The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House Part 20

When you use these, pour away all the Liquor, and let them pa.s.s through a Saucepan with a little Salt and Water, till they are tender, as you would have them; then drain them again in a Cullendar, and fry them brown, with burnt b.u.t.ter, first flouring them, and a little Pepper; and when they are enough, put in a Gla.s.s of Claret, or a Gla.s.s of White Wine.

_I am, Your humble Servant._ S. F.

_Pippin_ Tart. From the same.

Cut some golden Pippins in halves, pare them, and take out the Cores; then stew them with half their weight of Sugar, and some Lemon-Peel, cut in thin long Slices, and Water enough to cover them. When they are clear, they are enough; then set them by to cool, and strain off the Liquor, or Syrup, and put that in a Pan to stew gently, with some candy'd Lemon and Orange-Peel, in slices; then have a sweet Paste prepared in a Dish, and lay in your Pippins, and pour the Syrup, and Sweetmeats, over them, and bake them in a gentle Oven; and when it is hot, pour some Cream either pure or artificial over them, and serve them to the Table.

To Pickle _Marygold-Flowers._ From Mr. _T._ of _Buckingham._

Though the Marygold Flower is of old date in Pottage; yet it continues still its stand among the useful things of the Kitchen, and cannot more easily be worn out, according to the custom of the Country, when the Country Folks make Broth. Mint with Pease, Fennel with Mackarel, and such like, cannot be forgot. And as the Marygold-Flowers are used in Porridge, I send the Receipt how to pickle them. Strip the Flower-leaves off, when you have gather'd the Flowers, at Noon, or in the Heat of the Day, and boil some Salt and Water; and when that is cold, put your Marygold-Flower Leaves in a Gallypot, and pour the Salt and Water upon them; then shut them up close till you use them, and they will be of a fine Colour, and much fitter for Porridge than those that are dry'd.

Seed-Cake. From the same.

Make some Paste of fine Flour, such as you would make for light Bread, with Yeast. Take five Pounds of this Dough, Without Salt in it, and cover it before a Fire for half an Hour, to make it rise; then take two Pounds and a half of fresh b.u.t.ter melted, and five Eggs beaten well with half a Pound of fine _Lisbon_ Sugar. Mix these well with your Paste, and work it till it is as light as possible; and when your Oven is very hot and clean, strew into your Cake a Pound of smooth Caraway Comfits; then put some b.u.t.ter on the Sides and Bottom of your Pan, and put in your Cake, and one Hour and a quarter will bake it. When it comes out of the Oven, cover it with Cloths of Linnen till it is cold; then put it, the next Day, a little while into an Oven. _N.B._ You must be sure to put in the Sugar after the b.u.t.ter. One may put on an Iceing if one will.

To make Orange-Chips. From the same.

Take some fresh Oranges about _February,_ and pare them very thin; they are then very cheap. Boil them in several Waters till they are tender, and have lost their Bitterness; then put them into cold Water for twelve Hours or more. Then make a Syrup for them in the following manner. Take about their weight of fine Sugar powder'd, and mix it with as much Water as it will take in, or a little more. Boil this, and sc.u.m it well; then drain the Orange-Peels from the Water they were steep'd in, and put them in a glaz'd earthen Vessel, and then pour the boiling hot Syrup upon them, letting them remain so till the Day following; then pour the Syrup from them, and boil it afresh, and pour it on a second time, and repeat the same work till your Peels are very clear, and the Syrup very thick; and then dry them in a Stove, and they will be fit for use, in the Condition we buy them. One may candy Lemon-Chips after the same manner.

To make _Hartshorn-Jelly._ From the same.

Take six Ounces of Harts-horn Shavings; put them into two Quarts of Water, and two or three bits of Lemon-Peel, and set this in a Sand-heat, for six or eight Hours, or let them infuse about ten Hours upon hot Embers. Then boil it briskly, and when you find it will jelly, as you may do, by taking out a little of the Liquor in a Spoon, and cooling it; then strain it off, and add to it about half a Pound of double-refined Sugar powder'd very fine; about a Gill of Sack, or two or three spoonfuls of Mountain Wine, the Juice of two Lemons; then set this on a slow Fire, and as it heats, beat the Whites of two Eggs to a froth, and put it into the Pan, where the Jelly is, at times as it rises; and then, when it just boils up, take it from the Fire, and it will be clarified. Then pour it by small quant.i.ties into the Jelly-bag, and let it drop or run into some Receiver; but it will be apt to run thick at first: then take that which is first run, if it be thick, and pour again into the Jelly-bag, and you will find it come clear. Then place your Gla.s.ses to receive it, and change the full one for another, which you must carefully watch, that your Gla.s.ses be not soil'd in the least, for the Beauty of this, in one particular, is its transparency; and again, it should not be too stiff. Some only take the Harts-horn Shavings, six Ounces to two Quarts of Water, and boil it gently till the Liquor will jelly, without the expence of a Sand-heat, or setting it on hot Embers. The boiling it is the best way, but requires more Patience.

To make a Tart of the _Ananas,_ or _Pine-Apple._ From Barbadoes.

Take a Pine-Apple, and twist off its Crown: then pare it free from the Knots, and cut it in Slices about half an Inch thick; then stew it with a little Canary Wine, or Madera Wine, and some Sugar, till it is thoroughly hot, and it will distribute its Flavour to the Wine much better than any thing we can add to it. When it is as one would have it, take it from the Fire; and when it is cool, put it into a sweet Paste, with its Liquor, and bake it gently, a little while, and when it comes from the Oven, pour Cream over it, (if you have it) and serve it either hot or cold.

_Marmalade_ of _Pine-Apples,_ or _Ananas._

When you have small Pine-Apples in Fruit, which are not n.o.ble enough to be brought to the Table, twist off their Crowns, and pare them; then slice them, and put them into a Syrup of Water, Sugar, and Pippins; and boil them with half their quant.i.ty of Sugar added to them, with a little White Wine, breaking them with a Spoon, as they boil, till they come to a Mash, or are a little tender. Then take them from the Fire, and put the Marmalade into Gla.s.ses to keep, and cover every Gla.s.s with white Paper, preserving them in a dry Place.

To dress the Giblets of a _Tortoise,_ or _Sea-Turtle._ From a _Barbadoes_ Lady.

Take the Head, the Feet, and the Tail, of either of these, and taking off their Scales, stew them three or four Hours, in Salt and Water, till they are almost tender; then broil them a little with Pepper and Salt on them, and then put them into a Stew-pan with a Shallot, and some Spice and sweet Herbs, according to your Taste; some strong Gravey, and some Wine, and thicken the Sauce, taking out the bunch of sweet Herbs. You may put then some Juice of Limes to them, or Chadocks or Lemons, to make them fine.

_N.B._ This is a dainty Dish, if they are broil'd, after the first stewing, because as they are sinewey, the Sinews ought to be a little scorched by broiling, or else they will not be so tender as one would have them.

There are two Sorts of Tortoises, the Land, and the Sea-Tortoise; but the Sea-Tortoise or Turtle, is what I mean, which is that which we have about the _West-Indies_. This is a fine Animal, partaking of the Land and Water.

Its Flesh between that of Veal, and that of a Lobster, and is extremely pleasant, either roasted or baked. There are some of these Creatures that weigh near two hundred Weight. They are frequently brought to _England_ in Tubs of Sea Water, and will keep alive a long time.

To roast a Piece of _Turtle,_ or _Tortoise._ From the same.

Take a piece of the Flesh of about five or six Pounds, and lay it in Salt and Water two Hours; then stick a few Cloves in it, and fasten it to the Spit, baste it at first with Wine and Lemon-Juice; and when it is near enough, drudge some Flour over it, with the raspings of Bread sifted; and then baste it well, either with Oil, or b.u.t.ter, strewing on, from time to time, more Flour and Raspings till it is enough; then take the Liquor in the Pan, and pouring off the Fat, boil it with some Lemon-Peel, and a little Sugar and Salt, and pour it over the Turtle. So serve it hot.

To make a _Turtle,_ or _Tortoise-_Pye. From the same.

Cut the Flesh of Turtle, or Tortoise, into Slices, about an Inch thick; then take Cloves beaten fine, with some Pepper and Salt, and a little sweet Herbs, and season your Pieces with them; then lay them in your Crust, with some Lemons sliced, and a quarter of a Pint of Oil-Olive pour'd over them, Or else some b.u.t.ter laid in bits upon them. In the cutting your Pieces, distribute your Fat and Lean, equally as may be; and though the Fat is of a greenish colour, it is yet very delicious: then close your Pye, and just before you put it in the Oven, pour in some White Wine, and bake it in a gentle Oven till it is tender. Then serve it hot.

To preserve _Ginger-Roots._ From the same.

Take Roots of Ginger, as we have them dry in _England_; wash them well, and lay one Pound of them to steep, ten or twelve Days, in White Wine and Water, stirring them every Day. Then take two Quarts of White Wine, and about half a Pint of Lemon-Juice, and boil them together a quarter of an Hour; then add two Pounds and a half of fine Sugar, and boil it to a Syrup, taking off the Sc.u.m as it rises; then put in your Ginger, and boil it a quarter of an Hour; then let it cool in a glazed Pan till the next Day, and then boil it again in the Syrup for half an Hour, and let it cool, as before, till the Day following, and repeat the boiling and cooling till your Ginger is clear, and put it into your Gla.s.ses, and cover them with Papers. It makes a fine Sweet-meat for the Winter.

To preserve _Ginger-Roots,_ fresh taken out of the Ground. From the same.

As Ginger is very common in the _West-Indies_, so the Roots are either preserved or pickled, when they are fresh taken out of the Ground, and we have now Ginger, growing in Pots, almost in every Garden where there is a Stove; and in a Year's time a single Root will almost fill a Pot; so that one might easily have enough of our own, to preserve every Year. We must take them up, when they have no Leaves upon them; and then scald them in Water, and rub them with a coa.r.s.e Cloth till they are dry; then put them into White Wine and Water, and boil them half an. Hour; then let them cool, and boil them again half an Hour. Then make a Syrup with White Wine two Quarts, half a Pint of Lime or Lemon-Juice, and two Pounds and a half of fine Sugar, with two Ounces of the Leaves of Orange-Flowers. When these boil together, put in your Ginger, and boil it gently half an Hour; then let it cool in an earthen glaz'd Vessel, and continue to boil it every Day, and cooling it till the Roots of your Ginger are clear. Then put it up in Gallypots, or in Gla.s.ses, and cover them with Papers, to keep for use.

To make Paste of _Pippins,_ or other fine Apples. From the same.

Take large Golden-Pippins, or Golden-Rennets, and scald them, with their Skins on; then pare them, and take out the Cores, and beat them in a Marble Mortar very well, with a little Lemon-Peel grated. Take then their weight of fine Sugar, and a little Water, and boil that in a Skillet to a candy height; then put in your Apples, and boil them thick in the Syrup till they will leave the Skillet, and when it is almost cold, work it up with fine Loaf-Sugar powder'd, and mould it into Cakes, then dry them.

To preserve _Cornelian-Cherries._ From the same.

Take Cornelian-Cherries, when they are full ripe, and take their weight in fine Sugar powder'd; then put these into your preserving Pan, and lay a Layer of Sugar, and another of Fruit; and so on till you have laid all in, covering them with Sugar; then pour upon them half a Pint of White Wine, and set it on the Fire, and as soon as the Sugar is all melted, boil them up quick, and take off the Sc.u.m as it rises, stirring them every now and then: and when the Fruit is clear, they are enough. Then put them into Gla.s.ses, and cover them with Papers.

To make _Marmalade_ of _Cornelian-Cherries._ From the same.

When your Cornelian-Cherries are full ripe, take out the Stones, and to every Pound of Fruit, take its weight of fine Sugar powder'd. Wet it with White Wine, and boil it to a candy'd height; then put in your Fruit, with the Juice that comes from them; then boil them very quick, and stir it often, sc.u.mming it clean; and when you see it very clear, and of a good Consistence, put it into a glaz'd earthen Pan; and when it is almost cold, put it into Gla.s.ses, and cover them with white Paper, and keep it in a dry Room. _Note_, If you let any of these sharp Fruits stand to cool in your Sweet-meat-Pans, they will take an ill taste from them.