Mushroom Catsup

Two quarts of mushrooms, two tablespoonfuls of salt. Lay in an earthen dish, in alternate layers, the mushrooms and salt; let them lie six hours, then break into bits. Set in a cool place three days, stirring thoroughly every morning. Measure the juice when you have strained it, and to every quart allow half an ounce of allspice, the same quantity of ginger, half a teaspoonful of pounded mace, and teaspoonful of cayenne. Put into a stone jar, cover closely, set in a sauce-pan of boiling water over the fire, and boil five hours, hard. Take it off, empty into a porcelain kettle, and boil slowly half an hour longer. Let it stand all night in a cool place, until settled and clear. Pour off carefully from the sediment, and bottle, filling the bottles up to the mouth. Dip the corks in melted resin. The bottles should be very small, as it soon spoils when exposed to the air.

Walnut Catsup

Choose young walnuts, tender enough to be pierced with a pin or needle. Prick them in several places, and lay in a jar with a handful of salt to every twenty-five, and water enough to cover them. Break them with a wooden pestle, and let them lie in the pickle a fortnight, stirring twice a day. Drain off the liquor into a sauce-pan, and cover the shells with boiling vinegar to extract what juice remains in them. Crush to a pulp, and strain through a colander into the sauce-pan. Allow to every quart an ounce of black pepper, and one of ginger, half an ounce of cloves, and the same of nutmeg, beaten fine. Put in a pinch of cayenne, a shallot, minced fine, for every two quarts, and a thimbleful of celery seed, tied in a bag for the same quantity. Boil all together for an hour if there be a gallon of mixture. Bottle when cold, putting an equal quantity of the spice into each bottle.

Cucumber Catsup

Three dozen cucumbers and eighteen onions peeled and chopped very fine; sprinkle over them three-fourths pint table salt, put the whole in a sieve, and let it drain well all night; add a teacupful of mustard seed, half a teacupful of ground black pepper, mix well, and cover with good cider vinegar. Seal tight.

Currant Catsup

Four pounds of nice fully ripe currants, one and a half pounds of sugar, tablespoonful ground cinnamon, a teaspoonful each of salt, ground cloves and pepper, pint of vinegar; Stew currants and sugar until quite thick, add the other ingredients and bottle for use.

Gooseberry Catsup

Nine pounds of gooseberries, five pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, three tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, one and a half each allspice and cloves. The gooseberries should be nearly or quite ripe. Take off the blossoms, wash and put them in a porcelain kettle, mash thoroughly, scald and put through the colander, add sugar and spices, boil fifteen minutes, and add the vinegar cold; bottle immediately before it cools. Ripe grapes prepared by same rule, make an excellent catsup.

Oyster Catsup

One quart of oysters, one tablespoonful salt, one teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one teaspoonful of mace, two teacups of cider vinegar. Chop the oysters and boil in their own liquor, with the vinegar, skimming the skum as it rises. Boil three minutes, and strain through a hair sieve; return the liquor to the fire, add the pepper, salt and mace. Boil fifteen minutes more, and when cold, bottle for use and seal tightly.