The Book of Household Management Part 147

Immense supplies are also imported from the United States and from France. The apples grown in the vicinity of New York are universally admitted to be the finest of any; but unless selected and packed with great care, they are apt to spoil before reaching England.

BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

1227. INGREDIENTS.--6 apples, 3/4 lb. of suet-crust No. 1215, sugar to taste.

_Mode_.--Pare and take out the cores of the apples without dividing them; sweeten, and roll each apple in a piece of crust, made by recipe No. 1211; be particular that the paste is nicely joined; put the dumplings into floured cloths, tie them securely, and put them into boiling water. Keep them boiling from 1/2 to 3/4 hour; remove the cloths, and send them hot and quickly to table. Dumplings boiled in knitted cloths have a very pretty appearance when they come to table.

The cloths should be made square, just large enough to hold one dumpling, and should be knitted in plain knitting, with _very coa.r.s.e_ cotton.

_Time_.--3/4 to 1 hour, or longer should the dumplings be very large.

_Average cost_, 11/2d. each.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from August to March, but flavourless after the end of January.

LAMBSWOOL, or LAMASOOL.--This old English beverage is composed of apples mixed with ale, and seasoned with sugar and spice. It takes its name from _Lamaes abhal_, which, in ancient British, signifies the day of apple fruit, from being drunk on the apple feast in autumn. In France, a beverage, called by the Parisians _raisinee_, is made by boiling any given quant.i.ty of new wine, skimming it as often as fresh sc.u.m rises, and, when it is boiled to half its bulk, straining it. To this apples, pared and cut into quarters, are added; the whole is then allowed to simmer gently, stirring it all the time with a long wooden spoon, till the apples are thoroughly mixed with the liquor, and the whole forms a species of marmalade, which is extremely agreeable to the taste, having a slight flavour of acidity, like lemon mixed with honey.

RICH BAKED APPLE PUDDING.

I.

1228. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of the pulp of apples, 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 6 oz. of b.u.t.ter, the rind of 1 lemon, 6 eggs, puff-paste.

_Mode_.--Peel, core, and cut the apples, as for sauce; put them into a stewpan, with only just sufficient water to prevent them from burning, and let them stew until reduced to a pulp. Weigh the pulp, and to every 1/2 lb. add sifted sugar, grated lemon-rind, and 6 well-beaten eggs.

Beat these ingredients well together; then melt the b.u.t.ter, stir it to the other things, put a border of puff-paste round the dish, and bake for rather more than 1/2 hour. The b.u.t.ter should not be added until the pudding is ready for the oven.

_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour.

_Average cost_, 1s. 10d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from August to March.

II.

(_More Economical_.)

1229. INGREDIENTS.--12 large apples, 6 oz. of moist sugar, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 4 eggs, 1 pint of bread crumbs.

_Mode_.--Pare, core, and cut the apples, as for sauce, and boil them until reduced to a pulp; then add the b.u.t.ter, melted, and the eggs, which should be well whisked. Beat up the pudding for 2 or 3 minutes; b.u.t.ter a pie-dish; put in a layer of bread crumbs, then the apple, and then another layer of bread crumbs; flake over these a few tiny pieces of b.u.t.ter, and bake for about 1/2 hour.

_Time_.--About 1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 1s. 3d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from August to March.

_Note_.--A very good economical pudding may be made merely with apples, boiled and sweetened, with the addition of a few strips of lemon-peel. A layer of bread crumbs should be placed above and below the apples, and the pudding baked for 1/2 hour.

CONSt.i.tUENTS OF THE APPLE.--All apples contain sugar, malic acid, or the acid of apples; mucilage, or gum; woody fibre, and water; together with some aroma, on which their peculiar flavour depends. The hard acid kinds are unwholesome if eaten raw; but by the process of cooking, a great deal of this acid is decomposed and converted into sugar. The sweet and mellow kinds form a valuable addition to the dessert. A great part of the acid juice is converted into sugar as the fruit ripens, and even after it is gathered, by natural process, termed maturation; but, when apples decay, the sugar is changed into a bitter principle, and the mucilage becomes mouldy and offensive. Old cheese has a remarkable effect in meliorating the apple when eaten; probably from the volatile alkali or ammonia of the cheese neutralizing its acid.

RICH SWEET APPLE PUDDING.

1230. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of suet, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1/2 lb. of apples, 1/2 lb. of moist sugar, 6 eggs, 12 sweet almonds, 1/2 saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 winegla.s.sful of brandy.

_Mode_.--Chop the suet very fine; wash the currants, dry them, and pick away the stalks and pieces of grit; pare, core, and chop the apple, and grate the bread into fine crumbs, and mince the almonds. Mix all these ingredients together, adding the sugar and nutmeg; beat up the eggs, omitting the whites of three; stir these to the pudding, and when all is well mixed, add the brandy, and put the pudding into a b.u.t.tered mould; tie down with a cloth, put it into boiling water, and let it boil for 3 hours.

_Time_.--3 hours.

_Average cost_, 2s.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from August to March.

TO PRESERVE APPLES.--The best mode of preserving apples is to carry them at once to the fruit-room, where they should be put upon shelves, covered with white paper, after gently wiping each of the fruit. The room should be dry, and well aired, but should not admit the sun. The finer and larger kinds of fruit should not be allowed to touch each other, but should be kept separate.

For this purpose, a number of shallow trays should be provided, supported by racks or stands above each other. In very cold frosty weather, means should be adopted for warming the room.

BAKED APPLE PUDDING.

(_Very Good_.)

1231. INGREDIENTS.--5 moderate-sized apples, 2 tablespoonfuls of finely-chopped suet, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 pint of milk, a little grated nutmeg.

_Mode_.--Mix the flour to a smooth batter with the milk; add the eggs, which should be well whisked, and put this batter into a well-b.u.t.tered pie-dish. Wipe the apples clean, but do not pare them; cut them in halves, and take out the cores; lay them in the batter, rind uppermost; shake the suet on the top, over which, also grate a little nutmeg; bake in a moderate oven for an hour, and cover, when served, with sifted loaf sugar. This pudding is also very good with the apples pared, sliced, and mixed with the batter.

_Time_.--1 hour.

_Average cost_, 9d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

BOILED APPLE PUDDING.

1232. INGREDIENTS.--Crust No. 1215, apples, sugar to taste, 1 small teaspoonful of finely-minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Make a b.u.t.ter-crust by recipe No. 1213, or a suet one by recipe No. 1215, using for a moderate-sized pudding from 3/4 to 1 lb. of flour, with the other ingredients in proportion. b.u.t.ter a basin; line it with some of the paste; pare, core, and cut the apples into slices, and fill the basin with these; add the sugar, the lemon-peel and juice, and cover with crust; pinch the edges together, flour the cloth, place it over the pudding, tie it securely, and put it into plenty of fast-boiling water.

Let it boil from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, according to the size; then turn it out of the basin and send to table quickly. Apple puddings may also be boiled in a cloth without a basin; but, when made in this way, must be served without the least delay, as the crust so soon becomes heavy.

Apple pudding is a very convenient dish to have when the dinner-hour is rather uncertain, as it does not spoil by being boiled an extra hour; care, however, must be taken to keep it well covered with the water all the time, and not to allow it to stop boiling.

_Time_.--From 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, according to the size of the pudding and the quality of the apples.

_Average cost_, 10d.