Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesLeslie, Eliza
General
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Leslie, Eliza
Cooking, American
Prepare some lemons, by paring off the yellow rind very thin, and
cutting it into slips of uniform size and shape. Lay the lemon-rind in
scalding water, to extract the bitterness. Then take the pared lemons,
cut them into quarters, measure a half pint of water to each lemon, and
boil them to a mash. Strain the boiled lemon through a sieve, and to
each pint of liquid allow a pound of the best double-refined
loaf-sugar, for the second syrup. Melt the sugar in the liquid, and
stir into it gradually some beaten white of egg; allowing one white to
four pounds of sugar. Then set it over the fire; put the lemon-peel
into the syrup, and let it boil in it till quite soft. Put the citrons
cold into a glass jar, and pour the hot syrup over them. Let the lemon
remain with the citrons, as it will improve their flavour.
If you wish the citrons to be candied, boil down the second syrup to
candy height, (that is, till it hangs in strings from the spoon,) and
pour it over the citrons. Keep them well covered. You may, if you
choose, after you take the citrons from the alum-water, give them a
boil in very weak ginger tea, made of the roots of green ginger if you
can procure it; if not, of race ginger. Powdered ginger will not do at
all. This ginger tea will completely eradicate any remaining taste of
the salt or the alum. Afterwards cover the sides and bottom of the pan
with vine leaves, put a layer of leaves between each layer of citron,
and cover the top with leaves. Simmer the citrons in this two hours to
green them.
In the same manner you may preserve water-melon rind, or the rind of
cantelopes. Cut these rinds into stars, diamonds, crescents, circles,
or into any fanciful shape you choose. Be sure to pare off the outside
skin before you put the rinds into the salt and water.
Pumpkin cut into slips, may be preserved according to the above
receipt.
CANTELOPES OR MUSK-MELONS.
Take very small cantelopes before they are ripe. Shave a thin paring
off the whole outside. Cut out a small piece or plug about an inch
square, and through it extract all the seeds, &c. from the middle.
Then, return the plugs to the hole from whence you took them, and
secure them with a needle and thread, or by tying a small string round
the cantelope.
Lay the cantelopes for four or five hours in salt and water. Then put
them into spring water to extract the salt, changing the water till you
find it salt no longer. Scald them in weak alum-water. Make a syrup in
the proportion of a pint of water to a pound of loaf-sugar, and boil
the cantelopes in it till a straw will go through them. Then take them
out, and set them in the sun to harden.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account