SWEET PICKLES

Sweet pickles maybe made of any fruit that can be preserved^ including the rinds of ripe melons and cucumbers. The proportion of sugar to vinegar for syrup is three pints to a quart. Sweet pick- les may be made of any preserve by boiling over the syrup and adding spices and vinegar. Examine frequently, and re-scald the syrup if there are signs of fermentation. Fiums and other smootb- skinned fruits should be well pricked before cooking. The principal spices for sweet pickles are cinnamon and cloves. Use *' coffee C,** best brown, or good stirred maple sugar.

Sweet Pickled Beets, Boil them in a porcelain kettle till they can be pierced with a silver fork ; when cool cut lengthwise to size of a medium cucum- ber; boil equal parts vinegar and sugar with half a table-spoon ground cloves tied in a cloth to each gallon ; pour boiling hot over the beets. — Mh. Samuel Woods

Pickled Cucumbeks. Prepare and quarter ripe cucumbers, take out seeds, clean, lay in brine that will float an egg nine days, stirring eveiy day, take

266 SWEET PICKLES,

out and put in clear water one day, lay in alum-water (a lump of alum size of a medium hulled hickory-nut to a gallon of water) over night, make syrup of a pint good cider vinegar, pound brown sugar^ two table-spoons each broken cinnamon bark, mace, and pepper grains; make sjrrup (three pints of sugar to a quart of vin- egar) enough to cover the slices, lay them in, and cook till tender.

— Mrs, M, L, France.

Currant Pickles.

Scald seven pounds ^ipe currants in three pounds sugar and one

quart vinegar, remove currants to jar, boil for a few moments and

pour over the fruit. Some add three pounds of raisins and spices.

If not sweet enough, use only one pint vinegar.

Pickled Grapes. Fill a jar with alternate layers of sugar and bunches of nice grapes just ripe and freshly gathered ; fill one-third full of good cold vinegar, and cover tightly. — Mrs, C. T Car&m.

Spiced Grapes. Five pounds grapes, three of sugar, two tea-spoons cinnamon and allspice, half tea-spoon cloves ; pulp grapes, boil skins until tender, cook pulps and strain through a sieve, add it to the skins, put in sugar, spices and vinegar to taste ; boil thoroughly and cool.— ;M» Mae Stokes, Milord Center,

Spiced Gooseberries. Leave the stem and blossom on ripe gooseberries, wash dean; make a syrup of three pints sugar to one of vinegar, skim, if neces- sary, add berries and boil down till thick, adding more sugar if needed ; when almost done, spice with cinnamon and cloves ; boil as thick as apple butter.

Spiced Nutmeg Melon. Select melons not quite ripe, open, scrape out the pulp, peel, and slice; put the fruit in a stone jar, and, for five pounds fruit, take a quart vinegar, and two and a half pounds sugar ; scald vinegar and sugar together, and pour over the fruit ; sci^ the syrup and pour over the fruit each day for eight successive days. On the ninth, add one ounce stick-cinnamoni one of whole doves, and one of all-

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spice. Scald fruit, vinegar and spices together, and seal up in jars. This pickle should stand two or three months before using. Blue plums are delicious prepared in this way. — Mrs, Oen. Nayes,

Peach Pickles. Pare freeetone peaches, place in a stone jar, and pour over them boiling-hot syrup made in the proportion of one quart best cider vinegar to three pints sugar; boil and skim, and pour over the fruit boiling hot, repeating each day until the fruit is the same color to the center, and the syrup like thin molasses. A few days before they are finished, place the fruit, after draining, in the jar to the depth of three or four inches, then sprinkle over bits of cinna- mon b»rk and a few cloves, add another layer of fruit, then spice, and so on until the jar is full; scald the syrup each morning for three jr four days after putting in the spice, and pour syrup boiling hot over fruit, and, if it is not sufficiently cooked, scald fruit with the syrup the last time. The proportion of spices to a gallon of fruit is, two tea-spoons whole cloves, four table-spoons cinnamon. To pickle clingstones, prepare syrup as for freestones ; pare fruit, put in the syrup, boil until they can be pierced through with a silver fork ; skim out, place in jar, pour the boiling sjrrup over them, and proceed and finish as above. As clings are apt to be« come hard when stewed in sweet syrup, it may often be necessary Id add a pint of water the first time they are cooked, watching carefully until they are tender, or to use only part of the sugar at first, adding the rest in a day or two. Use the large White Heath lilingstones if they are to be had. All that is necessary to keep iweet pickles is to have syrup enough to cover, and to keep the fruit well under. Scald with boiling syrup until fruit is of same K)lor throughout, and syrup like thin molasses ; watch every week, particularly if weather is warm,

Pear Pickles. Prepare syrup as for peaches, pare and cut fruit in halves, or quarters if very large^i^nd if small leave whole, put syrup in porce- lain kettle, and when it boils put in fruit, cook until a silver fork

268 SWEET PICKLES.

will easily pierce them ; skim out fruit first apd place in jar, and

last pour over syrup boiling hot; spice like peach pickles, draining

them each day, boiling and skimming the syrup, and pouring it

boiling hot over the fruit until fully done. By cooking pears so

much longer at first they do not need to be boiled so frequently,

but they must be watched carefully until finished, and if perfectly

done, will keep two or more years. Apple pickles may be made in

the same way, taking care to select such as will not lose shape in

EucHERED Plumb.

Nine pounds blue plums, six pounds sugar, two quarts vinegar,

one ounce cinnamon; boil vinegar, sugar and spice together, pour

over plums, draw off next morning and boil, pour back on plums,

repeat the boiling five mornings, the last time boiling the fruit

about twenty minutes. — Mrs. Capt W. B. Brown, Washington Cfty.

PiO£LED Raisins. Leave two pounds raisins on stem, add one pint vinegar and half pound sugar ; simmer over a slow fire half an hour. — Mrs, Ji. \j, Jd.,

Strawberry Pickles.

Place strawberries in bottom of jar, add a layer of cinnamon and cloves, then berries, and so on ; pour over it a syrup made of two coffee-cups cider vinegar, and three pints sugar, boiled about five minutes ; let stand twenty-four hours, pour off syrup, boil, pour over berries, and let stand as before, then boil berries and syrup slowly for twenty-five minutes ; put in jars and cover. The above is for six quarts of berries. Rne apples can be made in same way, allowing six and a half pounds of fruit to above proportions. — Mrs. T,\ W. Jones, Charleston, 8. C,

Oreen Tomato Pickle. Take eight pounds of green tomatoes and chop fine, add four pounds brown sugar and boil down three hours, add a quart of vinegar, a teaspoon each of mace, cinnamon and cloves, and boil about fifteen minutes ; let cool and put into jars or other vessels. Try this recipe once and you will try it again. — Mrs, W. A, Orojffvt, New York OUy.

SWEET PIOKUESL 269

"Ripfi ToBiATO Pickle.

Pan? And ^eigh i-ipe tomatoes and put into jars and just cover vith vinegar; after standing three days pour off the vinegar and add five pounds coffee sugar to every seven of fruit ; spice to taste and pour over tomatoes and cook slowly all day on the back of the stove. Use cinnamon, mace and a little dovea^ or not any, as pre- ferred.

Watermeix)n Pickle.

Pare off very carefully the green part of the rind of a good, ripe watermelon, trim off the red core, cut in pieces one or two inches in length, place in a porcelain-lined kettle, in the proportion of one gallon rinds to two heaping tea-spoons common salt and water to nearly cover, boil until tender enough to pierce with a silver fork, pour into a colander to drain, and dry by taking a few pieces at a time in the hand, and pressing gently with a crash towel. Make fiyrup, and treat rinds exactly as directed for pickled peaches. Con- tinue adding rinds, as melons are used at table, preparing them first by cooking in salt water as above ; when as many are prepared as are wanted, and they are nearly pickled, drain and finish as directed in peach pickles, except when the syrup is boiled the last time, put in melons and boil fifteen minutes ; set jar near stove, skim out melons and put in jar a few at a time, heating gradually so as not to break it, then pour in syrup boiling hot. A rind nearly an inch thick, crisp and tender, is best, although any may be used. If scum rises, and the syrup assumes a whitish appearance, drain, boil and skim syrup, add melons, and boil until syrup is like thin molasses.

Clover Vikeoar.

Put a large bowl of molasses in a crock, and pour over it nine bowk of boiling rain-water ; let stand until milk- warm, put in two quarts of clover blossoms, and two cups of baker^s yeafit; let this stand two weeks, and strain through a towel. Nothing will mold bit. — Mn. McAlistery Ghshetiy.

Mint Vinegar. Put into a wide-mouthed bottle enough fresh, clean pepperminti spearmint, or garden parsley leaves to fill it loosely ; fill up with

270 S WEET PICKLES,

good vinegar, stop closely, leave on for two or three weeks, pour off into another bottle, and keep well corked for use. This is ex- cellent for cold meats, soups and bread-dressings for roasts ; when mints can not be obtained, celery seed is used in the same way. — lfr«f J5. A. Fay.

Spiced Vinegar.

Put three pounds sugar in a three gallon jar with a small mouth; mix two ounces each of mace, cloves, pepper, allspice, turmeric, celery seed, white ginger in small bits, and ground mustard ; put in six small bags madi' of thin but strong muslin, lay in jar, fill with best cider vinegar, and use it in making pickles and sauces.

Tarragon Vinegar.

Gather the tarragon just before it blossoms, strip it from the larger stalks and put it into small stone jars or wide-necked bottle ; and in doing this twist the branches, bruising the leaves. Pour over it vinegar enough to cover; let it stand two months or longer, pour off, strain, and put into small dry bottles, cork weU and use as sauce for meats.

Cauliflower Pickles.

To twelve heads of cauliflower, five quarts of vinegar, five cups brown sugar, six eggs, one bottle French mustard, two tablespoon- ftiU ginger^ a few gs-rliCf two green peppers* one-half teaspoonfiil cayenne, butter size of an eigg^ one ounce pulverized turmeric Beat well together the eggs, sugar, mustard, ginger, and turmeric, then boil ui vinegar, with garlic and peppers, ten minutes. Boil cauli- flower in salt water until tender, then place carefully in jar, pour over the boiling hot mixture. — Mn, W. W. Eagtmatiy Mmneapdu.

Ripe Cucumber Pickles.

Take twenty-four large cucumbers, ripe and sound, six white unions, four large red peppers ; pare and remove the seeds from the cucumbers, chop well, not too fine ; then chop fine onions and peppers, mix thoroughly with one cup salt, one ounce white mustard ; place in a muslin bag ; drain twenty-four hours, remove to glass jars, cover with cold vinegar and seal. They will keep a long time and are excellent. — Mrs, A. F, Oonkey,

Do not feed poultry for twenty-four hours before killing ; catch them without frightening or bruising, tie the feet together, hang up ' on a horizontal pole, tie the wings together over the back with a strip of soil cotton cloth ; let them hang five minutes, then cut the throat or cut off the head with a very sharp knife, and allow them to hang until the blood has ceased to drip. The thorough bleeding renders the meat more white and wholesome. Scald well by dip- ping in and out of a pail or tub of boiling water, being careful not to scald so much as to set the feathers and make them more difficult to pluck ; place the fowl on a board with head towards you, poll the feathers away from you, which will be in the direction they naturally lie (if pulled in a contrary direction the skin is likely to be torn), be careful to remove all the pin-feathers with a knife or pair of tweezers ; singe, but not smoke, over blazing paper, place on a meat-board, and with a sharp knife cut off the legs a litde below the knee, to prevent the muscles from shrinking away from the joint, and remove the oil-bag above the tail ; take out the crop, either by making a slit at the back of the neck or in front (the last is better), taking care that every thing pertaining to the crop or windpipe is removed, cut the neck-bone off close to the body, leaving the skin a good length if to be stuffed ; cut around the vent, cat a slit three inches long from the tail upwards, being careful to cat only through the skin, put in the finger at the breast and detach aD the intestines, taking care not to burst the gall-bag (situated near the upper part of the breast-bone, and attached to the liver; if broken, no washing ca

272 POULTRY.

and draw out careftilly all intestines ; trim off the &t from the • breast and at the lower incision ; split the gizzard and take out the inside and inner lining (throw liver, heart, and gizzard into water, wash well, and lay aside to be cooked and used for the gravy) ; wash the fowl thoroughly in cold water twice^ (some wipe carefully with a wet cloth, and afterwards with a dry- doth to make perfectly clean, instead of washing), hangup to drain, and it is ready to be stuffetl, skewered, and placed to roast. To make it look plump, before stuffiug, flatten the breast-bone by placing several thicknesses of cloth over it and pounding it, being careful not to break the skin, and rub the inside well with salt and pepper. Stuff the breast first, but not too full or it will burst in cooking ; stuff the body rather fuller than the breast, sew up both openings with strong thread, and sew the skin of the neck over upon the back or down upon the breast (these threads must be care- fully removed before sending to the table). Lay the points* of the wings under the back, and fasten in that position with a skewer run through both wings and held in place with a twine ; press the legs as closely towards the breast and side-bones as possible, and fasten with a skewer run through the body and both thighs, push a short skewer through above the tail, and tie the ends of legs down with a twine close upon the skewer (or, if skewers are not used, tie well in shape with twine); rub over thoroughly with salt and pepper, men lara, m Dne loliowmg manner: Hold the breast over a clear fire for a minute or dip it in boiling water. To make the flesh firm, cut strips of firm &t bacon, two inches long, and an eig

POULTRY, 273

quails, may be more conveniently ''barded" by placing a ''barde," a slice of &t bacon, over tbe breast, and the same plan may be adopted in all cases where larding is inconvenient ; or fat from the fewl itself may be used instead of bacon. When the flavor of bacon is disliked, put a tablespoon of butter in bits over the breast ; never dredge with flour in the beginning. Now place to roast in an oven rather hot at first, and then graduate the heat to moderate until done, to test which insert a fork between the thigh and body; if the juice is watery and not bloody it is done. If not served at once, the fowl may be kept hot without drying up, by placing over a skillet full of boiling water (set on top of stove or range) and inverting a dripping-pan over it. Many persons roast fowls upon a wire rack or trivet placed inside the dripping-pan, or patty pans or muflin-rings may be used as rests. The pan should be three or even four inches deep, and measure at the bottom about sixteen by twenty inches, with sides somewhat flaring. Some put to roast in a dry pan, the larding or butter making sufficient drippings for basting; others add a very little water. In roasting a turkey, allow twenty minutes time for every pound, and twenty minutes longer. Some steam turkey before roasting, and a turkey-steamer may be easily improvised by placing the dripping-pan containing the turkey on top of two or three pieces of wood (hickory or maple is the best) laid in the bottom of a wash-boiler, with just enough water to cover the wood ; put on the lid, which should fit tightly on the boiler, and as the water boils away add more. Add the liquor in the dripping-pan to the turkey when placed in the oven to roas