The New England Cook Book Part 12

224. _Apple Dumplings._

Make good common, or raised pie crust, divide it into as many pieces, as you wish dumplings. Pare tart mellow apples, take out the cores, with a penknife, fill the holes with a blade of mace, and sugar. Roll out your crust half an inch thick, and enclose an apple in each piece. Tie them up in separate bags, that are floured inside. Drop them into a pot of boiling water, and boil them without any intermission for an hour, then take them out of the bags. If allowed to stop boiling they will not be light. Eat them with b.u.t.ter and sugar, or pudding sauce.

225. _Orange Pudding._

Mix three ounces of b.u.t.ter, with four table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, when stirred to a cream, add a quart of boiling milk, the juice and peel of two large oranges, the peel should be chopped very fine, put in a gill of wine, then an ounce of citron, cut into small strips, add eight eggs, the whiles and yolks beaten separately. Mix the whole well together, then turn it into a pudding dish, with a lining and rim of puff paste. Bake it directly in a quick oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes.

226. _Bird's Nest Pudding._

Pare and halve tart mellow apples, scoop out the cores, put a little flour in the hollow of the apples, and wet it so as to form a thick paste, stick a blade or two of mace and three or four Zante currants, in each one of the apples. b.u.t.ter small cups, and put half an apple, in each one, lay three or four narrow strips of citron round each apple.

Mix a quart of milk, with three table spoonsful of flour, six eggs, a grated nutmeg and four table spoonsful of sugar. Nearly fill the cups with this mixture. Bake them about thirty minutes. They should be eaten as soon as done.

227. _Apple Custard Pudding._

Pare and take out the cores of nice tart apples, lay them in a pudding dish, well b.u.t.tered, fill the holes of the apples, with nutmeg and sugar. For nine or ten apples, mix half a pint of flour with a quart of milk, four table spoonsful of sugar, and seven eggs, turn it over the apples, flavor it with whatever spice you like, and bake it about half an hour.

228. _English Plum Pudding._

Soak three quarters of a pound of finely pounded crackers in two quarts of milk. Put in twelve beaten eggs, half a pound of stoned raisins, quarter of a pound of Zante currants, the same weight of citron, cut into small pieces, and five ounces of blanched and pounded almonds; add a wine gla.s.s of lemon brandy, or wine, and a little orange flower, or rosewater, and a little salt. Bake or boil it from two hours and a half, to three hours.

229. _Transparent Pudding._

Melt half a pound of b.u.t.ter, and stir it into the same weight of double refined loaf sugar, add half a tea spoonful of essence of lemon, eight eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, and a couple of table spoonsful of cream. Set the whole on a few coals, stir it constantly till it thickens, take it off before it gets to boiling, and stir it till nearly cold, then turn it into a dish lined with pastry, put a rim of puff paste round the edge, and bake it half an hour. It will cut light and clear.

230. _Lemon Syrup._

Mix a pint of lemon juice with a pound and three quarters of lump sugar.

Dissolve it by a gentle heat, skim it until clear, then add one ounce of thin cut lemon peel, and simmer if gently for a few moments. Strain it through a flannel bag; when cold, bottle, cork, and seal it tight, keep it in a cool place. Another method of making it which is cheaper, and very good, is to dissolve half an ounce of citric acid, in a pint of clarified syrup, by a gentle heat; when cool, put in a few drops of oil or a little essence of lemon.

231. _Orange Syrup._

Take nice fresh oranges, squeeze out the juice, and strain it; to a pint of juice put a pound and a half of while sugar. Dissolve it over a moderate fire, put in the peel of the oranges, and let the whole boil eight or ten minutes. Strain it till clear, through a flannel bag, bottle and cork it tight. This is nice to flavor puddings and pies, or sherbet.

232. _Blackberry Syrup._

Pick over blackberries that are perfectly ripe, boil them in their juice till they break to pieces, then strain them through a flannel cloth, and to each pint of juice put a pound of sugar. Boil it again for ten minutes, then strain it and add a wine gla.s.s of brandy to each pint of syrup. When cool, bottle and cork it tight, and set it in a cool place.

This mixed with cold water in the proportion of a wine gla.s.s of it to two thirds of a tumbler of water is a very agreeable summer beverage, it also possesses fine medicinal properties.

233. _Clarified Syrup for Sweet Meats._

For most kinds of fruit, one pound of sugar, to one of the fruit, is sufficient to preserve them; some kinds of fruit will do with less. Put your sugar into your preserving kettle, and turn in as much cold water as you think will cover your fruit, when put in, add the white of an egg to every three pounds of sugar, then put it over a slow fire; when the sugar has dissolved, put it where it will boil, let it boil several minutes, then take it from the fire, and skim it till clear, put it back on the fire, when the sc.u.m rises again, take the kettle off and skim it again, this operation repeat till it is perfectly clear, then put in the fruit. If you have not syrup enough to cover the fruit, take the fruit out and put in more cold water, and let it get to boiling before you put in the fruit, if you have too much syrup, it should boil away before you boil your fruit in it. White sugar is better than brown for preserving, but brown sugar answers very well for common sweet meats. Every kind of ware but iron, will do to preserve in, but earthen ware is the best on account of its not imparting an unpleasant taste, to the sweet meats.

234. _To Preserve Quinces._

Quinces if very ripe, are best pared and cut in slices about an inch thick, the cores should be taken out carefully with a small knife, then put the quinces in clarified syrup, and boil them till you can stick a broom splinter through them easily, take them up and put them in jars, and turn the syrup over them, cover them up, and put them in a cool place, as soon as done. Quinces preserved in this manner retain more of their natural flavor, but they cannot be preserved in this way without they are very ripe. If not very ripe pare and halve them, and take out the cores. Boil the quinces till tender, then take them out, strain the water they were boiled in, and use it to make a syrup for the quinces, allow a pound of sugar to a pound of the fruit, when clarified put in the quinces and boil them slowly half an hour. Set them away in jars covered with a paper wet in brandy. Look at them in the course of three or four days, and if they have begun to ferment, turn off the syrup, and scald it, then turn it back on the quinces. Some people boil the cores of the quinces with them, but the syrup does not look as nice for it. A cheap way of preserving quinces, which is very good for common use, is to boil the parings and cores in cider till tender, then strain the cider, and for ten pounds of quince, put in two pounds of brown sugar, and a couple of quarts of mola.s.ses, and the beaten whites of two eggs; put it on the fire, clarify it, then put in the quinces, which should be pared and halved, put in the peel of an orange, boil them till tender.

235. _Quince Marmalade._

Wash and quarter them, put them on the fire, with a little water, and stew them till tender enough to rub through a sieve. When strained, put to a pound of pulp, a pound of brown sugar, set it back on the fire, and let it stew slowly, stir it constantly. To ascertain when it is done, take a little of it out and let it get cold, if it then cuts smooth and clear it is sufficiently stewed. Crab apple marmalade, is made in the same manner.

236. _To Preserve Pears._

Take an ounce of race ginger, for every pound of pears. Sc.r.a.pe off the skin, cut it into thin slices, and boil it until tender, then take it from the fire, put in your sugar, allowing three quarters of a pound to a pound of the pears, set it on the fire, clarify it, then put in the pears, if very small they are good preserved whole, boil them till tender, then put them in jars tightly covered, set them away in a cool place. In the course of five or six days, boil the syrup again, and turn it on them while hot. Choke and Vergoulouse are the best pears for preserving. The ginger can be omitted if not liked.

237. _To Preserve Peaches._

Pare your peaches, which should be very ripe, and if you wish to preserve them whole, allow a pound of sugar, to a pound of fruit. Take lump sugar, break it into small pieces, and dip each piece into cold water, let it be in just long enough to get saturated with the water, then put the lumps into a preserving kettle, set the kettle over a slow fire, when the sugar has dissolved, put in your peaches, boil them twenty minutes. These as well as all other sweet meats, should be set away in a cool place, as soon as done, if allowed to stand by the fire for a few hours, the syrup will not look clear; all preserves should be covered up tight. Let them remain several days, then turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back on to them, while hot. If you preserve your peaches without the stones, three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is sufficient, take those that are mellow and juicy, pare and halve them, take out the stones, put them in a deep dish; on each layer of peach, sprinkle your sugar, let them stand three or four hours, then put them on the fire with very little water, let them boil slowly for twenty minutes.

238. _To Preserve Currants._

Take your currants from the stems, for a pound of currants, allow a pound of sugar. Make some syrup, clarify it, and put in the currants, let them boil slowly for a few moments. A table spoonful of these, mixed with a tumbler of water is a very wholesome drink in the summer.

239. _To Preserve Barberries._

Pick over your barberries, and put them in clarified syrup, boil them half an hour. Mola.s.ses does very well to preserve barberries in, for common use, with a little orange peel boiled with them. Preserved barberries mixed with water, is a very refreshing drink in fevers.

240. _To Preserve Ginger._

Take green ginger, and soak it until you can sc.r.a.pe off the outside, when sc.r.a.ped, soak it in salt and water one day, then take it out of the salt and water, and boil it till tender. Make a syrup of white sugar, allowing equal weights of sugar and ginger, when clarified take it off, and when cold, turn it on the ginger, let it remain a week, then boil the ginger and syrup together, until the syrup appears to have entered the ginger, when cool put in a little essence of lemon.

241. _To Preserve Apples._

Take nice tart apples, halve and quarter them, and take out the cores.

For a pound of apples, allow three quarters of a pound of sugar. When you have clarified your syrup, put in the apples, with the skin of a lemon pared thin. When the apples are tender, take them up, and let the syrup remain till cold, then turn it over them. Apples preserved in this manner, will keep but a few days. Crab apples should be preserved whole, with the skins on, and to a pound of the apples put a pound of sugar.

242. _To Preserve Cymbelines or Mock Citron._

Cut and sc.r.a.pe the rinds of cymbelines, put them in strong salt and water, let them remain in it a week, then in fair water three days, changing the water every day, then soak them in alum water an hour. Tie up oyster sh.e.l.ls, in a cloth, and boil them with the cymbelines. When the cymbelines are tender, take them up and put them in alum water. Make your syrup, allowing a pound and a half of sugar, to a pound of the melon, boil your cymbelines in it three quarters of an hour. These are good eaten as any other preserves, or put in cake instead of citron.

243. _To Preserve Watermelon Rinds._