DRINKS AND BEVERAGES

Drink to me only with thine eyes And I will pledge with mine

Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not ask for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise

Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Jove's nectar sup

I would not change from thine.

-Ben Johnson.

God made Man frail as a bubble

God made Love— Love made Trouble.

God made the Vine; was it a sin

That Man made Wine to drown Trouble in?

The rule for service of wine at a dinner party calls for white wine with the fish. Sherry with the soup. Claret and champagne with the roast. Maderia and port wines with the game. Maderia and port are decanted and should not be cold, but of the tempera- ture of the room. Champagne is either sweet or "dry" and must not be decanted, but kept in ice pails and opened when needed.

Wine is good

Love is good

And all is good if understood.

The sin is not in doing

But in overdoing.

How much of mine has gone that way

Alas — How much more that may!

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To Mull Wine.

An Excellent French Recipe. Boil in a wineglassful and a half of water a quarter of an ounce of spice (cinnamon, ginger slightly bruised, and cloves), with 3 ounces of fine sugar till they form a thick syrup, which must not, on any account, be allowed to burn. Pour in a pint of port wine and stir it gently till it is on the point of boiling only; it should then be served immediately. The addition of a strip or two of orange rind, cut extremely thin, gives to this beverage the flavor of bishop. In France light claret takes the place of port wine in making this, and the better kinds of Vins duPaysare very palatable thus prepared: Water, 13^ wineglassful; spice, 3^ ounce, to make which quantity use about 24 cloves and the rest of the amount in rather more ginger than cinnamon, and 3 ounces of sugar. Boil 15 to 20 minutes. Port wine or claret, 1 pint, added last. If orange rind is used, it should be boiled with the spices. (Taken from an old English cook book, published in 1845).

Port Wine.

Good imported port wine, 3 gallons; good prepared cider, 12 gallons; juice of elderberries, 3 gallons: good brandy, 13^ gallons; cochineal, 3 ounces. Pulverize the cochineal very fine, put it with the brandy into a stone jug; let it remain at least 2 weeks. Have cider ready and put 6 gallons of the cider into a 20 gallon cask. Add to this the elder juice, port wine, brandy and cochineal. Take the remaining 6 gallons of cider with part of which clean out your jug that contained the brandy, and pour the whole into the cask; bung it tight and in 6 weeks it will be ready for use.

Wines — Currant, Blackberry or Elderberry.

These all have powerful medicinal properties, and every fam- ily should have at least one kind on hand. The cost of the wine is nothing compared to the benefit derived from using it, when needed, as it often saves the expense of medicines, as well as doctor's bills, besides being more palatable to take than medicine.

Red or White Currant Wine.

First place the fruit in a tub or jar and mash or crush it. A better way is to put it in a kettle over the fire, crushing some of the fruit when first put in, and adding a very little water, just enough to keep it from burning. Boil until soft^ then put through a cloth

DRINKS AND BEVERAGES. 277

lined cylinder. To each quart of juice obtained, add 3 quarts of water and 23^ to 3 pounds of sugar, according to taste. Put the mixture in a keg, leaving the cork or bung loose, or put it in a tub or jar, covering the same with a thin cloth so that the air may have access to it. Set it aside and allow it to ferment for about 10 days, or until fermentation ceases. It is a good plan to skim it occasionally with a perforated skimmer while fermenting. After that pour it in bottles or jugs, allowing the corks to remain very loose, as it will work again for 2 or 3 days. Then when through working, take out the corks and fill bottles with juice reserved for that purpose. After all signs of fermentation cease, put in the corks very tight, tie or wire them in and seal. Wine is best kept in a cool place. Blackberry, elderberry, grape or rhubarb wine may be made in the same way with the exception that a smaller proportion of sugar is required for blackberry. and elderberry wine.

Elderberry Wine No. II.

Water, 5 gallons; elderberry, 5 gallons; white sugar, 22 pounds; red tartar, 4 ounces. Put these into cask, and add a little yeast and let it ferment. When undergoing fermentation, add ginger root, 2 ounces; allspice, 2 ounces; cloves, 3^ ounce. Put them into clean cotton bag and suspend in the cask. They give a pleasant flavor to the wine, which will become clear in about 2 months, and may then be drawn off and bottled.

Currant Wine No. II.

Take 1 pailful of water to every pailful of currants on the stem. Wash and strain; add 3M pounds of sugar to every gallon of the mixture of juice and water. Mix well and put into the cask, which should be placed in the cellar on the tilt, so that it can easily be racked off in October without stirring up the sediment. 2 bushels of currants will make 1 barrel of wine. Fill the barrel within 3 inches of the bung, and make it air-tight by placing wet clay over it after it is driven in.

Cherry Wine.

To make 10 pints of this wine take 30 pounds of cherries and 4 pounds of currants; bruise and mix them together. Mix with them % of the kernels and put the whole mixture into a barrel with }i pound of sugar to every pint of juice The barrel should

278 THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB COOK BOOK.

be quite full. Cover the barrel with vine leaves and sand above thenij and let stand in a cool place until through working, which will be in about 3 weeks; then stop it with a bung and in 2 months it may be bottled,

Apple Wine.

To each gallon of cider, as soon as it comes from the press, add 2 pounds of loaf sugar; boil as long as any scum arises, then strain through a sieve and let it cool; now add some good yeast, mix well; let it work in the tub 2 or 3 weeks, then skim off the scum; draw it off close and turn it; let it stand about a year, then rack it off and add 2 ounces of isinglass to the barrel; then add 3^ pint spirits of wine to every 8 gallons.

Note — ^The old recipes all speak of gelatine as isinglass.

Ginger Wine.

Bruised ginger, 4 ounces; lump sugar, 10 pounds; water, 5 gallons. Add 2 eggs. Boil well and skim. Then pour hot on 3 or 4 lemons, cut in slices. Macerate for 2 hours, then rack and ferment. Add spirits, 1 quart; finings, 3^ pint; rummage well; to make color, boil saleratus, 3^ ounce; alum, Y^ ounce; in 1 pint of water till you get a bright color.

Lemon Wine.

Water, 15 gallons; raisins (bruised) 8 pounds; sugar, 30 pounds. Boil, then add cider, 7 gallons; ferment and add spirits, 13^ gal- lons; white tartar, 6 ounces; essence of lemon, 1 ounce; finings, 3^ pint. Shake well the essence with a pint of the spirit until it be- comes milky before adding to the wine.

Dandelion Wine.

Two quarts of blossoms without any stems (which would make the wine bitter). Pour over them 1 gallon of boihng water and let stand 3 days and nights, then strain and add 3 pounds of white sugar, 2 shced lemons and 2 sliced oranges. Boil for 5 minutes. When cooled sufficiently to be about milk warm, add 1 tablespoon- ful of good yeast and put in a jug to ferment. Keep the jug full until fermentation ceases, and bottle in about 6 weeks.

— Mrs. W. p. Lamb.

DRINKS AND BEVERAGES. 279

Grape Wine.

Water, 4 quarts; grape juice, 4 quarts; sugar, 8 pounds. Ex- tract the juice in any simple way, if only a few quarts are desired. One can do it with a strainer and a pair of squeezers. Use per- fectly ripe grapes. After the first pressing, put a little water with the pulp and press a second time, using the juice of the second pressing with the water to be mixed with the clear grape juice. Put in a keg and fill even full. After fermentation has taken place and the scum removed, drain off, bottle and cork tightly.

Unfermented Wine.

Pick the grapes well ripened; remove carefully all decayed and unripe fruit. Mixed varieties of grapes may be used. Ex- press the juice and boil as long as any scum arises; skim carefully from time to time; do not boil over an hour; bottle it while hot, and seal either in glass bottles, jugs or air-tight casks. It is in condition to be used at any time, but after it is once opened it must not be allowed to ferment. With the exception of straw- berry syrup, this wall be found to be the most delightful and ex- hilarating of all unfermented beverages. It needs no sugar, and may be diluted when served.

Unfermented Grape Juice.

Ten cupfuls Concord grapes; 6 cupfuls water; 2 cupfuls sugar. Mash the grapes and cook in 3 cujos of the water; strain; add to the skins and seeds 3 more cups of water and cook again; strain. Add to the strained juice the 2 cups of sugar and boil 5 minutes. Skim, bottle hot in air-tight jars. In serving, add sugar and sliced lemon or lemon juice, ice and the grape juice. This is a simple, but delicious drink.

'Good wine needs no bush."

—"As You Like It."

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For highest cordials all their virtues lose By a too frequent and too bold a use. And what would cheer the spirits in distress, Ruins our health when taken to excess.

— John Pomfret, in "The Choice."

Mint Cordial.

Crush a large bunch of mint and soak the leaves for 1 hour in the strained juice of 2 lemons and the grated rind of 1. Cook to- gether 1 pint of water and the same amount of sugar until the syrup threads. Take from fire and stir into it the lemon and mint, the juice of an orange and, if at hand, an equal amount of pine- apple juice. Strain and add enough cold water to make a rich beverage. Ice and serve. The use of apollinaris water or seltzer improves it.

Blackberry Cordial.

Put ])erries in a kettle with a very little water and cook until soft, then turn into a press cylinder, first putting in a thin muslin cloth large enough to fold over the top of the fruit. After pressing out the juice add to each pint of juice 1 pound of loaf sugar, 3/2 ounce of powdered cinnamon, 3^ ounce of mace, 2 teaspoonfuls of whole cloves and boil all together for 15 minutes and strain. To each quart add 1 pint of good French brandy. It is then ready to be bottled. Before using, dilute with water, if necessary. This syrup is a sovereign remedy for all summer complaints.

Quince Cordial.

Use ripe, sound quinces; rub off fur, cut in small pieces; pour over just enough cold water to cover, and simmer until the pulp is soft. Put in a double cheese cloth bag and let it drip over night. Do not squeeze or press because wdiat remains in the bag can be taken through a sieve and used for marmalade. Measure the j nice, add }/2 pint of granulated sugar to each pint of liquid, also 2 blanched peach kernels. To 3 pints allow 2 cloves. Boil for 15 minutes. Skim well, remove from fire, strain and add l^ jDint of brandy to each pint of syrup. Turn into a stone jar, protect the opening with cheese cloth, let stand a week and then bottle and cork se- curely. It may be used in 2 months, but is better if kept 1 year.

DRINKS AND BEVERAGES. 281

"The cups that cheer but not inebriate wait on each."

— Wm. Cowper.

Pear, Orange, Grape or Apple Cider.

Cider may be made from pears, oranges or grapes as well as from apples. Put the fruit over the fire with barely enough water to keep from burning, and cover, letting it steam or cook slowly until soft. Press out all juice and the result is a pure cider. In making orange cider, peel fruit and it is then easily pressed with- out heating.

To Keep Cider Sweet.

Cider may be kept sweet for 10 years by first putting it in a kettle and bringing it to a boil. Set bottles in a pan of cold water on the stove and allow the same to come to a boiling heat. Fill the bottles, as they stand in the hot water, with the cider. Set aside to cool, then cork and seal.

Champagne Cider.

Make cider from foregoing recipe and after filling strong pop bottles, add 3 raisins and 1 teaspoonful of syrup or sugar to each pint of juice. Wire corks in tightly and seal.

"I do now remember the poor creature, small beer."

— King Henry IV.

Cottage Beer.

Water, 10 gallons; good sweet wheat bran, 1 peck; good hops, 3 handfuls. Boil all together until the bran and hops sink to the bottom. Strain through a thin cloth and when about luke warm, add 2 quarts of molasses. As soon as the molasses is melted pour the whole into a 9 or 10 gallon cask, with 2 tablespoons of yeast. When fermentation ceases, bung up the cask and in about 4 days it will be readv for use.

282 THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB COOK BOOK.

Ginger Beer.

Honey, 1 pound; sugar, 20 pounds; lemon juice, 18 ounces; yeast, 6 pints; water, 18 gallons; bruised ginger root, 22 ounces. Boil the ginger 3^ hour in a gallon of water, then add the rest of the water and the other ingredients, and strain, when cool. Add the whites of 2 eggs, beaten, and 1 ounce of essence of lemon. Let it stand for 4 days and then bottle and it will keep a long time if you don't drink it.

Hops Beer.

Hops, 6 ounces; water, 5 quarts. Boil 3 hours, then strain off the liquor. Pour on 4 quarts of water and 12 spoonfuls of gin- ger and boil the hops 3 hours longer. Strain it and mix with the other liquor and stir in 2 quarts of molasses. Brown, very dry, 3^ pound of bread and put in — rusked bread is best. Pound fine and brown in a pot like coffee. After it- has cooled so that it is luke warm, add a pint of new yeast that is free from salt. Keep the barrel covered in a cool place until fermentation ceases, which you may know by the settling of the post. Turn into kegs or bottles and keep in a cool place.

Jamaica Ginger Beer.

One 4 ounce bottle of Jamaica ginger; 1 ounce cream of tartar; 6 quarts of water; 1 pound of sugar; grated rind of 1 lemon. Mix and heat through, add a tablespoonful of brewer's yeast. Bottle, tie the corks and lay in cellar. Good in 4 days.

"What harm in drinking can there be Since punch and life so well agree." An Epigram on Punch.

— Thomas Blacklock.

A delicious claret punch for luncheons or suppers is made from claret, vichy, lemons, sugar and cracked ice, in proportions to suit the taste. Roman punch is a lemon sherbet, to which Jamaica rum has been added in the proportion of 1 cupful of rum to 1 quart of sherbet.

Roman Punch.

Three cups of good lemonade; 1 glass of champagne; 1 glass of rum; whites of 2 eggs; }/2 pound of sugar; juice of small orange. Mix well and serve in glasses half filled with broken ice.

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Claret Punch.

One quart of claret; )^ pint of ice water. Cover 2 lemons, sliced thin, with }/^ cup of powdered sugar and let stand 10 min- utes. Add the water and wine and mix well. Serve in glasses with ice.

Old Bachelor's Punch.

Put into 3^ pint tumbler the very thin rind of a fresh lemon and fill with boiling water; squeeze the juice into a second glass of the same size, and fill it nearly to the brim with sugar lumps; then pour in as much boiling water as it will contain, and when the sugar is dissolved, turn the contents of both glasses into a hot jug; add a tablespoonful of fine currant jelly; stir the whole well; keep it very hot, and add to it as much spirit as will make it pleasant, but in the proportion of 2 glasses brandy to 1 of rum.

Taken from an old English Cook Book, printed in 1845.

Temperance Punch.

Upon a tablespoon of good tea pour 2 quarts of boiling water. Meantime have ready the juice and peelings of 3 lemons and 1 orange, in a pitcher. When the tea has steeped 5 minutes, strain it into the pitcher of fruit juice, add sugar to taste and cool. Serve in glasses with ice.

Ginger Punch.

One quart of cold water; 1 cup of sugar; 3^ pound of Canton ginger; 3^ cup of orange juice; 3^ cup of lemon juice. Chop gin- ger, add to water and sugar and boil for 15 minutes. Add fruit juices, cool and strain. Serve with ice. Apollinaris water may be added, if desired, also several spoons of ginger syrup if the chopped ginger is not strong enough to flavor.

Unfermented Grape Punch.

Juice of 3 lemons; juice of 1 orange; 1 pint of grape juice; 1 quart of water; 1 cup of sugar. If served from a punch bowl, add sliced oranges and pineapple. This makes a dainty punch for re- ceptions and special occasions.

284 THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB COOK BOOK.

Punch a la Naples.

Two cups of water; 2 pounds of rhubarb; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of orange juice; 34 cup of lemon juice; j^ cup of pineapple juice; ]4 cup of ginger syrup; 1 small bay leaf. Slice rhubarb without peeling it, cover with the water, add bay leaf and cook until ten- der. Strain, add sugar, boil 5 minutes more, add fruit juice and cool. Ice and serve.

Castalia Punch.

One can grated pineapple; 3 cups boihng water; 1 cup strong, freshly made tea; 4 cups sugar; juice of 6 oranges; juice of 5 lemons; 2 cups of strawberry juice; 1 cup Maraschino cherries; 1 quart apol- hnaris water; 5 quarts water. Spring mint leaves and grapes. Serve in a punch bowl with ice.

Fruit Punch.

Six bananas; 6 oranges; 4 lemons; 1 pint strawberry juice; 4 cups sugar; 4 cups water; 6 quarts ice water; 1 split apolhnaris; 1 cup freshly made tea. Boil the 4 cups of water with the sugar 15 minutes and when cool, add the juice of oranges, lemons, straw- berries, the pulps of 4 of the bananas and the tea. Let stand on ice until time of serving, then add ice cold water, the apolh- naris and the pulp of the other 2 bananas, cut in slices 34 inch in thickness.

For Picnics or Private Parties.

Cut the lemons in small pieces and put in a press to extract the juice. To each quart of water and ice allow 2 large lemons and from a quarter to a third of a pound of sugar, according to taste.

Seltzer Lemonade.

Juice of 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons of sugar; small chunks of ice and seltzer or apollinaris water to fill up the glass.

DRINKS AND BEVERAGES. 285

Fruit Lemonade.

Boil 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water 10 minutes. Cool, and add 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of preserved cherries, strawber- ries or raspberries, and dilute with a small amount of water. Serve with lumps of ice.

Pineapple Lemonade.

Make a syrup by boiling 1 pint of water and 1 cup of sugar 10 minutes. Add 1 can of grated pineapple and the juice of 3 lemons. Cool, strain and add 1 quart of ice water. Serve in lemonade glasses.

Ginger Lemonade.

The juice of 3 lemons; 6 glasses of water; enough sugar to sweeten; a cup of cherry juice, or the juice left from a cherry sauce, with a few cherries left in it. Mix all together and set away to cool. When ready to serve, add 1 pint of ginger ale and lumps of ice.

— Charles Brouse.

Irish Moss Lemonade.

One-fourth cup Irish moss; 2 cups boiling water; 4 tablespoons lemon juice; sugar to taste. Soak, pick over and wash the moss, soaking i-^ hour. Pour off water and add the boihng water. Cook until syrup-like; keeping it just below boiling point. If it becomes too thick add more hot water. Strain, add the lemon juice and sugar. Serve hot. This is excellent for sore throat and cold on the lungs or any inflammation of the mucous membrane.

Delicious Milk Lemonade.

Dissolve 6 ounces of loaf sugar in a pint of boiling water and mix with them a quarter of a pint of lemon juice, and the same quantity of Sherry; then add ^ of a pint of cold milk; stir the whole well together and pass it through a jelly bag till clear. Taken from an old English Cook Book, printed in 1845.

Excellent Portable Lemonade.

Rasp, with ^ pound of sugar the rind of a very fine juicy lemon; reduce it to a powder, and pour on it the strained juice of the fruit. Press the mixture into a jar and when wanted for use, dissolve a tablespoonful of it in a glass of water. It will keep a considerable time. If too sweet for taste of the drinker, a very small portion of citric acid may be added when it is taken.

This is taken from an old English Cook Book, printed in 1845.

286 THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB COOK BOOK.