The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 84

Pound very fine one pound of Jordan, and one ounce of bitter, almonds, in a marble mortar, with half a gill of orange-flower water to keep them from oiling; then mix with them one pint of rose and one pint of spring-water; rub it through a tamis cloth or lawn sieve, till the almonds are quite dry, which will reduce the quant.i.ty to about a quart: have ready three pints of clarified sugar or water, and boil it to a crack (which may be known by dipping your fingers into the sugar, and then into cold water; and if you find the sugar to crack in moving your finger, it has boiled enough); put in the almonds; boil it one minute, and when cold put it into small bottles close corked; a table-spoonful of which will be sufficient for a tumbler of water: shake the bottle before using.

_Obs._--If the orgeat is for present use, the almonds may be pounded as above, and mixed with one quart of water, one quart of milk, a pint of capillaire or clarified sugar, rubbed through a tamis or fine sieve, and put into decanters for use.

_Baked Pears._--(No. 82.)

Take twelve large baking pears; pare and cut them into halves, leaving the stem about half an inch long; take out the core with the point of a knife, and place them close together in a block-tin saucepan, the inside of which is quite bright, with the cover to fit quite close; put to them the rind of a lemon cut thin, with half its juice, a small stick of cinnamon, and twenty grains of allspice; cover them with spring-water, and allow one pound of loaf-sugar to a pint and a half of water: cover them up close, and bake them for six hours in a very slow oven: they will be quite tender, and of a bright colour.

_Obs._--Prepared cochineal is generally used for colouring the pears; but if the above is strictly attended to, it will be found to answer best.

_To dry Apples._--(No. 83.)

Take biffins, or orange or lemon-pippins; the former are the best; choose the clearest rinds, and without any blemishes; lay them on clean straw on a baking-wire; cover them well with more straw; set them into a slow oven; let them remain for four or five hours; draw them out and rub them in your hands, and press them very gently, otherwise you will burst the skins; return them into the oven for about an hour; press them again; when cold, if they look dry, rub them over with a little clarified sugar.

_Obs._--By being put into the oven four or five times, pressing them between each time, they may be brought as flat, and eat as well, as the dried biffins from Norfolk.

_Icing, for Twelfth or Bride Cake._--(No. 84.)

Take one pound of double-refined sugar, pounded and sifted through a lawn sieve; put into a pan quite free from grease; break in the whites of six eggs, and as much powder blue as will lie on a sixpence; beat it well with a spattle for ten minutes; then squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and beat it till it becomes thick and transparent. Set the cake you intend to ice in an oven or warm place five minutes; then spread over the top and sides with the mixture as smooth as possible. If for a wedding-cake only, plain ice it; if for a twelfth cake, ornament it with gum paste, or fancy articles of any description.

_Obs._--A good twelfth cake, not baked too much, and kept in a cool dry place, will retain its moisture and eat well, if twelve months old.

_To boil Sugar to Caramel._--(No. 85.)

Break into a small copper or bra.s.s pan one pound of refined sugar; put in a gill of spring-water; set it on a fire; when it boils skim it quite clean, and let it boil quick, till it comes to the degree called crack; which may be known by dipping a tea-spoon or skewer into the sugar, and letting it drop to the bottom of a pan of cold water; and if it remains hard, it has attained that degree: squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and let it remain one minute longer on the fire; then set the pan into another of cold water: have ready moulds of any shape; rub them over with sweet oil; dip a spoon or fork into the sugar, and throw it over the mould in fine threads, till it is quite covered: make a small handle of caramel, or stick on two or three small gum paste rings, by way of ornament, and place it over small pastry of any description.

_A Croquante of Paste._--(No. 86.)

Roll out paste, as No. 8, about the eighth of an inch thick; rub over a plain mould with a little fresh b.u.t.ter; lay on the paste very even, and equally thin on both sides; pare it round the rim; then with a small penknife cut out small pieces, as fancy may direct, such as diamonds, stars, circles, sprigs, &c.; or use a small tin cutter of any shape: let it lie to dry some time, and bake it a few minutes in a slack oven, of a light colour: remove it from the mould, and place it over a tart, or any other dish of small pastry.

_Derby or Short Cakes._--(No. 87.)

Rub in with the hand one pound of b.u.t.ter into two pounds of sifted flour; put one pound of currants, one pound of good moist sugar, and one egg; mix all together with half a pint of milk: roll it out thin, and cut them into round cakes with a cutter; lay them on a clean baking-plate, and put them into a middling-heated oven for about five minutes.

_Egg and Ham Patties._--(No. 88.)

Cut a slice of bread two inches thick, from the most solid part of a stale quartern loaf: have ready a tin round cutter, two inches diameter; cut out four or five pieces, then take a cutter two sizes smaller, press it nearly through the larger pieces, then remove with a small knife the bread from the inner circle: have ready a large stew-pan full of boiling lard; fry them of a light-brown colour, drain them dry with a clean cloth, and set them by till wanted; then take half a pound of lean ham, mince it small; add to it a gill of good brown sauce; stir it over the fire a few minutes, and put a small quant.i.ty of Cayenne pepper and lemon-juice: fill the shapes with the mixture, and lay a poached egg (No. 546) upon each.

_Damson, or other Plum Cheese._--(No. 89.)

Take damsons that have been preserved without sugar; pa.s.s them through a sieve, to take out the skins and stones. To every pound of pulp of fruit put half a pound of loaf sugar, broke small; boil them together till it becomes quite stiff; pour it into four common-sized dinner plates, rubbed with a little sweet oil; put it into a warm place to dry, and when quite firm, take it from the plate, and cut it into any shape you choose.

N.B. Damson cheese is generally used in desserts.

_Barley Sugar._--(No. 90.)

Clarify, as No. 475, three pounds of refined sugar; boil it to the degree of _cracked_ (which may be ascertained by dipping a spoon into the sugar, and then instantly into cold water, and if it appears brittle, it is boiled enough); squeeze in a small tea-spoonful of the juice, and four drops of essence of lemon, and let it boil up once or twice, and set it by a few minutes: have ready a marble slab, or smooth stone, rubbed over with sweet oil; pour over the sugar; cut it into long stripes with a large pair of scissors; twist it a little, and when cold, keep it from the air in tin boxes or canisters.

_N.B._ A few drops of essence of ginger, instead of lemon, will make what is called ginger barley sugar.

_Barley Sugar Drops._--(No. 91.)

To be made as the last receipt. Have ready, by the time the sugar is boiled sufficiently, a large sheet of paper, with a smooth layer of sifted loaf sugar on it; put the boiled sugar into a ladle that has a fine lip; pour it out, in drops not larger than a shilling, on to the sifted sugar; when cold, fold them up separately in white paper.

N.B. Some use an oiled marble slab instead of the sifted sugar.

_Raspberry Jam._--(No. 92.)

Rub fresh-gathered raspberries, taken on a dry day, through a wicker sieve; to one pint of the pulp put one pound of loaf sugar, broke small; put it into a preserving-pan over a brisk fire; when it begins to boil, skim it well, and stir it twenty minutes; put into small pots; cut white paper to the size of the top of the pot; dip them in brandy, and put them over the jam when cold, with a double paper tied over the pot.

Strawberry jam is made the same way, and the scarlets are most proper for that purpose.

_Apricot, or any Plum Jam._--(No. 93.)

After taking away the stones from the apricots, and cutting out any blemishes they may have; put them over a slow fire, in a clean stew-pan, with half a pint of water; when scalded, rub them through a hair-sieve: to every pound of pulp put one pound of sifted loaf-sugar; put it into a preserving-pan over a brisk fire, and when it boils skim it well, and throw in the kernels of the apricots, and half an ounce of bitter almonds, blanched; boil it a quarter of an hour fast, and stirring it all the time; remove it from the fire, and fill it into pots, and cover them as at No. 92.

N.B. Green gages or plums may be done in the same way, omitting the kernels or almonds.

_Lemon Chips._--(No. 94.)

Take large smooth-rinded Malaga lemons; race or cut off their peel into chips with a small knife (this will require some practice to do it properly); throw them into salt and water till next day; have ready a pan of boiling water, throw them in and boil them tender. Drain them well: after having lain some time in water to cool, put them in an earthen pan, pour over enough boiling clarified sugar to cover them, and then let them lie two days; then strain the syrup, put more sugar, and reduce it by boiling till the syrup is quite thick; put in the chips, and simmer them a few minutes, and set them by for two days: repeat it once more; let them be two days longer, and they will be fit to candy, which must be done as follows: take four pints of clarified sugar, which will be sufficient for six pounds of chips, boil it to the degree of _blown_ (which may be known by dipping the skimmer into the sugar, and blowing strongly through the holes of it; if little bladders appear, it has attained that degree); and when the chips are thoroughly drained and wiped on a clean cloth, put them into the syrup, stirring them about with the skimmer till you see the sugar become white; then take them out with two forks; shake them lightly into a wire sieve, and set them into a stove, or in a warm place to dry.

N.B. Orange chips are done in the same way.

_Dried Cherries._--(No. 95.)

Take large Kentish cherries, not too ripe; pick off the stalks, and take out the stones with a quill, cut nearly as for a pen: to three pounds of which take three pounds or pints of clarified sugar--(see No. 475,) boil it to the degree of blown (for which see last receipt); put in the cherries, give them a boil, and set them by in an earthen pan till the next day; then strain the syrup, add more sugar, and boil it of a good consistence; put the cherries in, and boil them five minutes, and set them by another day: repeat the boiling two more days, and when wanted, drain them some time, and lay them on wire sieves to dry in a stove, or nearly cold oven.

_Green Gages preserved in Syrup._--(No. 96.)

Take the gages when nearly ripe; cut the stalks about half an inch from the fruit; put them into cold water, with a lump of alum about the size of a walnut; and set them on a slow fire till they come to a simmer: take them from the fire, and put them into cold water; drain, and pack them close into a preserving-pan; pour over them enough clarified sugar to cover them; simmer them two or three minutes; set them by in an earthen pan till next day, when drain the gages, and boil the syrup with more sugar, till quite thick; put in the gages, and simmer them three minutes more, and repeat it for two days; then boil clarified sugar to a blow, as at No. 94, place the gages into gla.s.ses, and pour the syrup over, and, when cold, tie over a bladder, and upon that a leather; and should you want any for drying, drain and dry them on a wire sieve in a stove or slow oven.

Apricots or egg plums may be done in the same way.