BLACKBERRY CORDIAL.
Warm and squeeze the berries; add to one pint of juice one pound of white sugar, one-half ounce of powdered cinnamon, one-fourth ounce of mace, two teaspoonfuls of cloves. Boil all together for one-fourth of an hour; strain the syrup, and to each pint add a gla.s.s of French brandy. Two or three doses of a tablespoonful or less will check any slight diarrhoea. When the attack is violent, give a tablespoonful after each discharge until the complaint is in subjection. It will arrest dysentery if given in season, and is a pleasant and safe remedy. Excellent for children when teething.
HOP BEER.
Take five quarts of water, six ounces of hops, boil it three hours; then strain the liquor, add to it five quarts of water, four ounces of bruised ginger root; boil this again twenty minutes, strain and add four pounds of sugar. When luke-warm put in a pint of yeast. Let it ferment; in twenty-four hours it will be ready for bottling.
GINGER BEER.
Put into a kettle two ounces of powdered ginger root (or more if it is not very strong), half an ounce of cream of tartar, two large lemons, cut in slices, two pounds of broken loaf sugar and two gallons of soft boiling water. Simmer them over a slow fire for half an hour. When the liquor is nearly cold, stir into it a large tablespoonful of the best yeast. After it has fermented, which will be in about twenty-four hours, bottle for use.
SPRUCE BEER.
Allow an ounce of hops and a spoonful of ginger to a gallon of water.
When well boiled, strain it and put in a pint of mola.s.ses, or a pound of brown sugar, and half an ounce or less of the essence of spruce; when cool, add a teacupful of yeast, and put into a clean tight cask, and let it ferment for a day or two, then bottle it for use. You can boil the sprigs of spruce fir in place of the essence.
ROMAN PUNCH. No. 1.
Grate the yellow rind of four lemons and two oranges upon two pounds of loaf sugar. Squeeze the juice of the lemons and oranges; cover it and let it stand until next day. Strain it through a sieve, mix with the sugar; add a bottle of champagne and the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth. It may be frozen or not, as desired. For winter use snow instead of ice.
ROMAN PUNCH. No. 2.
Make two quarts of lemonade, rich with pure juice lemon fruit; add one tablespoonful of extract of lemon. Work well and freeze; just before serving, add for each quart of ice half a pint of brandy and half a pint of Jamaica rum. Mix well and serve in high gla.s.ses, as this makes what is called a semi or half ice. It is usually served at dinners as a _coup de milieu_.
DELICIOUS JUNKET.
Take two quarts of new milk, warm it on the stove to about blood heat, pour it into a gla.s.s or china bowl and stir into it two tablespoonfuls of prepared rennet, two tablespoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar, and a small wine-gla.s.sful of pale brandy. Let it stand till cold and eat with sugar and rich cream. Half the quant.i.ty can be made.
RASPBERRY SHRUB.
One quart of raspberry juice, half a pound of loaf sugar, dissolved, a pint of Jamaica rum, or part rum and brandy. Mix thoroughly. Bottle for use.
Sa.s.sAFRAS MEAD.
Mix gradually with two quarts of boiling water three pounds and a half of the best brown sugar, a pint and a half of good West India mola.s.ses, and a quarter of a pound of tartaric acid. Stir it well and when cool, strain it into a large jug or pan, then mix in a teaspoonful (not more) of essence of sa.s.safras. Transfer it to clean bottles (it will fill about half a dozen), cork it tightly and keep it in a cool place. It will be fit for use next day. Put into a box or boxes a quarter of a pound of carbonate of soda, to use with it. To prepare a gla.s.s of sa.s.safras mead for drinking, put a large tablespoonful of the mead into half a tumbler full of ice-water, stir into it a half teaspoonful of the soda and it will immediately foam up to the top.
Sa.s.safras mead will be found a cheap, wholesome and pleasant beverage for warm weather. The essence of sa.s.safras, tartaric acid and carbonate of soda, can, of course, be obtained at the druggist"s.
CREAM SODA WITHOUT THE FOUNTAIN.
Coffee-sugar, four pounds, three pints of water, three nutmegs, grated, the whites of ten eggs, well beaten, gum arabic, one ounce, twenty drops of oil of lemon, or extract equal to that amount. By using oils or other fruits, you can make as many flavors from this as you desire. Mix all and place over a gentle fire, and stir well about thirty minutes; remove from the fire and strain, and divide into two parts; into one-half put eight ounces of bicarbonate of soda, into the other half put six ounces of tartaric acid. Shake well, and when cold they are ready for use by pouring three or four spoonfuls from both parts into separate gla.s.ses, each one-third full of water. Stir each and pour together, and you have a nice gla.s.s of cream soda which you can drink at your leisure, as the gum and eggs hold the gas.
WINE WHEY.
Sweeten one pint of milk to taste, and when boiling, throw in two wine-gla.s.ses of sherry; when the curd forms, strain the whey through a muslin bag into tumblers.
LEMON SYRUP.
Take the juice of twelve lemons; grate the rind of six in it, let it stand over night; then take six pounds of white sugar and make a thick syrup. When it is quite cool, strain the juice into it, and squeeze as much oil from the grated rind as will suit the taste. Put in bottles, securely corked, for future use. A tablespoonful in a goblet of water will make a delicious drink on a hot day.
FOR A SUMMER DRAUGHT.
The juice of one lemon, a tumblerful of cold water, pounded sugar to taste, half a small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Squeeze the juice from the lemon; strain and add it to the water, with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. When well mixed, put in the soda, stir well and drink while the mixture is in an effervescing state.
NOYEAU CORDIAL.
To one gallon of proof spirit add three pounds of loaf sugar and a tablespoonful of extract of almonds. Mix well together and allow to stand forty-eight hours; covered closely; now strain through thick flannel and bottle. This liquor will be much improved by adding half a pint of apricot or peach juice.
EGG NOG.
Beat the yolks of twelve eggs very light, stir in as much white sugar as they will dissolve, pour in gradually one gla.s.s of brandy to cook the egg, one gla.s.s of old whisky, one grated nutmeg, and three pints of rich milk. Beat the whites to a froth and stir in last.
EGG FLIP, OR MULLED ALE.
Boil one quart of good ale with some nutmeg; beat up six eggs and mix them with a little cold ale; then pour the hot ale to it, pour it back and forth several times to prevent its curdling; warm and stir it till sufficiently thick; add a piece of b.u.t.ter or a gla.s.s of brandy and serve it with dry toast.
MILK PUNCH.
One pint of milk made very sweet; a wine-gla.s.sful of brandy or rum, well stirred together; grate a little nutmeg over the top of the gla.s.ses. Serve with a straw in each gla.s.s.
FINE MILK PUNCH.
PARE off the yellow rind of four large lemons and steep it for twenty-four hours in a quart of brandy or rum. Then mix with it the juice of the lemons, a pound and a half of loaf sugar, two grated nutmegs and a quart of water. Add a quart of rich unskimmed milk, made boiling hot, and strain the whole through a jelly-bag. You may either use it as soon as it is cold, or make a larger quant.i.ty (in the above proportions) and bottle it. It will keep several months.
TO MAKE HOT PUNCH.
Half a pint of rum, half a pint of brandy, quarter of a pound of sugar, one large lemon, half a teaspoonful of nutmeg, one pint of boiling water.
Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punch bowl; add the lemon juice (free from pips) and mix these two ingredients, well together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy and nutmeg; mix thoroughly and the punch will be ready to serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to. (This is an old-style punch.)