_Mode_.--Blanch the almonds, and dry them thoroughly; put them into a mortar, and pound them well, wetting them gradually with the whites of 2 eggs. When well pounded, put them into a small preserving-pan, add the sugar, and place the pan on a small but clear fire (a hot-plate is better); keep stirring until the paste is dry, then take it out of the pan, put it between two dishes, and, when cold, make it into any shape that fancy may dictate.
_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. for the above quant.i.ty.
_Sufficient_ for 3 small dishes of pastry.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BITTER ALMONDS.--The Bitter Almond is a variety of the common almond, and is injurious to animal life, on account of the great quant.i.ty of hydrocyanic acid it contains, and is consequently seldom used in domestic economy, unless it be to give flavour to confectionery; and even then it should he used with great caution. A single drop of the essential oil of bitter almonds is sufficient to destroy a bird, and four drops have caused the death of a middle-sized dog.
BAKED ALMOND PUDDING.
(_Very rich_.)
1221. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of almonds, 4 bitter ditto, 1 gla.s.s of sherry, 4 eggs, the rind and juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 pint of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds to a smooth paste with the water; mix these with the b.u.t.ter, which should be melted; beat up the eggs, grate the lemon-rind, and strain the juice; add these, with the cream, sugar, and wine, to the other ingredients, and stir them well together.
When well mixed, put it into a pie-dish lined with puff-paste, and bake for 1/2 hour.
_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 2s. 3d.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--To make this pudding more economically, subst.i.tute milk for the cream; but then add rather more than 1 oz. of finely grated bread.
USES OF THE SWEET ALMOND.--The kernels of the sweet almond are used either in a green or ripe state, and as an article in the dessert. Into cookery, confectionery, perfumery, and medicine, they largely enter, and in domestic economy, should always be used in preference to bitter almonds. The reason for advising this, is because the kernels do not contain any hydrocyanic or prussic acid, although it is found in the leaves, flowers, and bark of the tree. When young and green, they are preserved in sugar, like green apricots. They furnish the almond-oil; and the farinaceous matter which is left after the oil is expressed, forms the _pate d"amandes_ of perfumers. In the arts, the oil is employed for the same purposes as the olive-oil, and forms the basis of kalydor, maca.s.sar oil, Gowland"s lotion, and many other articles of that kind vended by perfumers. In medicine, it is considered a nutritive, laxative, and an emollient.
SMALL ALMOND PUDDINGS.
1222. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ALMOND PUDDINGS.]
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds to a smooth paste with a spoonful of water; warm the b.u.t.ter, mix the almonds with this, and add the other ingredients, leaving out the whites of 2 eggs, and be particular that these are well beaten. Mix well, b.u.t.ter some cups, half fill them, and bake the puddings from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Turn them out on a dish, and serve with sweet sauce.
_Time_.--20 minutes to 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
THE HUSKS OF ALMONDS.--In the environs of Alicante, the husks of almonds are ground to a powder, and enter into the composition of common soap, the large quant.i.ty of alkaline principle they contain rendering them suitable for this purpose. It is said that in some parts of the south of France, where they are extensively grown, horses and mules are fed on the green and dry husks; but, to prevent any evil consequences arising from this practice, they are mixed with chopped straw or oats.
ALMOND PUFFS.
1223. INGREDIENTS.--2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 oz. of pounded sugar, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 4 bitter almonds.
_Mode_.--Blanch and pound the almonds in a mortar to a smooth paste; melt the b.u.t.ter, dredge in the flour, and add the sugar and pounded almonds. Beat the mixture well, and put it into cups or very tiny jelly-pots, which should be well b.u.t.tered, and bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes, or longer should the puffs be large. Turn them out on a dish, the bottom of the puff upper-most, and serve.
_Time_.--20 minutes. _Average cost_, 6d.
_Sufficient_ for 2 or 3 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
AUNT NELLY"S PUDDING.
1224. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of treacle, 1/2 lb. of suet, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, a few strips of candied lemon-peel, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 eggs.
_Mode_.--Chop the suet finely; mix with it the flour, treacle, lemon-peel minced, and candied lemon-peel; add the cream, lemon-juice, and 2 well-beaten eggs; beat the pudding well, put it into a b.u.t.tered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil from 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
_Time_.--3-1/2 to 4 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time, but more suitable for a winter pudding.
TREACLE, OR MOLa.s.sES.--Treacle is the uncrystallizable part of the saccharine juice drained from the Muscovado sugar, and is either naturally so or rendered uncrystallizable through some defect in the process of boiling. As it contains a large quant.i.ty of sweet or saccharine principle and is cheap, it is of great use as an article of domestic economy. Children are especially fond of it; and it is accounted wholesome. It is also useful for making beer, rum, and the very dark syrups.
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS (a Plain Family Dish).
1225. INGREDIENTS.--6 apples, 3/4 lb.. of suet-crust No. 1215, sugar to taste.
_Mode_.--Pare and take out the cores of the apples without dividing them, and make 1/2 lb. of suet-crust by recipe No. 1215; roll the apples in the crust, previously sweetening them with moist sugar, and taking care to join the paste nicely. When they are formed into round b.a.l.l.s, put them on a tin, and bake them for about 1/2 hour, or longer should the apples be very large; arrange them pyramidically on a dish, and sift over them some pounded white sugar. These may be made richer by using one of the puff-pastes instead of suet.
_Time_.--From 1/2 to 3/4 hour, or longer. _Average cost_, 1-1/2d. each.
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March, but flavourless after the end of January.
USES OF THE APPLE.--It is well known that this fruit forms a very important article of food, in the form of pies and puddings, and furnishes several delicacies, such as sauces, marmalades, and jellies, and is much esteemed as a dessert fruit. When flattened in the form of round cakes, and baked in ovens, they are called beefings; and large quant.i.ties are annually dried in the sun in America, as well as in Normandy, and stored for use during winter, when they may be stewed or made into pies. In a roasted state they are remarkably wholesome, and, it is said, strengthening to a weak stomach. In putrid and malignant fevers, when used with the juice of lemons and currants, they are considered highly efficacious.
APPLE CHEESECAKES.
1226. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of apple pulp, 1/4 lb. of sifted sugar, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 4 eggs, the rind and juice of 1 lemon.
_Mode_.--Pare, core, and boil sufficient apples to make 1/2 lb. when cooked; add to these the sugar, the b.u.t.ter, which should be melted; the eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and take grated rind and juice of 1 lemon; stir the mixture well; line some patty-pans with puff-paste, put in the mixture, and bake about 20 minutes.
_Time_.--About 20 minutes.
_Average cost_, for the above quant.i.ty, with the paste, 1s. 2d.
_Sufficient_ for about 18 or 20 cheesecakes.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
[Ill.u.s.tration: APPLE AND BLOSSOM.]
THE APPLE.--The most useful of all the British fruits is the apple, which is a native of Britain, and may be found in woods and hedges, in the form of the common wild crab, of which all our best apples are merely seminal varieties, produced by culture or particular circ.u.mstances. In most temperate climates it is very extensively cultivated, and in England, both as regards variety and quant.i.ty, it is excellent and abundant.