seeds, two Drachms of Coriander-Seeds. Let these infuse nine Days, then take of the Spirit of Saffron one Drachm, distil'd from Spirit of Wine, mix with the rest; infuse during this time some Liquorice sliced in Spirits, one Pound of Raisins of the Sun, and filter it; put then a Quart of pure White-Wine to a Gallon of the Liquor, and when all is mix'd together, take the Juice of Spinach boil'd, enough to colour it; but do not put the Spinach Juice into the Liquor till it is cold. To this put one Pound of white Sugar candied, finely powder'd, to a Gallon of Liquor.

To make a _Cabbage-Pudding;_ from a Gentlewoman in _Suffolk,_ as it was written by herself.

Sir,

You will excuse me, if I send you a Receipt for a Pudding, which is accounted so agreeable by my Acquaintance, that they think it worth a place in your Book, call'd, _The Lady's Monthly Director_, in the Management of the several Products of a Farm. It may as well be made by People of the lower as of the higher Rank.

Take a Piece of boil'd Beef, which is not always done enough; the Parts of it which are the least done, and chop them small: take as much boil'd Cabbage as you have Meat, and chop that as small as the Beef, season this with Pepper and Salt, and two or three Eggs beaten, to mix it up in the manner of farced Meat. Whatever else of seasoning you like, put it to it; and when it is made into a thin Paste, put the Mixture into a Linnen-Cloth, and boil it till it is enough, then serve it to the Table. But this Pudding is much better made with raw salt Beef and boil'd Cabbage, for is makes an extraordinary Paste, and is much softer and fuller of Gravey than the first.

_N.B._ If it is of the first Sort, the quant.i.ty of half a Quartern Loaf of fine Bread, may boil an Hour, and the latter Sort may boil an Hour and a half.

_I am Yours,_ C. B.

Serve it with b.u.t.ter and Gravey, with Lemon-Juice.

Of the _Gourmandine-Pea,_ and its several Ways of Dressing.

_P.S._ You have mention'd in one of your Books a sort of Pea, which is call'd the Gourmandine, or Gourmand; which I suppose one may call, in _English_, the Glutton's Pea, because we eat all of it. For the Pods of it are very sweet and have no Film, or Skin in them, so that the Cods may be as well eaten as the Peas themselves; for which reason, when we have drawn the Strings from them, as we do from Kidney Beans, you may broil them upon a Gridiron, and serving them with gravey Sauce, they are very good; or to cut them into Pieces, and fry them with Mutton Steaks; or else you may fry them with Beef, and they are still better. But the best way, is to cut them cross, as you do _French_-Beans, and stew them in Gravey with a little Pepper and Salt, there is not any thing in my Opinion can eat better, and to be put in a gravey Soop, are incomparable; especially, if they have been parboil'd, and rubb'd dry, and then fry'd in burnt b.u.t.ter.