The Book of Household Management Part 54

_Mode_.--Grate the horseradish, and mix it well with the sugar, salt, pepper, and mustard; moisten it with sufficient vinegar to give it the consistency of cream, and serve in a tureen: 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of cream added to the above, very much improve the appearance and flavour of this sauce. To heat it to serve with hot roast beef, put it in a bain marie or a jar, which place in a saucepan of boiling water; make it hot, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle.

_Note_.--This sauce is a great improvement on the old-fas.h.i.+oned way of serving cold-sc.r.a.ped horseradish with hot roast beef. The mixing of the cold vinegar with the warm gravy cools and spoils everything on the plate. Of course, with cold meat, the sauce should be served cold.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HORSERADISH.]

THE HORSERADISH.--This has been, for many years, a favourite accompaniment of roast beef, and is a native of England. It grows wild in wet ground, but has long been cultivated in the garden, and is, occasionally, used in winter salads and in sauces. On account of the great volatility of its oil, it should never be preserved by drying, but should be kept moist by being buried in sand. So rapidly does its volatile oil evaporate, that even when sc.r.a.ped for the table, it almost immediately spoils by exposure to the air.

HORSERADISH VINEGAR.

448. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of sc.r.a.ped horseradish, 1 oz. of minced shalot, 1 drachm of cayenne, 1 quart of vinegar.

_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients into a bottle, which shake well every day for a fortnight. When it is thoroughly steeped, strain and bottle, and it will be fit for use immediately. This will be found an agreeable relish to cold beef, &c.

_Seasonable_.--This vinegar should be made either in October or November, as horseradish is then in its highest perfection.

INDIAN CURRY-POWDER, founded on Dr. Kitchener's Recipe.

449. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of coriander-seed, 1/4 lb. of turmeric, 2 oz.

of cinnamon-seed, 1/2 oz. of cayenne, 1 oz. of mustard, 1 oz. of ground ginger, 1/2 ounce of allspice, 2 oz. of fenugreek-seed.

_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients in a cool oven, where they should remain one night; then pound them in a mortar, rub them through a sieve, and mix thoroughly together; keep the powder in a bottle, from which the air should be completely excluded.

_Note_.--We have given this recipe for curry-powder, as some persons prefer to make it at home; but that purchased at any respectable shop is, generally speaking, far superior, and, taking all things into consideration, very frequently more economical.

INDIAN MUSTARD, an excellent Relish to Bread and b.u.t.ter, or any cold Meat.

450. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of the best mustard, 1/4 lb. of flour, 1/2 oz. of salt, 4 shalots, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, 1/4 bottle of anchovy sauce.

_Mode_.--Put the mustard, flour, and salt into a basin, and make them into a stiff paste with boiling water. Boil the shalots with the vinegar, ketchup, and anchovy sauce, for 10 minutes, and pour the whole, _boiling_, over the mixture in the basin; stir well, and reduce it to a proper thickness; put it into a bottle, with a bruised shalot at the bottom, and store away for use. This makes an excellent relish, and if properly prepared will keep for years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MUSTARD.]

MUSTARD.--Before the year 1729, mustard was not known at English tables. About that time an old woman, of the name of Clements, residing in Durham, began to grind the seed in a mill, and to pa.s.s the flour through several processes necessary to free the seed from its husks. She kept her secret for many years to herself, during which she sold large quant.i.ties of mustard throughout the country, but especially in London. Here it was introduced to the royal table, when it received the approval of George I. From the circ.u.mstance of Mrs. Clements being a resident at Durham, it obtained the name of Durham mustard. In the county of that name it is still princ.i.p.ally cultivated, and the plant is remarkable for the rapidity of its growth. It is the best stimulant employed to impart strength to the digestive organs, and even in its previously coa.r.s.ely-pounded state, had a high reputation with our ancestors.

INDIAN PICKLE (very Superior).

451. INGREDIENTS.--To each gallon of vinegar allow 6 cloves of garlic, 12 shalots, 2 sticks of sliced horseradish, 1/4 lb. of bruised ginger, 2 oz. of whole black pepper, 1 oz. of long pepper, 1 oz. of allspice, 12 cloves, 1/4 oz. of cayenne, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, 1/4 lb. of mustard, 1 oz. of turmeric; a white cabbage, cauliflowers, radish-pods, French beans, gherkins, small round pickling-onions, nasturtiums, capsic.u.ms, chilies, &c.

_Mode_.--Cut the cabbage, which must be hard and white, into slices, and the cauliflowers into small branches; sprinkle salt over them in a large dish, and let them remain two days; then dry them, and put them into a very large jar, with garlic, shalots, horseradish, ginger, pepper, allspice, and cloves, in the above proportions. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, which pour over, and, when cold, cover up to keep them free from dust. As the other things for the pickle ripen at different times, they may be added as they are ready: these will be radish-pods, French beans, gherkins, small onions, nasturtiums, capsic.u.ms, chilies, &c. &c. As these are procured, they must, first of all, be washed in a little cold vinegar, wiped, and then simply added to the other ingredients in the large jar, only taking care that they are _covered_ by the vinegar. If more vinegar should be wanted to add to the pickle, do not omit first to boil it before adding it to the rest. When you have collected all the things you require, turn all out in a large pan, and thoroughly mix them. Now put the mixed vegetables into smaller jars, without any of the vinegar; then boil the vinegar again, adding as much more as will be required to fill the different jars, and also cayenne, mustard-seed, turmeric, and mustard, which must be well mixed with a little cold vinegar, allowing the quant.i.ties named above to each gallon of vinegar. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot, over the pickle, and when cold, tie down with a bladder. If the pickle is wanted for immediate use, the vinegar should be boiled twice more, but the better way is to make it during one season for use during the next. It will keep for years, if care is taken that the vegetables are quite covered by the vinegar.

This recipe was taken from the directions of a lady whose pickle was always p.r.o.nounced excellent by all who tasted it, and who has, for many years, exactly followed the recipe given above.

__Note_.--For small families, perhaps the above quant.i.ty of pickle will be considered too large; but this may be decreased at pleasure, taking care to properly proportion the various ingredients.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INDIA PICKLE.]

KEEPING PICKLES.--Nothing shows more, perhaps, the difference between a tidy thrifty housewife and a lady to whom these desirable epithets may not honestly be applied, than the appearance of their respective store-closets. The former is able, the moment anything; is wanted, to put her hand on it at once; no time is lost, no vexation incurred, no dish spoilt for the want of "just little something,"--the latter, on the contrary, hunts all over her cupboard for the ketchup the cook requires, or the pickle the husband thinks he should like a little of with his cold roast beef or mutton-chop, and vainly seeks for the Embden groats, or arrowroot, to make one of her little boys some gruel. One plan, then, we strenuously advise all who do not follow, to begin at once, and that is, to label all their various pickles and store sauces, in the same way as the cut here shows. It will occupy a little time at first, but there will be economy of it in the long run.

VINEGAR.--This term is derived from the two French words _vin aigre_, 'sour wine,' and should, therefore, be strictly applied to that which is made only from wine. As the acid is the same, however it is procured, that made from ale also takes the same name. Nearly all ancient nations were acquainted with the use of vinegar. We learn in _Ruth_, that the reapers in the East soaked their bread in it to freshen it. The Romans kept large quant.i.ties of it in their cellars, using it, to a great extent, in their seasonings and sauces. This people attributed very beneficial qualities to it, as it was supposed to be digestive, antibilious, and antis...o...b..tic, as well as refres.h.i.+ng.

Spartia.n.u.s, a Latin historian, tells us that, mixed with water, it was the drink of the soldiers, and that, thanks to this beverage, the veterans of the Roman army braved, by its use, the inclemency and variety of all the different seasons and climates of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is said, the Spanish peasantry, and other inhabitants of the southern parts of Europe, still follow this practice, and add to a gallon of water about a gill of wine vinegar, with a little salt; and that this drink, with a little bread, enables them, under the heat of their burning sun, to sustain the labours of the field.

INDIAN CHETNEY SAUCE.

452. INGREDIENTS.--8 oz. of sharp, sour apples, pared and cored; 8 oz.

of tomatoes, 8 oz. of salt, 8 oz. of brown, sugar, 8 oz. of stoned raisins, 4 oz. of cayenne, 4 oz. of powdered ginger, 2 oz. of garlic, 2 oz. of shalots, 3 quarts of vinegar, 1 quart of lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Chop the apples in small square pieces, and add to them the other ingredients. Mix the whole well together, and put in a well-covered jar. Keep this in a warm place, and stir every day for a month, taking care to put on the lid after this operation; strain, but do not squeeze it dry; store it away in clean jars or bottles for use, and the liquor will serve as an excellent sauce for meat or fish.

_Seasonable_.--Make this sauce when tomatoes are in full season, that is, from the beginning of September to the end of October.

PICKLES.--The ancient Greeks and Romans held their pickles in high estimation. They consisted of flowers, herbs, roots, and vegetables, preserved in vinegar, and which were kept, for a long time, in cylindrical vases with wide mouths. Their cooks prepared pickles with the greatest care, and the various ingredients were macerated in oil, brine, and vinegar, with which they were often impregnated drop by drop. Meat, also, after having been cut into very small pieces, was treated in the same manner.

ITALIAN SAUCE (Brown).

453. INGREDIENTS.--A few chopped mushrooms and shalots, 1/2 pint of stock, No. 105, 1/2 gla.s.s of Madeira, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

_Mode_.--Put the stock into a stewpan with the mushrooms, shalots, and Madeira, and stew gently for 1/4 hour, then add the remaining ingredients, and let them just boil. When the sauce is done enough, put it in another stewpan, and warm it in a _bain marie_. (_See_ No. 430.) The mushrooms should not be chopped long before they are wanted, as they will then become black.

_Time_.--1/4 hour. _Average cost_, for this quant.i.ty, 7d.

_Sufficient_ for a small dish.

ITALIAN SAUCE (White).

454. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of white stock, No. 107; 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, 1 dessertspoonful of chopped shalots, 1 slice of ham, minced very fine; 1/4 pint of Bechamel, No. 367; salt to taste, a few drops of garlic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, a squeeze of lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Put the shalots and mushrooms into a stewpan with the stock and ham, and simmer very gently for 1/2 hour, when add the Bechamel. Let it just boil up, and then strain it through a tammy; season with the above ingredients, and serve very hot. If this sauce should not have retained a nice white colour, a little cream may be added.

_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, for this quant.i.ty, 10d.

_Sufficient_ for a moderate-sized dish.

_Note_.--To preserve the colour of the mushrooms after pickling, throw them into water to which a little lemon-juice has been added.

TO PICKLE LEMONS WITH THE PEEL ON.

455. INGREDIENTS.--6 lemons, 2 quarts of boiling water; to each quart of vinegar allow 1/2 oz. of cloves, 1/2 oz. of white pepper, 1 oz. of bruised ginger, 1/4 oz. of mace and chilies, 1 oz. of mustard-seed, 1/2 stick of sliced horseradish, a few cloves of garlic.

_Mode_.--Put the lemons into a brine that will bear an egg; let them remain in it 6 days, stirring them every day; have ready 2 quarts of boiling water, put in the lemons, and allow them to boil for 1/4 hour; take them out, and let them lie in a cloth until perfectly dry and cold.

Boil up sufficient vinegar to cover the lemons, with all the above ingredients, allowing the same proportion as stated to each quart of vinegar. Pack the lemons in a jar, pour over the vinegar, &c. boiling hot, and tie down with a bladder. They will be fit for use in about 12 months, or rather sooner.

_Seasonable_.--This should be made from November to April.

THE LEMON.--In the earlier ages of the world, the lemon does not appear to have been at all known, and the Romans only became acquainted with it at a very late period, and then only used it to keep moths from their garments. Its acidity would seem to have been unpleasant to them; and in Pliny's time, at the commencement of the Christian era, this fruit was hardly accepted, otherwise than as an excellent antidote against the effects of poison. Many anecdotes have been related concerning the anti-venomous properties of the lemon; Athenaeus, a Latin writer, telling us, that on one occasion, two men felt no effects from the bites of dangerous serpents, because they had previously eaten of this fruit.