The American Housewife Part 19

358. _Essence of Ginger._

Take three ounces of fresh ginger--grate and put it into a quart of French brandy, together with the rind of a fresh lemon--none of the white part of the peel should be put in. Shake the whole up well every day, for eight or ten days--at the end of that time, it will be fit for use. A little of this, mixed with water, or put on a lump of sugar, answers all the purposes of ginger tea, and is much more palatable. It is also nice to flavor many kinds of sweetmeats.

359. _Spice Brandy._

Put into a jar French brandy, and rose or peach leaves, in the proportion of a quart of the former to half a pint of the latter. Let them steep together, till the strength is obtained from the leaves--then turn off the brandy, squeeze the leaves dry, throw them away, and put fresh leaves to the brandy. Continue to go through the above process until the brandy is strongly impregnated with the leaves--then turn the brandy off clear, and bottle it--keep it corked tight. Lemon or orange peel, and peach meats, steeped in a bottle of brandy, give it a fine flavor. It takes the rind of three or four lemons, or a quarter of a pound of peach meats, to flavor a pint of brandy. When all the brandy is used, put in more, with a few fresh rinds. Spice brandy is very nice to season cakes, puddings, and mince pies.

360. _Rosewater._

Gather fragrant, full-blown roses, on a dry day--pick off the leaves, and to each peck of them put a quart of water. Put the whole in a cold still, and set the still on a moderate fire--the slower they are distilled, the better will be the rosewater. Bottle the water as soon as distilled.

361. _To extract the Essential Oil of Flowers._

Procure a quant.i.ty of fresh, fragrant leaves--both the stalk and the flower leaves will answer. Cord very thin layers of cotton, and dip them into fine Florence oil--put alternate layers of the cotton and leaves in a gla.s.s jar, or large tumbler. Sprinkle a very small quant.i.ty of fine salt on each layer of the flowers, cover the jar up tight, and place it in a south window, exposed to the heat of the sun. In the course of a fortnight a fragrant oil may be squeezed out of the cotton. Rose leaves, mignonette, and sweet-scented clover, make fine perfumes, managed in this way.

362. _Perfume Bags._

Rose and sweet-scented clover leaves, dried in the shade, then mixed with powdered cloves, cinnamon, mace, and pressed in small bags, are very nice to keep in chests of linen, or drawers of clothes, to perfume them.

363. _Cologne Water._

Turn a quart of alcohol gradually on to the following oils: a couple of drachms of the oil of rosemary, two of the oil of lemon, or orange-flower water, one drachm of lavender, ten drops of oil of cinnamon, ten of cloves, and a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Keep the whole stopped tight in a bottle--shake it up well. It will do to use as soon as made, but it is much improved by age.

364. _Lavender Water._

Turn a pint of alcohol slowly on to an ounce and a half of the oil of lavender, two drachms of ambergris. Keep the lavender water in a tight-corked bottle--it should be shook up well when first put in.

365. _Aromatic Vinegar._

Mix with a table-spoonful of vinegar enough powdered chalk to destroy the acidity. Let it settle--then turn off the vinegar from the chalk carefully, and dry it perfectly. Whenever you wish to purify an infected room, put in a few drops of sulphuric acid--the fumes arising from it will purify a room where there has been any infectious disorder. Care is necessary in using it, not to inhale the fumes, or to get any of the acid on your garments, as it will corrode whatever it touches.

366. _Barley Water._

Boil a couple of ounces of barley, in two quarts of water, till soft--pearl barley is the best, but the common barley answers very well.

When soft, strain and mix it with a little currant jelly, to give it a pleasant, acid taste. If the jelly is not liked, turn it, when boiled soft, on to a couple of ounces of figs or raisins, and boil it again, till reduced to one quart, then strain it for use.

367. _Rice Gruel._

Put a large spoonful of unground rice into six gills of boiling water, with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Strain it when boiled soft, and add half a pint of new milk--put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and boil it a few minutes longer. If you wish to make the gruel of rice flour, mix a table-spoonful of it, smoothly, with three of cold water, and stir it into a quart of boiling water. Let it boil, five or six minutes, stirring it constantly. Season it with salt, a little b.u.t.ter, and add, if you like, nutmeg and white sugar to your taste.

368. _Water Gruel._

Mix a couple of table-spoonsful of Indian meal with one of wheat flour, and sufficient cold water to make a thick batter. If the gruel is liked thick, stir it into a pint of boiling water--if liked thin, more water will be necessary. Season the gruel with salt, and let it boil six or eight minutes, stirring it frequently--then take it from the fire, put in a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a walnut, and pepper to the taste.

Turn it on toasted bread, cut in small pieces.

369. _Caudle._

Make rice or water gruel, as above--then strain it, and add half a wine gla.s.s of ale, wine, or brandy. Sweeten it with loaf sugar, and grate in a little nutmeg.

370. _Arrow Root Custards._

Boil a pint of milk, and stir into it, while boiling, a table-spoonful of arrow root, mixed smooth, with a little cold milk. Stir it in well, and let the whole boil three or four minutes--take it from the fire to cool--when so, stir in a couple of beaten eggs, sweeten it to the taste, and grate in a small piece of nutmeg. Set the whole where it will boil, stirring it constantly. As soon as it boils up, take it from the fire, and turn it into custard cups. The arrow root, prepared in the same manner as for the custards, omitting the sugar, spice, and eggs, is excellent food for invalids, and can be eaten when the custards are too rich for the stomach.

371. _Wine Whey._

Stir into a pint of boiling milk a couple of gla.s.ses of wine. Let it boil a minute, then take it from the fire, and let it remain till the curd has settled--then turn off the whey, and sweeten it with white sugar.

372. _Stomachic Tincture._

Bruise a couple of ounces of Peruvian bark, one of bitter dried orange peel. Steep them in a pint of proof spirit a fortnight, shaking up the bottle that contains it once or twice every day. Let it remain untouched for a couple of days, then decant the bitter into another bottle. A tea-spoonful of this, in a wine gla.s.s of water, is a fine tonic.

373. _Thoroughwort Bitters._

Make a strong tea of the thoroughwort--strain it, and when cool, put to a couple of quarts of it half a pint of French brandy, the peel of two or three fresh oranges, cut into small bits, and half a dozen bunches of fennel, or smallage seed. The seed and orange peel should be crowded into a bottle, then the tea and brandy turned in. The bottle should be corked tight. The bitters will keep good almost any length of time, and is an excellent remedy for bilious complaints, and can often be taken when the thoroughwort tea will not sit on the stomach. A wine gla.s.s of these bitters to a tumbler of water is about the right proportion. It should have a little sugar added to it before drinking it.

374. _Cough Tea._

Make a strong tea of everlasting--strain, and put to a quart of it two ounces of figs or raisins, two of liquorice, cut in bits. Boil them in the tea for twenty minutes, then take the tea from the fire, and add to it the juice of a lemon. This is an excellent remedy for a tight cough--it should be drank freely, being perfectly innocent. It is the most effectual when hot.

375. _Beef Tea._

Broil a pound of fresh lean beef ten minutes--then cut it into small bits, turn a pint of boiling water on it, and let it steep in a warm place half an hour--then strain it, and season the tea with salt and pepper to the taste. This is a quick way of making the tea, but it is not so good, when the stomach will bear but a little liquid on it, as the following method: Cut the beef into small bits, which should be perfectly free from fat--fill a junk bottle with them, cork it up tight, and immerse it in a kettle of lukewarm water, and boil it four or five hours. This way is superior to the first, on account of obtaining the juices of the meat, unalloyed with water, a table-spoonful of it being as nourishing as a tea-cup full of the other.

376. _Moss Jelly._

Steep Carragua, or Irish moss, in cold water a few minutes, to extract the bitter taste--then drain off the water, and to half an ounce of moss put a quart of fresh water, and a stick of cinnamon. Boil it till it becomes a thick jelly, then strain it, and season it to the taste with white wine and white sugar. This is very nourishing, and recommended highly for consumptive complaints.

377. _Sago Jelly._