PICKLES, RELISHES, ETC.

EXAMINE the cucumbers carefully, discard all that are soft at the ends, and allow them to lay in water over night. In the morning throw them on a clean board to drain, and dry them with a clean towel. Then put them in a wooden pail or jar, along with the dill, putting first a layer of dill at the bottom then a layer of cucumbers, a few whole peppers, then a layer of dill again, and so on until all are used up, and last lay a clean, white cloth on top, then a plate and a stone to give it weight, so that the pickles will be kept under the brine. To a peck of cucumbers use about two large handfuls of salt. Dissolve the salt in enough cold water to cover them. You may add one or two tablespoonfuls of vinegar to the brine. If the cucumbers are small, and if they are kept in a warm place, they will be ready for the table in five or six days. If any of my readers have put up salt pickles that have turned out to be too salty, just pour off the old brine and wash your pickles and then examine them closely, and if they are spoiled throw them away. Lay those that are sound in a clean jar and pour over them a weak solution of salt water, into which you have put a dash of vinegar. Always examine your pickles weekly. Take off the cloth, wash it, and remove all the scum that adheres to the pail, and lay a clean cloth over the pickles again. Do not use more than two handfuls of salt in the new brine, which must be thoroughly dissolved. You will find among Salads a nice recipe wherein salt pickles are used. (See "Polish Salad," or "Salad Piquant.") It is a good way to make use of pickles in winter that have become too salty for ordinary use.

Take two or three dozen medium-sized cucumbers and lay them in salt water over night. Wipe each one dry, discarding all that are soft and lay them in a wooden vessel (which is better than a stone one) along with grape leaves and green grapes, if you can get them, whole peppers, or one or two green peppers, a few bay leaves, a few pieces of whole ginger, a few cloves and a stick of horseradish sliced up on top of all. Use plenty of dill between each layer. Boil enough water to cover the pickles. Use about one pound of salt to six quarts of water, and one cup of vinegar. If you wish to keep them all winter, have your barrel closed by a cooper.

Take half-grown cucumbers; lay them in water over night, then wipe each one dry and reject all that are soft at the ends. Now lay a layer of cucumbers in a new barrel or wine keg (a small vinegar barrel is best), then a layer of the following spices: Fennel, dill, bay leaves, a few whole peppers; then cover with grape and cherry leaves, and begin again with a layer of cucumbers and fill in alternate layers until all are used up. Then boil enough salt and water to just cover them, test the strength of the water by laying an egg in it, if it rises the water has enough salt in it, if not, add more salt. Pour this over the cucumbers when cold. Get a cooper to tighten up the barrel, and roll it in the sun and allow it to stay there for two weeks, turning over the barrel once each day.

(For immediate use.) Take nice, large cucumbers, wash and wipe them; lay them in a jar or wooden pail, sprinkle coarse salt over each layer, and add dill, whole peppers and grape leaves, if you have them, also a very few bay leaves. Cover with water up to the brim and lay a piece of bread in the jar; it will help to quicken the process of souring. Cover with a plate and put a clean, heavy stone on top of the plate, in order to keep them well covered with the brine.

Set them in a warm place, say back of the kitchen stove, for the first three days. They will be ready to use in a week.

Take new firkins or large stone jars, and scald them well with boiling water before using. Vegetables that are boiled before pickling in a brass kettle always keep their fresh, green color. In salt pickling cover your jars or kegs with a clean, white cloth, then a cover made of wood and last a heavy stone to weigh it down. The cloth must be removed every other day, washed and put back. In doing this, take hold of the cloth at each corner, so that none of the slimy substance can get into your pickle, and wash the top and sides of the jar also. Be particular about this.

String the beans very carefully, and cut into fine short lengths; then sprinkle salt over and through them, mixing thoroughly, say to twenty-five pounds of beans, two pounds of salt. Let them remain in the salt over night. Then pack the shredded beans as tightly as possible into jars or kegs, without any of their juice. In two weeks look them over, remove the cloth and wash it, etc., as already described. When cooking the beans, take out as many as may be required for a meal and soak them in cold water over night. In the morning set on to boil in cold water. Boil for one hour. Pour off the water they were boiled in, add fresh water, and prepare as you would fresh beans.

Select small, young string beans, string them carefully and boil in salt water, in a brass kettle, until tender, and throw them on a large, clean board to drip. Next morning press them into a jar, with alternate layers of salt and beans, and proceed as with string beans.

String, shred, and put in a barrel or keg, with the following mixture: Dissolve three drams of salicylic acid in a little hot water, add it and four ounces of salt to a gallon of water and pour over the beans. Cover securely as in foregoing receipts.

Line the bottom and sides of a clean barrel or keg with cabbage leaves. Cut into fine shreds one or two dozen large heads of white, crisp cabbage. Do this on a large slaw-cutter. Now begin to pack: First put in a layer of cabbage, say about four inches deep, and press down firmly and sprinkle with about four tablespoonfuls of salt. You may put one or two tart apples, cut up fine, between each layer, or some Malaga grapes (which will impart a fine flavor to the kraut). When you have put in these four layers pound with a wooden beetle until the cabbage is quite compact and then add more cabbage, and so on until all has been salted, always pounding down each layer. Last, cover with cabbage leaves, then a clean cloth, a well-fitting board, and a heavy stone, to act as weight on top of all. It is now ready to set away in a cool cellar to ferment In two weeks examine, remove the scum, if any; wash the cloth, board and stone, wash also the sides of the keg or jar, and place all back again. This must be done weekly.

Take a brisket of beef weighing about five or six pounds. Set it on to boil in a gallon of water, a little salt and the usual soup greens. When the meat is tender take it out, salt it well and put on to boil again in a porcelain-lined kettle, having previously removed all the bones. Add about a cupful of the soup stock and as much sauerkraut as you desire. Boil about one hour; tie a tablespoonful of carroway seed in a bag and boil in with the kraut. Thicken with two raw potatoes, grated, and add a tablespoonful of brown sugar just before serving. If not sour enough add a dash of vinegar. This gives you meat, vegetables and soup. Mashed potatoes, kartoffelkloesse or any kind of flour dumpling is a nice accompaniment. Sauerkraut is just as good warmed over as fresh, which may be done two or three times in succession without injury to its flavor.

Place the corn in large Mason jars and pour a gallon of water over it, in which you have dissolved four ounces of salt and three drams of salicylic acid (dissolve the acid in hot water). Another way: Boil the corn, cut it off the cobs, and pack in jars in alternate layers of salt and corn. Use plenty of salt in packing. When you wish to cook it soak in water over night. Pack the corn in this way: First a layer of salt, half an inch deep; then about two inches of corn; then salt again, and so on. The top layer must be salt. Spread two inches of melted butter over the top layer and bind with strong perforated paper (perforate the paper with a pin). Keep in a cool cellar.

Use none but the best vinegar, and whole spices for pickling. If you boil vinegar with pickles in bell metal do not let them stand in it one moment after taken from the fire, and be sure that your kettle is well scoured before using. Keep pickles in glass, stoneware, or wooden pails. Allow a cup of sugar to every gallon of vinegar; this will not sweeten the pickles, but helps to preserve them and mellows the sharpness of the vinegar. Always have your pickles well covered with vinegar or brine.

Choose small cucumbers or gherkins for this purpose. Reject all that are specked or misshapen. Wash them thoroughly; drain off all the water, and allow them to lay in a tub over night, thickly salted. In the morning wipe your pickles carefully. Lay them in a stone jar or a wooden bucket, in this way: Put in a layer of pickles. Cut up a few green or red peppers; put a few pieces in each layer, also a few cloves (remove the soft heads) and a tablespoonful of mustard seed, and one bay leaf, no more. Then proceed in this way until your pickles are used up. Then take half a pound of the very best ground mustard, tie it in a cloth loosely (use double cheese cloth for the purpose), and lay this mustard bag on top of your pickles. Boil enough white wine vinegar in a bell metal kettle to just cover them; add a cup of sugar for every gallon of vinegar, this does not sweeten them, but tends to preserve them and cut the sharpness of the vinegar. If your vinegar is very strong, add a cupful of water to it while boiling; it should not "draw" your mouth, but be rather mild. You must see that the pickles are well covered with the vinegar, and pour the vinegar hot over the pickles and mustard. If the vinegar does not completely cover your pickles, boil more and add. Lay a plate on top of all to keep the pickles under the vinegar, and when cold tie up. Look them over in a few weeks, if you find any soft ones among them, boil the vinegar over again, and pour it over them hot.

Take about two dozen large, yellow pickles, pare them with a silver knife (to prevent them from turning dark), and cut lengthwise. Now take a silver spoon and remove all the seeds and soft inner pulp Cut into strips about as long as your finger; sprinkle salt over them, and so on, until they are all cut up, then put in a wooden pail or large china bowl over night. At the same time take about two quarts of small pickling onions, scald them with boiling water, remove the skins, also with a silver knife, and salt the same as you did the pickles. In the morning take a clean dish towel and dry each piece and lay them in a stone jar in the following manner: First a layer of pickles then a layer of onions, and then some horseradish, sliced, between the layers; a few whole peppers, a very few bay leaves, and sprinkle mustard seed, allspice and whole cloves between each layer. Remove the soft little heads of the cloves to prevent the pickles from turning dark; cover all with the best white wine vinegar; put a double cheese cloth filled with mustard seed on top. In two weeks pour off the vinegar carefully and boil, and let it get perfectly cold before pouring over the pickles again. You may pack them in small glass jars if you prefer.

Take pickles, cauliflower, beans, little onions and a few green and red peppers. Cut all up fine, except the onions; salt well over night, drain off next morning and put in a large jar. Now mix one gallon or more of best pickling vinegar with a pound of ground mustard (wet the mustard with cold water before using). Put in a bag the following spices: Cloves, whole peppers and mustard seed. Boil the vinegar and spices and then throw over pickles boiling. Add a tablespoonful of curry powder, and when cold tie up, having previously put a cloth with mustard seed over all.

Salt the pickles for twenty-four hours and then drain and wipe dry. See that they are all sound, and put in a large jar. Set a gallon of best vinegar on to boil, adding a cup of sugar and a pint of water. Tie a bag of all kinds of pickling spices and let it boil with the vinegar. If you like your pickles very hot lay a few peppers among the pickles. Pour the vinegar over them boiling, and cover with a cloth and plate on top to keep the pickles covered with vinegar. Look them over in two weeks, and if necessary boil the vinegar once more.

Pare large, green cucumbers, cut each one lengthwise, take out the seeds with a silver spoon and then cut each piece again so as to have four pieces out of one cucumber. When all are pared salt well and let them remain in the salt for twenty-four hours or more; then dry each piece, put in layers in a stone jar with whole white and black peppercorns, small pickling onions, which have been previously pared and salted over night, pieces of horse radish, a few bay leaves, a little fennel, carroway seeds, a few cloves of garlic (use this sparingly) and also some Spanish pepper (use very little of the latter). Have a layer of the spices at the bottom of the jar. A handful of mustard seed put on the top layer will be an improvement. Boil enough pickling vinegar to cover well. Add a cup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar, boil and pour over hot. Boil again in three days and pour over the pickles after it gets cold, and in two days pour off the vinegar and boil again and pour over the pickles hot. Boil three times altogether.

Take one-half peck of green tomatoes, two heads of cabbage, nine large onions, about a dozen good-sized cucumbers, half a dozen green peppers and one quarter of a pound of mustard seed. Chop all quite fine. Make a strong brine of salt water, and boil your chopped piccalilli in it for about five minutes. Remove from the fire and press out every drop of the brine; then mix in the mustard seed, and put all in a large stone crock. Boil a gallon of pickling vinegar and pour over hot. It is fit to use as soon as cold, and will keep a year.

Take a firm, white head of cabbage; cut it in halves; take out the heart and cut as fine as possible on slaw-cutter. Cut up one onion at the same time and a sour apple. Now sprinkle with salt and white pepper and a liberal quantity of white sugar. Mix this lightly with two forks. Heat a spoonful of goose-oil or butter, and mix it thoroughly in with the cabbage. Heat some white wine vinegar in a spider; let it come to a boil and pour over the slaw boiling. Keep covered for a short time. Serve cold.

(No. 1.) Take one peck of tomatoes, one ounce of salt, one tablespoonful of mace, a teaspoonful of black pepper and one of Cayenne, two of ground mustard and half a teaspoonful of celery seed. Cut up the tomatoes, put them in a porcelain-lined kettle, and boil until all are mashed up. Strain through a collander, add the spices and boil for half a day, stirring constantly the last hour for fear of burning. About half an hour before done add a pint of best vinegar, and a tablespoonful of brown sugar. Bottle when cold, and seal. You may omit the celery seed and mace if you object to their flavor.

(No. 2.) Select ripe tomatoes, say about one peck, and cut them in pieces. Put on to boil, and boil until soft. Then strain and press through a coarse sieve. Return to the kettle and add a bag of the following spices: Two tablespoonfuls of salt, one of black pepper, one teaspoonful of Cayenne pepper, one teaspoonful of cloves (powdered), one teaspoonful of celery seed, and two tablespoonfuls of ground mustard. Boil for at least four hours, stirring constantly for the last hour and very often while boiling. Add a pint of vinegar and a tablespoonful of sugar just before removing from the fire. Bottle and seal securely.

(No. 3.) Pour boiling water on a peck of ripe tomatoes, remove the skins and all bad spots. Boil slowly in a porcelain-kettle about three hour, stir often from the bottom especially when nearly done. Then add four tablespoonfuls of salt, pepper and three of ground mustard, six medium-sized red peppers, chopped up fine, one-half tablespoonful of cloves, one-half of allspice; stir all the spices in a pint of best cider vinegar. Simmer the whole tomatoes and spiced vinegar mixed thoroughly half an hour. Bottle and seal while hot.

Pour hot salt water over the onions, which should be small and perfectly white. Peel them with a silver spoon (a knife would injure their color, and let them lay in a salt brine for two days. Then drain the onions and boil enough vinegar to cover them. Throw the onions in the boiling vinegar and let them boil only a few minutes. Take from the fire and lay them in glass jars, with alternate layers of whole white peppercorns and a few cloves (removing the soft heads, which would turn the onions black), a stick of horseradish sliced, and mustard seed and dill (used sparingly). When the jars are filled heat the vinegar and add a cup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar. Cover the jars to overflowing with the vinegar, and seal while hot.

Chop fine two large heads of crisp cabbage and peel and chop fine one quart of onions. Pack the cabbage and onions in alternate layers, sprinkling fine salt between each layer. Let them remain in this salt until next day. Then scald three pints of vinegar, adding one pound of sugar, one tablespoonful of best ground mustard (wet the mustard with cold water before adding), one tablespoonful of pepper, one of cinnamon and one of celery seed; a teaspoonful of allspice, one of mace and one of pulverized alum. Pour this over the cabbage and onions. Do this three mornings in succession. The last time heat all together and boil five minutes. When cold pack in small jars.

Clean the cauliflower and boil five minutes in salted water. Remove and lay in cold water for one minute, and then cut up and put in jars. To each gallon of vinegar add one red pepper pod, two tablespoonfuls of white mustard seed, one tablespoonful of mace, one-half a tablespoonful of cloves, one of allspice and one of ginger. Put the spices in a bag. Boil the spices with the best cider vinegar. Do this once a week, four weeks in succession.

Take large green peppers; extract the seeds and core with a penknife, being careful not to break the peppers. It takes some ingenuity to do this. Chop up one head of cabbage after boiling it in salt water. When cold add one handful of mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls of grated horseradish, one nutmeg grated, one clove of garlic grated, a pinch of ground ginger, one dozen whole peppercorns, half a tablespoonful of prepared mustard, one teaspoonful of sugar and half a teaspoonful of best salad oil. Lay the peppers in strong salt brine for three days; then drain off the brine and lay them in fresh water for twenty-four hours. Fill the peppers with the above mixture, sew or tie them up with strong thread, pack them in a large stone jar and pour scalding vinegar over them. Repeat this process three times more, at intervals of three days. Then tie up the jar and set it away in a cool, dry place for three months. They will keep forever.

Rub together one teaspoonful of sugar, saltspoonful of fine salt and one tablespoonful of best salad oil. Do this thoroughly. Mix two tablespoonfuls of ground mustard with vinegar enough to thin it. Then add to the mixture of sugar, and, if too thick, add a little boiling water.

Prick the plums with a large needle then weigh them, and to every seven pounds of fruit use four pounds of white sugar, two ounces of stick cinnamon, one ounce of cloves and a pint of best pickling vinegar. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices, and pour boiling hot over the fruit, which you have packed in a large jar; repeat this three times. While your vinegar boils the third time, pack the plums in glass jars and pour the syrup over the plums. When cold seal.

Take fine, ripe melons, pare, take out the seeds and wash, cut into slices about three inches long and two inches wide, lay them in a stone jar and cover with vinegar for twenty-four hours or longer. Then lay the fruit on a clean board to drip; and throw away one quart of the vinegar to each quart remaining. Allow three pounds and a half of white sugar to a dozen small cantaloupes, three ounces of stick cinnamon, one ounce of cloves (remove the soft heads) and two ounces of allspice (whole spices). Boil the spices, vinegar and sugar, adding a pint of fresh vinegar to the old. When well skimmed put in the melons, boil fifteen minutes, twenty is still better; take out the fruit, put it in jars and boil the syrup awhile longer. Skim it again and pour boiling hot over the fruit. Seal when cold.

Pears should always be peeled for pickling. If large cut them in half and leave the stems on. The best pear for this purpose, also for canning, is a variety called the "Sickle Pear." It is a small, pulpy pear of delicious flavor. Throw each pear into cold water as you peel it. When all are peeled weigh them and allow four pounds and a half of white sugar to ten pounds of fruit. Put into the kettle with alternate layers of sugar and half a cup of water and one quart of strong vinegar. Add stick cinnamon and a few cloves (remove the soft heads). Heat slowly and boil until tender, then remove them with a perforated skimmer, and spread upon dishes to cool. skim the boiling syrup and boil fifteen minutes longer. Put the pears in glass jars or a large earthen jar, the former being preferable, and pour the syrup and spices boiling hot over the fruit. When cold seal.

Select large cling-stone peaches for this purpose. Throw the peaches into cold water as soon as pared, and then weigh. Add four pounds of white sugar to seven pounds of peaches, one pint of best pickling vinegar, half of five cents' worth of stick cinnamon and cloves (remove the soft heads). Heat peaches and sugar slowly. Boil about fifteen minutes, and add the vinegar and spices. Boil about ten minutes longer; take them up with a perforated skimmer and lay them on flat dishes to cool. Then lay them in jars; let the syrup boil until quite thick, pour over your fruit scalding and when cool seal. This quantity fills about four quart jars. In a month look them over, and if they should show signs of fermenting set the jars in a kettle of water, and heat until scalding. But this is not likely to happen if you follow directions closely, and use none but the best pickling vinegar.

Take the largest and freshest red cherries you can get, and pack them in glass fruit jars, stems and all. Put little splints of wood across the tops of the fruit to prevent rising to the top. Now to every quart of cherries allow a cup of best pickling vinegar, and to every three quarts of fruit one pound of sugar and a handful of whole cinnamon bark and half of five cents' worth of cloves; this quantity of spices is for all of the fruit. Boil the vinegar and spices and sugar for five minutes steady; turn out into a covered stoneware vessel, cover, and let it get cold. Then pour over the fruit and repeat this process three days in succession. Remove the heads of the cloves, for they will turn the fruit black. You may strain the vinegar after the first boiling, so as to take out the spices, if you choose. Seal as you would other fruit. Be sure that the syrup is cold before you pour it over the cherries.

Pare the apples, "Pound Sweets" are best; crab apples may be pickled the same way, but do not pare. Leave on the stems and put into a kettle with alternate layers of sugar; take four pounds of white sugar to nine pounds of fruit, and spice with an ounce of cinnamon bark and half an ounce of cloves, removing the heads. Heat slowly to a boil with a pint of water; add the vinegar and spices, and boil until tender. Take out the fruit with a perforated skimmer and spread upon dishes to cool. Boil the syrup thick; pack the apples in jars and pour the syrup over them boiling hot. Examine them in a week's time, and should they show signs of fermenting pour off the syrup and boil up for a few minutes, and pour over the fruit scalding, or set the jars (uncovered) in a kettle of cold water and heat until the contents are boiling, and then seal.

This tomato looks like an egg-shaped plum and makes a very nice sweet pickle. Prick each one with a needle, weigh, and to seven pounds of tomatoes take four pounds of sugar and spice with a very little mace, cinnamon and cloves. Put into the kettle with alternate layers of sugar. Heat slowly to a boil, skim and add vinegar, not more than a pint to seven pounds of tomatoes. Add spices and boil for about ten minutes, not longer. Take them out with a perforated skimmer and spread upon dishes to cool. Boil the syrup thick, and pack as you would other fruit.

Let your pickles lie for two or three days in strong brine; take them out and wash in clear water, then put them into a porcelain kettle; take half water and half vinegar, in which scald the pickles; when they come to a boil, take out and put into glass cans, throwing the liquid away. Then scald in a porcelain kettle, more vinegar, if two strong add a little water. Season to taste; and pour over the pickles and seal while hot. Use none but cider vinegar for pickling and add a cup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar.