Grapes for Pies.
After the first frost, pick the wild grapes, and put them in a jar, free from stems; fill it with boiling mola.s.ses, and tie it up close; set it on a hot hearth, or on the top of a stove, in a pan of water, for several days. These are very useful to make common pies in the winter.
Green Tomatoes for Pies.
Pick the green tomatoes before they are much frosted; scald them and take off the skins; put them in your kettle and let them boil for half an hour; cut them up, and put in a pound of sugar to three pounds of tomatoes, and let them cook for half an hour longer; season them with the juice and peel of a lemon, and put them away in jars. They make very good pies in the winter, and resemble gooseberries.
Conserve of Roses.
Gather the leaves of the damask rose, while they are fresh; spread a pound of loaf-sugar on your cake-board, and roll in about half a pound of rose leaves, or as many as will work into it, have your kettle cleaned, and stew them in it very gently for about half an hour; put it in tumblers to use when you have a cough. It is very good for children that are threatened with the croup; you should have some by the side of the bed to use at night.
To keep Damsons for Pies.
To every twelve pounds of damsons take seven pounds of brown sugar; put them together in a stone jar, a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar; tie it up close, and set it in a heated oven; let it stay till it is cold, and continue to set it in, after every baking, for several weeks; or you can cook them on the top of a stove, in a pan of hot water.
Dried Cherries, &c.
Dried cherries should be kept in a jar, with sugar sprinkled among them; they are very useful in sickness; a tea-cupful of cherries, with a quart of boiling water poured on them, and left to draw for half an hour, with sweetening, makes a very agreeable drink when you cannot get lemonade.
When stewed for pies you should allow them plenty of water, and not put in the sugar till they are nearly done.
Boiling water poured on dried apples also makes a good drink in sickness.
Apple b.u.t.ter.
_With Remarks on the Use of Earthen Vessels_
Have your kettle well cleaned, and fill it early in the morning with cider made of sound apples, and just from the press; let it boil half away, which may be done by three o"clock in the afternoon; have pared and cut enough good apples to fill the kettle; put them in a clean tub, and pour the boiling cider over; then scour the kettle and put in the apples and cider, let them boil briskly till the apples sink to the bottom; slacken the fire and let them stew, like preserves, till ten o"clock at night. Some dried quinces stewed in cider and put in are an improvement. Season with orange peel, cinnamon or cloves, just before it is done; if you like it sweeter, you can put in some sugar an hour before it is done. If any thing occur that you cannot finish it in a day, pour it in a tub, and finish it the next day; when it is done put it in stone jars. Any thing acid should not be put in earthen vessels, as the glazing is poisonous. This way of making apple b.u.t.ter requires but little stirring; you must keep a constant watch that it does not burn.
Pears and peaches may be done in the same way, and if they are sweet, will not require sugar.
Another Way.
It is important to have a large copper or bell-metal kettle, into which put the cider as soon as it comes from the press; put it over a brisk fire, and boil it half away; then put the cider from the kettle into clean stone jars, (warm the jars to prevent the danger of breaking them;) have your apples pared and cut over night, as many as would fill your kettle twice; have the kettle well cleaned, and in the morning put in half the cider, and fill the kettle nearly full of apples, and put it over a brisk fire; when they begin to boil up, stir them down, which may be done two or three times, before you put in your stick to stir constantly; then put in the rest of the apples and cider, as fast as the kettle will take them, and boil it four hours after the last apples are put in, stirring it all the time; you should have for the purpose a stick made of hickory wood, somewhat like a common hoe, with holes in it.
Candied Preserves, &c.
If your preserves candy, set the jars in hot water for half an hour; if they are in gla.s.s jars put them in something else, as gla.s.s cracks easily, when exposed to heat. Preserves made with white Havana sugar are not so liable to candy as others. Common preserves are improved, and are more certain to keep well, by being placed on flat dishes and set in a brick-oven after the bread is taken out: they may remain two or more hours without injury. When preserves are about to boil over, you should have a common fan at hand and fan them, which will sometimes answer instead of taking them from the fire.
Cider Marmalade.
Boil two gallons of sweet cider down to one gallon; have ready two gallons of apples, pared and cut; pour the cider out of the kettle, and clean it; then put in the apples, and pour the cider in, and two or three pounds of sugar; if it will not hold all conveniently, add at intervals; let them stew four hours; do not stir till they are nearly done--stirring makes fruit stick to the kettle and burn; if you stir once you must keep on. This is a pleasant sauce for dinner, or eaten with bread and b.u.t.ter at tea, and will keep in a cool place through the winter.
Tomato Figs.
Take six pounds of sugar, to one peck (or sixteen pounds) of ripe tomatoes--the pear-shaped look best; put them over the fire (_without peeling_) in your preserving kettle, their own juice being sufficient without the addition of water; boil them until the sugar penetrates and they are clarified. They are then taken out, spread on dishes, flattened and dried in the sun, or in a brick-oven after the bread is taken out. A small quant.i.ty of the syrup should be occasionally sprinkled over them whilst drying; after which, pack them down in jars, sprinkling each layer with powdered sugar. The syrup is afterwards concentrated and bottled for use. They retain surprisingly their flavor, which is agreeable and somewhat similar to the best figs. Ordinary brown sugar may be used, a large portion of which is retained in syrup.
Mola.s.ses Candy or Taffy.
Put a quart of good mola.s.ses (not sugar house) in a dutch-oven or iron pot, having previously greased it with b.u.t.ter; let it boil very fast, stirring it all the time for fifteen minutes; then put in a tea-cup of sugar and let it boil fifteen minutes longer, stirring all the time; take a little out on a plate, and when it is brittle, pour it while hot into tin plates rubbed with b.u.t.ter; put it in a cold place and break it up when you want it for use; never put taffy in china or earthen plates, as they would probably be broken in taking it out. Some think it an improvement to add the kernels of black walnuts, nicely picked--put them in just as you take up the taffy and give it one stir; a tea-cup of kernels to a pint of mola.s.ses is a good proportion.
Walnut Cheese.
Take a pint of nice kernels and pound them in a mortar with two tea-cups of brown sugar, and a table-spoonful of water; put it in cups or small bowls and it will turn out like other cheese. It is a favorite refreshment with some country children.
CORDIALS, WINES, VINEGAR, PICKLES, &c.
Peach Cordial.
Put a gallon of peach brandy into a wide-mouthed vessel, and five pounds of fine flavored peaches, cut from the stone; boil five pints of water with two pounds of loaf-sugar and a pound of peaches, till it is a clear and rich syrup; pour this boiling hot on the brandy and stir it well; put in two dozen peach kernels, blanched and pounded, and a little mace; let it stand three weeks covered tight--at the end of which time, bottle it for use. It is a nice seasoning for cake.
Quince Cordial.
Grate the quinces and strain them; to every quart of juice, put a pound of loaf-sugar and a pint of spirits; boil, strain and bottle it.
Cherry Cordial.
Mash and strain the cherries, boil the juice, and to a gallon, put two pounds of sugar, and half a pint of spirits; the sugar should be boiled in it; skim and strain; when cold, bottle it.
Lemon Brandy.
Have a bottle three-quarters full of brandy; when you use lemons for other purposes, pare off the yellow skin very thin, cut it small and drop it in the bottle, till you get it full. Be careful not to put in any of the tough white part, as that will give it a bitter taste; cork the bottle and keep it to season cakes and puddings.
Rose Brandy.
Fill a large bottle with damask rose leaves, picked while they are fresh; fill the bottle with brandy, or good spirits of any kind; cork it tightly and set it away for use. It will bear filling up several times.
Blackberry Cordial.