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THE
AMERICAN
ECONOMICAL HOUSEKEEPER,
AND
FAMILY RECEIPT BOOK.
BY MRS. E. A. HOWLAND.
STEREOTYPE EDITION.
CINCINNATI:
PUBLISHED BY H. W. DERBY & CO.
1845.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by
S. A. HOWLAND,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
STEREOTYPED AT THE
BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
PREFACE.
This work has been compiled with a careful regard to the most economical
mode of preparing the various dishes for which directions have been given;
and is particularly recommended to the attention of those who would cook
well at a moderate expense. Many of the receipts are new, having been
prepared, or furnished, expressly for this work. Selections have also been
made from various works on this subject, such as have been proved to be
good by use.
The Medicinal Department will be found to contain a select number of
useful and tried remedies for the various ills and accidents that occur in
almost every family. Although not intended as a substitute for the family
physician, still, there are times when his attendance or advice cannot be
had at the moment when most needed. It is then that the receipts in this
department will be found to be of some service.
In conclusion, we would tender our thanks to those friends who have kindly
furnished some of their choice and valuable receipts; and of those into
whose hands our little work may come, we would bespeak a fair trial before
passing judgment against it.
> ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
ENCOURAGED by the very favorable reception that our humble labors have
met, in the rapid sale of the first edition, of fifteen hundred copies, in
about fifteen weeks, and the demand still continuing, we have improved the
time by endeavoring to make the present edition more worthy of patronage,
if possible, than the first.
We have thoroughly revised the work by leaving out such receipts as were
not of practical utility, have improved many that have been retained, and
have added more than fifty new ones, which have been tried and proved to
be good and economical. We have also improved the Medicinal Department,
which we consider as valuable as any part of the book, by giving several
additional articles.
View page [NONE OF THE ABOVE]
> INDEX.
The figures in the Index refer to the number of the receipt, and NOT to
the page.
No.
Apple Jelly..........................240
---Dumpling.....................133, 134
Beans, baked.........................265
Beef, a-la-mode......................192
---Steak, to broil...................218
--- ---- to roast....................194
Beer..........................267 to 269
Biscuit, Bread........................18
---Brown Bread........................17
---Butter.............................26
---Light..............................20
---Rice...............................21
---Rich Milk..........................25
---Tea................................19
Boiled Dish Meat.....................213
---Flank.............................222
Bread, Brown.......................4, 11
---Cream Tartar........................9
---Dyspepsia...........................5
---to prevent moulding................31
---Potato..............................2
---Rice................................6
---Ripe................................1
---Rye and Indian.....................12
---Sour Milk..........................13
---Sponge..............................8
---Wheat Meal..........................3
---Wisconsin...........................7
---Yeast..............................10
Broth...........................235, 236
Bunns.............................91, 92
Cakes, Bedford.......................103
---Buckwheat..........................75
---Caraway............................40
---Clove..............................65
---Composition........................69
---Cup............................32, 33
---Currant............................99
---Election...........................34
---Fruit........................100, 101
---Gillet............................107
---Ginger.............................97
---Graham............................105
---Griddle............................22
---Johnny.............................24
---Loaf.........................41 to 47
---Measure...........................202
---New Year's.........................95
---Plain.........................83, 106
---Plum...........................84, 85
---Raised.............................39
---Seed.........................88 to 90
---Short..............................23
Cakes, Shrewsbury.....................64
---Soft...............................68
---Sponge.......................35 to 38
---Tea...........................53, 104
---Temperance.....................86, 87
---Wedding......................48 to 50
Calf's Head and Pluck, to boil.......209
Chicken Broth........................236
Chowder.........................233, 234
Coffee, to make......................273
Cookies.........................93 to 95
Cranberry Tarts......................182
Currant Jelly........................259
Custard, Baked.......................180
---Cream.............................181
---Rice..............................179
---without Eggs......................178
Dinners for a Week...................274
Doughnuts.......................76 to 80
Ducks and Geese, to roast............214
Dumplings, Apple................133, 134
Eggs, to preserve....................260
Fish, to boil........................229
---to broil, salt Cod................231
---to fry............................238
Flank, boiled........................222
Flat-Jacks......................70 to 74
Frosting to Cake..................51, 52
Geese and Ducks, to roast............214
Ginger Beer..........................207
Gingerbread.....................54 to 61
Gravy Sauce..........................221
Grape Sirup..........................259
Gruel, Sago and Indian..........237, 238
Ham, to boil.........................200
Head and Pluck, Calf's...............209
Heating the Oven.....................185
Indian Gruel.........................238
Jumbles...............................67
Jelly from Apples....................246
Mackerel, to broil...................252
Mangoes..............................262
Mead, Sassafras......................255
Meat, to cure........................228
---baking............................187
---boiling...........................189
---broiling..........................188
---frying............................190
---to keep hot.......................203
---pressing..........................207
Mutton with Oysters..................220
---to roast..........................195
Oven, to heat........................135
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No.
Pancakes..........................81, 82
Peas, Green..........................254
Peaches, to keep dry.................240
---to keep fresh.....................239
Pickles..............................263
Peach Sauce..........................241
Pies, Apple.....................169, 170
---Carrot............................171
---Chicken...........................174
---Chicken Pot.......................175
---Custard...........................176
---Lemon.............................184
---Mince........................165, 166
---Mutton............................173
---Paste for.........................161
---Pork Apple........................163
---Pot Apple.........................162
---Pot...............................216
---Pumpkin......................167, 168
---Rhubarb...........................172
---R ice..............................177
---Veal..............................164
---Whortleberry......................183
Pig, to broil........................195
--to bake............................202
Pork, Leg of, to boil................264
---to broil..........................212
---to roast..........................192
Potatoes, cooking....................228
Potato Starch........................271
---Yeast..............................14
Preserves, Apples....................245
----Citrons..........................248
----Currants.........................238
----Grapes...........................249
----Peaches..........................242
----Pears............................237
----Quinces..........................247
----Raspberries......................243
----Tomatoes....................255, 256
----Whortleberries...................244
Pressing, Meat.......................207
Pudding, in Haste....................140
----Observations on..................109
----Apple............................149
----Baked Apple......................142
----Bread............................158
----Indian...........................152
----Rice........................119, 120
----Batter......................137, 138
----Bird's Nest......................135
----Boiled Apple.................114, 149
---- ---- Bread......................116
----Boston...........................115
Pudding, Bread..................112, 147
----Bread and Butter.................141
----Bunn.............................154
----Cracker Plum.....................113
----Flour............................148
----Fruit Rice.......................121
----Green Corn.......................128
----Ground Rice......................155
----Indian Hasty.....................160
----Little Citron....................157
----Plain............................155
----Plain Rice..................122, 146
----Plum boiled......................151
----Quaking Plum.....................135
----Quince...........................144
----Rice Flour.......................153
----Rice Milk........................145
----Sago......................129 to 132
----Sauce for...................110, 111
----Sunderland.......................139
----Tapioca..........................143
Rolls.................................15
---Short..............................16
Round of Beef........................205
Rusk.................................165
Sago Gruel...........................237
Sassafras Mead.......................265
Sausage Meat.........................223
Savory Meat..........................225
Shad, to broil.......................232
Soups...........................121, 208
Souse................................224
Starch..........................271, 272
Stuffing........................210, 211
Sirup from Grapes....................250
Tainted Beef.........................227
Thanksgiving Dinner...................75
Toast.............................27, 28
Tomato Figs..........................251
----Ketchup..........................252
----Omelet...........................254
----Preserve....................255, 256
----Sauce............................253
Tripe, to pickle.....................251
Turkey, roast........................212
----boiled...........................217
Veal, Leg of.........................199
---roast.............................193
---stewed............................215
Venison, roast.......................197
Wafers............................62, 63
Water, to purify.....................279
Wonders...............................66
> Medicinal Department.
Accidents by Fire...............282, 283
Asthma...............................276
Blackberry Jam.......................288
Bleeding at the Nose.................277
Bleeding, Remedy to stop.............278
Blow on the Head.....................279
Burns and Scalds.....................280
Burn, Salve for......................281
Cancer...............................290
Cancer and Sores.....................291
Canker and Sore Mouth................292
Castor Oil...........................309
Chapped Hands........................299
Chilblains...........................298
Colic................................289
Consumption..........................293
Corns................................295
Coughs...............................338
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No.
Cramp in the Stomach.................295
Croup................................294
Cuts.................................297
Deafness.............................305
Diarrhœa.......................302
Dropsy...............................303
Drowning.............................304
Dysentery............................301
Earache..............................311
Elderberry Sirup.....................308
Elixir Asthmatic.....................310
Elixir Pro...........................319
Eyes, Inflamed.......................306
Felons...............................312
Fevers...............................313
Figs and Senna.......................314
Fire Escape.....................284, 285
---to extinguish................286, 287
Gravel...............................315
Hair Restorative.....................316
Headache.............................320
Heartburn............................319
Hiccough.............................3 18
Hydrophobia..........................317
Indigestion, Remedy for..............321
Lip Salve............................322
Opodeldoc............................323
Pile Electuary.......................324
---Ointment..........................325
Poison...............................326
Rheumatism...........................328
Ringworm.............................329
Runround on the Finger...............327
Salve for Burns......................332
Sea Sickness.........................331
Sore Throat..........................330
Thoroughwort Sirup...................333
Toothache............................334
---Wash..............................335
Vomiting, to stop....................336
Warts................................337
Whooping Cough.......................339
> Miscellaneous.
Apples, to keep the Year round.......340
Ants, Red............................371
Bed of Husks, cheap, good............345
Blacking, for Shoes........341, 342, 343
Boots, Water-proof...................344
Butter, good, in Winter..............346
Cabbage, Red.........................350
Cement for China................363, 386
Cheese, to preserve from Insects.....383
Chloride of Lime.....................348
Cologne Water........................347
Corn, to preserve for boiling........349
Crust in Tea-Kettles.................387
Cucumber Plants, to preserve.........382
----to pickle........................389
Flies, to drive off..................359
---to prevent injuring Picture-Frames 373
---teasing Horses....................351
Fowls, to fatten.....................355
Frozen Pumps.........................389
Gates, to prevent creaking...........379
Glue, Portable.......................295
Good Rule............................397
Grease-Spots, a Liquid to remove.....396
Hint to Working Classes..............398
Horses, to break.....................380
---Scratches in......................354
---teased by Flies...................351
Ice, to remove from Door-Steps.......375
Ink, to make.........................359
---Spots, to remove..................353
---Spots on Floors...................388
Indelible Ink........................360
Iron Pots, to mend...................368
Jefferson's two Rules................320
Lamps, to prevent smoking............364
Lavender-Water.......................391
Linen, Mildew from...................393
Looking-Glasses, to clean............373
Molasses, boil it....................384
Mosquitoes...........................366
Oil, to extract from Board or Stone..394
Paint for a Barn.....................385
Pitch, Tar, &c., to take out.....362
Potatoes, to keep good...............381
----Watery...........................382
Pump, Frozen.........................369
Putty, Hard, to soften...............376
Rats, Bait for.......................357
---to destroy........................356
---to drive off......................358
Rose-Water...........................322
Smelling Salts.......................367
Soft Soap............................377
Stoves, cracked, to mend.............378
Tool Closet..........................400
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> THE ECONOMICAL HOUSEKEEPER.
> 1. Ripe Bread.
BREAD made of wheat flour, when taken out of the oven, is unprepared for
the stomach. It should go through a change, or ripen, before it is eaten.
Young persons, or persons in the enjoyment of vigorous health, may eat
bread immediately after being baked, without any sensible injury from it;
but weakly and aged persons cannot, and none can eat such, without doing
harm to the digestive organs. Bread, after being baked, goes through a
change similar to the change in newly-brewed beer, or newly-churned
buttermilk, neither being healthy until after the change. During the
change in bread, it sends off a large portion of carbon, or unhealthy gas,
and imbibes a large portion of oxygen, or healthy gas. Bread has,
according to the computation of physicians, one fifth more nutriment in it
when ripe, than it has when just out of the oven. It not only has more
nutriment, but imparts a much greater degree of cheerfulness. He that eats
old ripe bread will have a much greater flow of animal spirits than he
would were he to eat unripe bread. Bread, as before observed, discharges
carbon, and imbibes oxygen. One thing, in connection with this thought,
should be particularly noticed by all housewives. It is, to let the bread
ripen where it can inhale the oxygen in a pure state. Bread will always
taste of the air that surrounds it while ripening - hence it should ripen
where the air is pure. It should never ripen in a cellar, nor in a close
cupboard, nor in a bedroom. The noxious vapors of a cellar, or a cupboard,
never should enter into and form a part of the bread we eat. Bread should
be
View page [14]
light, well baked, and properly ripened, before it should be eaten.
Bread that is several days old may be renewed, so as to have all the
freshness and lightness of new bread, by simply putting it into a common
steamer over a fire, and steaming it half or three quarters of an hour.
The vessel under the steamer, containing the water, should not be more
than half full; otherwise the water may boil up into the steamer, and wet
the bread. After the bread is thus steamed, it should be taken out of the
steamer, and wrapped loosely in a cloth, to dry and cool, and remain so a
short time, when it will be ready to be cut and used. It will then be like
cold, new bread.
2. Potato Bread.
Take a dozen and a half of good mealy potatoes well boiled; peel them, and
mash them fine while warm; add two quarts of cold water, and then strain
the mixture through a colander; add flour enough to make a thick batter;
then a pint of good lively yeast; if the yeast is sweet, no saleratus is
necessary; if sour, a very little saleratus; let the sponge set, until it
is well fermented. With this sponge you may make a large or a small
quantity of bread by adding flour and water or milk; if a small quantity,
it may be put into the oven very soon; if the quantity be large, it must
stand longer, or over night. Put in double the usual quantity of salt, but
no shortening. Let the dough stand in a place moderately warm, but not
near the fire, unless it is to be baked immediately. Milk or water may be
used, but water is the best, for the sponge mixed with water keeps sweet
the longest. The bread will be very light, sweet, and wholesome, having in
it neither acids nor alkalies, to neutralize each other. The greater the
proportion of potatoes, the lighter the bread will be; but if the
proportion is very large, the bread will be so light as to dry up, if kept
several days.
[Editorial note: The following note appears on the bottom of page fourteen
in the original text.]
* All the receipts having a star prefixed to them, were prepared, or
furnished, expressly for this work.
3. Wheat Meal Bread.
* Take two quarts of wheat meal, half a cup of molasses, a tea-cup full of
lively yeast; mix up with warm
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water; let it stand in a warm place an hour and a half; if necessary, add
a little saleratus; bake it an hour and a half.
4. Brown Bread.
* Put the Indian meal in your bread-pan, sprinkle a little salt among it,
and wet it thoroughly with scalding water. When it is cool, put in your
rye; add two gills of lively yeast, and mix it with water as stiff as you
can knead it. Let it stand an hour and a half, in a cool place in summer,
on the hearth in winter. It should be put into a very hot oven, and baked
three or four hours.
5. Dyspepsia Bread.
* Three quarts unbolted wheat meal; one quart soft water, warm, but not
hot; one gill of fresh yeast; one gill of molasses, or not, as may suit
the taste. If you put this in the oven at the exact time when it is risen
enough, saleratus will not be necessary.
6. Rice Bread.
Boil a pint of rice, soft; add a pint of yeast; then, three quarts of
wheat flour; put it to rise in a tin or earthen vessel, until it has risen
sufficiently; divide it into three parts; then bake it as other bread, and
you will have three large loaves.
7. Wisconsin Loaf Bread.
Stir Indian meal in skim milk, to the consistency of pancake batter, about
two quarts. Add two tea-spoonfuls of molasses, one of saleratus, two of
shortening, and two teacups of wheat flour. Stir in the evening, bake in
the morning, and eat while hot.
8. Sponge Bread.
* Make a batter of flour and water, thickness of flat-jacks; put it in a
tin pail, and set this pail in a kettle of warm water, five or six hours,
till it has risen; then mould it hard by adding more flour, and make it
into loaves in basins, and let it stand till it begins to crack open. It
is now ready to be put into the oven, and will bake in from thirty to
forty-five minutes.
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9. Cream Tartar Bread.
* One quart of flour, two tea-spoonfuls of cream tartar, one of saleratus,
two and a half cups of milk; bake twenty minutes.
10. Yeast Bread.
Three pints of milk or water to one cup of yeast; stir in flour enough to
make it a little thicker than batter, rise it over night, mould it up, and
let it stand till it rises, then bake it.
11. Brown Bread, made of Indian and Wheat Meal.
* Take one quart of Indian meal, and one quart of wheat meal, one quart of
sour milk, half a tea-cupful molasses, a heaping tea-spoonful of saleratus,
and a little salt; stir it with a spoon, and bake it, in a tin or iron
basin, about two hours.
12. Rye and Indian Bread.
* Take about two quarts of Indian meal, and scald it; then add as much rye
meal, a tea-cupful of molasses, half a pint of lively yeast; if the yeast
is sweet, no saleratus is necessary; if sour, put in a little; let it
stand from one to two hours, till it rises; then bake it about three
hours.
13. Sour Milk Bread.
Have ready your flour, sweeten your milk with a little saleratus, add a
little salt, make it rather soft, and pour it into your pan, and bake it.
14. Potato Yeast.
* Five large potatoes boiled and mashed, three pints of boiling water,
flour enough to make it a little thicker than flat-jacks, and one cup of
yeast. This is enough to rise five loaves of bread, which may be mixed
with water, or milk, and will rise enough while your oven is heating. Save
out enough of this yeast for your next baking.
15. Rolls.
Warm an ounce of butter in half a pint of milk, then add a spoonful and a
half of yeast, and a little salt. Put
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two pounds of flour in a pan, and mix in the above ingredients. Let it
rise an hour--or over night, in a cool place; knead it well, make into
seven rolls, and bake them in a quick oven. Add half a tea-spoonful of
saleratus, just as you put the rolls into the baker.
16. Short Rolls.
Take about two pounds of flour; add a piece of butter half the size of an
egg, a little salt, two spoonfuls of yeast, and mix it with warm milk;
make it into a light dough, and let it stand by the fire all night; should
it sour, put in a little saleratus. Bake them in a quick oven.
17. Brown Bread Biscuit.
Two quarts of Indian meal, a pint and a half of rye, one cup of flour, two
spoonfuls of yeast, and a table-spoonful of molasses. It is well to add a
little saleratus to yeast almost always, just as you put it into the
article. Let it rise over night.
18. Bread Biscuit.
Three pounds of flour, half a pint of Indian meal sifted, a little butter,
two spoonfuls of lively yeast; set it before the fire to rise over night;
mix it with warm water.
19. Tea Biscuit.
* Take one pint of sour milk, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, flour enough
to knead up, a small piece of lard or butter, a little salt; roll it out,
and cut it into small biscuits.
20. Light Biscuit.
Take two pounds of flour, a pint of buttermilk, half a tea-spoonful of
saleratus; put into the buttermilk a small piece of butter or lard rubbed
into the flour; make it about the consistency of bread before baking.
21. Rice Biscuit.
Two pounds of flour, a tea-cupful of rice, well boiled, two spoonfuls of
yeast; mix it with warm water; when risen enough, bake it.
View page [18]
22. Griddle Cakes.
Rub three ounces of butter into a pound of flour with a little salt,
moisten it with sweet buttermilk to make it into paste, roll it out, and
cut the cakes with the cover of your dredging-box, and put them upon a
griddle to bake.
23. Short Cake.
Rub in a very small bit of shortening, or three table-spoonfuls of cream,
with the flour; put a tea-spoonful of dissolved saleratus into your sour
milk, and mix the cake pretty stiff, to bake quick.
24. Superior Johnny-Cake.
* Take one quart of milk, three eggs, one tea-spoonful saleratus, one
teacup of wheat flour, and Indian meal sufficient to make a batter of the
consistency of pancakes. Bake quick, in pans previously buttered, and eat
it warm with butter or milk. The addition of wheat flour will be found to
be a great improvement in the art of making these cakes.
25. Rich Milk Biscuit.
Two pounds of sifted flour, eight ounces butter, two eggs, three gills of
milk, a gill and a half of yeast. Cut the butter into the milk and warm it
slightly, sift the flour into a pan, and pour the milk and butter into it.
Beat the eggs and pour them in, also the yeast; mix all well together with
a knife. Flour your moulding-board, put the lump of dough on it, and knead
it very hard. Then cut the dough in small pieces, and knead them into
round balls; prick and set them in buttered pans to rise till light,
probably about an hour, and bake them in a moderate oven.
26. Butter Biscuit.
Eight ounces of butter, two pounds of flour sifted, half a pint of milk or
cold water, a salt spoonful of salt. Cut up the butter in the flour and
put the salt to it, wet it to a stiff dough with the milk or water, mix it
well with a knife. Throw some flour on the moulding-board, take the dough
out of the pan, and knead it very well. Roll it out into a large, thick
sheet, and beat it very hard on both
View page [19]
sides with the rolling-pin. Beat it a long time, cut it out, with a tin or
cup, into small, round, thick cakes. Beat each cake on both sides with the
rolling-pin, prick them with a fork, put them in buttered pans, and bake
them to a light brown in a slow oven.
27. Common Toast.
* Put a lump of butter in your spider, set it over the fire, and pour some
water from the tea-kettle; when the butter is melted, put in some
thickening, made of flour, and milk, and water, and stir it all together;
have your bread, either brown or white, toasting, and immerse it all over
in the toast. If your bread is old and dry, dip it in hot water before you
put it in the toast.
28. Cream Toast.
* Is made in the same way, by using cream instead of butter.
29. Yeast Cakes.
To have good yeast in summer is a desirable object with every housewife.
She may have such, by the following simple process:--
Boil a single handful of hops (which every farmer can and ought to raise,
to the extent of household wants) in two or three quarts of water; strain
and thicken the liquor, when hot, with rye flour; then add two or three
small yeast cakes, to set the mass. If this is done at evening, it will be
fit for use early next morning. Reserve a pint of this yeast, which
thicken with Indian meal, make into small cakes the size of crackers, and
dry them in the shade for future use. In this way the yeast is always
fresh and active. Yeast cakes kept a long time are apt to become rancid,
and lose their virtues. The fresher the cakes, the better the yeast.
30. Yeast.
Boil one pound of good flour, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, add a
little salt, in two gallons of water, for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle
it and cork it close, and it will be fit for use in twenty-four hours. One
pint of the yeast will make eighteen lbs. of bread.
View page [20]
> 31. To preserve Bread, or prevent it from moulding.
Bread that is kept in a damp place, or not used soon after a heavy rain,
is apt to collect a kind of moss or mould. This can be easily prevented,
by mixing a small quantity of arrow-root with the flour, before the dough
is ready for the oven. It is also useful in preparing sea biscuit for long
voyages.
32. Cup Cake, No. 1.
One cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups flour, and four eggs, well beat
together, and baked twenty minutes, in pans or cups.
* This same quantity, with currants or raisins added, makes a very good
loaf cake.
33. Cup Cake, No. 2.
* Four cups of flour, two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of
cream, four eggs, one nutmeg, half a tea-spoonful of saleratus, one cup of
raisins, and one of currants.
34. Election Cake.
Four pounds of flour; three quarters of a pound of butter; four eggs; one
pound of sugar; half a pint of good yeast; wet it with milk, as soft as
can be moulded on a board. Set it to rise over night in winter; in warm
weather, three hours is usually enough for it to rise. Bake it about three
quarters of an hour.
35. Sponge Cake, No. 1.
The weight of six eggs in sugar, the weight of four eggs in flour, a
little rose-water. The whites and yolks of ten eggs should be beaten
thoroughly and separately. The eggs and sugar should be well beaten
together; but after the flour is sprinkled, it should not be stirred a
moment longer than is necessary to mix it well; it should be poured into
the pan, and got into the oven with all possible expedition. Twenty
minutes is about long enough to bake it.
36. Sponge Cake, No. 2.
* Four large eggs, two cups of flour, two cups of sugar, even full; beat
the two parts of the eggs separate,
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the white to a froth, then beat them together, then stir in the flour, and
without delay put it into the oven.
37. Cheap Sponge Cake, No. 3.
Four eggs, three cups of sugar, one cup of milk, one tea-spoonful of
saleratus, flour enough to make it a good stiff batter, a little salt and
spice, quick oven. Bake it twenty minutes.
38. Rice Flour Sponge Cake, No. 4.
It is made like other sponge cake, except that you use three quarters of a
pound of rice flour, thirteen eggs, leaving out four whites, and add a
little salt.
39. Raised Cake.
* Four pounds of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, one
pint of new milk, one pint of yeast; when risen, put it in the oven, and
bake it till you can put a knitting needle in, and draw it out clean.
40. Carraway Cake.
Take one pound of flour, three quarters of a pound of sugar, half a pound
of butter, a glass of rose-water, four eggs, and half a tea-cup of caraway
seed,--the materials well rubbed together, and beat up. Drop them from a
spoon on tin sheets, and bake them twenty or thirty minutes, in rather a
slow oven.
41. Loaf Cake, No. 1.
* Four pounds of flour, two pounds of sugar, one pint of yeast, three
eggs, two nutmegs, one pound of raisins; rub half the sugar and butter
when you mix it, let it rise, then rub the rest of the butter and sugar,
and pour it into pans, and bake immediately.
42. Loaf Cake, No. 2.
* Three pounds of flour, one pound and a half of butter, one pound and a
quarter of sugar, one pound of raisins, one pint of yeast, ten eggs; spice
to your taste.
43. Loaf Cake, No. 3.
Two pounds of flour, half a pound of sugar, quarter of a pound of butter,
two eggs, a gill of sweet yeast, half
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an ounce of cinnamon, a large spoonful of rose-water; if it is not about
as thin as good white bread dough, add a little milk. Bake it about three
quarters of an hour.
44. Loaf Cake, No. 4.
* Five eggs, two large tea-cupfuls of molasses, the same of brown sugar
rolled fine, the same of fresh butter, one cup of rich milk, five cups of
flour sifted; add powdered allspice, cloves, and ginger, to your liking.
Cut up the butter in the milk, warm them slightly, warm also the molasses,
and stir it into the milk and butter, then stir in gradually the sugar,
and let it cool. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them into the mixture
alternately with the flour; add the ginger and other spice, and stir the
whole very hard. Add half a pound of currants or raisins, and bake it in a
moderate oven.
45. Loaf Cake, very nice, No. 5.
* One pound of flour, three eggs, one cup of sugar, one of butter, one
pound of raisins, half a pound of currants, two tea-spoonfuls of
rose-water, nutmeg, one cup of cream, one tea-spoonful of saleratus.
46. Cheap Loaf Cake, No. 6.
Two cups of flour, one cup of molasses, two eggs well beat up, half a cup
of currants, half a cup of raisins, half a tea-spoonful of cloves, the
same of nutmegs, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, half a cup of butter.
47. Loaf Cream Cake, No. 7.
* Twelve cups of flour, seven cups of sugar, six eggs, one pint of cream,
one tea-spoonful of saleratus; salt and spice to suit your taste. This is
enough for two loaves; put raisins or currants in one of them.
48. Wedding Cake, No. 1.
* Four pounds of flour, four pounds of sugar, three of butter, forty eggs,
five pounds of stoned raisins, three pounds of currants, one ounce of
mace, half an ounce of nutmeg, six tea-spoonfuls of rose-water, four
tea-spoonfuls of cream of tartar, stirred in the flour, two tea-spoonfuls
of saleratus well dissolved. Beat the butter and
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sugar to a cream; beat the yolks and whites separate, add the flour
gradually, then the spice and saleratus. Bake it two hours and a half.
49. Wedding Cake, No. 2.
* Four pounds of flour, three pounds of butter, three pounds of sugar,
four pounds of currants, two pounds of raisins, twenty-four eggs, one
ounce of mace, and three nutmegs. A little molasses makes it dark-colored,
which is desirable. Half a pound of citron improves it. Bake it two and a
half or three hours.
50. Wedding Cake, No. 3.
* Four pounds of flour, three pounds of butter, four pounds of sugar,
thirty eggs, three and a half pounds of currants, one pound of citron, one
ounce of mace, a little cinnamon, very little cloves; make it into loaves
of convenient size. Bake it two and a half or three hours.
51. Frosting for Cake, No. 1.
* Beat the whites of eggs to an entire froth, and to each egg add five
tea-spoonfuls sifted loaf sugar, gradually; beat it a great while. Put it
on when your cake is hot or cold, as is most convenient. A little lemon
juice squeezed into the egg and sugar, improves it. Spread it on with a
knife, and smooth it over with a soft brush, like a shaving brush.
52. Frosting for Cake, No. 2.
* Three and a half pounds of loaf sugar, the whites of twelve eggs, lemon
juice, and a little potato starch.
53. Cheap Tea Cake.
Three cups of sugar, three eggs, one cup of butter, one cup of milk, a
spoonful of dissolved saleratus, and four cups of flour, well beat up. If
it is so stiff that it will not stir easily, add a little more milk.
54. Gingerbread, No. 1.
Rub four and a half pounds of flour with half a pound of lard, and half a
pound of butter; a pint of molasses, a gill of milk, two table-spoonfuls
of ginger, a tea-spoonful
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of saleratus, stirred together. All mixed, bake in shallow pans, twenty or
thirty minutes.
55. Soft Gingerbread, No. 2.
Six tea-cups of flour, three of molasses, one of cream, one of butter, one
table-spoonful of ginger, and one of saleratus.
56. Family Gingerbread, No. 3.
Four cups of molasses, two cups of boiling water, four tea-spoonfuls of
saleratus, a small piece of melted butter; make it stiff with flour; roll
it thin, and bake in pans.
57. Sugar Gingerbread, No. 4.
* Two pounds of flour, one of sugar, three quarters of a pound of butter,
two eggs, half a tea-cup of water, one tea-spoonful of saleratus; ginger
to your taste.
58. Soft Gingerbread, very nice, No. 5.
Four tea-cups of flour, two cups of molasses, half a cup of butter, two
cups of buttermilk, a cup of thick cream, three eggs, a table-spoonful of
ginger, and the same of saleratus. Mix them all together with the
exception of buttermilk, in which the saleratus must be dissolved, and
then added to the rest. Bake in a quick oven.
59. Mrs. Green's Gingerbread, No. 6.
One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one cup of milk, one large
table-spoonful of ginger, one large tea-spoonful of saleratus; flour
enough to roll well.
60. Hard Gingerbread, No. 7.
* Four cups of molasses, four large tea-spoonfuls of saleratus, one
tea-spoonful of pulverized alum, dissolved in hot water, a piece of butter
the size of an egg, two table-spoonfuls of ginger; boil the molasses and
pour it boiling hot to the flour; make it as hard as it can be rolled;
roll very thin, and cut into squares.
61. Gingerbread, No. 8.
* Take a tea-cupful of molasses, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, dissolved in
half a cup of boiling water, a tea-spoonful of ginger, and flour to make
it hard enough to roll. Bake it five minutes.
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62. Wafers.
One pound of flour, quarter of a pound of butter, two eggs beat, one glass
of quince preserve juice, and a nutmeg.
63. Fried Wafers.
* Two eggs, two large spoonfuls of sugar, one nutmeg; flour enough to
knead up hard; roll thin.
64. Shrewsbury Cake.
One pound of flour, three quarters of a pound of sugar, three quarters of
a pound of butter, four eggs, one nutmeg.
65. Clove Cake.
Three pounds of flour, one of butter, one of sugar, three eggs, two
spoonfuls of cloves; mix it with molasses.
66. Wonders.
Two pounds of flour, three quarters of a pound of sugar, half a pound of
butter, nine eggs, a little mace and rose-water.
67. Jumbles.
Three pounds of flour, two of sugar, one of butter, eight eggs, with a
little caraway seed; and a little milk, if the eggs are not sufficient.
68. Soft Cakes.
One pound and a half of butter rubbed into two pounds of flour; add one
wine-glass of preserve juice, one of rose-water, two of yeast, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and currants, and bake in little pans.
69. Composition Cake.
One pound of flour, one of sugar, half a pound of butter, seven eggs, and
half a pint of cream.
70. Common Flat-Jacks, No. 1.
* One quart sour milk, thicken it with flour, two tea-spoonfuls of
saleratus, and a little salt.
71. Indian Flat-Jacks, No. 2.
Scald a quart of Indian meal; when lukewarm, stir in half a pint of flour,
half a tea-cupful of yeast, and a little
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salt; when light, fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to
the pan.
72. Indian Griddle Cakes, or Flat-Jacks, No. 3.
One pint of Indian meal, one cup of flour, a little salt and ginger, a
table-spoonful of molasses, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, sour milk enough
to make a stiff batter. Bake or fry them on a griddle, or in a spider,
like buck-wheat cakes.
73. Rice Flat-Jacks, No. 4.
Boil some rice thin; add a pint of sour milk, then thicken it with flour;
add a little salt and saleratus.
74. Rice Griddle Cakes, No. 5.
Boil one large cup of whole rice quite soft in milk, and while hot stir in
a little flour, rice flour, or Indian meal; when cold, add two or three
eggs, and a little salt. Bake it in small thin cakes on the griddle.
75. Buck-Wheat Cakes.
* Mix your flour with cold water; put in a cup of yeast, and a little
salt; set it in a warm place, over night. If it should be sour, in the
morning, put in a little saleratus; fry them the same as flat-jacks; leave
enough to rise the next mess.
76. Dough Nuts, No. 1.
* Two eggs, one cup of sugar, half a pint of sour milk, a little
saleratus; salt and spice to your taste; a small piece of butter or cream
is better, if you have it; mix the articles together one hour before you
fry the cakes; mould with flour.
77. Dough Nuts, No. 2.
* Three cups of sugar, three eggs, one cup of butter, one pint of
buttermilk, one cup of cream, one nutmeg, saleratus sufficient for the
buttermilk; mould with flour.
78. Dough Nuts, No. 3.
One cup of molasses, one of sugar, one of sour milk, a piece of butter or
lard the size of an egg, two eggs, a large tea-spoonful of saleratus, a
little salt, flour enough to mould it stiff.
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79. Dough Nuts, No. 4.
One pound of flour, quarter of a pound of butter, quarter of a pound of
sugar, five eggs, spice.
80. Economical Dough Nuts, No. 5.
* One cup of sweet milk, one cup of sugar, one tea-spoonful saleratus,
flour enough to make it roll, salt and spice to suit your taste. Two or
three plums in each cake improve them.
81. Apple Pancakes, No. 1.
* One pint of sour milk, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, a tea-cup of fine
Indian meal, a tea-cup of molasses, three sweet apples chopped fine and
mixed in, and flour enough to make it the right thickness to drop from a
spoon. Have your fat boiling hot. Cook till they slip from the fork.
82. Pancakes, No. 2.
Half a pint of milk, three spoonfuls of sugar, one or two eggs, a
tea-spoonful of dissolved saleratus spiced with cinnamon or cloves, a
little salt, and rose-water. Flour should be stirred in till the spoon
moves around with difficulty. Have the fat in your skillet boiling hot,
drop them in with a spoon, and cook till thoroughly brown.
83. Plain Cake.
Three pounds of flour, one of sugar, one of butter, half a pint of yeast,
three gills of milk, three eggs, spice, rose-water.
84. Plum Cake, No. 1.
Mix together a pint of lukewarm milk, two quarts of sifted flour, a small
tea-cup of yeast. Set it where it will rise quick. When quite light, work
in with the hand four beaten eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, two of
cinnamon. Stir a pound of sugar with three quarters of a pound of butter;
when white, work it into the cake; add another quart of sifted flour, and
beat the whole ten or fifteen minutes, and set it where it will rise
again; when of a spongy lightness, put it into buttered cake-pans, and let
them stand fifteen or twenty minutes before baking. Add, if you like, a
pound and a half of raisins, just before putting the cake in the pans.
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85. Plum Cake, No. 2.
Five pounds of flour, two of sugar, three quarters of a pound of lard, and
the same quantity of butter, one pint of yeast, eight eggs, one quart of
milk; roll the sugar into the flour; add the raisins and spice after the
first rising.
86. Temperance Cake, No. 1.
* Three eggs, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, one tea-spoonful of
saleratus, nutmeg, flour enough to make it pour into the pan; bake it
about twenty minutes.
Allspice and raisins, instead of nutmeg, make a good plum cake.
87. Temperance Cake, No. 2.
Two pounds of flour, three fourths pound of lard and butter, one pound
powdered white sugar, one nutmeg grated. After the flour and butter have
been incorporated, lay the sugar in, and pour upon it a small tea-spoonful
of saleratus dissolved. Have six eggs well beaten, and with a spoon
incorporate them well together, till it can be moulded with the hands.
Roll it thin, cut with a tumbler, and bake in a few minutes, in a quick
oven, without turning.
88. Seed Cakes, No. 1.
One tea-cup of butter, two cups of sugar rubbed into four cups of flour;
mix it with milk hard enough to roll, half a tea-spoonful of saleratus,
and seeds to your taste.
89. Seed Cakes, No. 2.
* Eight cups of flour, three cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of
cream, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, one egg; seeds to suit your taste.
90. Seed Cakes, No. 3.
* One cup of cream, one of sugar, one egg, and caraway seeds; mix and roll
out.
91. Buns, No. 1.
Rub four ounces of butter into two pounds of flour, four ounces of sugar,
and a few caraway seeds, if you like them. Put a spoonful or two of cream
into a cup of yeast, and as much good milk as will make the above into
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a light paste; set it to rise, bake it on tins before a quick fire.
92. Buns, No. 2.
* One cup of butter, one of sugar, half cup of yeast, half a pint of milk;
make it stiff with flour; add allspice and nutmeg.
93. Cookies, No. 1.
Five cups of flour, two of sugar, one of butter, one egg, one tea-spoonful
of saleratus, and cut it with a tin into small cakes.
94. Cookies, No. 2.
One cup of butter, well mixed with two and a half cups of sugar, three
eggs, one cup of milk, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, salt and spice to
your taste, flour enough to mould it.
95. Christmas Cookies, No. 3.
* Take one pound and a half of flour, three quarters of a pound of sugar,
half a pound of butter, half a cup of milk, and two spoonfuls of caraway
seeds; melt the butter before you put it in. It is rather difficult to
knead, but it can be done. Roll it out and cut it in hearts and diamonds,
and bake it on buttered tins.
96. New Year's Cake.
A very good plain cake can be made without eggs. Take seven pounds of
flour, two and a half pounds of sugar, two pounds of butter, one pint of
water, and two tea-spoonfuls of saleratus well dissolved. Roll it out
thin, and bake it on tin sheets. It will keep good a long time.
97. Ginger Cake.
* One cup and a half of sugar, half a cup of butter, two eggs, a cup of
new milk, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, one table-spoonful of ginger, and
flour enough to make it hard; roll it thin, and cut it into rounds, or
squares, as you choose. Bake quick.
98. Ginger Snaps.
* Boil a tea-cupful of molasses, and add two spoonfuls of butter, one
spoonful of ginger, and one tea-spoonful of saleratus; stir the flour in
when it is hot, roll it thin, cut it in rounds. Bake quick.
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99. Currant Cake.
* One cup of butter, two of sugar, three eggs, one cup of water or milk,
half a tea-spoonful of saleratus, a little grated nutmeg, and a cup of
currants.
100. Fruit Cake, No. 1.
* Three pounds of flour, three pounds of sugar, three pounds of butter,
six pounds of currants, three pounds of raisins, two eggs, one pound of
citron, one ounce of mace, one ounce cinnamon, one ounce nutmegs, one gill
molasses; beat the butter to a cream, then stir the sugar with the butter;
beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, add the froth as it rises to the
sugar and butter, then add the yolks, being beat well.
101. Cheap Fruit Cake, No. 2.
* One pound of sugar, one pound of butter, six eggs, one quart of
molasses, one pint of cream, three and a half pounds of flour, two
tea-spoonfuls of saleratus, one table-spoonful of ground cloves, the same
of cinnamon, two nutmegs, three pounds of raisins. This quantity will make
three loaves.
102. Measure Cake.
* Take one tea-cup of butter, and stir it to a cream, two tea-cups of
sugar, then stir in four eggs that have been beaten to a froth, a grated
nutmeg, and a pint of flour; stir it till it is ready to bake. It is good
baked in cups or pans.
103. Bedford Cake.
* One pound of flour, one of sugar, one quarter pound of butter, four
eggs, one tea-cup of sweet or sour milk, one tea-spoonful of saleratus,
spice and fruit to suit your taste.
104. Tea Cakes.
* One pound of flour, half pound of butter, half pound of sugar, two cups
of milk, one great spoonful of ginger, one tea-spoonful of saleratus; made
stiff enough to roll and cut out with a tumbler. Bake in a quick oven.
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105. Graham Cake.
* Two tea-cups of buttermilk, two tea-cups of sugar, one nutmeg, one
tea-spoonful of saleratus.
106. Plain Cake.
* Four cups of flour, two cups of sugar, two of buttermilk, one
table-spoonful of butter, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, nutmeg and
raisins to your liking.
107. Gillet Cake.
* Take two tea-cups of sugar, same of butter, two eggs, two tea-spoonfuls
of saleratus dissolved in half a cup of milk, and flour sufficient to work
it into a mass.
108. Rusk.
* Half a pint of milk, one tea-cup full of good yeast, two eggs; stir in
flour till it is as thick as pancakes; let it rise light, then add one
tea-cup of butter, half a cup of sugar, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, one
nutmeg; mix the white of an egg with molasses, and rub on just before and
after baking.
> 109. Observations on making Puddings.
The outside of a boiled pudding often tastes disagreeably, which arises by
the cloth not being nicely washed, and kept in a dry place. It should be
dipped in boiling water, squeezed dry, and floured, when to be used. If
bread, it should be tied loose; if batter, tight over. The water should
boil quick when the pudding is put in; and it should be moved about for a
minute, lest the ingredients should not mix. Batter pudding should be
strained through a coarse sieve, when all is mixed; in others, the eggs
separately. The pans and basins must be always buttered. A pan of cold
water should be ready, and the pudding dipped in as soon as it comes out
of the pot, and then it will not adhere to the cloth.
110. Pudding Sauce.
* One pint of sugar, one table-spoonful of vinegar, a piece of butter the
size of an egg; boil fifteen minutes; add one table-spoonful of
rose-water, a little nutmeg; boil it, with the sugar, in nearly a pint of
water, and a large table-spoonful of flour.
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111. Cold Sauce.
* Take equal quantities of powdered sugar and butter knead them together,
make the mixture in a lump, and grate a nutmeg on it.
112. Bread Sauce.
* Take a quart of milk, in which soak crumbs of dry bread, or cracker,
till it is soft, and as thick as batter; add three eggs, a little sugar,
and a little saleratus; bake it about three quarters of an hour; serve up
with sauce.
113. Cracker Plum Pudding.
* Split open your crackers, and spread them thin with butter; put a layer
on the bottom of your pudding dish, cover them with raisins, place them in
layers till the dish is nearly full. Then take four eggs and beat them
well, and mix them with a quart of milk, and pour it over the pudding; add
a little salt, and serve up with sauce.
Plain cracker pudding may be made in the same way, by omitting the plums.
114. Boiled Apple Pudding.
Line a basin with paste, tolerably thin, fill it with the apples, and
cover it with the paste; tie a cloth over it, and boil it about an hour
and a half, till the apples are done soft.
115. Boston Pudding.
Make a good common paste. When you roll it out the last time, cut off the
edges till you get it of a square shape. Have ready some fruit, sweetened
to your taste.
If cranberries, gooseberries, or dried peaches, they should be stewed.
If apples, they should be stewed in a very little water, drained, and
seasoned with some kind of spice to your liking.
If currants, raspberries, or blackberries, they should be mashed with
sugar, and put into the pudding raw. Spread the fruit thick, all over the
sheet of paste, (which must not be rolled too thin.) When it is covered
all over with the fruit, roll it up, and close the dough at both ends and
down the last side. Tie the pudding in a cloth, and boil it. Eat it hot
with sugar.
Some use beef suet instead of butter for making the paste.
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116. Boiled Bread Pudding.
Grate white bread, pour boiling milk over it, and cover it close. When
soaked an hour or two, beat it fine, and mix it with two or three eggs
well beaten. Put it into a basin that will just hold it; tie a floured
cloth over it, and put it in boiling water. Serve it up with nice sauce.
117. Squash Pudding.
Run your stewed squash through a sieve; take four eggs, one pint of milk;
sweeten it thoroughly; add a little rose-water and cinnamon. Make a good
paste, and pour the above ingredients into a deep pudding dish.
118. Custard Pudding.
Mix by degrees a pint of milk with a large spoonful of flour, the yolks of
five eggs, and some grated lemon. Butter a basin that will exactly hold
it; pour the batter in, and tie a floured cloth over. Put it in boiling
water over the fire, and turn it about a few minutes, to prevent the eggs
from going to one side. Half an hour will boil it. Serve it with sweet
sauce.
119. Baked Rice Pudding, No. 1.
Swell a coffee-cup of rice, add a quart of milk; sweeten it with brown
sugar, and bake it about an hour, or a little more, in a quick oven or
baker.
120. Baked Rice Pudding, No. 2.
* Two cups of rice, two quarts of milk, half a cup of sugar, a large
tea-spoonful of salt; bake it two hours; serve it up with butter.
121. Fruit Rice Pudding.
Swell the rice with milk over the fire, then mix fruit of any kind with
it,--currants, gooseberries, or quartered apples; put one egg in to bind
the rice; boil it well, and serve it with sugar and butter, beat together,
with nutmeg, or mace.
122. Plain Rice Pudding.
Wash and pick your rice, tie it in a cloth, leaving plenty of room for it
to swell. Boil it an hour or more, as you
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prefer. When done, eat it with sweet sauce, or butter and sugar. Two eggs
put in while it is hot, well beaten, is an improvement.
123. Suet Pudding, No. 1.
Chop a pound of suet, mix with it a pound and a quarter of flour, two eggs
beaten separately, a little salt, and as little milk as will make it. Boil
it four hours. It eats well next day, cut in slices and broiled.
124. Suet Pudding, No. 2.
* Sift your meal, chop your suet, and put it in the middle of the meal;
strew over a little salt, then pour on boiling water, and mix it very
stiff; then soften it by putting in half a cup or more of molasses. Wet
your bag in boiling water; put the pudding in and tie it up tight; have
the water boiling hot when you put it in; boil it an hour and a half.
125. Baked Suet Pudding, No. 3.
* Put a quart of milk over the fire; put your suet in it, and a little
salt; when it boils, stir in your meal, and make it very stiff; then stir
in a cup of molasses, and thin it down with milk; bake it three hours, or,
if convenient, let it stand in the oven over night.
126. Plain Suet Pudding, No. 4.
Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and add a salt-spoon of salt. Mince
very fine one pound of beef suet, and rub it into a stiff dough with a
little cold water. Then roll it out an inch thick, or rather more. Cut it
into dumplings with the edge of a tumbler. Put them into a pot of boiling
water, and let them boil an hour and a half. Send them to the table hot,
to eat with boiled loin of mutton, or with molasses after the meat is
removed.
127. Suet Pudding, No. 5.
Mince very fine as much beef suet as will make two large table-spoonfuls.
Grate two handfuls of breadcrumbs; boil a quart of milk, and pour it hot
on the bread. Cover it, and set it aside to steep for half an hour; then
put it to cool. Beat eight eggs very light; stir the suet, and three
table-spoonfuls of flour alternately
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into the bread and milk, and add, by degrees, the eggs. Lastly, stir in a
table-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and cinnamon mixed. Pour it into a bag
that has been dipped in hot water and floured; tie it firmly; put it into
a pot of boiling hot water, and boil it two hours. Do not take it up till
immediately before it is wanted, and send it to the table hot. Eat it with
sauce, or with molasses.
128. Green Corn Pudding.
Take one dozen and a half ears of green corn, split the kernels lengthwise
of the ear with a sharp knife, then with a case knife scrape the corn from
the cob, leaving the hulls on the cob; mix it with three to four quarts of
rich sweet milk; add four eggs, well beat; two table-spoonfuls of sugar;
salt to the taste; bake it three hours. To be eaten hot, with butter.
129. Sago Pudding, No. 1.
Boil a pint and a half of new milk, with four spoonfuls of sago, nicely
washed and picked, lemon-peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg; sweeten to your
taste; then mix four eggs; put a paste round the dish, and bake it slowly.
130. Sago Pudding, No. 2.
Half a cup of sago to one quart of milk;
if the white sago, bake it two or three hours--
if the brown, stew, before adding the milk; beat four eggs, adding salt;
spice to your taste, and add more milk, if quite thick with sago. Bake it
an hour.
131. Sago Pudding, No. 3.
A large table-spoonful of sago, boiled in one quart of milk, the peel of a
lemon, a little nutmeg, and four eggs. Bake it about an hour and a half.
132. Bird's Nest Sago Pudding, No. 4.
Soak half a pint of sago in three pints of water, stirring it
occasionally, until it is uniformly swelled. Pare and core ten or twelve
apples; fill the holes in the centre, and put them, without piling them
one over another, in a pudding dish, so that the sago will just cover
them. The sago may then be poured on, and the pudding baked, until the
apples are soft.
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133. Apple Dumpling, No. 1.
* Set your tin pail or kettle on the stove, put in a cup of water, cut in
four large apples, one pint sour milk, one large tea-spoonful saleratus;
mould your crust and spread it over the top; cover it tight; bake it one
hour.
134. Apple Dumpling, No. 2.
Select large, fair, pleasant sour, and mellow apples; pare them, and take
out the core with a small knife, and fill up the place with sugar; prepare
some pie-crust, roll it out quite thick, and cut it into pieces just large
enough to cover one apple. Lay an apple on each piece, and enclose them
entirely; tie them up in a thick piece of cloth that has been well
floured, put them in a pot of boiling water, and boil them one hour; if
the boiling should stop, they will be heavy. Serve them up with sweet
sauce, or butter and sugar.
135. Bird's Nest Pudding.
Put into three pints of boiling milk, six crackers pounded fine, and one
cup of raisins; when cool, add four eggs well beaten, a little sugar, and
four good-sized apples, pared, with the core carefully removed. To be
baked, and eaten with warm sauce.
136. Quaking Plum Pudding, very nice.
* Take slices of light bread and spread them thin with butter, and lay in
the pudding dish layers of bread and raisins, within an inch of the top;
then take five eggs and beat them well, and mix them with a quart of milk,
and pour it over the pudding; add salt and spice to suit your taste; you
may omit the sugar, and serve it up with sweet sauce. Bake it twenty or
twenty-five minutes. Before you use the raisins, boil them in a very
little water, and put it all in.
137. Batter Pudding, No. 1.
One quart of milk, three eggs, one table-spoonful of salt, flour enough to
make a batter; beat the ingredients till free from lumps, and it will not
rope; boil it one hour and a half; if the batter be quite thin, butter the
bag.
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138. Batter Pudding, No. 2.
* A pint of milk, four eggs, made thick with flour, a little thicker than
cream. Boil it one hour; serve it up with sauce made of flour and water,
butter, sugar, a little vinegar, or tart, with spice to your taste.
139. Sunderland Pudding.
Eight spoonfuls of flour, three eggs, one pint of milk; baked in cups
about fifteen minutes; sweet sauce.
140. Puddings in Haste.
Chop your suet, and put with grated bread a few currants, the yolks of
four eggs and the whites of two, some grated lemon-peel, and ginger. Mix
and make it into little balls about the size and shape of an egg, with a
little flour. Have ready a skillet of boiling water, and throw them in.
Twenty minutes will boil them; they will rise to the top when done. Serve
them up with sweet sauce.
141. Bread and Butter Pudding.
Slice bread, spread with butter, and lay it in a dish, with currants
between each layer; add sliced citron, orange, or lemon, if to be very
nice. Pour over an unboiled custard of milk, two or three eggs, a few
pimentoes, and a very little preserve, two hours, at least, before it is
to be baked. A paste round the edge makes all puddings look better, but is
not necessary.
142. Baked Apple Pudding.
Pare and quarter four large apples; boil them tender, with the rind of a
lemon, in so little water that, when done, none may remain; beat them
quite fine in a mortar; crumb in a small roll, four ounces of butter
melted, four eggs, the juice of half a lemon, and sugar to your taste;
beat all together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out. Bake it an
hour and a half.
143. Tapioca Pudding.
* Six table-spoonfuls of tapioca, one quart of milk, three eggs, sugar and
spice to your taste; heat the milk and tapioca moderately; bake it one
hour.
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144. Quince Pudding.
Take six large ripe quinces; pare them, and cut out all the blemishes.
Then scrape them to a pulp, and mix the pulp with half a pint of cream,
and a half a pound of powdered sugar, stirring them together very hard.
Beat the yolks of seven eggs, (omitting all the whites except two,) and
stir them gradually into the mixture, adding two wine-glasses of
rose-water. Stir the whole well together, and bake it in a buttered dish
three quarters of an hour. Grate sugar over it when cold.
145. Rice Milk Pudding.
Pick and wash half a pint of rice, and boil it, in a quart of water, till
it is quite soft. Then drain it, and mix it with a quart of rich milk. You
may add half a pound of whole raisins. Set it over hot coals, and stir it
frequently till it boils. When it boils hard, stir in, alternately, two
beaten eggs and four large table-spoonfuls of brown sugar.
146. Plain Rice Pudding.
Boil three cups of rice in two quarts of milk till soft, then add two
quarts of cold milk, eight eggs beat light, a quarter pound of butter, two
nutmegs, and sugar to the taste.
147. Bread Pudding.
Cut one loaf of bread in fine pieces, sprinkle with a little salt, boil
two quarts of milk and pour over; cover close until well soaked; mash it
well; add six eggs, one pound of butter, some cinnamon or nutmeg; sweeten
it; bake it, in a quick oven, one hour and a half.
148. Flour Pudding.
Beat one dozen eggs light; add two quarts of milk, a little salt, mix with
wheat flour to a batter, beat it well, pour into a bag, and boil four
hours; two pounds of currants added to it is a great improvement, but it
is very good without.
149. Apple Pudding.
Pare and stew three pints of apples, mash them, add six eggs, half a pound
of butter, sugar and nutmeg, or grated lemon-peel; bake on short crust.
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150. Boiled Apple Pudding.
Pare, core, and quarter, as many fine juicy apples as will weigh two
pounds when done. Strew among them a quarter of a pound of brown sugar;
add a grated nutmeg, and the juice and yellow peel of a large lemon.
Prepare a paste of suet and flour, in the proportion of a pound of chopped
suet to two pounds of flour. Roll it out of moderate thickness; lay the
apples in the centre, and close the paste nicely over them in the form of
a large dumpling; tie it in a cloth and boil it three hours. Send it to
the table hot, and eat it with cream sauce, or with butter and sugar.
151. Plum Pudding boiled.
Three quarts of flour, a little salt, twelve eggs, two pounds of raisins,
one pound of beef suet chopped fine, one quart of milk; put into a strong
cloth floured; boil three hours. Eat with sauce.
152. Baked Indian Pudding.
Scald four cups of Indian meal with boiling water; add two cups molasses
and milk, (each,) half pound raisins, a little suet chopped fine, four
eggs, and some ground cinnamon.
153. Rice Flour Pudding.
Boil one pint of milk, mix two table-spoonfuls of rice flour with a little
cold milk, stir it in while the milk is boiling; afterwards add a small
piece of butter, four eggs, one nutmeg, one glass of preserve juice, the
juice and peel of one lemon, and sugar to your taste.
154. Bunn Pudding.
* For a large pudding, take a card of bunns, separate them, and put them
into a pudding-dish, and pour in a custard made of four or five eggs,
three pints of milk, and half a cup of sugar. Bake it one hour.
155. Plain Pudding.
Boil half a pint of milk with a bit of cinnamon, four eggs with the whites
well beaten, the rind of a lemon grated, half a pound of suet chopped
fine, as much bread
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as will do. Pour your milk on the bread and suet, keep mixing it till
cold, then put in the lemon-peel, eggs, a little sugar, and some nutmeg
grated fine. It may be either baked or boiled.
156. Ground Rice Pudding.
Boil four ounces of ground rice in water till it be soft, then beat the
yolks of four eggs, and put to them a pint of cream, four ounces of sugar,
and the same of butter; mix them all well together; you may either boil or
bake it.
157. Little Citron Puddings.
Take half a pint of cream, one spoonful of fine flour, two ounces of
sugar, a little nutmeg; mix them all well together, with the yolks of
three eggs; put it in tea-cups, and stick in it two ounces of citron cut
very thin; bake them in a pretty quick oven.
158. Baked Bread Pudding.
Take a stale loaf of bread; cut off all the crust, and grate or rub the
crumbs as fine as possible. Boil a quart of rich milk, and pour it hot
over the bread; then stir in a quarter of a pound of butter, and the same
quantity of sugar, with a glass of rose-water. Or you may omit the latter,
and substitute the grated peel of a large lemon. Add a table-spoonful of
mixed cinnamon and nutmeg powdered. Stir the whole very well, cover it,
and set it away for half an hour; then let it cool. Beat seven or eight
eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the mixture after it is
cold. Then butter a deep dish, and bake the pudding an hour.
159. Wheatmeal Pudding.
* One quart of boiling water, one large tea-spoonful of salt, made stiff
with wheatmeal--served up with cream or sweet sauce.
160. Indian Hasty Pudding.
* Put in three pint of water and a table-spoonful of salt, and when it
begins to boil, stir in about half enough meal; after boiling awhile, stir
in more meal, and boil awhile longer, then stir in a little more meal, and
boil it till it is thoroughly cooked.
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161. Common Paste for Pies.
* Take a quantity of flour proportioned to the number of pies you wish to
make, then rub in some lard and salt, and stir it up with cold water; then
roll it out, and spread on some lard, and scatter over some dry flour;
then double it together, and cut it in pieces, and roll it to the
thickness you wish to use it.
162. Economical Pot Apple Pie.
* Pare and slice your apples, put them into a pot or iron basin, such as
may suit your convenience, or the convenience of your stove; make your
crust of a half pint of sour milk, sweeten it with a little molasses; add
a little allspice, lay it over the top of your apple, leave an opening for
the stem to pass through, put a little water to your apple, let it stew
slowly three quarters of an hour; when done, take up your crust in one
dish, spice and sweeten your apple in another, slice your crust, and cover
it with your apples; to be eaten with butter while warm.
163. Pork Apple Pie.
* Make your crust in the usual manner, spread it over a large deep plate,
cut some slices of fat pork very thin, also some slices of apple; place a
layer of apples, and then of pork, with a very little allspice, and
pepper, sugar, between--three or four layers of each, with crust over the
top. Bake one hour.
164. Veal Pie.
* Cut your veal up in small pieces, boil it an hour, season it with salt,
and pepper, and a small piece of butter; mix your flour with sour milk,
saleratus, and a small piece of lard, and mould it for the crust; line the
sides of a tin dish or basin with the crust, put the meat in, and fill up
the basin with the gravy as full as you can handle it; shake some flour in
it, and cover it over with the crust, leaving a hole in the centre, for a
vent. Bake from one and a half to two hours. If preferred, cream tartar
crust may be used. See Cream Tartar Bread.
165. Common Mince Pies.
* Boil a piece of lean fresh beef very tender; when cold, chop it very
fine; then take three times the quantity
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of apples, pared and cored, and chopped fine; mix the meat with it, and
add raisins, allspice, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and molasses, to suit the
taste; incorporate the articles well together, and it will improve by
standing over night, if the weather is cool; a very little ginger improves
the flavor. Small pieces of butter, sliced over the mince before laying on
the top crust, will make them keep longer. A tea-cup of grape sirup will
give them a good flavor.
166. Wisconsin Mince Pies.
Take the usual quantity of meat, and substitute beets for apples; put in
only one third the quantity of the latter; boil the beets, pickle them in
vinegar twelve hours, chop them very fine, and add the vinegar they were
pickled in. Add one eighth of grated bread, and spice to suit your taste.
167. Pumpkin Pie.
* Take out the seeds and pare the pumpkin; stew, and strain it through a
coarse sieve. Take two quarts of scalded milk and eight eggs, and stir
your pumpkin into it; sweeten it with sugar or molasses. Salt it, and
season with ginger, cinnamon, or grated lemon-peel, to your taste. Bake
with a bottom crust.
Crackers, pounded fine, are a good substitute for eggs. Less eggs will do.
168. Dried Pumpkin.
Boil and sift the pumpkin, spread it out thin on tin plates, and dry hard
in a warm oven. It will keep good the year round; when wanted for use, it
may be soaked in milk.
169. Apple Pie.
* Peel the apples, slice them thin, pour a little molasses, and sprinkle
some sugar over them; grate on some lemon-peel, or nutmeg. If you wish to
make them richer, put a little butter on the top.
170. Green Apple Pie.
* Peel and stew the apples, mash them fine with sugar, a little butter,
and grated nutmeg, or lemon-peel; bake in rich crust and quick oven, but
not hot enough to scorch.
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171. Carrot Pie.
* A very good pie may be made of carrots in the same way that you make
pumpkin pies.
172. Rhubarb Pie.
* Pull the rhubarb from the root instead of cutting it; peel off the skin
from the stalk, and cut it into small pieces; put them in the pie with
plenty of brown sugar; you can hardly put in too much. Cover the pie, and
bake, like apple, in a deep plate.
173. Mutton Pie.
Cut steaks from a loin of mutton, beat them and remove some of the fat;
season it well, and put a little water at the bottom of the dish. Cover
the whole with a pretty thick paste, and bake it.
174. Chicken Pie.
* Cut up your chicken, parboil it, season it in the pot, take up the meat,
put in a flour thickening, and scald the gravy; make the crust of sour
milk made sweet with saleratus, put in a piece of butter or lard the size
of an egg;
cream is preferable to sour milk, if you have it. Take a large tin pan,
line it with the crust, put in your meat, and pour in the gravy from the
pot; make it nearly full, cover it over with crust, and leave a vent; bake
it in a moderate oven two hours, or two and a half.
175. Chicken Pot Pie.
Wash and cut the chicken into joints; boil them about twenty minutes; take
them up, wash out your kettle, fry two or three slices of fat salt pork,
and put in the bottom of the kettle; then put in the chicken, with about
three pints of water, a piece of butter the size of an egg; sprinkle in a
little pepper, and cover over the top with a light crust. It will require
one hour to cook.
176. Custard Pie.
* For a large pie, put in three eggs, a heaping table-spoonful of sugar,
one pint and a half of milk, a little salt, and some nutmeg grated on. For
crust, use common pastry.
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177. Rice Pie.
* Boil your rice soft, put one egg to each pie, one table-spoonful of
sugar, a little salt and nutmeg.
178. Custard without Eggs.
One quart new milk, four table-spoonfuls of flour, two table-spoonfuls of
sugar, season with nutmeg or cinnamon, and add a little salt. Set the milk
over the fire, and when it boils pour in the flour, which should be
previously stirred up in a little cold milk. When it is thoroughly
scalded, add the sugar, spice, and salt, and bake it either in crust or
cups.
179. Rice Custard.
Put into a pan over the fire three pints of new milk; mix, in a little
cold milk, a tea-cupful of ground rice; and when the milk boils, pour in
the rice and let it scald thoroughly; then add half a cupful of sugar and
a little salt, season with cinnamon, and bake as above.
180. Baked Custard.
Two quarts of milk, twelve eggs, twelve ounces sugar, four spoonfuls of
rose-water, one nutmeg.
181. Cream Custard.
Eight eggs beat and put into two quarts of cream, sweetened to the taste,
a nutmeg, and a little cinnamon.
182. Cranberry Custard.
Stew your cranberries; when done, add same quantity of sugar; make a rich
pastry, roll it thin, make small tarts.
183. Whortleberry Pie.
* Make common paste; line a deep plate with it, put in your berries, cover
them over thick with sugar; a little butter sliced on adds to the flavor;
cover it over with the crust, and bake it an hour.
Very good pies may be made in the same way of cherries, blackberries, or
raspberries.
184. Lemon Pie.
* Take one lemon and a half, cut them up fine, one cup of molasses, half a
cup of sugar, two eggs; mix them
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together, prepare your plate, with a crust in the bottom, put in half the
materials, lay over a crust, then put in the rest of the materials, and
cover the whole with another crust.
> 185. Heating the Oven.
* For pies, cakes, and white bread, the heat of the oven should be such,
that you can hold your hand and arm in while you count forty: for brown
bread, meats, beans, Indian puddings, and pumpkin pies, it should be
hotter, so that you can only hold it in while you count twenty.
> 186. Roasting Meats.
The first preparation for roasting is to take care that the spit be
properly cleansed with sand and water; nothing else. When it has been well
scoured with this, dry it with a clean cloth. If spits are wiped clean as
soon as the meat is drawn from them, and while they are hot, a very little
cleaning will be required.
Make up the fire in time. Let it be proportioned to the dinner to be
dressed, and about three or four inches longer at each end than the thing
to be roasted, or the ends of the meat cannot be done nice and brown.
A cook must be as particular to proportion her fire to the business she
has to do as a chemist: the degree of heat most desirable for dressing the
different sorts of food ought to be attended to with the utmost precision.
Never put meat down to a burned-up fire, if you can possibly avoid it; but
should the fire become fierce, place the spit at a considerable distance,
and allow a little more time.
Preserve the fat by covering it with paper for this purpose, called
"kitchen paper," and tie it on with a fine twine. Pins and skewers can by
no means be allowed; they are so many taps to let out the gravy; besides,
the paper often starts from them and catches fire, to the great injury of
the meat.
If the thing to be roasted be thin and tender, the fire should be little
and brisk. When you have a large joint to roast, make up a sound, strong
fire, equally good in every part, or your meat cannot be equally roasted,
nor have that uniform color which constitutes the beauty of good roasting.
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Half an hour before your meat is done, make some gravy, and just before
you take it up, put it nearer the fire, to brown it. If you wish to froth
it, paste it, and dredge it with flour carefully; you cannot do this
delicacy nice without a very good light. The common fault seems to be,
using too much flour. The meat should have a fine light varnish of froth,
not the appearance of being covered with a paste. Those who are particular
about the froth use butter instead of drippings.
> 187. Baking Meats.
Baking is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways of dressing a
dinner in small families; and I may say, that the oven is often the only
kitchen a poor man has, if he wishes to enjoy a joint of meat.
I do not mean to deny the superior excellence of roasting to baking; but
some joints, when baked, so nearly approach to the same when roasted, that
I have known them to be carried to the table and eaten as such with great
satisfaction.
Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal, and many other
joints, will bake to great advantage, if the meat be good; I mean
well-fed, rather inclined to be fat; if the meat be poor, no baking can
give satisfaction.
A pig, when prepared for baking, should have its ears and tail covered
with buttered paper properly fastened on, and a bit of butter tied up in a
piece of linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to
blister. With a proper share of attention from the cook, I consider this
way equal to a roasted one.
A goose prepared the same as for roasting, taking care to have it on a
stand, and when half done to turn the other side upwards.
A duck the same.
A ham (if not too old) put in soak for an hour, taken out and wiped, crust
made sufficient to cover it all over, and baked in a moderately heated
oven, cuts fuller of gravy, and of a finer flavor, than a boiled one.
I have been in the habit of baking small codfish, haddock, and mackerel,
with a dust of flour, and some bits of butter put on them;
eels, when large and stuffed;
herrings and sprats, in a brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and
tied over with paper.
A rabbit, prepared the same way as for roasting, with a few pieces of
butter, and a
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little milk put into the dish, and basted several times, will be found
nearly equal to roasting; or cut it up, season it properly, put it into a
jar or pan, and cover it over, and bake it in a moderate oven for about
three hours.
The time each of the above articles should take depends much upon the
state of the oven, of which the cook must be the judge. The preparation of
the articles, and the heating of the oven, should both be carried along
together.
> 188. Broiling Meats.
Cleanliness is extremely essential in this mode of cookery.
Keep your gridiron quite clean between the bars, and bright on the top:
when it is hot, wipe it well with a linen cloth just before you use it,
rub the bars with clean mutton suet, to prevent the meat being marked by
the gridiron.
Take care to prepare your fire in time, so that it may burn quite clear; a
brisk, clear fire is indispensable, or you cannot give your meat that
browning which constitutes the perfection of this mode of cookery, and
gives a relish to food it cannot receive in any other way.
The chops or slices should be from half to three quarters of an inch in
thickness; if thicker, they will be done too much on the outside before
the inside is done enough.
Be diligently attentive to watch the moment that any thing is done: never
hasten any thing that is broiling, lest you make smoke and spoil it.
Let the bars of the gridiron be all hot through, but yet not burning hot
upon the surface; this is the perfect and fine condition of the gridiron.
Upright gridirons are the best, as they can be used at any fire without
fear of smoke; and the gravy is preserved in the trough under them.
N. B. Broils must be brought to table as hot as possible; set a dish to
heat when you put the chops on the gridiron, from whence to the mouth
their progress must be as quick as possible.
> 189. Boiling Meats.
This most simple of culinary processes is not often performed in
perfection. It does not require quite so much
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nicety and attention as roasting. To skim the pot well, and keep it really
boiling (the slower the better) all the while, to know how long is
required for doing the joint, &c., and to take it up at the critical
moment when it is done enough, comprehends almost the whole art and
mystery. This, however, demands a patient and perpetual vigilance, of
which few persons are capable.
The cook must take especial care that the water really boils all the while
she is cooking, or she will be deceived in the time; and make up a
sufficient fire at first to last all the time, without much mending or
stirring. A frugal cook will manage with much less fire for boiling than
she uses for roasting.
When the pot is coming to the boil, there will always, from the cleanest
meat and the cleanest water, rise a scum to the top of it, proceeding
partly from the water; this must be carefully taken off as soon as it
rises.
On this depends the good appearance of all boiled things. When you have
skimmed well, put in some cold water, which will throw up the rest of the
scum.
The oftener it is skimmed, and the cleaner the top of the water is kept,
the sweeter and the cleaner will be the meat.
If left alone, it soon boils down and sticks to the meat, which, instead
of looking delicately white and nice, will have that coarse and filthy
appearance we have too often to complain of, and the butcher and poulterer
be blamed for the carelessness of the cook in not skimming her pot.
Many put in milk, to make what they boil look white; but this does more
harm than good. Others wrap it up in a cloth; but these are needless
precautions. If the scum be attentively removed, meat will have much more
delicate color and finer flavor than it has when muffled up. This may give
rather more trouble, but those who wish to excel in their art must only
consider how the processes of it can be most perfectly performed. A cook
who has a proper pride and pleasure in her business, will make this her
maxim on all occasions.
It is desirable that meat for boiling be of an equal thickness, or, before
thicker parts are done enough, the thinner will be done too much.
Put your meat into cold water, in proportions of about a quart of water to
a pound of meat; it should be covered
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with water during the whole process of boiling, but not drowned in it; the
less water, provided the meat be covered with it, the more savory will be
the meat, and the better will be the broth.
The water should be heated gradually, according to the thickness, &c., of
the article boiled. For instance, a leg of mutton of ten pounds' weight,
should be placed over a moderate fire, which will gradually make the water
hot, without causing it to boil for about forty minutes. If the water
boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and shrink up, as if it was
scorched. By keeping the water a certain time heating, without boiling,
the fibres of the meat are dilated, and it yields a quantity of scum,
which must be taken off as soon as it rises.
The old rule of fifteen minutes to a pound of meat, we think rather too
little; the slower it boils, the tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it will
be.
For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked, (which all will, who
have any regard for their stomachs,) twenty minutes to a pound for fresh,
and rather more for salted meat, will not be found too much for gentle
simmering by the side of the fire, allowing more or less time, according
to the thickness of the joint and the coldness of the weather; to know the
state of which, let a thermometer be placed in the pantry; and when it
falls below forty degrees, give rather more time in both roasting and
boiling, always remembering, the slower it boils the better.
Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art; and cooks seem to
suppose they must be right, if they put meat into a pot, and set it over
the fire for a certain time, making no allowance whether it simmers
without a bubble or boils at a gallop.
Fresh-killed meat will take much longer time, in boiling, than that which
has been kept till it is what the butchers call ripe; and longer in cold
than in warm weather; if it be frozen, it must be thawed before boiling as
before roasting; if it be fresh killed, it will be tough and hard, if you
stew it ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before the day you
dress it, bring it into a place of which the temperature is not less than
forty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what
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they are to contain; the larger the saucepan, the more room it takes upon
the fire, and a larger quantity of water requires a proportionate increase
of fire to boil it.
In small families we recommend block-tin saucepans, &c., as lightest and
safest. If proper care be taken of them, and they are well cleaned, they
are by far the cheapest--the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little
more than the expense of tinning a copper one.
Let the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent
unnecessary evaporation of the water, but to prevent the escape of the
nutritive matter, which must then remain either in the meat or in the
broth; and the smoke is prevented from insinuating itself under the edge
of the lid, and so giving the meat a bad taste.
> 190. Frying Meats.
Frying is often a convenient mode of cookery. It may be performed by a
fire which will not do for roasting or boiling; and by the introduction of
a pan between the meat and the fire, things get more equally dressed; good
frying is, in fact, boiling in fat. To make sure that the pan is quite
clean, rub a little fat over it, and then make it warm, and wipe it out
with a clean cloth.
For general purposes, and especially for fish, pork fat is preferable to
lard.
To know when the fat is of a proper heat, according to what you are to
fry, is the real secret in frying.
To fry fish, potatoes, or any thing that is watery, your fire must be very
clear, and the fat quite hot; which you may be pretty sure of, when it has
done hissing, and is still. We cannot insist too strongly on this point;
if the fat is not very hot, you cannot fry fish either to a good color, or
firm and crisp.
> 191. Soups.
To extract the strength from the meat, long and slow boiling is necessary;
but care must be taken that the pot is never off the boil. All soups are
better for being made the day before they are to be used, and they should
then be strained into earthen pans. When soup has jellied in the pan, it
should not be removed into another, as breaking it will occasion its
becoming sour sooner than it
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would otherwise do: when in danger of not keeping, it should be boiled up.
192. To roast Pork.
When you roast a loin, take a sharp penknife and cut the skin across, to
make the crackling eat the better.--
Roast a leg of pork thus: Take a knife and score it; stuff the knuckle
part with sage and onion, chopped fine with pepper and salt; or, cut a
hole under the twist, and put the sage, &c., there, and skewer it up; or,
it is very good without stuffing. Roast it crisp.
The spring, or hand of pork, if young, roasted like a pig, eats very well;
otherwise, it is better boiled. To every pound allow a quarter of an hour:
for example, a joint of twelve pounds' weight will require three hours,
and so on. If it be a thin piece of that weight, two hours will roast it.
193. To roast Veal.
Be careful to roast veal of a fine brown color; if a large joint, have a
good fire; if small, a little, brisk fire.
If a fillet or loin, be sure to paper the fat, that you lose as little of
that as possible: lay it at some distance from the fire till it is soaked,
then lay it near the fire.
The breast must be roasted with the caul on till it is done enough; skewer
the sweetbread on the back side of the breast. When it is nigh done, take
off the caul, baste it, and dredge it with a little flour. Veal takes
about the same time in roasting as pork.
194. To roast Beef.
Wash it, rub it over slightly with salt, spit it, and roast it. A large
piece will require two hours, a small piece from one hour to an hour and a
half.
195. To roast a Pig.
Prepare some stuffing, the same as for a turkey, fill it full, and sew it
up with a coarse thread; flour it well over, and keep flouring till the
eyes drop out, or you find the crackling hard. Be sure to save all the
gravy that comes out of it, by setting basins or pans under the pig in the
dripping-pan, as soon as the gravy begins to run. When the pig is done
enough, stir the fire up; take a coarse
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cloth with a piece of butter in it, and rub the pig over till the
crackling is crisp; then take it up. Lay it in a dish, and with a sharp
knife cut off the head, then cut the pig in two, before you draw out the
spit. Cut the ears off the head, and lay them at each end; cut the under
jaw in two, and lay the parts on each side: melt some good butter, take
the gravy you saved and put in it, boil it, pour it in the dish with the
brains bruised fine, and some sage mixed together, and then send it to the
table. If just killed, a pig will require an hour to roast; if killed the
day before, an hour and a quarter; if a very large one, an hour and a
half.
196. To roast Mutton and Lamb.
In roasting mutton, the loin, haunch, and saddle, must be done as beef;
but all other parts of mutton and lamb must be roasted with a quick, clear
fire; baste it when you lay it down; and just before you take it up,
dredge it with a little flour; but be sure not to use too much, for that
takes away all the fine taste of the meat. A leg of mutton of six pounds
will take an hour at a quick fire; if frosty weather, an hour and a
quarter: nine pounds, an hour and a half; a leg of twelve pounds will take
two hours; if frosty, two hours and a half.
197. To roast Venison.
Spit a haunch of venison, and butter well four sheets of paper, two of
which put on the haunch. Then make a paste with flour, butter, and water;
roll it out half as big as the haunch, and put it over the fat part; then
put the other two sheets of paper on, and tie them with pack-thread; lay
it to a brisk fire, and baste it well all the time of roasting. If a large
haunch of twenty-four pounds, it will take three hours and a half, unless
there is a very large fire; then three hours will do: smaller in
proportion.
198. Beef a-la-Mode.
Choose a piece of thick flank of a fine heifer or ox, cut into long
slices; some fat bacon, but quite free from yellow; let each bit be near
an inch thick; dip them into vinegar, and then into a seasoning ready
prepared, of salt, black pepper, allspice, and a clove, all in a fine
powder,
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with parsley, chives, thyme, savory, and knotted marjoram, shred as small
as possible, and well mixed. With a sharp knife make holes deep enough to
let in the larding, then rub the beef over with the seasoning, and bind it
up tight with tape. Set it in a well-tinned pot over a fire, or rather
stove; three or four onions must be fried brown and put to the beef, with
two or three carrots, one turnip, a head or two of celery, and a small
quantity of water; let it simmer gently ten or twelve hours, or till
extremely tender, turning the meat twice; to be cut in slices, and eaten
cold.
199. To roast or bake a Leg of Veal.
Let the fillet be cut large or small, as best suits the number of your
company. Take out the bone, fill the space with fine stuffing, and let it
be skewered quite round; and place the large side uppermost. When half
roasted, if not before, put a paper over the fat; and take care to allow a
sufficient time, and put it a good distance from the fire, as the meat is
very solid; serve with melted butter poured over it.
200. To boil a Ham.
Put a ham in the boiler, whilst the water is cold; be careful that it
boils slowly. A ham of twenty pounds takes four hours and a half, larger
and smaller in proportion. Keep the water well skimmed. A green ham wants
no soaking; but an old one must be soaked sixteen hours, in a large tub of
soft water.
201. Baked Tongue.
Season with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar, pepper, cloves, mace,
and allspice, in fine powder, for a fortnight; then take away the pickle,
put the tongue in a small pan, lay some butter on it, cover it with brown
crust, and bake slowly, till so tender that a straw would go through it.
To be eaten when cold. It will keep a week.
202. To bake a Pig.
Lay it in a dish, flour it all over well, and rub it over with butter;
butter the dish you lay it in, and put it in the oven. When it is done,
draw it out to the oven's mouth and rub it over with a buttery cloth; then
put it in the
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oven again till it is dry. Now take it out and lay it in a dish, cut it
up, take a little veal gravy, and having taken off the fat in the dish it
was baked in, there will be some good gravy at the bottom; put that to it
with a little piece of butter rolled in flour; boil it up, and put it in
the dish with the brains and sage in the belly. Some like a pig brought
whole to the table; then you are only to put what sauce you like in the
dish.
> 203. To keep Meat hot.
If the meat is done before the company is ready, set the dish over a pan
of boiling water; cover a dish with a deep cover, so as not to touch the
meat, and throw a cloth over all. Thus you may keep meat hot a long time,
and it is better than over-roasting and spoiling it. The steam of the
water keeps it hot, and does not draw the gravy out: whereas, if you set
the dish of meat any time over coals, it will dry up all the gravy and
spoil the meat.
204. To boil a Leg of Pork.
Salt it eight or ten days; when it is to be dressed, weigh it; let it lie
half an hour in cold water to make it white; allow a quarter of an hour
for every pound, and half an hour over from the time it boils; skim it as
soon as it boils, and frequently after. Allow water enough. Some boil it
in a nice cloth, floured; which gives a very delicate look. It should be
small and of a fine grain.
205. Round of Beef.
Should be car
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