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Essences |
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Free Books / Cooking / The American Housewife / | |
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Essences |
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This section is from the "The American Housewife" book, by Experienced Lady. Also available from Amazon: The American Housewife.
Boil in three pints of water six or eight green stalks of rhubarb, a quarter of a pound of figs or raisins. When the whole has boiled between twenty-five and thirty minutes, strain it, and mix it with a tea-spoonful of rosewater, and lemon or orange syrup to the taste. Let it get cold before drinking it.
To three pints of French brandy, put four ounces of bitter almonds, or peach meats, and a couple of ounces of sweet almonds - they should be bruised before they are mixed with the brandy. Add half an ounce each of powdered cinnamon and mace, a quarter of an ounce of cloves. Let the whole remain a fortnight, shaking it up well each day, then drain off the brandy into another bottle, and put to the almonds a quart of water. Let it stand three days, then turn back the brandy, and put in a pound and a half of white sugar. Let the whole remain a week, stirring it up frequently, then strain the liquor off, free from the dregs, into bottles for use.
Put to a pound of honey three pints of warm water - stir it up well, and let it remain till the honey is held in complete solution - then turn it into a cask, leaving the bung out. Let it ferment in a temperate situation - bottle it as soon as fermented, cork it up very tight.
Turn gradually on to a drachm of the best oil of lemons a couple of ounces of strong rectified spirit. The best method of obtaining the essence of the lemon peel, is to rub all the yellow part of the peel off, with lumps of white sugar, and scrape off the surface of the sugar into a preserving pot, as fast as it becomes saturated with the oil of the lemon. The sugar should be pressed down tight, and covered very close. A little of this sugar gives a fine flavor to puddings, cakes, and pies. This mode of preserving the essence of the lemon is superior to the one in which spirit is used, as the fine aromatic flavor of the peel is procured without any alloy.
Take three ounces of fresh ginger - grate and put it into a quart of French brandy, together with the rind of a fresh lemon - none of the white part of the peel should be put in. Shake the whole up well every day, for eight or ten days - at the end of that time, it will be fit for use. A little of this, mixed with water, or put on a lump of sugar, answers all the purposes of ginger tea, and is much more palatable. It is also nice to flavor many kinds of sweetmeats.
Put into a jar French brandy, and rose or peach leaves, in the proportion of a quart of the former to half a pint of the latter. Let them steep together, till the strength is obtained from the leaves - then turn off the brandy, squeeze the leaves dry, throw them away, and put fresh leaves to the brandy. Continue to go through the above process until the brandy is strongly impregnated with the leaves - then turn the brandy off clear, and bottle it - keep it corked tight. Lemon or orange peel, and peach meats, steeped in a bottle of brandy, give it a fine flavor. It takes the rind of three or four lemons, or a quarter of a pound of peach meats, to flavor a pint of brandy. When all the brandy is used, put in more, with a few fresh rinds. Spice brandy is very nice to season cakes, puddings, and mince pies.
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