TllE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE: OR, METHODICAL COOK. BY MRS. MARY RANDOLPH. METHOD IS THE SOUL OF MANAGEMENT PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO. 1871 . PREFACE. [p * 4 *) * ^ X ISlI 6o cO z r methods are no better than baking. Many cooks are in the habit of half boiling the meats to plump them as they icrin it, before they are spitted, but it destroys their fine flavour. Whatever is to be boiled, must be put into cold water with a little salt, which will cook them regularly. When they are put in boiling water, the outer side is done too much, before the inside gets heated. Nice lard is much better than butter for bast¬ ing roasted meats, or for frying. To choose butchers’ meat, you must see that the fat is not yellow, and that the lean parts are of a fine close grain, a lively colour, and will feel tender when pinched. Poultry should be well covered with white fat; if the bottom of the breast bone be gristly, it is young, but if it be a hard bone, it is an old one. Fish are judged by the liveliness of their eyes, and bright red of their gills. Dredge every thing with flour before it is put on to boil, and be sure to add salt to the water. Fish, and all other articles for frying, after being nicely prepared, should be laid on a board and dredged with flour or meal mixed with salt: when it beco £8 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. dry on one side, turn it, and dredge the other. Foi broiling, have very clear coals, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the pieces, and when done, dish them, and pour over some melted butter and chopped pars¬ ley—this is for broiled veal, wild fowl, birds or poul try: beef-steaks and mutton chops require only a table-spoonful of hot water to be poured over. Slice an onion in the dish before you put in the steaks or chops, and garnish both with rasped horse-radish. To have viands served in perfection, the dishes should he made hot, either by setting them over hot water, or by putting some in them, and the instant the meats are lain in and garnished, put on a. pewter dish cover. A dinner looks very enticing, when the steam rises from ech dish on removing the covers, and if it be judi¬ ciously ordered , will have a double relish. Profusion is not elegance—a dinner justly calculated f4 TO TOAST A HAM. Boil it well, take off the skin, and cover the top thickly with bread crumbs, put it in an oven to brown, and serve it up. TO STUFF A HAM. Take a well smoked ham, wash it very clean, make incisions all over the top two inches deep, stuff them quite full with parsley chopped small and some pep¬ per, boil the ham sufficiently; do not take off the skin It must be eaten cold. SOUSED FEET IN RAGOUT. Split the feet in two, dredge them with flour and fry them a nice brown; have some well seasoned gravy thickened with brown flour and butter; stew the feet in it a few minutes. TO MAKE SAUSAGES. 1 ake the tender pieces of fresh pork, chop them exceedingly fine—chop some of the leaf fat, and put them together in the proportion of three pounds o4 pork tt, one of fat, season it very high with pepper and salt, add a small quantity of dried sage rubbed to a powder, have the skins nicely prepared, fill them and hang them in a dry place. Sausages are excellent made into cakes and fried, but will not keep so well as in skins. TO MAKE BLACK PUDDINGS. Catch the blood as it runs from the hog, stir it continually till cold to prevent its coagulating; when THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 55 cold thicken it with boiled rice or oatmeal, add leaf fat chopped small, pepper, salt, and any herbs that are liked, fill the skins and smoke them two or three days; they must be boiled before they are hung up, and prick them with a fork to keep them from bursting. A SEA PIE. Lay at the bottom of a small Dutch oven some slices of boiled pork or salt beef, then potatos and onions cut in slices, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley shred fine, some crackers soaked, and a layer of fowls cut up, or slices of veal; cover them with a paste not too rich, put another layer of each article, and cover them with paste until the oven is full; put a little but¬ ter between each layer, pour in water till it reaches the top crust, to which you must add wine, catsup of any kind you please, and some pounded cloves; let it stew until there is just gravy enough left; serve it in a deep dish and pour the gravy on. TO MAKE PASTE FOR THE PIE. Pour half a pound of butter or dripping, boiling hot, into a quart of flour, add as much water as will make it a paste, work it and roll it well before you use it. It is quite a savoury paste. BOLOGNA SAUSAGES. Take one pound of bacon—fat and lean, one ditto veal, do., pork, do., suet, chop all fine, season highly: fill the skins, prick and boil them an hour, and hang them to dry—grated bread or boiled rice may be added: clean the skins with salt and vinegar. 56 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. FISH. TO CURE HERRINGS. The best method for preserving herrings, and which may be followed with ease, for a small family, is to take the brine left of your winter stock for beef, to the fishing place, and when the seine is hauled, to pick out the largest herrings, and throw them alive into the brine; let them remain twenty-four hours, take them out and lay them on sloping planks, that the brine may drain off; have a tight barrel, put some coarse alum salt at the bottom, then put in a layer of herrings—take care not to bruise them; sprinkle over it alum salt and some saltpetre, then fish, salt, and saltpetre, till the barrel is full; keep a board over it. Should they not make brine enough to cover them in a few weeks, you must add some, for they will be rusty if not kept under brine. The proper time to salt them is when they are quite fat: the scales will adhere closely to a lean herring, but will be loose on a fat one—the former is not fit to be eaten. Do not be sparing of salt when you put them up. When they are to be used, take a few out of brine, soak them an hour or two, scale them nicely, pull off the gills, and the only entrail they have will come with them; wash them clean and hang them up to dry. When to be broiled, take half a sheet of white paper, mb it over with butter, put the herring in, double the edges securely, and broil without burning it. The brine the herrings drink before they die, has a won¬ derful effect in preserving their juices: when one 01 two vears old, they are equal to anchovies. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 57 TO BAKE STURGEON. Get a piece of sturgeon with the skin on, the piece next to the tail, scrape it well, cut out the gris- tie, and boil it about twenty minutes to take out the oil; take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, stuff it with forcemeat, made of bread crumbs, but¬ ter, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, put it in a Dutch oven just large enough to hold it, with a pint and a half of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, some salt and pepper, stew it gently till the gravy is reduced to the quantity necessary to pour over it; take up your sturgeon carefully, thicken the gravy with a spoonful of butter rubbed into a large one of orown flour;—see that it is perfectly smooth when you put it in the dish. TO MAKE STURGEON CUTLETS. The tail piece is the best; skin it and cut off the gristle, cut it into slices about half an inch thick, sprinkle over them pepper and salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them a nice light brown; have ready a pint of good gravy, seasoned with catsup, wine, and a little pounded cloves, and thickened with brown flour and butter; when the cutlets are cold, put them into the gravy and stew them a few minutes; garnish the dish with nice forcemeat balls and parsley fried crisp.' STURGEON STEAKS. Cut them as for the cutlets, dredge them, and fry them nicely; dish them quickly lest they get cold; 58 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. pour ovei melted butter with chopped parsley, and garnish with fried parsley. TO BOIL STURGEON. Leave the skin on, which must be nicely scraped, take out the gristle, rub it with salt, and let it lie an hour, then put it on in cold water with some salt and a lew cloves of garlic; it must be dredged with flour before it is put into the water, skim it carefully, and when dished, pour over it melted butter with chopped parsley, a large spoonful of mushroom catsup, one of 2mon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar; send some if it to table in a sauce boat;—the sturgeon being a iry fish, rich sauce is necessary. TO BAKE A SHAD. The shad is a very indifferent fish unless it be large and fat; when you get a good one, prepare it nicely, put some forcemeat inside, and lay it at full length in a pan with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, a little pepper, vinegar, salt, a few cloves of garlic, and six cloves: stew it gently till the gravy is sufficiently reduced; there should always be a fish-slice with holes to lay the fish on, for the con¬ venience of dishing without breaking it; when the fish is taken up, slip it carefully into the dish; thicken the gravy with butter and brown flour, and pour over it. TO BOIL A SHAD. Get a nice fat shad, fresh from the water, that the skin may not crack in boiling, put it in cold water on a slice, in a kettle of proper length, with a wine THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 59 glass of pale vinegar, salt, a little garlic, and a bun¬ dle of parsley; when it is done, drain all the water from the fish, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have a sauce boat of nice melted butter, to mix with the different catsups, as taste shall direct. TO ROAST A SHAD. Fill the cavity with good forcemeat, sew it up, and tie it on a board of proper size, cover it with bread crumbs, with some salt and pepper, set it before the fire to roast; when done on one side, turn it, tie it again, and when sufficiently done, pull out the thread, and serve it up with butter and parsley poured over it. TO BROIL A SHAD. Separate one side from the back-bone, so that it will lie open without being split in two; wash it clean, dry it with a cloth, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, and let it stand till you are ready to broil it; have the gridiron hot and well greased, broil it nicely, and pour over it melted butter. TO BOIL ROCK FISH. The best part of the rock is the head and shoul¬ ders—clean it nicely, put it into the fish kettle with cold water and salt, boil it gently and skim it well; when done, drain off the water, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have two boats of outter nicely melted with chopped parsley, or for a change, you may have anchovy butter; the roe and liver should be fried and served in separate dishes. If any of the rook be left, it will make a delicious dish 60 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. next day;—pick it in small pieces, put it in a stew pan with a gill of water, a good lump of butter, some salt, a large spoonful of lemcn pickle, and one of pepper vinegar—shake it over the fire till perfectly hot, and serve it up. It is almost equal to stewed crab. TO FRY PERCH. Clean the fish nicely, but do not take out the roes$ dry them on a cloth, sprinkle some salt, and dredge them with flour, lay them separately on a board; when one side is dry, turn them, sprinkle salt and dredge the other side; be sure the lard boils when you put the fish in, and fry them with great care; they should be a yellowish brown when done. Send melted but¬ ter or anchovy sauce in a boat. TO PICKLE OYSTERS. Select the largest oysters, drain off their liquor, and wash them in clean water; pick out the pieces of shells that may be left, put them in a stew pan with water proportioned to the number of oysters, some salt, blades of mace, and whole black pepper; stew them a few minutes, then put them in a pot, and when cold, add as much pale vinegar as will give the liquor an agreeable acid. TO MAKE a CURRY OF CATFISH. Take the white channel catfish, cut off their heads, skin and clean them, cut them in pieces four inches long, put as many as will be sufficient for a dish into a stew pan with a quart of water, two onions, and chopped parsley; let them stew gently till the water THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 6 ) is reduced to half a pint, take the fish out and lay them on a dish, cover them to keep them hot, rub a spoonful of butter into one of flour, add a large tea¬ spoonful of curry powder, thicken the gravy with it, shake it over the fire a few minutes, and pour it over the fish; be careful to have the gravy smooth. TO DRESS A COD’S HEAD AND SHOULDERS. Take out the gills and the blood from the bone, wash the head very clean, rub over it a little salt, then lay it on your fish plate; throw in the water a good handful of salt, with a glass of vinegar, then put in the fish, and let it boil gently half an hour; if it is a large one, three quarters; take it up very carefully, strip the skin nicely off, set it before a brisk fire, dredge it all over with flour, and baste it well with butter; when the froth begins to rise, throw over it some very fine white bread crumbs; you must keep basting it all the time to make it froth well; when it is a fine light brown, dish it up, and garnish it with a lemon cut in slices, scraped horse-radish, barberries, a few small fish fried and laid around it, or fried oysters—cut the roe and liver in slices, and lay over it a little of the lobster out of the sauce in lumps, and then serve it up. TO MAKE SAUCE FOR THE COD’S DEAD. Take a lobster, if it be alive, stick a skewer in the rent of the tail, (to keep the water out,) throw a handful of salt in the water; when it boils, put in the lobster, and boil it half an hour; if it has spawn on it. m THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. pick them off, and pound them exceedingly fine in a marble mortar, and put them into half a pound of good melted butter, then take the meat out of the lob¬ ster, puli it in bits, and put it in your butter, with a meat spoonful of lemon pickle, and the same of walnut catsup, a slice of lemon, one or two slices of horse-radish, a little beaten mace, salt and cayenne to your taste; boil them one minute, then take out the horse-radish and lemon, and serve it up in your sauce boat. N. B. If you cannot get lobsters, you may make shrimp, cockle, or muscle sauce, the same way; if there can be no shell fish got, you then may add two anchovies cut small, a spoonful of walnut, liquor, a large onion stuck with cloves—strain and put it in the sauce boat. TO DRESS A SALT COD. Steep your salt fish in water all night, with a glass of vinegar; it will take out the salt, and make it taste like fresh fish; the next day boil it; when it is enough take off the skin, pull it in fieaks into your dish, then pour egg sauce over it, or parsnips boiled and beat fine, with butter and cream; send it to the table on a water plate, for it will soon grow cold. MATELOTE OF ANY KIND OF FIRM FISH. Cut the fish in pieces six inches long, put it in a pot with onion, parsley, thyme, mushrooms, a little spice, pepper and salt—add red wine and water enough for gravy, set it on a ouick fire and reduce it THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 63 cne-third, thicken with a spoonful of butter and two of flour; put it in a dish with bits of bread fried ir butter, and pour the gravy over it. CHOWDER, A SEA DISH. Take any kind of firm fish, cut it in pieces six inches long, sprinkle salt and pepper over each piece, cover the bottom of a small Dutch oven with slices of salt pork about half boiled, lay in the fish, strew¬ ing a little chopped onion between; cover with crackers that have been soaked soft in milk, pour over it two gills of white wine, ami two of water; put on the top cf the oven, and stew it gently about an hour; take it cut carefully, and lay it in a deep dish; thicken the gravy with a little flour and a spoonful of butter, add some chopped parsley, boil it a few minutes, and pour it over the fish—serve it up hot. TO PICKLE STURGEON. The best sturgeons are the small ones, about four feet long without the head, and the best part is the one near the tail. After the sturgeon is split through the back bone, take a piece with the skin on, which is essential to its appearance and goodness, cut off the gristle, scrape the skin well, wash it, and salt it—let it lie twenty-four hours, wipe off the salt, roll it, and tie it around with twine, put it on in a good deal of cold water, let it boil till you can run a straw easily into the skin, take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, put it in a pot, and cover it with one part vinegar, and two of salt and water; keep it closely stopped, and when served, garnish with green fennel. 64 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. TO CAVEACH FISH. Cut the fish in pieces the thickness of your hand, wash it and dry it in a cloth, sprinkle on some peppei and salt, dredge it with flour, and fry it a nice brown; when it gets cold, put it in a pot with a little chopped onion between the layers, take as much vinegar and water as will cover it, mix with it some oil, pounded mace, and whole black pepper, pour it on, and stop the pot closely. This is a very convenient article, as it makes an excellent and ready addition to a dinner or supper. When served up, it should be garnished with green fennel, or parsley. TO DRESS COD FISH. Boil the fish tender, pick it from the bones, take an equal quantity of Irish potatos, or parsnips boiled and chopped, and the same of onions well boiled; add a sufficiency of melted butter, some grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt, with a little brandy or wine; rub them in a mortar till well mixed; if too stiff, liquify it with cream or thickened milk, put paste in the bot¬ tom of a dish, pour in the fish, and bake it. For change, it may be baked in the form of patties.. COD FISH PIE. Soak the fish, boil it and take off the skin, pick the meat from the bones, and mince it very fine; take double the quantity of your fish, of stale bread grated; pour over it as much new milk, boiling hot, as will wet it completely, add minced parsley, nutmeg, pep* THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 65 per, and made mustard, with as much melted butter as will make it sufficiently rich; the quantity must be determined by that of the other ingredients—beat these together very well, add the minced fish, mix it all, cover the bottom of the dish with good paste, pour the fish in, put on a lid and bake it. TO DRESS ANY KIND OF SALTED FISH. Take the quantity necessary for the dish, wash them, and lay them in fresh water for a night; then put them on the tin plate with holes, and place it in the fish kettle—sprinkle over it pounded cloves and pepper, with four cloves of garlic; put in a bundle of sweet herbs and parsley, a large spoonful of tarragon, and two of common vinegar, with a pint of wine; roll one quarter of a pound of butter in two spoonsful of flour, cut it in small pieces, and put it over the fish—cover it closely, and simmer it over a slow fire half an hour; take the fish out carefully, and lay it in the dish, set it over hot water, and cover it till the gravy has boiled a little longer—take out the garlic and herbs, pour it over the fish, and serve it up. It is very good when eaten cold 'with salad, garnished with parsley. TO FRICASSEE COD SOUNDS AND TONGUES. Soak them all night in fresh water, take off the skins, cut them in two pieces, and boil them in milk and water till quite tender, drain them in a colander, and season with nutmeg, pepper, and a little salt- take as much new milk as will make sauce for it, roll a good lump of butter in flour, melt it in the milk, 5 66 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. put the fish in, set it over the fire, and stir it till thick enough, and serve it up. AN EXCELLENT WAY TO DRESS FISH. Dredge the fish well with flour, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and fry them a nice brown; set them by to get cold; put a quarter of a pound of butter in a frying pan; when it boils, fry tomatos with the skins taken off, parsley nicely picked, and a very little chopped onion: when done, add as much water as will make sauce for the fish—season it with pepper, salt, and pounded cloves; add some wine and mushroom catsup, put the fish in, and when thoroughly heated, serve it up. FISH A-LA-DAUB. Boil as many large white perch as will be sufficient for the dish; do not take off their heads, and be care¬ ful not to break their skins; when cold, place them in the dish, and cover them with savoury jelly broken. A nice piece of rock-fish is excellent done in the same way. FISH IN JELLY. Fill a deep glass dish half full of jelly—have as many small fish-moulds as will lie conveniently in it fill them with blanc mange; when they are cold, and the jelly set, lay them on it, as if going in different directions; put in a little more jelly, and let it get cold, to keep the fish in their places—then fill the dish so as to cover them. The jelly should be made of hog’s feet, very light coloured, and perfectly trans* parent. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 67 TO MAKE EGG SAUCE FOR A SALT COD. Boil four eggs hard, first half cnop the white, then put in the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very small; put them into half a pound of good melted butter, and let it boil up—then pour it on the fish. TO DRESS COD SOUNDS. Steep your sounds as you do the salt cod, and boil them in a large quantity of milk and water; when they are very tender and white, take them up, and drain the water out and skin them; then pour the egg sauce boiling hot over them, and serve them up. TO STEW CARP. Gut and scale your fish, wash and dry them well with a clean cloth, dredge them with flour, fry them in lard until they are a light brown, and then put them in a stew pan with half a pint of water, and half a pint of red wine, a meat spoonful of lemon pickle, the same of walnut catsup, a little mushroom powder and cayenne to your taste, a large onion stuck with cloves, and a stick of horse-radish; cover your pan close up to keep in the steam; let them stew gently over a stove fire, till the gravy is reduced to just enough to cover your fish in the dish; then take the fish out, and put them on the dish you intend for the table, set the gravy on the fire, and thicken it with flour, and a large lump of butter; boil it a little, and strain it over your fish; garnish them whn pickled mush* 68 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. rooms and scraped horse-radish, and send them to the table. TO BOIL EELS. Clean the eels, and cut off their heads, dry them, and turn them round on your fish plate, boil them in salt and water, and make parsley sauce for them. TO PITCHCOCK EELS. Skin and wash your eels, then dry them with a cloth, sprinkle them with pepper, salt, and a little dried sage, turn them backward and forward, and skewer them; rub a gridiron with beef suet, broil them a nice brown, put them on a dish with good melted butter, and lay around fried parsley. TO BROIL EELS. When you have skinned and cleansed your eels as before, rub them with the yelk of an egg, strew over them bread crumbs, chopped parsley, sage, pepper, and salt; baste them well with butter, and set them in a dripping pan; serve them up with parsley and butter for sauce. TO SCOLLOP OYSTERS. When the oysters are opened, put them in a bowl, and wash them out of their own liquor; put some in the scollop shells, strew over them a few bread crumbs, and lay a slice of butter on them, then more oysters, bread crumbs, and a slice of butter on the top; put them into a Dutch oven to brown, and serve them up in the shells. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 69 TO FRY OYSTERS. Take a quarter of a hundred of large oysters, wash them and roll them in grated bread, with pepper and salt, and fry them a light brown; if you choose, you may add a little parsley, shred fine. They are a pro¬ per garnish for calves’ head, or most made dishes. TO MAKE OYSTER LOAVES. Take little round loaves, cut off the tops, scrape out all the crumbs, then put the oysters into a stew pan with the crumbs that came out of the loaves, a little water, and a good lump of butter; stew their- together ten or fifteen minutes, then put in a spoonful of good cream, fill your loaves, lay the bit of crust carefully on again, set them in the oven to crisp. Three are enough for a side dish. POULTRY, &c. TO ROAST A GOOSE. Chop a few sage leaves and two onions very fine, mix them with a good lump of butter, a tea-spoonful of pepper, and two of salt, put it in the goose, then spit it, lay it down, and dust it with flour; when it is thoroughly hot, baste it with nice lard; if it be a large one, it will require an hour and a half, before a good clear fire; when it i3 enough, dredge and baste it, pull out the spit, and pour in a little boilir.g water. TO THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A GOOSE. Pare, core and slice some apples; put them in a sauce pan, with as much water as will keep them from burning, set them over a very slow fire, keep them closely covered till reduced to a pulp, then put in a lump of butter, and sugar to your taste, beat them well, and send them to the table in a china bowl. TO BOIL DUCKS WITH ONION SAUCE. Scald and draw your ducks, put them in warm water for a few minutes, then take them out and put them in an earthen pot; pour over them a pint of boiling milk, and let them lie in it two or three hours; when you take them out, dredge them well with flour, and put them in a copper of cold water; put on the rover, let them boil slowly twenty minutes, then take them out, and smother them with onion sauce. TO MAKE ONION SAUCE. Boil eight or ten large onions, change the water two or three times while they are boiling; when enough, chop them on a board to keep them a good colour, put them in a sauce pan with a quarter of a pound of butter and two spoonsful of thick cream; boil it a little, and pour it over the ducks. TO ROAST DUCKS. When you have drawn the ducks, shred one onion and a few sage leaves, put them into the ducks with pepper and salt, spit and dust them with flour, and TIIE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 71 oaste them with lard: if your fire be very hot, they will roast in twenty minutes; and the quicker they are roasted, the better they will taste. Just before you take them from the spit, dust them with flour and baste them Get ready some gravy made of the gizzards and pinions, a large blade of mace, a few pepper corns, a spoonful of catsup, a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle; strain it and pour it on the ducks, and send onion sauce in a boat. TO BOIL A TURKEY WITH OYSTER SAUCE. Grate a loaf of bread, chop a score or more of oysters fine, add nutmeg, pepper and salt to your taste, mix it up into a light forcemeat with a quarter of a pound of butter, a spoonful or two of cream, and three eggs; stuff the craw with it, and make the rest into balls and boil them; sew up the turkey, dredge it well with flour, put it in a kettle of cold water, cover it, and set it over the fire; as the scum begins to rise, take it off, let it boil very slowly for half an hour, then take off your kettle and keep it closely covered; if it be of a middle size, let it stand in the hot water half an hour, the steam being kept m, will stew it enough, make it rise, keep the skin whole, tender, and very white; when you dish it, pour on a little oyster sauce, lay the balls round, and serve it up with the rest of the sauce in a boat. N. B. Set cn the turkey in time, that it may stew as above; it is the best way to boil one to perfection. Put it over the fire to heat, just before you dish it up. 72 THE vt RGINIA HOUSEWIFE. TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A TURKEY. As ywii open the oysters, put a pint into a bowl, ivash them out of their own liquor, and put them in another bowl; when the liquor has settled, pour it off into a sauce pan with a little white gravy, and a tea¬ spoonful of lemon pickle—thicken it with flour and a good lump of butter; boil it three or four minutes, put in a spoonful of good cream, add the oysters, keep shaking them over the fire till they are quite hot, but don’t Let them boil, for it will make them hard and appear small. TO ROAST A TURKEY. Make the forcemeat thus: take the crumb of a loaf of bread, a quarter of a pound of beef suet shred fine, a little sausage meat or veal scraped and pounded very fine, nutmeg, pepper, and salt to your taste; mix it lightly with three eggs, stuff the craw with it, spit it, and lay it down a good distance from the fire, which should be clear and brisk; dust and baste it several times with cold lard; it makes the froth stronger than basting it with the hot out of the drip¬ ping pan, and makes the turkey rise better; when it is enough, froth it up as before, dish it, and pour on the same gravy as fo** the boiled turkey, or bread sauce; garnish with lemon and pickles, and serve il up; if it be of a middle size, it will require one houi and a quarter to roast. TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A TURKEY. Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread in thin slices, ana put it in cold water with a few pepper corns, a little THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 73 salt and onion—then boil it till the bread is quite soft, beat it well, put in a quarter of a pound of but¬ ter, two spoonsful of thick cream, and put it in the dish with the turkey. TO BOIL FOWLS. Dust the fowls well with flour, put them in a kettle of cold water, cover it close, set it on the fire; when the scum begins to rise, take it off, let them boil very slowly for twenty minutes, then take them off, cover them close, and the heat oi the water wilt stew them enough in half an hour; it keeps the skin whole, and they will be both whiter and plumper than if they had boiled fast; when you take them up, drain them, and pour over them white sauce or melted butter. TO MAKE WHITE SAUCE FOR FOWLS. Take a scrag of veal, the necks of fowls, or any bits of mutton or veal you have; put them in a sauce pan with a blade or two of mace, a few black pepper corns, one anchovy, a head of celery, a bunch of sweet herbs, a slice of the end of a lemon; put in a quart of water, cover it close, let it boil till it is re¬ duced to half a pint, strain it, and thicken it with a quarter of a pound of butter mixed with flour, boil it five or six minutes, put in two spoonsful of pickled mushrooms, mix the yelks of two eggs with a tea cup full of good cream and a little nutmeg—put it in the sauce, keep shaking it over the fiie, but don’t let it boil. 4 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. FRICASSEE OF SMALL CHICKENS. Take off the legs and wings of four chickens, separate the breasts from the backs, cut off the necks and divide the backs across, clean the gizzards nicely, put them with the livers and other parts of the chicken, after being washed clean, into a sauce pan, add pep¬ per, salt, and a little mace, cover them with water, ind stew them till tender—then take them out, thicken half a pint of the water with two table spoonsful of flour rubbed into four ounces of butter, add half a pint of new milk, boil all together a few minutes, then add a gill of white wine, stirring it in carefully that it may not curdle; put the chickens in, and con¬ tinue to shake the pan until they are sufficiently hot, and serve them up. TO ROAST LARGE FOWLS. Take the fowls when they are ready dressed, put them down to a good fire, dredge and baste them well with lard; they will be near an hour in roasting; make a gravy of the necks and gizzards, strain it, put in a spoonfui of brown flour; when you dish them, pour on the gravy, and serve them up with egg sauce in a boat. TO MAKE EGG SAUCE. Boil four eggs for ten minutes, chop half the whites, put them with the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very fine; put them into a quarter of a pound of good melted butter, and put it in a boat. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 75 TO BOIL YOUNG CHICKENS. Put the chickens in scalding water; as soon as the feathers will slip off, take them out, or it will make the skin hard and break: when you have drawn them, lay them in skimmed milk for two hours, then truss and dust them well with flour, put them in cold water, cover them close, set them over a very slow fire, take off the scum, let them boil slowly for five or six minutes, take them off the fire, keep them closely covered in the water for half an hour, it will stew them enough; when you are going to dish them, set them over the fire to make them hot, drain them, and pour over white sauce made the same way as for the boiled fowls. - \ TO ROAST YOUNG CHICKENS. When you kill young chickens, pluck them very carefully, truss and put them down to a goo THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. take one quart of this, one of chopped apples, the same of currants, washed and picked, raisins stoned and cut, of good brown sugar, suet nicely chopped, and cider, with a pint of brandy; add a tea-spoonful of pounded mace, one of cloves and of nutmegs; mix all these together intimately. When the pies are to be made, take out as much of this mixture as may be necessary; to each quart of it, add a tea-spoonful of pounded black pepper, and one of salt; this greatly improves the llavour, and can be better mixed with a small por¬ tion than with the whole mass. Cover the moulds with paste, put in a sufficiency of mincemeat, cover the top with citron sliced thin, and lay on it a lid garnished around with paste cut in fanciful shapes. They may be eaten either hot or cold, but are best when hot. TO MAKE JELLY FROM FEET. Boil four calfs’ feet, that have been nicely cleaned, and the hoofs taken off; when the feet are boiled to pieces, strain the liquor through a colander, and when cold, take all the grease off, and put the jelly in a skillet, leaving the dregs which will be at the bottom. There should be from four feet, about two quarts of jelly: pour into it one quart of white wine, the juice of six fresh lemons strained from the seeds, one pound and a half of powdered loaf sugar, a little pounded cinnamon and mace, and the rind thinly pared from two of the lemons; wash eight eggs very clean, whip up the whites to a froth, crush the shells and put with them, mix it with the jelly, set it on the fire, stir i\ occasionally till the jelly is melted, but do not touch THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 117 it afterwards. When it has boiled till it looks quite clear on one side, and the dross accumulates on the other, take off carefully the thickest part of the dross, and pour the jelly in the bag; put back what runs through, until it becomes quite transparent—then set a pitcher under the bag, and put a cover all over to keep out the dust: the jelly looks much prettier when it is broken to fill the glasses. The bag should be made of cotton or linen, and be suspended in a frame made for the purpose. The feet of hogs make the palest coloured jelly; those of sheep are a beautiful amber-colour, when prepared. A SWEETMEAT PUDDING. Make a quart of flour into puff paste; when done, divide it into three parts of unequal size; roll the largest out square and moderately thin, spread over it a thin layer of marmalade, leaving a margin all round about an inch broad; roll the next largest in the same manner, lay it on, cover that with marmalade, leaving a margin; then roll the smallest, and put it on the other two, spreading marmalade; fold it up, one fold over the other, the width of your hand—press the ends together, tie it in a cloth securely, and place it in a kettle of boil-ing water, where it can lie at length without doubling; boil it quickly, and when done, pour melted butter with sugar and wine in the dish. TO MAKE AN ORANGE PUDDING. Put two oranges and two lemons, into five quarts of water—boil them till the rinds are quite tender; 118 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. take them out, and when cold, slice them thin, and pick out the seeds; put a pound of loaf sugar into a pint of water—when it boils, slice into it twelve pippins pared and cored—lay in the lemons and oranges, stew them tender, cover the dish with puff paste, lay the fruit in carefully, in alternate layers— pour on the syrup, put some slips of paste across, and bake it. AN APPLE CUSTARD. Pare and core twelve pippins, slice them tolerably thick, put a pound of loaf sugar in a stew pan, with a pint of water and twelve cloves: boil and skim it, then put in the apples, and stew them till clear, and but little of the syrup remains—-lay them in a deep dish, and take out the cloves; when the apples are cold, pour in a quart of rich boiled custard—set it in water, and make it boil till the cu-stard is set—take care the wate»r does not get into it. BOILED LOAF. Pour a quart of boiling milk over four little rolls of bread—cover them up, turning them occasionally till saturated with the milk; tie them very tight in cloths, and boil them an hour; lay them in the dish, and pour a little melted butter over them; for sauce, have but ter in a boat, seasoned with wine, sugar, and grated nutmeg. TRANSPARENT PUDDING. Beat eight eggs very light, add half a pound of pounded sugar, the same of fresh butter melted, and THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 119 half a nutmeg grated; sit it on a stove, and keep stirring till it is as thick as buttered eggs—put a pufF paste in a shallow dish, pour in the ingredients, and bake it half an hour in a moderate oven; sift sugar over it, and serve it up hot. FLUMMERY. One measure of jelly, one of cream, and half a one of wine; boil it fifteen minutes over a slow fire, stirring all the time; sweeten it, and add a spoonful of orange flower or rose water; cool it in a mould, turn it in a dish, and pour around it cream, seasoned in any way you like. BURNT CUSTARD. Boil a quart of milk—and when cold, mix with it the yelks of eight eggs; stir them together over the fire a few minutes; sweeten it to your taste, put some slices of savoy cake in the bottom of a deep dish, and pour on the custard; whip the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, lay it lightly on the top, sift some sugar over it, and hold a salamander over it until it is a light brown; garnish the top with raspberry marma¬ lade, or any kind of preserved fruit. AN ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING. Beat eight eggs very light, add to them a pound of flour sifted, and a pound of powdered sugar; when it Wks quite light, put in a pound of suet finely shred, \ pint of milk, a nutmeg grated, and a gill of brandy; 120 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. mix with it a pound of currants, washed, picked, and dried, and a pound of raisins stoned and floured—tie it in a thick cloth, and boil it steadily eight hours. MARROW PUDDING. Grate a large loaf of bread, and pour on the crumbs a pint of rich milk bv>iling hot; when cold, add four eggs, a pound of beef marrow sliced thin, a gill of brandy, with sugar and nutmeg to your taste—mix all well together, and either bake or boil it* when done, stick slices of citron over the top. SIPPET PUDDING. Cut a loaf of bread as thin as possible, put a layer of it in the bottom of a deep dish, strew on some slices of marrow or butter, with a handful of currants or stoned raisins; do this till the dish is full; let the currants or raisins be at the top; beat four eggs, mix with them a quart of milk that has been boiled a little and become cold, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg—pour it in, and bake it in a moderate oven—eat it with wine sauce. SWEET POTATO PUDDING. Boil one pound of sweet potatos very tender, rub diem while hot through a colander; add six eggs well beaten, three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, three quarters of butter, and some grated nutmeg and lemon peel, with a glass of brandy; put a paste in the dish, and when the pudding is done, sprinkle the. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 121 top with sugar, and cover it with bits of citron. Irish potato pudding is made in the same manner, but is not so good. AN ARROW ROOT PUDDING. Boil a quart of milk, and make it into a thick bat¬ ter, with arrow root; add six eggs, half a pound of butter, the same of pounded sugar, half a nutmeg, and a little grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it nicely; when done, sift sugar over it, and stick slips of citron all over the top. SAGO PUDDING. Wash half a pound of sago in several waters; put it on to boil in a quart of milk, with a stick of cin¬ namon; stir it very frequently, for it is apt to burn: when it becomes quite thick, take out the cinnamon, stir it in half a pound of butter, and an equal quantity of sugar, with a gill of w r ine; when cold, add six eggs and four ounces of currants that have been plumped in hot water—bake it in a paste. PUFF PUDDING. Beat six eggs, add six spoonsful of milk, and six of flour, butter some cups, pour in the batter, and bake them quickly; turn them out, and eat them with butter, sugar and nutmeg. RICE PUDDING. Boil half a pound of rice in milk, until it is quite tender; beat it well with a wooden spoon to mash the 122 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. grains; add three quarters of a pound of sugar, and the same of melted butter; half a nutmeg, six eggs, a gill of wine, and some grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it. For change, it may be boiled, and eaten with butter, sugar, and wine. PLUM PUDDING. Take a pound of the best flour, sift it, and make it up before sunrise, with six eggs beaten light; a large spoonful of good yeast, and as much milk as will make it the consistence of bread; let it rise well, knead into it half a pound of butter, put in a grated nutmeg, with one and a half pounds of raisins stoned and cut up; mix all well together, wet the cloth, flour it, and tie it loosely, that the pudding may have room to rise. Rai¬ sins for puddings or cakes, should be rubbed in a little flour, to prevent their settling to the bottom—see that it does not stick to them in lumps. ALMOND PUDDING. Put a pound of sweet almonds in hot water till the skin will slip off them; pound them with a little orange flower or rose water, to keep them from oiling; mix with them four crackers, finely pounded, or two gills of rice flour; six eggs, a pint of cream, a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, and four table- spoonsful of wine; put a nice paste in the bottom of your dish, garnish the edges, pour in the pudding, and bake it in a moderate oven THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 123 QUIRE OF PAPER PANCAKES. Beat sixteen eggs, add to them a quart of milk, a nutmeg, half a pound of flour, a pound of melted butter, a pound of sugar, and two gills of wine; take care the flour be not in lumps; butter the pan for the first pancake, run them as thin as possible, and when coloured, they are done; do not turn them, but lay them carefully in the dish, sprinkling powdered sugar between each layer—serve them up hot. This quantity will make four dozen pancakes. A CURD PUDDING. Put two quarts of milk on the fire; when it boils, pour in half a pint of white wine, strain the curd from the whey, and pound it in a mortar, with six ounces of butter, half a pound of loaf sugar, and half a pint of rice flour, or as much crackers beaten as fine as flour; six eggs made light, and half a grated nutmeg- beat all well together, and bake them in saucers in a moderate oven; turn them out carefully in your dish, stick thin slices of citron in them, and pour on rich melted butter, with sugar and wine. LEMON PUDDING. Grate the rind from six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and strain it; beat the yelks of six- teen eggs very light, put to them sixteen table-spoons¬ ful of powdered loaf sugar, not heaped up—the same of melted butter; add the grated rind, and the juice, with four crackers finely pounded, or an equal quantity 124 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. of rice flour; or for change, six ounces of corn meal, which is excellent—beat it till light, put a puff paste in your dish, pour the pudding in, and bake it in a moderate oven—it must not be very brown. BREAD PUDDING. Grate the crumb of a stale loaf, and pour on it a pint of boiling milk—let it stand an hour, then beat it to a pulp; add six eggs, well beaten, half a pound of butter, the same of powdered sugar, half a nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and some grated lemon peel—put a paste in the dish, and bake it. THE HENRIETTA PUDDING. Beat six eggs very light, sift into them a pound of loaf sugar powdered, and a light pound of flour, with half a grated nutmeg, and a glass of brandy; beat all together very well, add a pint of creSm, pour it in a deep dish, and bake it—when done, sift some pow¬ dered sugar over it. TANSEY PUDDING. Beat seven eggs very light, mix with them a pint of cream, and nearly as much spinach juice, with a little juice of tansey; add a quarter of a pound of powdered crackers or pounded rice made fine, a glass of wine, some grated nutmeg and sugar; stir it over the fire to thicken, pour it into a paste and bake it, o* fry it like an omelette. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 125 CHERRY PUDDING. Beat six eggs very light, add half a pint cf milk, six ounces flour, eight ounces grated bread, twelve ounces suet, chopped fine, a little salt; when it is beat well, mix in eighteen ounces preserved cherries or damsins; bake or boil it. Make a sauce of melted but¬ ter, sugar and wine. APPLE PIE. Put a crust in the bottom of a dish, put on it a layer of ripe apples, pared and sliced thin—then a layer of powdered sugar; do this alternately till the dish is full; put in a few tea-spoonsful of rose water and some cloves—put on a crust and bake it BAKED APPLE PUDDING. Take well flavoured apples, bake, but do not burn them, rub them through a sieve, take one pound of the apples so prepared, mix with it, while hot, half a pound of butter, and half a pound ^of powdered sugar; the rinds of two lemons grated—and when cold, add six eggs well beaten; put a paste in the bottom of a dish, and pour in the apples—half an hour will bake it; sift a little sugar on the apples when baked. A NICE BOILED PUDDING. Make up a pint of flour at sun rise, exactly as you do for bread; see that it rises well—have a large pot 126 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. of water boiling; and half an hour before the puddings are to go to table, make the dough in balis, the size of a goose egg; throw them in the water, and boil them quickly, keeping the pot covered: they must be torn asunder, as cutting will make them heavy; eat them with powdered sugar, butter, and grated nutmeg. AN EXCELLENT AND CHEAP DESSERT DISH. 4 Wash a pint of small homony very clean, and boil it tender; add an equal quantity of corn meal, make it into a batter with eggs, milk, and a piece of butter; bake it like batter cakes on a griddle, and eat it with butter and molasses. SLICED APPLE PUDDING. Beat six eggs very light, add a pint of rich milk, pare some apples or peaches—slice them thin, make the eggs and milk into a tolerably thick batter with flour, add a .small cup of melted butter, put in the fruit, and bake it in a deep dish—eat with sugar, but¬ ter, and nutmeg. BAKED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING. Boil one quart of milk, mix in it two gills and a half of corn meal very smoothly, seven eggs well beaten, a gill of molasses, and a good piece of butter; bake it two hours. * THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 127 BOILED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING Mix one quart of com meal, with three quarts of milk; take care it be not lumpy—add three eggs and a gill of molasses; it must be put on at sun rise, to eat at three o’clock; the great art in this pudding is tying the bag properly, as the meal swells very much. PUMPKIN PUDDING. Stew a fine sweet pumpkin till soft and dry; rub it through a sieve, mix with the pulp six eggs quite light, a quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of new milk, some pounded ginger and nutmeg, a wine glass of brandy, and sugar to your taste. Should it be too liquid, stew it a little drier, put a paste round the edges, and in the bottom of a shallow dish or plate—pour in the mixture, cut some thin bits of paste, twist them, and lay them across the top, and bake it nicely. FAYETTE PUDDING. Slice a loaf of bread tolerably thick—lay the slices in the bottom of a dish, cutting them so as to cover it completely; sprinkle some sugar and nutmeg, with a little butter, on each layer; when all are in, pour on a quart of good boiled custard sweetened--serve it up cold. MACCARONI PUDDING. Simmer half a pound of maccaroni in a plenty of water, with a table-spoonful of salt, till tender, but 128 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. not broke—strain it, beat five yelks, two whites of eggs, half a pint of cream—mince -white meat and boiled ham very fine, add three spoonsful of grated cheese, pepper and salt; mix these with the maccaroni, butter the mould, put it in, and steam it in a pan cf boiling water for an hour-—serve with rich gravy. POTATO PASTE. Boil mealy potatos quite soft, first taking off the skins; rub them while hot through a sieve, put them in a stew pan over the fire, with as much water as will make it the consistence of thick mush; sift one quart of flour, and make it into a paste; with this mush, knead it till light, roll it out thin, make the dumplins small—fill them with apples, or any other fruit—tie them up in a thick cloth, and boil them nicely—eat them with butter, sugar, and nutmeg. COMPOTE OF APPLES. Pare and core the apples, and if you prefer it, cut them in four, wash them clean, and put them in a pan with water and sugar enough to cover them; add cinnamon and lemon peel, which has been previously soaked, scraped on the inside, and cut in strings; boil them gently until the apples are done, take them out in a deep dish, boil the syrup to a proper consistency, and pour it on them: it will take a pound of sugar for a large dish. CHARLOTTE. Stew any kind of fruit, and season it in any way you like best; soak some slices of bread in butter; put THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 129 them while hot, in the bottom and round the sides of a dish, which has been rubbed with butter—put in your fruit, and lay slices of bread prepared in the same manner on the top: bake it a few minutes, turn ‘t carefully into another dish, sprinkle on some pow¬ dered sugar, and glaze it with a salamander. APPLE FRITTERS. Pare some apples, and cut them in thin slices—j at them in a bowl, with a glass of brandy, some white wine, a quarter of a pound of pounded sugar, a little cinnamon finely powdered, and the rind of a lemon grated; let them stand some time, turning them over frequently; beat two eggs very light, add one quarter of a pound of flour, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and as much cold water as will make a thin batter; drip the apples on a sieve, mix them with the battei, take one slice with a spoonful of batter to each fritter, fry them quickly of a light brown, drain them well, put them in a dish, sprinkling sugar over each, and glaze them nicely. BELL FRITTERS. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a pint of water; let it boil a few minutes—thicken it very smoothly with a pint of flour; let it remain a short time on the fire, stir it all the time that it may not stick to the pan, pour it in a wooden bov/1, add five or six eggs, breaking one and beating it in—then another, and so on till they are all in, and the dough quite light—put 'a pint of lard in a pan, let it boil. 9 130 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. make the fritters small, and fry them of a fine amber colour. BREAD FRITTERS. Cut your bread of a convenient size, pour on i* some white wine, and let it stand a few minutes— drain it on a sieve, beat four eggs very light, add foul spoonsful of wine, beat all well together—have youi lard boiling, dip the bread in the egg, and fry it a light brown; sprinkle sugar on each, and glaze them. SPANISH FRITTERS. Make up a quart of flour, with one egg well beaten, a large spoonful of yeast, and as much milk as will make it a little softer than muffin dough; mix it early in the morning; when well risen, work in two spoons¬ ful of melted butter, make it in balls the size of a walnut, and fry them -a light brown in boiling lkrd - eat them with wine and sugar, or molasses. TO MAKE MUSH. Put a lump of butter the size of an egg into a quart of water, make it sufficiently thick with corn meal and a little salt; it must be mixed perfectly smooth—stir it constantly till done enough. CAKES. JUMBALS. Put one pound of nice sugar into two pounds of flour, add pounded spice of anv kind, and pass them THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 131 through a sieve; beat four eggs, pour them on with three quarters of a pound of melted butter, knead all well together, and bake them. MACAROONE. Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, pound them in a mortar with rose water; whip the whites of seven eggs to a strong froth, put in one pound of powdered sugar, beat it some time, then put in the almonds— mix them well, and drop them on sheets of paper buttered; sift sugar over, and bake them quickly. Be careful not to let them get discoloured. TO MAKE DROP BISCUIT. Beat eight eggs very light, add to them twelve ounces of flour, and one pound of sugar; when per¬ fectly light, drop them on ti-n sheets, and bake them in a quick oven. TAVERN BISCUIT. To one pound of flour, add half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, some mace and nutmeg pow¬ dered, and a glass of brandy or wine; wet it with milk, and when well kneaded, roll it thin, cqt it in shapes, and bake it quickly. RUSK. Rub half a pound of sugar into three pounds of flour—sift it, pour on half a pint of good yeast, beat six eggs, add half a pint of milk—mix all together, and knead it well: if not soft enough, add more milk— 132 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. it should be softer than bread; make it at night—ill the morning, if well risen, work in six ounces of but¬ ter, and bake it in small rolls; when cold, slice it, lay it on tin sheets, and dry it in the oven. GINGER BREAD. Three quarts of flour, three quarters of a pound of brown sugar, a large spoonful of pounded ginger, one tea-spoonful of powdered cloves—sift it, melt half a pound of butter in a quart of rich molasses, wet the flour with it, knead it well, and bake it in a slack oven. PLEBEIAN GINGER BREAD. Mix three large spoonsful of pounded ginger, with three quarts of flour—sift it, dissolve three tea-spoons¬ ful of pearl-ash in a cup of water, and pour it on the flour; melt half a pound of butter in a quart of mo¬ lasses, mix it with the flour, knead it well, cut it in shapes, and bake it. SUGAR GINGER BREAD. Take two pounds of the nicest brown sugar, dry and pound it, put it into three quarts of flour, add a large cup full of powdered ginger, and sift the mixture; wash the salt out of a pound of butter, and cream it; have twelve eggs well beaten; work into the butter first, the mixture, then the froth from the eggs, until all are in, and it is quite light; add a glass of brandy butter snallow moulds, pour it in, and bake in a quick oven THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE 133 DOUGH NUTS—A YANKEE CAKE Dry half a pound of good brown sugar, pojnd it «nd mix it with two pounds of flour, and sift it; add two spoonsful of yeast, and as much new milk as will make it like bread: when well risen, knead in half a pound of butter, make it in cakes the size of a half dollar, and fry them a light brown in boiling lard. RISEN CAKE. Take three pounds of flour, one and a half of pounded sugar, a tea-spoonful of cloves, one of mace, and one of ginger, all finely powdered—pass the whole through a sieve, put to it four spoonsful of good yeast, and twelve eggs—mix it up well, and if not sufficiently soft, add a little milk: make it up at night, and set it to rise—when well risen, knead into it a pound of butter, and two gills of brandy; have ready two pounds of raisins stoned, mix all well together, pour it into a mould of proper size, and bake it in an oven heated as for bread; let it stand till thoroughly done, and do not take it from the mould until quite <*old. POUND CAKE. Wash the salt from a pound of butter, and rub it till it is soft as cream—have ready a pound of flour sifted, one of powdered sugar, and twelve eggs well beaten; put alternately into the butter, sugar, flour, and the froth from the eggs—continuing to beat them together till all the ingredients are in, and the cake 134 1HE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. quite light: add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and a gill of brandy; butter the pans, and bake them. This cake makes an excellent pudding, if baked in a large mould, and eaten with sugar and wine. It is also excellent when boiled, and served up with melted butter, sugar and wine. SAVOY OR SPUNGE CAKE. Take twelve fresh eggs, put them in the scale, and balance them with sugar: take out half, and balance the other half with flour; separate the whites from the yelks, whip them up very light, then mix them, and sift in, first sugar, then flour, till both are exhausted; add some grated lemon peel; bake them in paper cases, or little tin moulds. This also makes an excellent pudding, with butter, sugar, and wine, for sauce. A RICH FRUIT CAKE. Have the following articles prepared, before you begin the cake: four pounds of flour dried and sifted, four pounds of butter washed to free it from salt, two pounds of loaf sugar pounded, a quarter of a pound of mace, the same of nutmegs powdered; wash four pounds of currants clean, pick and dry them; blanch one pound of sweet almonds, and cut them in very thin slices; stone two pounds of raisins, cut them in two, and strew a little flour over to prevent their sticking together, and two pounds of citron sliced thin; break thirty eggs, separating the yelks and whites; work the butter to a cream with y our hand— THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 135 put in alternately, flour, sugar, and the froth from both whites and yelks, which must be beaten separately, and only the froth put in. When all are mixed and the cake looks very light, add the spice, with hall a pint of brandy, the currants and almonds; butter the mould well, pour in part of the cake, strew over it some raisins ana citron—do this until all is in: set it in a well heated oven; when it has risen, and the top is coloured, cover it with paper; it will require three hours baking—it must be iced. NAPLES BISCIJTT Beat twelve eggs light, add to them one pound of flour, and one of powdered sugar; continue to boat all together till perfectly light; bake it in long pans, four inches wide, with divisions; so that each cake, when done, will be four inches long, and one and a half iviue SHREWSBURY CAKES. Mix a pound of sugar, with two pounds of flour, and a large spoonful of pounded coriander seeds; sift them, add three quarters of a pound of melted butter, 6ix eggs, and a gill of brandy; knead it well, roll it thin, cut it in shapes, and bake without discolouring it. LITTLE PLUM CAKES. Prepare them as directed for pound cake, add rai sms and currants, bake them in small tin shapes, ami ice them. 136 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE SODA CAKES Dissolve half a pound of sugar in a pint of mil^ add a tea-spoonful of soda; pour it on two pounds of flour—melt half a pound of butter, knead all together till light, put it in shallow moulds, and bake it quickly in a brisk oven. TO MAKE BREAD. When you find the barrel of flour a good one, empty it into a chest or box, made for the purpose, with a lid that will shut close: it keeps much better in this manner than when packed in a barrel, and even improves by lying lightly; sift the quantity you intend to make up—put into a bowl two gills and a half of water for each quart, with a tea-spoon heaped up with salt, and a large spoonful of yeast for each quart; stir this mixture well, put into another bowl one handful of flour from every quart; pour a little of the mixture on to wet it, then more, until you get it all in, taking great care that it be smooth, and quite free from lumps; beat it some minutes, take one-third of the flour out of the kettle, pour on the batter, and sprin¬ kle over it the dry flour; stop the kettle, and set it where it can have a moderate degree of warmth: when it has risen well, turn it into a bowl, mix in the dry flour, and knead it on a board till it looks quite light; return it to the kettle, and place it where it can have proper heat: in the morning, take the dry crust carefully from the top, put the dough on a board, knead it well, make it into rolls, set them on tin sheets, put a towel over, and let them stand near the firp till THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 137 the oven is ready. In winter, make the bread up at three o’clock, and it will be ready to work before bed time. In summer, make it up at five o’clock. A quart of flour should weigh just one pound and a quarter. The bread must be rasped when baked. TO MAKE NICE BISCUIT. Rub a large spoonful of butter into a quart of risen dough, knead it well, and make it into biscuit, either thick or thin: bake them quickly. RICE BREAD. Boil six ounces of rice in a quart of water, till it is dry and soft—put it into two pounds of flour, mix it in well; add two tea-spoonsful of salt, two large spoonsful of yeast, and as much water as will make it the consistence of bread: when well risen, bake it in moulds. MIXED BREAD. Put a tea-spoonful of salt, and a large one of yeast, into a quart of flour; make it sufficiently soft, Avith corn meal gruel; when well risen, bake it in a mould. It is an excellent bread for breakfast. Indifferent flour will rise much better, when made with grueh than with fair waler. PATENT YEAST. Put half a pound of fresh hops into a gallon of Avater, and boil it away to two quarts; then strain it, and make it a thin batter Avith flour; add half a pint of good yeast, and when well fermented, pour it in a 138 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. bowl, and work in as much corn meal as will make it the consistency of biscuit dough; set it to rise, and wbcn quite light, make it into little cakes, which must be dried in the shade, turning them very fre¬ quently; keep them securely from damp and dust Persons who live in town, and can procure brewer’* yeast, will save trouble by using it: take one quart of it, add a quart of water, and proceed as before directed TO PREPARE THE CAKES. Take one or more cakes, according to the flour you are to make; pour on a little warm water; when it is dissolved, stir it well, thicken with a little flour, and set it near the fire, to rise before it is used. The best thing to keep yeast in, is a small mug or pitcher, with a dose stopper, under which must be placed a double fold of linen, to make it still closer. This is far preferable to a bottle, and more easily cleaned. ANOTHER METHOD FOR MAKING YEAST Peel one large Irish potato, boil it till soft, rub it through a sieve; add an equal quantity of flour, make it sufficiently liquid with hop tea; and when a little warmer than new milk, add a gill of good yeast; stir it well, and keep it closely covered in a small pitcher. NICE BUNS. Put four ounces of sugar with three quarters of a pound of flour; make it up with two spoonsful o^ yeast, and half a pint of milk; when well risen, work into it four ounces of butter, make it into small buns, and bake them in a quick oven—do not burn them. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE 139 MUFFINS. Sift a quart of flour, put to it a little salt, and a large spoonful of yeast—beat the white of a fresh egg to a strong froth, add it, and make the flour up with cold water, as soft as you can to allow it to be han¬ dled; set it in a moderately warm place. Next morn¬ ing, beat it well with a spoon, put it on the griddle in a round form, and bake it nicely, turning them fre¬ quently till done. FRENCH ROLLS. Sift a quart of flour, add a little salt, a spoonful of yeast, two eggs well beaten, and half a pint of milk— knead it, and set it to rise: next morning, work in an ounce of butter, make the dough into small rolls, and bake them. The top crust should not be hard. CRUMPETS. Take a quart of dough from your bread at a very early hour in the morning; break three fresh eggs, separating the yelks from the whites—whip them both to a froth, mix them with the dough, and add gradually milk-warm water, till you make a batter the thickness of buckwheat cakes: beat it well, and set it to rise till near breakfast time; have the griddle ready, pour on the batter to look quite round: they do not require turning. APOQUINIMINC CAKES. Put a little salt, one egg beaten, and four ounces of butter in a quart of flour—make it into a paste 140 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. with new milk, beat it for half an hour with a pestle, roll the paste thin, and cut it into round cakes; bake them on a gridiron, and be careful not to burn them. BATTER CAKES. Boil two cups of small homony very soft; add an equal quantity of corn meal with a little salt, and a large spoonful of butter; make it in a thin batter with three eggs, and a sufficient quantity of milk—beat all together some time, and bake them on a griddle, or in woffle irons. When eggs cannot be procured, yeast makes a good substitute; put a spoonful in the batter, and let it stand an hour to rise. BATTER BREAD. Take six spoonsful of flour and three of corn meal, with a little salt—sift them, and make a thin batter with four eggs, and a sufficient quantity of rich milk; bake it in little tin moulds in a quick oven. CREAM CAKES. Melt as much butter in a pint of milk, as will maxe it rich as cream—make the flour into a paste with this, knead it well, roll it out frequently, cut it in squares, and bake on a griddle. SOUFLE BISCUITS. Rub four ounces of butter into a quart of flour, make it into paste with milk, knead it well, roll it as thin as paper, and bake it to look white THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 141 CORN MEAL BREAD. Run a piece of butter the size of an egg, irto a pint of corn meal—make it a batter with two eggs, and some new milk—add a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little pans, ai bake it. SWEET POTATO BUNS. Boil and mash a potato, rub into it as much flour as will make it like bread—add spice and sugar to your taste, with a spoonful of yeast; when it has risen well, work in a piece of butter, bake it in small rolls, to be eaten hot with butter, cither for breakfast or tea. RICE WOFFLES. Boil two gills of rice quite soft, mix with it three gills of flour, a little salt, two ounces melted butter, two eggs beaten well, and as much milk as will make it a thick batter—beat it till very light, and bake it in woffle irons. VELVET CAKES. Make a batter of one quart of flour, three eggs, a quart of milk, and a gill of yeast; when well risen, stir in a large spoonful of melted butter, and bake them in muffin hoops. CHOCOLATE CAKES. Put half a pound of nice brown sugar into a quart of flour, sift it, and make it into a paste, with four ounces of butter melted in as much milk as will wet it; knead it till light, roll it tolerably thin, cut it in 142 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. strips an inch wide, and just long enough to lay in a plate; bake them on a griddle, put them in the plate in rows to checker each other, and serve them to eat with chocolate. WAFERS. Beat six eggs, add a pint of flour, two ounces of melted butter, with as much milk as will make a thin better—put in pounded loaf sugar to your taste, pour it in the wafer irons, bake them quickly without browning, and roll them while hot. BUCKWHEAT CAKES. Put a large spoonful of yeast and a little salt, into a quart of buckwheat meal; make it into a batter with cold water; let it rise well, and bake it on a griddle— it turns sour very quickly, if it be allowed to stand anv time after it has risen. OBSERVATIONS ON ICE CREAMS. It is the practice with some indolent cooks, to set the freezer containing the cream, in a tub with ice and salt, and put it in the ice house; it will certainly freeze there; but not until the watery particles have subsided, and by the separation destroyed the cream. A freezer should be twelve or fourteen inches deep, and eight or ten wide. This facilitates the operation very much, by giving a larger surface for the ice to form, which it always does on the sides of the vessel; a silver spoon with a long handle should be provided for scraping the ice from the sides as soon as fbrnusd; THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 143 and when the whole is congealed, pack it m moulds (which must be placed with care, lest they should not be upright,) in ice and salt, till sufficiently hard to retain the shape:—they should not be turned out till the moment they are to be served. The freezing tub must be wide enough to leave a margin of four or live inches all around the freezer, when placed in the mid¬ dle—which must be filled up with small lumps of ice mixed with salt—a larger tub would waste the ice. The freezer must be kept constantly in motion during the process, and ought to be made of pewter, which is less liable than tin to be worn in holes, and spoil the cream by admitting the salt water. ICE CREAMS. When ice creams are not put into shapes, they should always be served in glasses with handles. VANILLA CREAM. Boil a Vanilla bean in a quart of rich milk, until it has imparted the flavour sufficiently—then take it out, and mix with the milk, eight eggs, yelks and whites beaten well; let it boil a little longer; make it very sweet, for much of the sugar is lost in the opera¬ tion of freezing. RASPBERRY CREAM. Make a quart of rich boiled custard—when cold, pour it on a quart of ripe red raspberries; mash them in it, pass it through a sieve, sweeten, and freeze it 144 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. STRAWBERRY CREAM Is made in the same manner—the strawberries must be very ripe, and the stems picked out. If rich cream can be procured, it will be infinitely better— the custard is intended as a substitute, when cream cannot be had. COCOA NUT CREAM. Take the nut from its shell, pare it, and grate it very fine; mix it with a quart of crear”, sweeten, and freeze it. If the nut be a small o..o, it will require one and a half to flavour a quart of cream. CHOCOLATE CREAM. Scrape a quarter of a pound of chocolate very fine, put it in a quart of milk, boil it till the chocolate is dissolved, stirring it continually—thicken with six eggs. A Vanilla bean boiled with the milk, will im¬ prove the flavour greatly. OYSTER CREAM. Make a rich soup, (see directions for oyster soup,) strain it from the oysters, and freeze it. ICED JELLY. Make calf’s foot jelly not very stiff, freeze it, and serve it in glasses. PEACH CREAM. Get fine soft peaches perfectly ripe, peel them, take out the stones, and put them in a China bowl; THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 145 sprinkle some sugar on, and chop them very email wjthasilve-' spoon—if the peaches be sufficiently ripe, they will become a smooth pulp; add as much cream or rich milk as you havs reaches; put more sugar, and freeze it COFFEE CREAM. Toast two gills of raw coffee till it is a light brown, and not a grain burnt; put it hot from the toaster without grinding it, into a quart of rich, and perfectly sweet milk; boil it, and add the yelks of eight eggs; when done, strain it through a sieve, and sweeten it; if properly done, it will not be discoloured. The cof¬ fee may be dried, and will answer for making in the usual way to drink, allowing more for the quantity of water, than if it had not gone through this process. QUINCE CREAM. Wash ripe quinces and boil them whole till quite tender—let them stand to drain and cool—then rub them through a hair sieve; mix with the pulp as much cochineal finely powdered, as will make it a pretty colour; then add an equal quantity of cream, and, sweeten it. Pears or apples may be used, prepared in the same manner. CITRON CREAM. Cut the finest citron melons when perfectly ripe— take out the seeds, and slice the nicest part into a China bowl in small pieces, that will lie conveniently; cover them with pow'dered sugar, and let them stand •evcral hours—then drain off the syrup they hr*re 10 146 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. made, and add as much cream as it will give a strong flavour to, and freeze it. Pine apples may be used ;.i the same way. ALMOND CREAM. Pour hot water on the almonds, and let them stand till the skins will slip off, then pound them fine, and mix them with cream: a pound of almonds in the shells, will be sufficient for a quart of cream—sweeten and freeze it. The kernels of the common black walnut, prepared in the same way, make an excel¬ lent cream. LEMON CREAM. Pare the ye|Jow rind very thin from four lemons—■ put them in a quart of fresh cream, and boil it; squeeze and strain the juice of one lemon, saturate it completely with powdered sugar; and when the cream is quite cold, stir it in—take eare that it does not curdle—if not'sufficiently sweet, add more sugar. LEMONADE ICED. Make a quart of rich lemonade, whip the whites of six fresh eggs to a strong froth—mix them well with the lemonade, and freeze it. The juice of morello cher ries, or of currants mixed with water and sugar, and prepared in the same way, make very delicate ices. TO MAKE CUSTARD. Make a quart of milk quite hot, that it may not whey when baked; let it stand to get cold, and then mix six eggs with it; sweeten it with loaf sugar, and THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 141 fill the custard cups—put on the covers, and set them in a Dutch oven with water, but not enough to risk its boiling into the cups; do not put on the top of the oven. When the water has boiled ten or fifteen minutes, take out a cup, and if the custard be the con¬ sistence of jelly, it is sufficiently done; serve them in the cups with the covers on, and a tea-spoon on the dish between each cup—grate nutmeg on the tops when cold. TO MAKE A TRIFLE. Put slices of Savoy cake or Naples biscuit at the bottom of a deep dish; wet it with white wine, and fill the dish nearly to the top with rich boiled custard; season half a pint of cream with white wine and sugar; whip it to a froth—as it rises, take it lightly off, and lay it on the custard; pile it up high and tastily—de¬ corate it with preserves of any kind, cut so thin as nrt to bear the froth down by its weight. RICE BLANC MANGE. Boil a tea-cup full of rice in a very small quantity of water, till it is near bursting—then add half a pins, of milk, boil it to a mush, stirring all the time; season it with sugar, wine, and nutmeg; dip tho mould in water, and fill it; when cold, turn it in a dish, and surround it with boiled custard seasoned, o< syllabub— garnish it with marmalade. FLOATING ISLAND Have the bowl nearly full of sylKm/b, made with milk, white wine, and sugar; beat tht? whites of sis 148 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. new laid eggs to a strong froth—then mix with it rasp¬ berry or strawberry marmalade enough to flavour and colour it; lay the froth lightly on the syllabub, first putting in some slices of cake; raise it in little mounds, and garnish with something light. SYLLABUB. Season the milk with sugar and white wine, but not enough to curdle it; fill the glasses nearly full, and crown them with whipt cream seasoned. COLD CREAMS. LEMON CREAM. Pare the rind very thin from four fresh lemons, squeeze the juice, and strain it—put them both into a quart of water, sweeten it to your taste, add the whites of six eggs, beat to a froth; set it over the fire, and keep stirring until it thickens, but do not let it boil—then pour it in a bowl; when cold, strain it through a sieve, put it on the fire, and add the yelks of the eggs—stir it till quite thick, and serve it a glasses. ORANGE CREAM Is made in the same manner, but requires more juice to give a flavour. RASPBERRY CREAM. Stir as much raspberry marmalade into a quart of cream, as will be sufficient to give a rich flavour of THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 140 the fruit— strain it, and fill your glasses, leaving out a part to whip into froth for the top. TEA CREAM. Put one ounce of the best tea in a pitcher, pour on it a table spoonful of water, and let it stand an hour to soften the leaves; then put to it a quart of boiling cream, cover it close, and in half an hour strain it; add four tea-spoonsful of a strong infusion of rennet in water, stir it, and set it on some hot ashes, and cover it; when you find by cooling a little of it, that it will jelly, pour it into glasses, and garnish with thin bits of preserved fruit. SAGO CREAM. Wash the sago clean, and put it on the fire with a stick of cinnamon, and as much water as will boil it thick and soft; take out the cinnamon, and add rich boiled custard till it is of a proper thickness; sweeten it, and serve in glasses or cups, with grated nutmeg on the top. BARLEY CREAM Is made the same way—you may add a little white wine to both; it will give an agreeable flavour. GOOSEBERRY FOOL. Pick the stems and blossoms from two quarts of green gooseberries; put them in a stew pan, with their weight in loaf sugar, and a very little water—when efficiently stewed, pass the pulp through a sieve; and 150 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. when cold, add rich boiled custard till it is like thick cream; put it in a glass bowl, and lay frothed cream on the top. TO MAKE SLIP. Make a quart of rich milk moderately warm: then stir into it one large spoonful of the preparation of ren¬ net, (see receipt to prepare rennet,) set it by, and when cold, it will be as stiff as jelly. It should be made only a few hours before it is used, or it will b3 at the end of this time, they be a good green, put them in pots, and cover them with cold vinegar rnd a little turmeric; those that are not sufficiently green, must be continued under the same process till they are so Be careful not to cut through the large veins, as the heat will instantly diffuse itself through the pod. TO MAKE WALNUT CATSUP. Gather the walnuts as for pickling, and keep them in salt and water the same time; then pound them in a marble mortar—to every dozen walnuts, put a quart of vinegar; stir them well every day for a week, then put them in a bag, and press all the liquor through; to each quart, put a tea-spoonful of pounded cloves, and one of mace, with six cloves of garlic—boil it fifteen or twenty minutes, and bottle it. TO PICKLE GREEN NECTARINES OR APRI¬ COTS. Gather them while the shell is soft—green them with salt and water as before directed; when a good green, soak them in plain vinegar for a fortnight, and put them in the yellow pickle pot. TO PICKLE ASPARAGUS. Pour boiling salt and water on, and cover them close—next day, take them out, dry them, and after standing in vinegar, put them with the yellow pickle OBSERVATIONS ON PICKLING. The vessels for keeping pickles should be made of stone ware, straight from the bottom to the top, with stone covers to them; when the mouth is very wide. 170 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. the pickles may be taken out without breaking them The motive for keeping all pickles in plain vinegar, previous to putting them in the prepared pot, is to draw off the water with which they are saturated, that they may not weaken the vinegar of the pot. Pickles keep much better when the vinegar is not boiled. CORDIALS, &c. GINGER WINE. To three gallons of water, put three pounds of sugar, and four ounces of race ginger, washed in many waters to cleanse it; boil them together for one hour, and strain it through a sieve; when lukewarm, put it in a cask with three lemons cut in slices, and two gills of beer yeast; shake it well, and stop the cask very tight; let it stand a w r eek to ferment; and if not clear enough to bottle, it must remain until it becomes so; it will be lit to drink in ten days after bottling. ORGEAT, j 9 Necessary Refreshment at all Parties. Boil two quarts of milk with a stick of cinnamon and let it stand to be quite cold, first taking out the cinnamon; blanch four ounces of the best sweet almonds, pound them in a marble mortar with a little rose-water; mix them well with the milk, sweeten it to your taste, and let it boil a few minutes only, lest the almonds should be oily; strain it through a very fine sieve till quite smooth, and free from the almonds, serve it up either cold or lukewarm, in glasses with handles. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 171 CHERRY SHRUB. Gather ripe morello cherries, pick them from the Etalk, and put them in an earthen pot, which must be Eet into an iron pot of water; make the water boil, but take care that none of it gels into the cherries; when the juice is extracted, pour it into a bag made of tolerably thick cloth, which will permit the juice to pass, but not the pulp of your cherries; sweeten it to your taste, and when it becomes perfectly clear, bot¬ tle it—put a gill of brandy into each bottle, before you pour in the juice—cover the corks with rosin. It will keep all summer, in a dry cool place, and is delicious mixed with water. CURRANT WINE. Gather full ripe currants on a dry day, pick them from the stalks, and weigh them; then crush them with your hands, leaving none whole; for every two pounds of currants put one quart of water; stir all well together, and let it stand three hours, and strain the liquor through a sieve; then, for every three pounds of currants, put one pound of powdered loaf sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved, boil it, and Keep skimming it, as long as any scum will rise; let it stand sixteen hours to cool, before you put it in the cask—stop it very close. If the quantity be twenty gallons, let it stand three weeks before you bottle it; if it be thirty gallons, it must remain a month; it should be perfectly clear when drawn off—put a lump of sugar in each bottle, cork it well, and keep it in a cool place, or it will turn soitr. This is a pleasant and cheap wine—and if properly made, will keep good 172 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. for many years. It makes an agreeable beverage foi the sick, when mixed with water. TO MAKE CHERRY BRANDY. Get equal quantities of morello and common black cherries; fill your cask, and pour on (to a ten gallon cask) one gallon of boiling water; in two or three hours, fill it up with brandy—let it stand a week, then draw off all, and put another gallon of boiling water, and fill it again with brandy—at the end of the week, draw the whole off, empty the cask of the cherries, and pour in your brandy with water, to reduce the strength; first dissolving one pound of brown sugar in each gallon of your mixture. If the brandy be very strong, it will bear water enough to make the cask full. ROSE BRANDY. Gather leaves from fragrant roses without bruising, fill a pitcher with them, and cover them with French brandy; next day, pour off the brandy, take out the leaves, and fill the pitcher with fresh ones, and re¬ turn the brandy; do this till it is strongly impregnated, then bottle it; keep the pitcher closely covered during the process. It is better than distilled rose water foi cakes, &c. PEACH CORDIAL. Gather ripe cling-stone peaches, wipe off the down, cut them to the stone in several places, and put them in a cask; when filled with peaches, pour on as much peach brandy as the cask will hold; let it stand six or eight weeks, then draw it off, put in water until re¬ duced to the strength of wine; to each gallon of this, THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 173 add one pound of good brown sugar—dissolve it, and pour the cordial into a cask just large enough to hold it—when perfectly clear, it is fit for use. RASPBERRY CORDIAL. To each quart of ripe red raspberries, put one quart of best French brandy; let it remain about a week, then strain it through a sieve or bag, pressing out all the liquid; when you have got as much as you want, reduce the strength to your taste with water, and pu,t a pound of powdered loaf sugar to each gallon—let it stand till refined. Strawberry cordial is made the same way. It destroys the flavour of these fruits to put them on the fire. RASPBERRY VINEGAR. Put a quart of ripe red raspberries in a bowl; pour on them a quart of strong well flavoured vinegar—let them stand twenty-four hours, strain them through a bag, put this liquid on another quart of fresh raspber¬ ries, which strain in the same manner—and then on a third quart: when this last is prepared, make it very sweet with pounded loaf sugar; refine and bottle it. It is a delicious beverage mixed with iced water. MINT CORDIAL. Pick the mint early in the morning while the dew is on it, and be careful not to bruise it; pour some water over it, and drain it—put two handsful into a pitcher, with a quart of French brandy, cover it, and let it stand till next day; take the mint carefully out, and put in as much more, which must be taken out next day—do this the third time: then put three 174 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. quarts of water to the brandy, and one pound of loaf sugar powdered; mix it well together-—and when per fectly clear, bottle it. HYDROMEL, OR MEAD. Mix your mead in the proportion of thirty-six ounces of honey to four quarts of warm water; when the honey is completely held in solution, pour it into a cask. When fermented, and become perfectly clear, bottle and cork it well. If properly prepared, it is a pleasant and wholesome drink; and in summer par¬ ticularly grateful, on account of the large quantity of carbonic acid gas which it contains. Its goodness, however, depends greatly on the time of bottling, and other circumstances, which can only be acquired by practice. TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE FOR ARRACK. Dissolve two scruples flowers of Benzoin, in one quart of good rum. LEMON CORDIAL. Cut six fresh lemons in thin slices, put them into a quart and a half of milk, boil it until the whey is very clear, then pass it through a sieve; put to this whey, one and a half quarts of French brandy, and three pounds of powdered loaf sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved—let it stand to refine, and bottle it; pare some of the yellow rind of the lemons very thin, and put a little in each bottle. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE 175 GINGER BEER. Pour two gallons of boiling water on two pounds firown sugar, one and a half ounce of cream of tartar, and the same of pounded ginger; stir them well, and put it in a small cask; when milk warm, put in half a pint of good yeast, shake the cask well, and stop it close—in twenty-four hours it will be fit to bottle— cork it very well, and in ten days it will sparkle like Champaigne—one or two lemons cut in slices and put in, will improve it much. For economy, you may use molasses instead of sugar—one quart in place of two pounds. This is a wholesome and delicious beverage in warm weather. SPRUCE BEER. Boil a handful of hops, and twice as much of the chippings of sassafras root, in ten gallons of water; strain it, and pour in, while hot, one gallon of molas¬ ses, two spoonsful of the essence of spruce, two spoonsful of powdered ginger, and one of pounded allspice; put it in a cask—when sufficiently cold, add half a pint of good yeast; stir it well, stop it close, and when fermented and clear, bottle and cork it tight. MOLASSES BEER. Put five quarts of hops, and five of wheat bran, into fifteen gallons of water; boil it three or four hours, strain it, and pour it into a cask with one head taken out; put in five quarts of molasses, stir it till well mixed, throw a cloth over the barrel; when moderately warm, add a quart of good yeast, which must be stirred in; then stop it close with a cloth and board. When it has fermented and become quite clear, bottle 176 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. it—the corks should be soaked in boiling water an houi or two, and the bottles perfectly clean, and well drained. TO KEEP LEMON-JUICE. Get lemons quite free from blemish, squeeze them, and strain the juice; to each pint of it, put a pound of good loaf sugar pounded; stir it frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, cover the pitfcher closely, and let it stand till the dregs have subsided, and the syrup is transparent; have bottles perfectly clean and dry, put a wine glass full of French brandy into each bottle, fill it with syrup, cork it, and dip the neck into melted rosin or pitch; keep them in a cool dry cellar— do not put it on the fire—it will destroy the fine flavour of the juice. Pour water on the peels of the lemons, let them soak till you can scrape all the white pulp off, then boil the peel till soft; preserve them with half their weight of sugar, and keep them for mince pies, cakes, &c. They are a very good substitute for citron. SUGAR VINEGAR. To one measure of sugar, put seven measures of water moderately j^arm; dissolve it completely—put it into a cask, stir in yeast in the proportion of a pint to eight gallons: stop it close, and keep it in a warm place till sufficiently sour. HONEY VINEGAR. To one quart of clear honey, put eight quarts of warm water, mix it well together: when it has pissed through the acetous fermentation, a white vinegai will be formed, in many respects better than the ordinary vinegar. THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 177 SYRUP OF VINEGAR. Boil two pounds of sugar with four quarts of vine gar, down to a syrup, and bottle it. This makes an excellent beverage when mixed with water, either with or without the addition of brandy. It is nearly equal in llavour to the syrup of lime juice, when made with superior vinegar. AROMATIC VINEGAR. Put a portion of acetate of potash, (sal diureticus,j into a smelling bottle; mix gradually with it half its weight of sulphuric acid, and add a few drops of oil of lavender. VINEGAR OF THE FOUR THIEVES. Take lavender, rosemary, sage, wormwood, rue, and mint, of each a large handful; put them in a pot of earthen ware, pour on them four quarts of very strong vinegar, cover the pot closely, and put a board on the top; keep it in the hottest sun two weeks, then strain and bottle it, putting in each bottle a clove of garlic. When it has settled in the bottle and be¬ come clear, pour it off gently; do this until you get it all free from sediment. The proper time to make it is when the herbs are in full vigour, in June. This vinegar is very refreshing in crowded rooms, in the apartments of the sick; and is peculiarly gratefu 1 when sprinkled about the house in damp weather. LAVENDER WATER. Put a pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, to one ounce of essential oil of lavender, and two 12 ITS THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. drachms of ambergris; shake them well together, and keep it closely stopped. HUNGARIAN WATER. One pint spirits of wine, one ounce oil of rosemary, and two drachms essence of ambergris. TO PREPARE COSMETIC SOAP FOR WASH¬ ING THE HANDS. Take a pound of castile, or any other nice old soap; scrape it in small pieces, and put it on the fire with a little water—stir it till it becomes a smooth paste, pour it into a bowl, and when cold, add some laven¬ der water, or essence of any kind—beat it with a sil¬ ver spoon until well mixed, thicken it with corn meal, and keep it in small pots closely covered—for the ad¬ mission of air will soon make the soap hard. COLOGNE WATER. Three quarts spirits - of wine, six drachms oil of lavender, one drachm oil of rosemary, three drachms essence of lemon, ten drops oil of cinnamon—mix them together very well. SOFT POMATUM. Get nice sweet lard that has no salt in it—put in any agreeable perfume, beat it to a cream, and put it in small pots. TO MAKE SOAP. Put on the fire any quantity of lye you choose that is strung enough to bear an egg—to each gallon, add three quarters of a pound of clean grease: boil it very fast, and stir it frequently—a few hours will suffice to make it good soap. When you find by cooling a little THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. 179 on a plate that it is a thick jelly, and no grease appears, put in salt in the proportion of one pint to three gal¬ lons—let it boil a few minutes, and pour it in tubs to cool—(should the soap be thin, add a little water to that in the plate, stir it well, and by that means ascertain how much water is necessary for the whole quantity; very strong lye will require water to thicken it, after the incorporation is complete; this must be done before the salt is added.) Next day, cut out the soap, melt it, and cool it again; this takes out all the lye, and keeps the soap from shrinking when dried. A strict con¬ formity to these rules, will banish the lunar bugbear, which has so long annoyed soap makers. Should cracknels be used, there must be one pound to each gal¬ lon. Kitchen grease should be clarified in a quantity of water, or the salt will prevent its incorporating with the lye. Soft soap is made in the same manner, only omitting the salt. It may also be made by putting the lye and grease together in exact proportions, and placing it under the influence of a hot sun for eight or ten days, stirring it well four or five times a day. TO MAKE STARCH. Wash a peck of good wheat, and pick it very clean; put it in a tub, and cover it with water; it must be kept in the sun, and the water changed every day, or it will smell very offensively. When the wheat becomes quite soft, it must be well rubbed in the hands, and the husks thrown into another tub; let this white substance settle, then pour off the water, put on fresh, stir it up well, and let it subside; do this every day till the water comes off clear—then pour it off; collect the starch in a bag, tie it up tight, and set it in the sun a few days* then open it, and dry the starch on dishes. 180 THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. TO DRY HERRS. Gather them on a dry day, just before they begin U> blossom; brush off the dust, cut them in small branches, and dry them quickly in a moderate oven; pick off the leaves when dry, pound and sift them— bottle them immediately, and cork them closely. They must be kept in a dry place. TO CLEAN SILVER UTENSILS. Dissolve two tea-spoonsful of alum in a quart of moderately strong lye—stir in a gill of soft soap, and skim off the dross. Wash the silver clean in hot water, let it remain covered with this mixture for ten or fifteen minutes, turning it over frequently; then wash it in hot soap suds, and rub it well with a dry cloth. TO MAKE BLACKING. A quarter of a pound of ivory black, two ounces of sugar candy, a quarter of an ounce of gum traga- eanth; pound them all very fine, boil a bottle of porter, and stir the ingredients in while boiling hot. TO CLEAN KNIVES AND FORKS. Wash them in warm water, and wipe them till quite dry; then touch .them lightly over, without smearing the handles, with rotten stone made wet; let it dry on them, and then rub with a clean ffoth until they are bright. With this mode of cleaning, one set of knives and forks will serve a family twenty years; they will require the frequent use of a steel to keep them with a keen edge—but must never be put into very hot water, lest the handles be injured THE END.