Preliminary Hints And Observations

It is an essential point with the housekeeper, to take care never to be without pickles of her own preparing, that she may not be obliged to purchase them at shops, where they are often badly prepared, and made to please the eye by the use of pernicious ingredients. It is too common a practice to make use of brass utensils, in order to give the pickles a fine green ; but the same purpose might be effected by heating the liquor, and keeping it in a proper degree of warmth on the hearth or the chimney corner. By this method you would avoid the pernicious consequence of the use of brass utensils, or of verdigris of any kind, which are in their nature a very powerful poison. Stone jars are undoubtedly the best for keeping all sorts of pickles ; for, though they are expensive on the first purchase, yet they will, in the end, be found much cheaper than earthen vessels, through which, it has been found by experience, salt and vinegar will penetrate, especially when put in hot. When you take any pickle out of your jars, be sure never to do it with your fingers, as that will spoil your pickle ; but always make use of a spoon for that purpose. We shall now proceed to give an account of the different kind of spices made use of in pickling, as well as of vinegars, etc. etc.

Pepper

Of every kind, should be kept ground, in bottles withglass stoppers - the whole pepper in jars, tied over with bladder, Ginger, Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, and Allspice, should be treated, as directed/or Pepper.

Common Vinegar

Put as many pounds of coarse Lisbon sugar as gallons of water; boil it, and skim it as long as any scum will rise: then put it into tubs, and when it is as cold as beer to work, toast a large piece of bread, and rub it over with yeast. Let it work twenty-four hours; then have ready a vessel, iron-hooped, and well painted, fixed in a place where the sun has full power, and fix it so as not to have any occasion to move it. When it is drawn off, fill the vessels, and lay a tile on the bung-hole to keep the dust out. Make it in March, and it will be fit to use in, June or July. Then draw it off into little stone bottles, let it stand till wanted for use, and it will never be foul any more; but should it not be sour enough, let it stand a month longer before it is drawn off.

Elder-Flower Vinegar

Put two gallons of strong vinegar to a peck of the peeps of elder flowers, and so in proportion for any greater quantity. Set it in the sun in a stone jar for a fortnight, and then filter it through a flannel bag. When it is drawn off, put it into small bottles, in which it will preserve its flavour better than in large ones. In mixing the flowers and the vinegar together, be careful not to drop any of the stalks among the peeps.

Gooseberry Vinegar

Crush the ripest gooseberries in a tub, and to every peck of gooseberries put two gallons of water. Mix them well together, and let them work for three weeks. Stir them up three or four times a day, then strain the liquor through a hair sieve, and put to every gallon a pound of brown sugar, a pound of treacle, a spoonful of fresh barm, and let it work three or four days in the same tub well washed. Run it into iron-hooped barrels, let it stand twelve months, and then draw it into bottles for use. This is far superior to white-wine vinegar.