PEACH WINE. Take peaches, apricots, and nectarines, when they are full of juice, pare them, and take out the stones. Then slice them thin, pour over them from one to two gallons of water, and a quart of white wine.
Simmer the whole gently for a considerable time, till the sliced fruit becomes soft. Pour off the liquid part into another vessel, containing more peaches that have been sliced but not heated; let them stand for twelve hours, then pour out the liquid part, and press what remains through a fine hair bag. Let the whole be now put into a cask to ferment, and add a pound and a half of loaf sugar to each gallon. Boil an ounce of beaten cloves in a quart of white wine, and put it into the cask; the morella wine will have a delicious flavour. Wine may be made of apricots by only bruising, and pouring the hot water upon them: this wine does not require so much sweetening. To give it a curious flavour, boil an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of nutmegs, in a quart of white wine; and when the wine is fermenting, pour the liquid in hot. In about twenty days or a month, these wines will be fit for bottling.
PEARL BARLEY PUDDING. Cleanse a pound of pearl barley, and put to it three quarts of milk, half a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Bake it in a deep pan, take it out of the oven, and beat up six eggs with it.
Then b.u.t.ter a dish, pour in the pudding, and bake it again an hour.
PEARLS. To make artificial pearls, take the blay or bleak fish, which is very common in the rivers near London, and sc.r.a.pe off the fine silvery scales from the belly. Wash and rub them in water; let the water settle, and a sediment will be found of an oily consistence. A little of this is to be dropped into a hollow gla.s.s bead of a bluish tint, and shaken about, so as to cover all the internal surface. After this the bead is filled up with melted white wax, to give it weight and solidity.
PEARS. Large ones, when intended to be kept, should be tied and hung up by the stalk.
PEAS. Young green peas, well dressed, are one of the greatest delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. They must be quite young; it is equally indispensable that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon as they are sh.e.l.led, for they soon lose both their colour and sweetness. Of course they should never be purchased ready sh.e.l.led. To have them in perfection, they must be gathered the same day that they are dressed, and be put on to boil within half an hour after they are sh.e.l.led. As large and small peas cannot be boiled together, the small ones should be separated from the rest, by being pa.s.sed through a riddle or coa.r.s.e sieve. For a peck of young peas, which will not be more than sufficient for two or three persons, after they are sh.e.l.led, set on a saucepan with a gallon of water. When it boils, put in the peas with a table-spoonful of salt. Skim it well, keep them quickly boiling from twenty to thirty minutes, according to their age and size. To judge whether they are done enough, take some out with a spoon and taste them, but be careful not to boil them beyond the point of perfection. When slightly indented, and done enough, drain them on a hair sieve. Put them into a pie dish, and lay some small bits of b.u.t.ter on the peas; put another dish over them, and turn them over and over, in order to diffuse the b.u.t.ter equally among them. Or send them to table plain from the saucepan, with melted b.u.t.ter in a sauce tureen. Garnish the dish with a few sprigs of mint, boiled by themselves.
PEAS AND BACON. Cut a piece of nice streaked bacon, lay it in water to take out some of the salt, and boil it with some dried peas, in a little water. Add two carrots or parsnips, two onions, and a bunch of sweet herbs. When the peas are done enough, pulp them through a cullender or sieve, and serve them over the bacon.
PEAS CULTIVATED. Instead of sowing peas in straight rows, they should be formed into circles of three or four feet diameter, with a s.p.a.ce of two feet between each circle. By this means they will blossom nearer the ground, than when enclosed in long rows, and will ripen much sooner. Or if set in straight rows, a bed of ten or twelve feet wide should be left between, for onions and carrots, or any crops which do not grow tall. The peas will not be drawn up so much, but will grow stronger, and be more productive. Scarlet beans should be treated in the same manner.
PEAS AND PORK. Two pounds of the belly part of pickled pork will make very good broth for peas soup, if the pork be not too salt. If it has been in salt several days, it must be laid in water the night before it is used. Put on three quarts of soft water, or liquor in which meat has been boiled, with a quart of peas, and let it boil gently for two hours.
Then put in the pork, and let it simmer for an hour or more, till it is quite tender. When done, wash the pork clean in hot water, send it up in a dish, or cut into small pieces and put with the soup into the tureen.
PEAS PORRIDGE. Boil the peas, and pulp them through a cullender. Heat them up in a saucepan with some b.u.t.ter, chopped parsley and chives, and season with pepper and salt.
PEAS PUDDING. Soak the peas an hour or two before they are boiled; and when nearly done, beat them up with salt and pepper, an egg, and a bit of b.u.t.ter. Tie it up in a cloth, and boil it half an hour.
PEAS SOUP. Save the liquor of boiled pork or beef: if too salt, dilute it with water, or use fresh water only, adding the bones of roast beef, a ham or gammon bone, or an anchovy or two. Simmer these with some good whole or split peas; the smaller the quant.i.ty of water at first the better. Continue to simmer till the peas will pulp through a cullender; then set on the pulp to stew, with more of the liquor that boiled the peas, two carrots, a turnip, a leek, and a stick of chopped celery, till all is quite tender. The last requires less time, an hour will do it.
When ready, put into a tureen some fried bread cut into dice, dried mint rubbed fine, pepper and salt if needed, and pour in the soup. When there is plenty of vegetables, no meat is necessary; but if meat be preferred, a pig"s foot or ham bone may be boiled with the peas, which is called the stock. More b.u.t.ter than is above mentioned will be necessary, if the soup is required to be very rich.
PENCIL DRAWINGS. To prevent chalk or pencil drawings from rubbing out, it is only necessary to lay them on the surface of some skim milk, free from cream and grease; and then taking off the drawing expeditiously, and hanging it up by one corner to dry. A thin wash of isingla.s.s will also answer the same purpose.
PEPPER POT. To three quarts of water, put any approved vegetables; in summer, peas, lettuce, spinach, and two or three onions; in winter, carrot, turnip, onions, and celery. Cut them very small, and stew them with two pounds of neck of mutton, and a pound of pickled pork. Half an hour before serving, clear a lobster or crab from the sh.e.l.l, and put it into the stew, adding a little salt and cayenne. Some people choose very small suet dumplings, boiled in the above, or fowl may be used instead of mutton. A pepper pot may indeed be made of various things, and is understood to consist of a proper mixture of fish, flesh, fowl, vegetables, and pulse. A small quant.i.ty of rice should be boiled with the whole.
PEPPERMINT DROPS. Pound and sift four ounces of double-refined sugar, and beat it with the whites of two eggs till perfectly smooth. Then add sixty drops of oil of peppermint; beat it well, drop it on white paper, and dry it at a distance from the fire.
PERCH. When of a good size, as in Holland, they are a remarkably fine fresh-water fish, though not so delicate as carp or tench. Clean them carefully, and if to be boiled, put them into a fish-kettle, with as much cold spring water as will cover them, and add a handful of salt.
Set them on a quick fire till they boil, and then place them on one side to boil gently for about ten minutes, according to their size. If to be fried, wipe them on a dry cloth, after they have been well cleaned and washed, and flour them lightly all over. Fry them about ten minutes in hot lard or dripping, lay them on a hair sieve to drain, and send them up on a hot dish. Garnish with sprigs of green parsley, and serve them with anchovy sauce.
PERFUMERY. Oil of lavender and other essences are frequently adulterated with a mixture of the oil of turpentine, which may be discovered by dipping a piece of paper or rag into the oil to be tried, and holding it to the fire. The fine scented oil will quickly evaporate, and leave the smell of the turpentine distinguishable, if the essence has been adulterated with this ingredient.
PERMANENT INK. This useful article for marking linen is composed of nitrate of silver, or lunar caustic, and the tincture or infusion of galls; in the proportion of one dram of the former in a dry state, to two drams of the latter. The linen, cotton, or other fabric, must be first wetted with the following liquid; namely, an ounce of the salt of tartar, dissolved in an ounce and a half of water; and must be perfectly dry before any attempt is made to write upon it.
PETt.i.tOES. Boil them very gently in a small quant.i.ty of water, along with the liver and the heart. Then cut the meat fine, split the feet, and simmer them till they are quite tender. Thicken with a bit of b.u.t.ter, a little flour, a spoonful of cream, and a little pepper and salt. Give it a boil up, pour the liquor over a sippets of bread, and place the feet on the mince.
PEWTER AND TIN. Dish covers and pewter requisites should be wiped dry immediately after being used, and kept free from steam or damp, which would prevent much of the trouble in cleaning them. Where the polish is gone off, let the articles be first rubbed on the outside with a little sweet oil laid on a piece of soft linen cloth. Then clear it off with pure whitening on linen cloths, which will restore the polish.
PHEASANTS. The c.o.c.k bird is reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. If young, its spurs are short and blunt; but if old, they are long and sharp. A large pheasant will require three quarters of an hour to boil; if small, half an hour. If for roasting, it should be done the same as a turkey. Serve it up with a fine gravy, including a very small piece of garlic, and bread sauce or fried bread crumbs instead. When cold the meat may be made into excellent patties, but its flavour should not be overpowered with lemon. For the manner of trussing a pheasant or partridge, see Plate.
PHOSPHORIC MATCH BOTTLE. Two thirds of calcined oyster sh.e.l.ls, and one third of sulphur, put into a hot crucible for an hour, and afterwards exposed to the air for half an hour, become phosphorus. This is put into a bottle, and when used to procure a light, a very small quant.i.ty is taken out on the point of a common match, and rubbed upon a cork, which produces an immediate flame. If a small piece of phosphorus be put into a vial, and a little boiling oil poured upon it, a luminous bottle will be formed; for on taking out the cork, to admit the atmospheric air, the empty s.p.a.ce in the vial will become luminous; and if the bottle be well closed, it will preserve its illuminative power for several months.
PICKLE. For hams, tongues, or beef, a pickle may be made that will keep for years, if boiled and skimmed as often as it is used. Provide a deep earthen glazed pan that will hold four gallons, having a cover that will fit close. Put into it two gallons of spring water, two pounds of coa.r.s.e sugar, two pounds of bay salt, two pounds and a half of common salt, and half a pound of salt petre. Keep the beef or hams as long as they will bear, before they are put into the pickle; sprinkle them with coa.r.s.e sugar in a pan, and let them drain. Then rub them well with the pickle, and pack them in close, putting as much as the pan will hold, so that the pickle may cover them. The pickle is not to be boiled at first. A small ham may be fourteen days, a large one three weeks, a tongue twelve days, and beef in proportion to its size. They will eat well out of the pickle without drying. When they are to be dried, let each be drained over the pan; and when it will drop no longer, take a clean sponge and dry it thoroughly. Six or eight hours will smoke them, and there should be only a little saw-dust and wet straw used for this purpose; but if put into a baker"s chimney, they should be sown up in a coa.r.s.e cloth, and hang a week.
PICKLES. The free or frequent use of pickles is by no means to be recommended, where any regard is paid to health. In general they are the mere vehicles for taking a certain portion of vinegar and spice, and in the crisp state in which they are most admired are often indigestible, and of course pernicious. The pickle made to preserve cuc.u.mbers and mangoes, is generally so strongly impregnated with garlic, mustard, and spice, that the original flavour of the vegetable, is quite overpowered, and the vegetable itself becomes the mere absorbent of these foreign ingredients. But if pickles must still be regarded for the sake of the palate, whatever becomes of the stomach, it will be necessary to watch carefully the proper season for gathering and preparing the various articles intended to be preserved. Frequently it happens, after the first week that walnuts come in season, that they become hard and sh.e.l.led, especially if the weather be hot and dry; it is therefore necessary to purchase them as soon as they first appear at market; or in the course of a few months after being pickled, the nuts may be found incased in an impenetrable sh.e.l.l. The middle of July is generally the proper time to look for green walnuts. Nasturtiums are to be had about the same. Garlic and shalots, from Midsummer to Michaelmas. Onions of various kinds for pickling, are in season by the middle of July, and for a month after. Gherkins, cuc.u.mbers, melons, and mangoes, are to be had by the middle of July, and for a month after. Green, red, and yellow capsic.u.ms, the end of July, and following month. Chilies, tomatas, cauliflowers, and artichokes, towards the end of July, and throughout August. Jerusalem artichokes for pickling, July and August, and for three months after. French beans and radish pods, in July. Mushrooms, for pickling and for ketchup, in September. Red cabbage, and samphire, in August. White cabbage, in September and October. Horseradish, November and December.--Pickles, when put down, require to be kept with great care, closely covered. When wanted for use they should be taken out of the jar with a wooden spoon, pierced with holes, the use of metal in this case being highly improper. Pickles should be well kept from the air, and seldom opened. Small jars should be kept for those more frequently in use, that what is not eaten may be returned into the jar, and the top kept closely covered. In preparing vinegar for pickles, it should not be boiled in metal saucepans, but in a stone jar, on a hot hearth, as the acid will dissolve or corrode the metal, and infuse into the pickle an unwholesome ingredient. For the same reason pickles should never be put into glazed jars, as salt and vinegar will penetrate the glaze, and render it poisonous.
PICKLED ASPARAGUS. Cut some asparagus, and lay it in an earthen pot.
Make a brine of salt and water, strong enough to bear an egg; pour it hot on the asparagus, and let it be closely covered. When it is to be used, lay it for two hours in cold water; boil and serve it up on a toast, with melted b.u.t.ter over it. If to be used as a pickle, boil it as it comes out of the brine, and lay it in vinegar.
PICKLED BACON. For two tolerable flitches, dry a stone of salt over the fire, till it is scalding hot. Beat fine two ounces of saltpetre, and two pounds of bay salt well dried, and mix them with some of the heated salt. Rub the bacon first with that, and then with the rest; put it into a tub, and keep it close from the air.
PICKLED BEET ROOT. Boil the roots till three parts done, or set them into a cool oven till they are softened. Cut them into slices of an inch thick, cover them with vinegar, adding some allspice, a few cloves, a little mace, black pepper, horseradish sliced, some onions, shalots, a little pounded ginger, and some salt. Boil these ingredients together twenty minutes, and when cold, add to them a little bruised cochineal.
Put the slices of beet into jars, pour the pickle upon them, and tie the jars down close.
PICKLED CABBAGE. Slice a hard red cabbage into a cullender, and sprinkle each layer with salt. Let it drain two days, then put it into a jar, cover it with boiling vinegar, and add a few slices of red beet-root.
The purple red cabbage makes the finest colour. Those who like the flavour of spice, will boil some with the vinegar. Cauliflower cut in branches, and thrown in after being salted, will look of a beautiful red.
PICKLED CARROTS. Half boil some middle sized yellowish carrots, cut them into any shape, and let them cool. Take as much vinegar as will cover them, boil it with a little salt, and a pennyworth of saffron tied in a piece of muslin. Put the carrots into a jar; when the pickle is cold, pour it upon them, and cover the jar close. Let it stand all night, then pour off the pickle, and boil it with Jamaica pepper, mace, cloves, and a little salt. When cold, pour it upon the carrots, and tie them up for use.
PICKLED CUc.u.mBERS. Cut them into thick slices, and sprinkle salt over them. Next day drain them for five or six hours, then put them into a stone jar, pour boiling vinegar over them, and keep them in a warm place. Repeat the boiling vinegar, and stop them up again instantly, and so on till quite green. Then add peppercorns and ginger, and keep them in small stone jars. Cuc.u.mbers are best pickled with sliced onions.
PICKLED GHERKINS. Select some sound young cuc.u.mbers, spread them on dishes, salt and let them lie a week. Drain and put them in a jar, pouring boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the fire, covered with plenty of vine leaves. If they do not come to a tolerably good green, pour the vinegar into another jar, set it on a hot hearth, and when the vinegar boils, pour it over them again, and cover them with fresh leaves. Repeat this operation as often as is necessary, to bring the pickle to a good colour. Too many persons have made pickles of a very fine green, by using bra.s.s or bellmetal kettles; but as this is highly poisonous, the practice ought never to be attempted.
PICKLED HAM. After it has been a week in the pickle, boil a pint of vinegar, with two ounces of bay salt. Pour it hot on the ham, and baste it every day; it may then remain in the brine two or three weeks.