English Housewifery Part 18

You may order isingla.s.s this way to put into any sort of made wine.

316. _To make_ MEAD _another Way_.

Take a quart of honey, three quarts of water, put your honey into the water, when it is dissolved, take the whites of four or five eggs, whisk and beat them very well together and put them into your pan; boil it while the skim rises, and skim it very clean; put it into your tub, when it is warm put in two or three spoonfuls of light yeast, according to the quant.i.ty of your mead, and let it work two nights and a day. To every gallon put in a large lemon, pare and strain it, put the juice and peel into your tub, and when it is wrought put it into your barrel; let it work for three or four days, stir twice a day with a thible, so bung it up, and let it stand two or three months, according to the hotness of the weather.

You must try your mead two or three times in the above time, and if you find the sweetness going off, you must take it sooner.

317. _To make_ CYDER.

Draw off the cyder when it hath been a fortnight in the barrel, put it into the same barrel again when you have cleaned it from the grounds, and if your apples were sharp, and that you find your cyder hard, put into every gallon of cyder a pound and half of sixpenny or five-penny sugar; to twelve gallons of this take half an ounce of isingla.s.s, and put to it a quart of cyder; when your isingla.s.s is dissolved, put to it three whites of eggs, whisk them altogether, and put them into your barrel; keep it close for two months and then bottle it.

318. _To make_ COWSLIP WINE.

Take two pecks of peeps, and four gallons of water, put to every gallon of water two pounds and a quarter of sugar, boil the water and sugar together a quarter of an hour, then put it into a tub to cool, put in the skins of four lemons, when it is cold bruise your peeps, and put into your liquor, add to it a jill of yeast, and the juice of four lemons, let them be in the tub a night and a day, then put it into your barrel, and keep it four days stirring, then clay it up close for three weeks and bottle it. Put a lump of sugar in every bottle.

319. _To make_ RED CURRAN WINE.

Let your currans be the best and ripest you can get, pick and bruise them; to every gallon of juice add five pints of water, put it to your berries in a stand for two nights and a day, then strain your liquor through a hair sieve; to every gallon of liquor put two pounds of sugar, stir it till it be well dissolved, put it into a rundlet, and let it stand four days, then draw it off clean, put in a pound and a half of sugar, stirring it well, wash out the rundlet with some of the liquor, so tun it up close; if you put two or three quarts of rasps bruised among your berries, it makes it taste the better.

You may make white curran wine the same way, only leave out the rasps.

320. _To make_ CHERRY WINE.

Take eight pounds of cherries and stone them, four quarts of water, and two pounds of sugar, skim and boil the water and sugar, then put in the cherries, let them have one boil, put them into an earthen pot till the next day, and set them to drain thro' a sieve, then put your wine into a spigot pot, clay it up close, and look at it every two or three days after; if it does not work, throw into it a handful of fresh cherries, so let it stand six or eight days, then if it be clear, bottle it up.

321. _To make_ CHERRY WINE _another Way_.

Take the ripest and largest kentish cherries you can get, bruise them very well, stones and stalks altogether, put them into a tub, having a tap to it, let them stand fourteen days, then pull out the tap, let the juice run from them and put it into a barrel, let it work three or four days, then stop it up close three or four weeks and bottle it off.

The wine will keep many years and be exceeding rich.

322. _To make_ LEMON DROPS.

Take a pound of loaf sugar, beat and sift it very fine, grate the rind of a lemon and put into your sugar; take the whites of three eggs and wisk them to a froth, squeeze in some lemon to your taste, beat them for half an hour, and drop them on white paper; be sure you let the paper be very dry, and sift a little fine sugar on the paper before you drop them. If you would have them yellow, take a pennyworth of gumbouge, steep it in some rose-water, mix to it some whites of eggs and a little sugar, so drop them, and bake them in a slow oven.

323. _To make_ Gooseberry Wine _another Way_.

Take twelve quarts of good ripe gooseberries, stamp them, and put to them twelve quarts of water, let them stand three days, stir them twice every day, strain them, and put to your liquor fourteen pounds of sugar; when it is dissolved strain it through a flannel bag, and put it into a barrel, with half an ounce of isingla.s.s; you must cut the isingla.s.s in pieces, and beat it whilst it be soft, put to it a pint of your wine, and let it stand within the air of the fire; take the whites of four eggs and beat them very well to a froth, put in the isingla.s.s, and whisk the wine and it together; put them into the barrel, clay it close, and let it stand whilst fine, then bottle it for use.

324. _To make_ Red Curran Wine _another Way_.

Take five quarts of red currans, full ripe, bruise them, and take from them all the stalks, to every five quarts of fruit put a gallon of water; when you have your quant.i.ty, strain them thro' a hair-sieve, and to every gallon of liquor put two pounds and three quarters of sugar; when your sugar is dissolved tun it into your cask, and let it stand three weeks, then draw it off, and put to every gallon a quarter of a pound of sugar; wash your barrel with cold water, tun it up, and let it stand about a week; to every ten gallons put an ounce of isingla.s.s, dissolve it in some of the wine, when it is dissolved put to it a quart of your wine, and beat them with a whisk, then put it into the cask, and stop it up close; when it is fine bottle it.

If you would have it taste of rasps, put to every gallon of wine a quart of rasps; if there be any grounds in the bottom of the cask, when you draw off your wine, drop them thro' a flannel bag, and then put it into your cask.

325. _To make_ MULBERRY WINE.

Gather your mulberries when they are full ripe, beat them in a marble mortar, and to every quart of berries put a quart of water; when you put 'em into the tub rub them very well with your hands, and let them stand all night, then strain 'em thro' a sieve; to every gallon of water put three pounds of sugar, and when the sugar is dissolved put it into your barrel; take two pennyworth of isingla.s.s and clip it in pieces, put to it a little wine, and let it stand all night within the air of the fire; take the whites of two or three eggs, beat them very well, then put them to the isingla.s.s, mix them well together, and put them into your barrel, stirring it about when it is put in; you must not let it be over full, nor bung it close up at first; set it in a cool place and bottle it when fine.

326. _To make_ BLACKBERRY WINE.

Take blackberries when they are full ripe, and squeeze them the same way as you did the mulberries. If you add a few mulberries, it will make your wine have a much better taste.

327. _To make_ SYRRUP OF MULBERRIES.

Take mulberries when they are full ripe, break them very well with your hand, and drop them through a flannel bag; to every pound of juice take a pound of loaf sugar; beat it small, put to it your juice, so boil and skim it very well; you must skim it all the time it is boiling; when the skim has done rising it is enough; when it is cold bottle it and keep it for use.

You may make rasberry syrrup the same way.

328. _To make_ RASBERRY BRANDY.

Take a gallon of the best brandy you can get, and gather your rasberries when they are full ripe, and put them whole into your brandy; to every gallon of brandy take three quarts of rasps, let them stand close covered for a month, then clear it from rasps, and put to it a pound of loaf sugar; when your sugar is dissolved and a little settled, boil it and keep it for use.

329. _To make Black_ CHERRY BRANDY.

Take a gallon of the best brandy, and eight pounds of black cherries, stone and put 'em into your brandy in an earthen pot; bruise the stones in a mortar, then put them into your brandy, and cover them up close, let them steep for a month or six weeks, so drain it and keep it for use.

You may distil the ingredients if you please.

330. _To make_ RATIFIE BRANDY.

Take a quart of the best brandy, and about a jill of apric.o.c.k kernels, blanch and bruise them in a mortar, with a spoonful or two of brandy, so put them into a large bottle with your brandy; put to it four ounces of loaf sugar, let it stand till you think it has got the taste of the kernels, then pour it out and put in a little more brandy if you please.

331. _To make_ COWSLIP SYRRUP.

Take a quartern of fresh pick'd cowslips, put to 'em a quart of boiling water, let 'em stand all night, and the next morning drain it from the cowslips; to every pint of water put a pound of fine powder sugar, and boil it over a slow fire; skim it all the time in the boiling whilst the skim has done rising; then take it off, and when it is cold put it into a bottle, and keep it for use.

332. _To make_ LEMON BRANDY.

Take a gallon of brandy, chip twenty-five lemons, (let them steep twenty-four hours) the juice of sixteen lemons, a quarter of a pound of almonds blanched and beat, drop it thro' a jelly bag twice, and when it is fine bottle it; sweeten it to your taste with double refined sugar before you put it into your jelly bag. You must make it with the best brandy you can get.