When properly prepared, according to the following directions, is the most delicious addition to made dishes, ragouts, soups, sauces or hashes. Mushroom gravy approaches the nature and flavour of meat gravy more than any vegetable juice, and is the best substitute for it in meagre soups, and extempore gravies, the chemistry of the kitchen has yet produced, to agreeably awaken the palate and encourage appetite.

I believe the following is the best way of extracting and preparing the essence of mushrooms, so as to procure and preserve all their fine flavour for a considerable length of time. Fine full grown flap mushrooms are to be preferred: put a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt, then another layer of mushrooms, and some more salt on them, and so on alternately, salt and mushrooms; let them remain two or three hours, by which time the salt will have penetrated into the mushrooms, and rendered them easy to break; mash them well with your hands, and let them remain in salt for forty-eight hours, stirring them up and mashing them well each day; then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add a quarter of an ounce of whole black pepper; stop the jar very close, and set it in a stewpan of boiling water, keeping it boiling for two hours. Take out the jar, and when the contents are cold, pour the juice clear from the settlings into a clean stewpan; let it just boil up, skim it, and pour it into a clean dry jar or jug; let it stand till next day, then pour it off as gently as possible, (so as not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the jug,) through a tarn.: mis, or thick flannel bag. Bottle it in pints or half pints; (for it is best to keep it in such quantities as are soon used:) in each pint put a dozen berries of black pepper, the same of allspice, and a tablespoonful of brandy *. Take especial care that it is closely corked and sealed down. If kept in a cool, dry place, it will be good for two years; but if it is but badly corked, and kept in a damp place, it will soon spoil. Examine it every three months, and if any pellicle appears about the neck of the bottle, boil it up again with a few pepper-corns.

Observations

You have here the Quintessence of mush-rooms, and a tablespoonful of it will impregnate half a pint of sauce with the full flavour of them, in much greater perfection than can be obtained either from pickled or dried powder of mushrooms.

* We have added no more spice, etc. than is absolutely necessary to feed the catsup, and keep it from fermenting. Brandy is an excellent preservative to all preparations of this sort, pickles, etc. etc. The less the natural flavour of the mushrooms is overpowered the better, and we believe Brandy to deteriorate it so little, it can hardly be perceived by the finest palate.

What is sold for mushroom catsup, is generally an injudicious composition of so many different tastes, that the flavour of the mushroom is overpowered by a farrago of garlic, anchovy, mustard, shallot, beer, wine, spices, etc.

Ready made catsup is little better than a decoction of spice and water, with the grosser parts of the mushrooms all beaten up to a pulp.

Excellent mushroom catsup may be had at Butler's herb and seed shop, opposite Henrietta Street, Covent Garden,

Mushrooms Preserved

To every pint of mushrooms that remain after you have strained the liquor from them, as in the preceding receipt, add an ounce of salt, and a quarter of an ounce of ground black pepper; stir well together, and put them into small jars for enriching hashes, gravies, soups, or any brown made dishes, in which the flavour of the mushroom is agreeable. Close stopped they will keep the year round.