Cider Cup.
Begin with whatever quantity of brandy you choose, and go on, doubling the other ingredients, namely: sherry, cider, soda water, a little lemon peel and cinnamon, sugar to your taste, and a bush of borage. Some persons put in a very little piece of the peel of cucumber, but this must be used sparingly, as the flavour is strong.
Ginger Beer.
Boil 14 lbs. lump sugar in 1½ gallon of water, with 2 oz. ginger, bruised, one hour; then add the whites of 8 eggs, well beaten; boil a little longer, and take off the scum as it rises; strain into a tub, and let it stand till cold; put it into a cask with the peel of 14 lemons cut thin, also the juice, a pint of brandy, and half a spoonful of ale-yeast at the top. Stop the cask close for a fortnight: then bottle, and in another fortnight it will be ready. Stone bottles are best.—Or: 1 oz. powdered ginger, ½ oz. cream of tartar, 1 large lemon sliced, 2 lbs. lump sugar, to 1 gallon of water, simmered half an hour: finish as above.Ginger Imperial.—Boil 2 oz. cream of tartar, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, 4 pieces of ginger bruised, and 1 lb. of sugar, in 6 quarts of water, half an hour. When cool, add 2 or 3 spoonsful yeast, and let it stand twenty-four hours, then bottle in ½ pint bottles, and tie down the corks. In three days it will be ready. An improvement to this is ¾ lb. sugar, ¼ lb. honey, and 1 tea-spoonful of essence of lemon.
Spruce Beer.
Mix a pint of spruce with 12 lbs. of treacle, stir in 3 gallons of water, let it stand half an hour, put in 3 more gallons of water, and a pint of yeast, stir well, and pour it into a 10 gallon cask, fill that with water, and let it work till fine; bottle it; let the bottles lie on their sides three days, then stand them up, in three more days it will be ready.
Crême d'Orange.
Slice 16 oranges, pour over them 1 gallon of rectifiedspirits, and 1¼ pint of orange flower water; in ten days, add 7 lbs. of clarified syrup, a quart of water, and ½ oz. of tincture of saffron: keep it closed, and in a fortnight strain the liquor through a jelly bag, let it settle, then pour from the sediment, and bottle it.
Raspberry or Mulberry Brandy or Wine.
Bruise fine ripe fruit with the back of a wooden spoon, and strain into a jar through a flannel bag, with 1 lb. of fine powdered loaf sugar to every quart of juice; stir well, let it stand three days, covered close; stir each day: pour it off clear, and put 1 quart of brandy, or 2 of sherry, to each quart of juice; bottle it, and it will be ready in a fortnight.
Spring Sherbet.
Scrape 10 sticks of rhubarb and boil them, ten minutes, in a quart of water; strain the liquor through a tammis cloth into a jug, add the peel of 1 lemon, very thin, and 2 table-spoonsful of clarified sugar; in six hours it is ready.
FLIP.
While a quart of ale is warming on the fire, beat 3 eggs with 4 oz. moist sugar, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger or nutmeg, and a quart of rum or brandy. When the ale is near boiling, pour it into one pitcher, the eggs and rum into another, and turn it from one to the other, until smooth as cream.
Egg Wine.
To 1 quart of Lisbon white wine, put 1 quart of water, sweeten to taste, and add a little nutmeg. Have ready the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten; boil the mixed wine and water, and pour it quickly on the beaten eggs, and pour from one bason to another, until it froths high. Serve in cups.
To Mull Wine.
Boil the quantity you choose, of cinnamon, nutmeggrated, cloves or mace, in a ¼ pint of water; add a pint of Port, and sugar to taste, boil it up, and serve it hot.
The Pope's Posset.
Blanch, pound, then boil in a little water, ½ lb. sweet, and a very few bitter almonds, strain, and put the liquid into a quart of heated white wine, with sugar to sweeten; beat well, and serve hot.
THE DAIRY.
This, of all the departments of country house-keeping, is the one which most quickly suffers from neglect; and of all the appendages to a country dwelling, there is nothing which so successfully rivals the flower garden, in exciting admiration, as a nice dairy. From the show-dairy, with its painted glass windows, marble fountains and china bowls, to that of the common farm house, with its red brick floor, deal shelves, and brown milk-pans, the dairy is always an object of interest, and is associated with every idea of real comfort, as well as of imaginary enjoyment, attendant upon a country life.
The management of this important department in a country establishment, from the milking of the cows, to the making of the butter and the cheese, must necessarily be almost wholly intrusted to a dairy maid, who ought to beexperiencedin the various duties of her office, or she cannot be skilful in the performance of them. Those persons who have excelled in dairy work, have generally learnt their business when quite young, as a knowledge of it is not to be hastily acquired. The great art of butter and cheese-making, consists in extreme care and scrupulous cleanliness; and an experienced dairy maid knows, that when her butter has a bad taste, some of the dairy utensils, the churn, the pail, or the pans, have been neglected in the scalding,or, the butteritself not well made: unless, indeed, as is sometimes the case, the fault lies in the food provided for the cows.
Note.—Cobbett's"Cottage Economy" contains directions for the keeping and feeding of cows.
Note.—Cobbett's"Cottage Economy" contains directions for the keeping and feeding of cows.
The utmost care and diligence, on the part of the dairy maid, may, however, prove ineffectual, if the dairy itself be not convenient, and provided with the proper utensils. The principal requisites of a dairy are, coolness in summer, and a temperature warmer than the external air, in very cold weather. The building should, therefore, be so constructed, as to exclude the sun in summer, and the cold in winter. The windows should never front the South, South East, or South West. They should be latticed, or, which is preferable, wired, to admit a free circulation of air, with glazed frames, to be shut and opened, at pleasure. The room should be lofty, and the walls thick, as nothing more effectually preserves an even temperature, or excludes extremes of cold and heat. It should be paved with brick or stone, and laid with a proper descent, so that all water may be drained off. The floor should be washed every day in summer, and three or four times a week in the winter.
The utensils should not be scalded in the dairy, as the steam from hot water is injurious to milk. Neither rennet, cheese, or cheese-press, should be kept in it, as they diffuse an acidity. The dairy should not be used as a larder; it cannot be too scrupulously devoted to its own proper purposes.
The cows should be milked twice a day, and as nearly at the same hour as possible; and they should be milkedquite clean: this is a matter of great consequence, not only as being conducive to the health of the animals, but if neglected, very much diminishes the value of their produce; for that which is milked last, is much richer than that which is first milked.
Some persons when they strain the milk into pans, for creaming, pour into each one, a little boiling hot water (in the proportion of 1 quart of water to 3 pails of milk); this was never done in our dairy in Hampshire, but I believe the effect is, to destroy the taste of turnip. It is very good, for this purpose, to keep a piece of saltpetre in the cream pot. This latter should have a stick in it, and be wellstirred up twice a day, or, every time the dairy maid goes into the dairy. The cream should not be kept longer than four days, before it is made into butter. If twice a week be too often to churn, it ought not to be less frequent than three times in a fortnight. In private families the milk is generally skimmed only once, and this leaves the milk very good; but where butter is made for sale, and quantity rather than quality, is the object, a second skimming is generally resorted to. Some dairy maids object to the second skimming, on account of the bitter taste, which they say the cream so skimmed is sure to give the butter.
To Make Butter.
In summer the churn should be filled with cold spring water, and in winter scalded with hot water, preparatory to churning; then pour the cream in, through a straining cloth. In warm weather the churning should be performed in a cool place; and, in a general way, the butter will come in an hour; but it often does come in half the time, though it is not the better for coming so quickly. In very cold weather the churning must be done in a warm place; indeed, it is sometimes necessary to bring the churn near the fire, but this should never be allowed but in extreme cold weather, when the butter will sometimes be five or six hours in coming: when this is the case, it is almost always of a white colour and a poor taste. The butter being come, pour off the buttermilk, leaving the butter in the churn, pour in a pailful of cold water, wash the butter about, pour off the water, and pour in a fresh pailful; let the butter stand in this ten minutes. Scald a milk-pan, and stand it half an hour or more in cold water, lift the butter out of the churn into it, pour fresh water over, and wash the butter about well, drain the water off as dry as possible, and then proceed to work the buttermilk out of the butter. Some persons do this with the hands (which should first be dipped in hot water), others with a straining-cloth: if the latter, scald and wring it dry; then work the butter by squeezing it, by degrees, from one side of the pan to the other, pour cold water over to rinse, and pour that off; then work the butter back again, and rinse again; repeat this till the rinsing water is no longer coloured with milk,and then you may be sure that the buttermilk is all worked out; for, if there be any of it left, the butter will have streaks of white when cut, and will not be sweet. Having worked out the milk, the next thing is, to put in the salt. The quantity must depend, in some measure, on taste; some persons like their butter very much salted, while others think that the flavour of salt should not be distinguishable in fresh butter. Roll it quite fine, and you may allow ½ lb. to 5 lbs. butter: press the butter out thin, sprinkle over it some salt, fold up the butter, press it out again, strew over more salt, fold it up again, and so on, till all the salt is in, work the butter about well, to mix the salt with it, and pour off whatever liquid there may be in the pan. Take the butter out, a piece at a time (if the quantity be great), on a square wooden trencher (previously scalded and dipped into cold water), and, either with the hand, a fresh cloth, or a flat, thin piece of wood (made for the purpose), beat the butter out thin, fold it up, beat it out again, and repeat this several times, till the water is all beaten out. By the time it has arrived at this latter stage, it ought to be quite firm, except in extreme hot weather, when no pains are sufficient to make it so. When the water is all out, make up the butter, in what form and size you choose; place it on a board, or a marble slab, in a cool place, but not before a window, as too much air will not benefit it; spread over it a cheese-cloth, first scalded, then dipped in cold water, and it will harden in a few hours.
Different parts of England vary so much in the butter they produce, that what is considered very good in one county would be regarded as inferior in another. This is caused by difference in the pasturage, and not by variation in the mode of preparing the cream or making the butter; except, indeed, in some parts of the West of England. In Devonshire the cream is always, I believe, prepared according to the following directions, which were written for me by a Devonshire lady.
To make Butter without a Churn.
Spread a linen cloth in a large bason, pour in the cream, tie it up like a pudding, fold another cloth over it, and bury it in a hole two feet deep, in light earth, put all the earthlightly in, lay a turf on the top, and leave it twenty-four hours; take it up, and it will be found in the state that butter is when it is just come. The buttermilk is lost, but this method answers very well in hot weather. We tried it in America.
Clouted Cream.
Strain the milk, from the cow, into glazed earthenware vessels, and let it stand twelve hours in summer, and twenty-four, or thirty-six, in winter, before you scald it. Then place the vessels over a very small fire or hearth, for half or three-quarters of an hour, until the surface begins to swell, and the shape of the bottom of the pan appears on it (but if made hot enough to simmer, it will be spoiled); then set it to cool, and in twelve hours' time in summer, and eighteen or twenty-four in winter, the cream may be taken off with a skimmer which has holes.
Butter from Clouted Cream.
Scald well a large wooden bowl, then rinse it with cold water, but do not wipe it dry. Put in the cream, work it well with the hand (in one direction only), until the milk comes from it, which should be drained off, and will serve for making cakes and puddings; when the milk is all beaten out, wash the butter with cold water to cleanse it from the milk, then salt it, thus: spread it out on the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle salt over, roll it up, wash it again with cold water, beat out again, then shape and print it, as you please. The hands should be well washed in hot water, before you begin to work the butter. In winter and in weather of a moderate temperature the butter is speedily made, but in very hot weather it will take nearly or quite an hour of stirring round, and working with the hand, before it will come into butter.
To Pot Butter for Winter use.
In the summer, when there is plenty of butter, care should be taken to preserve enough for winter use. But observe, that none but good butter, well made, and quite free from buttermilk, will pot well. Have potting pans, to hold from 6 to 10 lbs. of butter. Put a thick layer of butterin the pan, press it down hard, then a layer of salt, press that down, then more butter, and so on: allowing 1 oz. of salt to every lb. of butter. If too salt, it can be freshened by being washed in cold water, before it is sent to table. Always keep the top well covered with salt, and as that turns to brine, more salt may be required. Tie paper over, and keep the pan in the dairy, or cellar. Some persons use one quarter part of lump sugar, and the same of saltpetre, to two parts of common salt.
To Make Cheese.
The milk should be just lukewarm, whether skimmed or not. To a pailful put 2 table-spoonsful of rennet, cover the milk, and let it stand, to turn: strike down the curd with the skimming dish, or break it with the hand, pour off the whey, put the curd into a cheese-cloth, and let two persons hold the four corners, and move it about, from side to side, to extract the whey: lay it into the vat, fold the cloth smoothly over the cheese, cover it with the lid of the vat, and put a weight of 10 or 12 lbs. on the top. Let it stand twelve hours; then take it carefully out, put it on a wooden trencher, or a clean hanging shelf, and sprinkle salt thickly over the top. The next day, wipe it dry all over, turn it the other side upwards, sprinkle salt on the top, and repeat this every day, for a week: after that, turn it every day, and occasionally wipe it.—Another: to 6 quarts new milk, add 2 quarts lukewarm water, and sufficient rennet to turn it: when the curd is settled put it into a small vat, about a foot square, and 1½ inch deep, with holes in the bottom; place a lid on it, and put on that a lb. weight, for a day.—Another: put 5 quarts of the last of the milking into a pan, with 2 table-spoonsful of rennet; when the curd is come, strike it down with the skimming dish two or three times, to break it: let it stand two hours. Spread a cheese-cloth on a sieve, put the curd on it, and let the whey drain; break the curd with the hand, put it into a vat, and a 2 lbs. weight on the top. When it has stood twelve hours, take it out and bind a cloth round it. Turn it every day, from one board to another. Cover the cheese with nettle leaves, and put it between 2 pewter plates, to ripen. It will be ready in three weeks.
COOKERY FOR THE SICK.
Oftenwhen the Doctor's skill has saved the life of his patient, and it remains for the diligent nurse to prepare the cooling drinks and restorative foods, the taste and the appetite of sick persons are so capricious that they will reject the very thing which they had just before chosen: and frequently, if consulted upon the subject, will object to something which, if it had appeared unexpectedly before them, they would, perhaps, have cheerfully partaken of. Everything which is prepared for a sick person should be delicately clean, served quickly, in the nicest order; and in a small quantity at a time.
See, in the Index,MuttonandChickenbroths.
Mutton Chops to Stew.
Chops for an invalid may be stewed till tender, in cold water to cover them, over aslow fire; scum carefully, add 1 onion, and if approved, 3 turnips. The broth will be very delicate.
A Nourishing Broth.
Put 1 lb. lean beef, 1 lb. scrag of veal, and 1 lb. scrag of mutton, into a saucepan with water enough to cover, and a little salt, let it boil to throw up the scum, take that off, pour off the water, and take off all the scum hanging about the meat: pour in 2½ quarts of warm (not hot) water, let it boil, and simmer gently till very much reduced, and the meat in rags. A faggot of herbs may be added, and a few peppercorns: also an onion, if desired. When the broth is cold remove the fat. If to serve at once, the fat may be taken off, by laying a piece of blotting paper over the top.—Tapiocais very nice in broths for invalids.—Or: puta knuckle of veal, with very little meat, and 2 shanks of mutton, into an earthen jar or pan, with 3 blades of mace, 2 peppercorns, an onion, a thick slice of bread, 3 quarts of water, and salt: tie a paper over, and bake it, four hours: then strain, and take off the fat.
Calf's-feet Broth.
Boil 3 feet in 4 quarts of water, with a little salt: it should boil up first, then simmer, till the liquor is wasted half: strain, and put it by. This may be warmed (the fat taken off), a tea-cupful at a time, with either white or Port wine, and is very nourishing.—Or: boil the feet with 2 oz. lean veal, the same of beef, half a penny roll, a blade of mace, salt, and nutmeg, in 4 quarts of water: when well boiled, strain it, and take off the fat.
Eel Broth.
This is very strengthening, ½ lb. small eels will make 1 pint of broth. Clean, and put them into a saucepan with 3 quarts of water, parsley, a slice of onion, a few peppercorns, and salt; simmer, till the broth tastes well, then strain it.
Beef Tea.
Notch 1½ lb. of beef (the veiny piece), put it into a saucepan with a quart of water, let it boil, take off the scum, and let it continue to simmer two hours. Beef tea should be free from fat and scum, and not burned.
Beef Jelly.
Let a shin of beef be in water an hour, take it out, and drain it; cut it in small pieces, break the bones, and put all in a stew-pan or jar, with 6 quarts of milk. Put it in the oven, and stew it till reduced to 3 quarts; skim off the fat, take out the bones, strain through a jelly bag, and add 1 oz. hartshorn shavings and a stick of cinnamon. Boil again gently over a slow fire, but be careful not to burn. Take every morning fasting, and at noon, a tea-cupful, warmed with a glass of wine.
Shank Jelly(very strengthening).
Soak 12 shanks of mutton, then brush and scour them very clean. Lay them in a saucepan with 3 blades of mace, an onion, 20 Jamaica and 40 black peppers, a bunch of sweet herbs, a crust of bread, browned by toasting, and 3 quarts of water; set the saucepan over a slow fire or hearth, keep it covered, let it simmer, as gently as possible, five hours. Strain, and keep it in a cold place. You may add 1 lb. of lean beef.
For a Weak Stomach.
Cut 2 lbs. of lean veal and some turnips into thin slices. Put a layer of veal and a layer of turnips into a stone jar, cover close and set it in a kettle of water. Boil two hours, then strain it. You may not have more than a tea-cupful of liquor, which is to be taken, a spoonful at a time, as often as agreeable. This has been known to stay on a weak stomach, when nothing else would.—Or: put a cow heel into a covered earthen jar or pan, with 3 pints of milk, 3 pints of water, 1 oz. hartshorn shavings, and a little fine sugar. Let it stand six hours in a moderate oven, then strain it.—Or: bake a neat's foot, in 2 quarts of water and 2 quarts of new milk, with ½ lb. sun raisins, stoned. When the foot is in pieces, set it by to get cold, and take off the fat. A tea-cupful, dissolved in warm milk or wine.
Bread Jelly, for a Sick Person.
Pare all the crust off a penny roll, cut the crumb in slices, toast these on both sides, of a light brown. Have ready a quart of water, boiled, and cold, put the slices of bread into it, and boil gently until the liquor is a jelly, which you will ascertain, by putting some in a spoon, to cool. Strain through a thin cloth, and put it by for use. Warm a tea-cupful, add sugar, grated lemon peel, and wine or milk as you choose; for children the latter. This jelly is said to be so strengthening that one spoonful contains more nourishment than a tea-cupful of any other jelly.—Or: grate some crumbs very fine; put a large tea-cupful of water into a saucepan, with a glass of white wine, sugar and nutmeg to taste, make this boil, stir in the crumbs, by degrees,boil very fast, stirring all the time, till it is as thick as you like.
Jelly for a Sick Person.
Boil 1 oz. of isinglass, in a quart of water, with 40 Jamaica peppers, and a crust of bread; let the water reduce one half. A large spoonful of this may be taken in wine and water, milk, or tea.—Or: boil ¼ oz. of isinglass shavings in a pint of new milk, till reduced half; sweeten to taste, and take it lukewarm.
Panada.
Boil a chicken, till 3 parts cooked, in a quart of water, let it get cold, take off the skin, cut the white meat into pieces, and pound it in a marble mortar, with a little of the water it was boiled in, salt and nutmeg. Boil it in more of the liquid, till of the proper consistency.
Strengthening Jelly.
Boil ¾ lb. hartshorn shavings, 1½ oz. of isinglass and candied eringo root, in 5 quarts of water, to a strong jelly, strain it, add ¼ lb. brown sugar candy, the juice of a Seville orange, and ½ pint of white wine. A wine-glassful three times a day.—Or: put 2 oz. of the best isinglass, 1 oz. gum arabic, 2 oz. white sugar candy, and a little nutmeg, in a white jar with a pint of Port or sherry, and simmer it twenty-four hours in a vessel of water; then strain it. Take the size of a walnut three times a day.
Gloucester Jelly.
Boil 2 oz. hartshorn shavings, 2 oz. pearl barley, 1 oz. sago, ½ oz. candied eringo root, and 3 pints of water, till reduced to a quart. A tea-cupful, warmed, morning and evening, in wine, milk, broth, or water.
Port Wine Jelly.
Boil 1 pint of Port wine, 1 oz. isinglass, 1 oz. sugar candy, ¼ oz. gum arabic, and ½ a nutmeg, grated, fiveminutes, and strain it through muslin. Some add lemon peel and juice, cloves, and nutmeg. For table, colour it with cochineal.
Arrow-root Jelly.
If genuine, this is very nourishing. Put ½ pint of water into a saucepan, with a wine-glass of sherry, or a table-spoonful of brandy, sugar, and grated nutmeg; let it come quickly to a boil; rub smooth a dessert-spoonful of arrow-root in two table-spoonsful of cold water; stir this by degrees into the wine and water, put it all into the same saucepan, and boil it three minutes.—Or: pourboiling(not merelyhot) water over the arrow-root, and keep stirring; it will soon thicken. Add brandy, lump sugar, and, if approved, lemon juice.
Tapioca Jelly.
Wash well, and soak it five or six hours, changing the water two or three times; simmer it in the last water, with a piece of lemon peel, until clear; add lemon juice, wine, and sugar to taste.
Sago to Boil.
Put a large table-spoonful into ¾ of a pint of water. Stir and boil very gently, till it is as thick as you require. Add wine, sugar, and nutmeg to taste.—Tapiocain the same way. Soak both these two or three hours before they are boiled. They may be boiled in milk, like rice.
Gruel.
Put 2 table-spoonsful of the best grits into ½ pint cold water; let it boil gently, and stir often, till it is as thick as you require. When done, strain, and serve it directly; or if to be put by, stir till quite cold. Boil in it a piece of ginger, and, if for caudle, lemon peel also.Barley Gruel—Wash 5 oz. of pearl barley, boil it in two quarts of water, with a stick of cinnamon, till reduced half; strain, then warm it with 2 wine-glassfuls of wine.
Barley Cream.
Boil 1 lb. of veal, free from skin and fat, with 1 oz. pearl barley, in a quart of water, till reduced to a pint, then rub it through a sieve till it is of the consistency of cream, perfectly smooth; add salt and spice to taste.
Water Gruel.
Put a large spoonful of oatmeal into a pint of water, mix well, and let it boil up three or four times, stirring constantly; then strain, add salt to taste, and a piece of butter. Stir till the butter is melted, and the gruel will be fine and smooth.
Caudle.
Make some smooth gruel, well boiled, strain, and stir it. Some like half brandy and half white wine; others, wine, sugar, lemon peel, and nutmeg.—Or: add to ¼ pint gruel a large table-spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, capillaire, a little nutmeg and lemon peel. Some useale; no wine or brandy.Rice Caudle—Soak 2 table-spoonsful of rice in water, an hour, then simmer it gently in 1¼ pint of milk till it will pulp through a sieve; put the pulp and milk back into the saucepan, with a bruised clove and a bit of sugar. Simmer ten minutes; if too thick, add warm milk.—Or: rub smooth some ground rice with cold water, then mix with boiling water; simmer it a few minutes, add lemon peel, nutmeg pounded, cinnamon, and sugar, a little brandy, and boil it for a minute.
Rice Milk.
Wash, pick, then soak the rice in water, boil it in milk, with lemon peel and nutmeg: stir often, or it may burn.—Ground Rice Milk: rub a table-spoonful quite smooth, with a little cold water; stir in, by degrees, 1½ pint of milk, with cinnamon, lemon peel, and nutmeg; boil till thick enough, and sweeten to taste.
A Mutton Custard for a Cough.
Into a pint of good skim milk, shred 1 oz. of freshmutton suet, and let it boil; then simmer gently an hour, stirring it from time to time. Strain, and take it at bed-time. Old fashioned, but good for tightness of the chest.—Another remedy for the same: heat the yolk of a fresh egg, and mix with a dessert-spoonful of honey, and the same of oatmeal; beat well, put it into a tumbler, and stir in by degrees, boiling water sufficient to fill it.—Or: mix a fresh laid egg, well beaten, with ¼ pint of new milkwarmed, a table-spoonful of capillaire, the same of rose water, and a little grated nutmeg. Do not warm the milk after the egg is added to it.
Artificial Asses Milk.
To ½ oz. candied eringo root, add ½ oz. hartshorn shavings, and ½ oz. pearl barley; boil them in a pint of water over a slow fire till the water is reduced half. Mix a tea-cupful, with the same quantity of warmed milk, and take it half an hour before rising.
Onion Porridge.
Put 12 small, and 6 large onions, cut small, into a saucepan with a large piece of butter, shake over the fire, but do not let them burn: when half cooked, pour in a pint of boiling water, and simmer it till they are cooked. Some thicken with flour.
French Milk Porridge.
Stir some oatmeal and water together, and let it stand to settle; pour off the liquid, add fresh water to the oatmeal, and let it stand: the next day pass it through a sieve, boil the water, and while boiling, stir in some milk, in the proportion of 3 parts to 1 of water.
White Wine Whey.
Let ½ pint new milk come to a boil, pour in as much white wine as will turn it; let it boil up, and set the saucepan aside till the curd forms: then pour the whey off, or strain it, if required. Some add ½ pint of boiling water, and a bit of sugar; lemon juice may be added.
Rennet Whey.
Steep a piece of rennet, about an inch square, in a small tea-cupful of water, boiled and become a little cool. Then warm a quart of new milk, to the same temperature as from the cow, and when in this state, add a table-spoonful of the rennet. Let it stand before the fire until it thickens, then in a vessel of boiling water, on the fire, to separate the curds from the milk.
Vinegar or Lemon Whey.
Pour into boiling milk as much vinegar or lemon juice as will make a small quantity clear, dilute with warm water till it be of an agreeable acid; sweeten it to taste.
Mustard Whey.
Strew into a pint of milk, just coming to a boil, flour of mustard to turn it; let it stand a few minutes, then strain it.
Treacle Posset.
Into a pint of boiling milk pour 2 table-spoonsful of treacle, stir briskly till it curdles, then strain it.
Orgeat.
Beat 2 oz. of sweet, and 2 or 3 bitter almonds, with a tea-spoonful of orange-flower water, to a paste: mix them with a quart of milk and water, and sweeten with sugar or capillaire. Some add a little brandy.
Lemonade.
Pare 6 lemons very thin, and put the rinds into 3 pints of boiling water, and keep covered till cold. Boil 1 lb. of lump sugar in water to make a thin syrup, with the white of an egg to clear it. Squeeze 8 lemons in a separate bason, mix all together, add a quart of boiling milk, and pass it through a jelly bag till clear. Keep it till the next day.—Or: pour boiling water on a little of the peel, and cover close. Boil water and sugar together to a thinsyrup, skim, and let it cool; then mix the juice, the syrup and water, in which the peel has infused, all together, and strain through a jelly bag. Some add capillaire.
Barley Water.
Wash 1 oz. of pearl barley, boil it in very little water, pour the latter off, then pour a quart of fresh water over, and boil it till reduced to half the quantity. Some boil lemon peel in it, others add lemon juice or cream of tartar, and sugar. A small quantity of gum arabic is good boiled in it.—Another, and by some doctors considered the best, is merely to pour boiling water on the barley, let it stand a quarter of an hour, and then pour it off clear.
Capillaire.
Put 14 lbs. of loaf sugar, 3 lbs. coarse sugar, and 6 eggs well beaten, into 3 quarts of water; boil it up twice, skim well, and add ¼ pint of orange-flower water. Strain through a jelly bag, and bottle it. A spoonful or two in a tumbler of either warm or cold water is a pleasant drink.
Linseed Tea.
Boil 1 quart of water, and as it boils put in a table-spoonful of linseed; add two onions, boil a few minutes, then strain it, put in the juice of a lemon, and sugar to your taste. If it gets thick by standing, add a little boiling water.—Or: put the linseed in a piece of muslin, then in a quart jug, pour boiling water over and cover it close, an hour.
Lemon and Orange Water.
Put 3 slices lemon peel into a tea-pot, with a dessert-spoonful of capillaire, and pour ½ pint of boiling water over.—Or: pour boiling water over preserved orange or lemon.—Or: boil lemon or orange juice in some thin syrup of sugar and water.
Apple Water.
Pour boiling water over slices of apple in a covered jug.
Toast and Water.
Toast a piece of bread quite brown, without burning, put it in a covered jug, and pour boiling water on it; before the water is quite cold strain it off.
A Drink for Sick Persons.
Boil 1 oz. of pearl barley in 2 pints of water, with 1 oz. sweet almonds beaten fine, and a bit of lemon peel; when boiled to a smooth liquor, add syrup of lemons and capillaire.—Or:to take in a fever: boil 1½ oz. tamarinds with ¾ oz. raisins and 2 oz. currants stoned, in 3 pints of water, till reduced half; add a little grated lemon peel.
Saline Draughts.
Pour ½ pint spring water on 2 drachms salt of wormwood, and 4 table-spoonsful lemon juice; 2 table-spoonsful lump sugar may be added, if approved.—Or: pour 4 table-spoonsful lemon juice on 80 grains of salt of wormwood, add a small piece of sugar, finely pounded. When the salt is killed, add 4 table-spoonsful of plain mint water, and the same of spring water; strain, and divide it into 4 draughts, 1 to be taken every six hours. If the patient be bilious, add 10 grains of rhubarb, and 4 of jalap, to the morning and evening draught.—Or: pour into one glass a table-spoonful of lemon juice, and dissolve in it a lump of sugar; dissolve ½ a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda in 2 table-spoonsful of water, in another glass: pour the two together, and drink in a state of effervescence. For delicate persons, a wine-glassful of sherry takes away the debilitating effect.
Coffee.
To be good must be made of a good kind, for poor, cheap coffee, though ever so strong, is not good. A breakfast-cup, quite full, before it is ground, makes a quart of good coffee. When the water boils in the coffee-pot, pour in the coffee, set it over the fire; the coffee will rise to the top, in boiling, and will then fall; boil it slowly three minutes longer, pour out a cupful, pour it back, then another, and let it stand five minutes by the side of the fire. A smallpiece of dried sole skin will fine it, or 2 lumps of sugar.—Coffee requires cream or boiled milk.
Chocolate.
Some prefer milk alone, others milk, and half its quantity in water; let it boil (be careful it do not burn), and put in the chocolate, scraped; in quantity according to the strength desired; mill it quickly, and let it boil up, then mill it again.—For sick persons, use thin gruel, not milk.
Tea.
For invalids who do not take tea for breakfast, its flavour may be given, by boiling a dessert-spoonful of green tea in a pint of milk, five minutes, then strain it. This renders it comparatively harmless.
Barley Sugar.
Put the beaten whites of 2 eggs in an earthen pipkin with a pint of water, and 2 lbs. clarified lump sugar, flavoured with essence or oil of lemons; boil quickly, skimming all the time, till stiff enough. Pour into a shallow brown dish, and form it as you please.
Everton Toffy.
To ¼ lb. treacle, put ½ lb. sugar, and 2 oz. butter, boil them together until they become hard when dropped in cold water. Then take the pan off the fire, and pour the toffy immediately into a tin dish.
MEDICAL RECIPES.
Inalmost every family little illnesses are likely to occur, which may require medicine, though not, perhaps, the aid of a Doctor; it is, therefore, convenient to keep a small supply of common medicines in the house, especially in the country. The list I give was written by a medical gentleman; but while I am induced to insert it in this work, from a belief that it may, in some cases, be found of use, I cannot refrain from observing that it is far from my desire to lead any young housekeeper to adopt the fatal error thatDoctorsmay be dispensed with, when anything approaching to serious illness betrays itself. Too many instances have occurred wherein life has been lost, for the want of timely medical skill, which might, perhaps, have arrested the progress of disease at its feeble commencement, and before it had acquired sufficient strength to baffle opposition.
The following receipts have all been tried by the persons who gave them to me; many of them may be old fashioned, but some I can assert to be good. That for thecrouphas been resorted to, several times in our own family, and always with success. The complaint is a violent one, its attacks are sudden and the progress of the disease is so rapid that there ought not to be aninstantof delay in administering the remedies. Thecroupis of common occurrence in America, and the following receipt came from that country.
For the Croup.
The healthiest children are the most liable to this complaint, which is caused by sudden changings in the atmosphere, draughts of cold air, and checking of the perspiration,It betrays itself by a hoarse croaking cough, something like the hooping cough.—Put the child into a warm bath placed opposite the fire; cover it all over with flannel, or a blanket; in the meantime chop an onion or two, squeeze the juice through a piece of muslin, mix it in the proportion of 1 tea-spoonful with 2 table-spoonsful treacle; get the child to swallow as much of this, from time to time, as you can: when it has been in the bath ten or twelve minutes, take it out in a blanket, and as quickly as you can, rub the stomach and chest with a mixture of rum and oil, or goose grease, wrap the child in a flannel and put it to bed, or keep it in the lap by the fire; if the child go to sleep, it will be almost sure to awake free from the disorder. These remedies may not succeed if there be delay in applying them.
For Weakness of Stomach.
1 drachm of prepared Columba root, and ½ drachm of rhubarb root, infused in ½ pint of boiling water, one day: add 1 oz. tincture of Columba, and a little sugar. 2 table-spoonsful, twice a day.—Or: put about 25 camomile flowers into ½ a pint boiling water, with 3 cloves, and 2 hops, cover close and let it stand all night: a tea-cupful first in the morning, and again an hour before dinner. If giddiness ensues, the camomile does not agree with the patient, and must not be continued. Where it does agree, this will be found to restore the appetite.
Camphor Julep.
Rub ¼ oz. of camphor in a mortar, with a few drops of spirits of wine, and a few lumps of sugar; add, by degrees, a quart of water, boiled, and cold. Let it stand twenty-four hours, then strain through muslin, and bottle it.
For Bilious Complaints and Indigestion.
Pour over twenty grains each of rhubarb and ginger, and a handful of camomile flowers, a pint of boiling water. A wine-glassful the first in the morning, and an hour before dinner.
A Mild Aperient.(To take in the spring.)
Put 1 oz. of senna into a jar, and pour 1 quart of boiling water over it; fill up the vessel, with prunes and figs; cover with paper, and set it in the oven, with household bread. Take every morning, one or two prunes, and a wine-glass of the liquor.—Or: dissolve 3 oz. of Spanish liquorice in one pint boiling water, add 1 oz. socotrine aloes in powder, and 1 pint brandy. Take 1 tea-spoonful in a wine-glassful of water, either in the morning, at night, or both.—Or: a large tea-spoonful of magnesia, a lump of sugar, a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, in ½ pint of spring water.
Gout Cordial.
Rhubarb 1 oz., senna, coriander seeds, sweet fennel seeds, cochineal, saffron, and liquorice root, of each, a ¼ oz., and of jar raisins 4 oz. Let the raisins be stoned, and all the ingredients be bruised. Put them into a quart of French brandy. Shake well every day for a fortnight. Take 1 table-spoonful, with peppermint, or plain water.
Hallett's Gout and Bilious Cordial.
Infuse in a gallon of distilled aniseed water, 3 oz. Turkey rhubarb, 4 oz. senna leaves, 4 oz. guaiacum shavings, 3 oz. elecampagne root, 1 oz. fennel seed, 14 oz. saffron, 14 oz. cochineal, 1 lb. sun raisins, 1 oz. aniseed; shake it every day for a fortnight; strain and bottle it.—A table-spoonful (or two) an hour after dinner.
For Nervous Affections.
Take a small wine-glassful of the following mixture: a tea-spoonful of sal volatile, of tincture of hops, and an equal portion of infusion of orange peel and of gentian.
Mustard Whey, for Dropsy and for Rheumatism.
Boil 1½ oz. bruised mustard seed, in a quart of milk and water, till the curd which forms is separated. Strain it and take a tea-cupful three times a day.Another for Rheumatism.—A handful of scraped horse-radish, and atable-spoonful of whole mustard seed, infused in a bottle of Madeira; the longer the better. A wine-glassful in bed at night, and another before the patient rises.
An Embrocation for Rheumatism.
Dissolve 1 oz. of gum camphor in 6 oz. of rectified spirits of wine; add by degrees, shaking the phial frequently, 2 oz. spirits of sal ammoniac and 2 drachms oil of lavender. This has been used with success.—Another: (known to mitigate the tic douloureux), is thecaja peeta oil, but itmustbe genuine. It is also good for strains, bruises, and chilblains.—Or: a mixture of 6 drachms French soap, 6 drachms ether, and 1 oz. spirits of wine.
For a Sore Throat.
At the beginning of a sore throat, get fresh ivy leaves, tack them together, warm them, and put the shady side to the throat.—Or: wet bread-crumbs with brandy, and tie them round the throat. Make a gargle of 2 carrots, sliced and boiled, and use it often.—Or: dissolve 4 oz. camphor in a pint of rectified spirits of wine. Dip a piece of new Welsh flannel into this, and apply it to the throat. Be careful to wet frequently.
A remedy for a Common Cold.
3 grains compound extract of colocynth, and 3 grains of soap, in 2 pills, taken at going to bed. The following night, take 16 or 18 grains of compound powder of contrayerva, and ½ a pint vinegar whey.—Breakfast in bed the next morning.
Syrup for a Cough.
Boil 1 oz. balsam of tolu, very gently, two hours, in a quart of water; add 1 lb. white sugar candy, finely beaten, and boil it half an hour longer. Strain through a flannel bag twice; when cold, bottle it. You may add 2 oz. syrup of red poppies, and the same of raspberry vinegar. A spoonful when the cough is troublesome.—Or: 2 oz. honey, 4 table-spoonsful vinegar, 2 oz. syrup white poppies, and 2 oz. gum arabic: boil gently to the consistency of treacle;a tea-spoonful when the cough is troublesome.—Or: 1 table-spoonful treacle, 1 of honey, 1 of vinegar, 15 drops laudanum, and 15 drops peppermint. Simmer together a quarter of an hour. A dessert-spoonful to be taken at going to bed.—Or: mix together in a phial, 2 drachms of compound tincture of benjamin, 6 drachms ethereal spirits of nitre, 3 drachms of compound tincture of camphor, and 5 drachms of oxymel; a tea-spoonful in a wine-glass of warm water, when the cough is troublesome.—Or: mix 1 oz. gum arabic, 1 oz. sugar candy, and the juice of a lemon; pour on it a pint of boiling water; a little when the cough is troublesome.
Extract of Malt, for a Cough.
Over ½ a bushel of pale ground malt, pour hot (not boiling) water to cover it, let it stand eight and forty hours; drain off the liquor, without squeezing the grains, into a stew-pan large enough to boil quickly, without boiling over. When it begins to thicken, stir, till it is as thick as treacle. A dessert-spoonful three times a day.
For a Cold and Cough.
To 3 quarts of water, put ¼ lb. linseed, two pennyworth stick liquorice, and ¼ lb. sun raisins. Boil it, until the water be reduced half; add a spoonful of rum and of lemon juice. A ¼ pint at bed time, and in smaller quantities, during the night, if the cough be troublesome.
For the Hooping Cough.
Dissolve 1 scruple of salt of tartar in 1¼ pint of cold water: add 10 grains of pounded cochineal, and sweeten with lump sugar.—The dose increased in proportion to the age of the patient; for a child five years old, a table-spoonful is sufficient; for adults 2 table-spoonsful 3 times a day.—Abstain from all acids.
Garlic Syrup, for Hooping, or any other Cough.
Put 3 roots of garlic, sliced thinly and transversely, with 4 oz. honey, and 4 oz. vinegar, into a ½ pint bason,and set that into a large wash-hand bason; let it infuse half an hour, then strain it. Take the first in the morning, and the last at night, a tea-spoonful of the syrup, in an equal quantity of brandy and water; put the water in the glass first.
Almond Emulsion for a Cough.
Beat well in a marble mortar, 6 drachms of sweet almonds blanched, and 2 drachms of white sugar, add 1 pint cold water, by degrees; strain, then add 2 table-spoonsful of sweet spirits of nitre. Cork, and keep it in a cool place, or in cold water. A tea-spoonful three times a day.
For a Hoarseness.
Sweeten a ¼ pint of hyssop water with sugar candy, and set it over the fire; when quite hot, stir in the yolk of an egg well beaten, and drink it off; this may be taken night and morning.—Or: put a new laid egg in as much lemon juice as will cover it: let it stand twenty-four hours, and the shell will be dissolved. Break the egg, then take away the skin. Beat it well together, add 2 oz. of brown sugar candy pounded, ¼ pint of rum, a wine-glassful of salad oil, and beat all well together. A table-spoonful the first in the morning, and the last at night.
Plaster for a Cough.
Beat together 1 oz. each, of bees-wax, white Burgundy pitch, and rosin, ¼ oz. coarse turpentine, ½ oz. oil of mace; spread it on white leather, the shape of a heart; when it flies off, renew it, two or three times.
Bark Gargle.
Boil 1 oz. powdered bark and 1 drachm myrrh, in 1½ pint of water, over a slow fire, till one third is wasted; strain, then add a table-spoonful of honey, and a tea-spoonful of spirits of lavender.
An excellent Gargle for a Sore Throat.
Half fill a teapot withdarkred rose leaves, pour boilingwater over; when cold strain it into a 6 oz. bottle, add a tea-spoonful of tincture of myrrh, and 25 drops of elixir of vitriol: if the throat be ulcerated, a tea-spoonful of tincture of cayenne.
Chilblains.
Make a liniment, of 1 oz. of palma oil, 1 oz. of expressed oil of mace, and 2 drachms of camphor.
For Burns or Scalds.
Keep in a bottle, tightly corked, ½ oz. of trefoil, and the same of sweet oil; apply with a feather, immediately that the accident has occurred.Linseedor olive oil, applied instantly, will draw out the fire;treaclewill have the same effect, and is recommended by some persons, in preference to anything else. Others say thatfine flour, appliedinstantly, is the best thing; as soon as it becomes warm, replace it with fresh.Waddingalso laid on the part instantly is good to draw out the fire.
For Bruises, Cuts, or Wounds.
Keep in the house a bottle containing a mixture of ¾ oz. of scented trefoil, of rum, and of sweet oil.—Or: have a bottle three parts full of brandy, fill it quite full with the white leaves of the flowers of the garden lily, and cork it close. Lay some of the leaves on the wound, and keep it wet with the liquor. The root of the same lily is used to makestrongpoultices.
For a Sprain.
Stir the white of an egg with alum, until it curdles; rub the part affected often.
Vegetable Ointment.
A small handful of smallage, red pimple, feverfew, rue, and pittory of the wall; simmer them in 1 lb. of unsalted butter, over a slow fire, half an hour: stir and press well, then strain it.