OYSTER CATSUP.

One pint of oyster meats, one teacupful of sherry, a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, the same of powdered mace, a gill of cider vinegar.

Procure the oysters very fresh and open sufficient to fill a pint measure; save the liquor and scald the oysters in it with the sherry; strain the oysters and chop them fine with the salt, cayenne and mace, until reduced to a pulp; then add it to the liquor in which they were scalded; boil it again five minutes and skim well; rub the whole through a sieve, and, when cold, bottle and cork closely. The corks should be sealed.

MUSHROOM CATSUP.

Use the larger kind known as umbrellas or "flaps." They must be very fresh and not gathered in very wet weather, or the catsup will be less apt to keep. Wash and cut them in two to four pieces, and place them in a wide, flat jar or crock in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt, and let them stand for twenty-four hours; take them out and press out the juice, when bottle and cork; put the mushrooms back again, and in another twenty-four hours press them again; bottle and cork; repeat this for the third time, and then mix together all the juice extracted; add to it pepper, allspice, one or more cloves according to quant.i.ty, pounded together; boil the whole, and skim as long as any sc.u.m rises; bottle when cool; put in each bottle two cloves and a pepper-corn. Cork and seal, put in a dry place, and it will keep for years.

GOOSEBERRY CATSUP.

Ten pounds of fruit gathered just before ripening, five pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls each of ground black pepper, allspice and cinnamon. Boil the fruit in vinegar until reduced to a pulp, then add sugar and the other seasoning. Seal it hot.

Grape catsup is made in the same manner.

CUc.u.mBER CATSUP.

Take cuc.u.mbers suitable for the table; peel and grate them, salt a little, and put in a bag to drain over night; in the morning season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar, put in small jars and seal tight for fall or winter use.

CURRANT CATSUP.

Four pounds of currants, two pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of cloves, a tablespoonful of cinnamon, pepper and allspice. Boil in a porcelain saucepan until thoroughly cooked. Strain through a sieve all but the skins; boil down until just thick enough to run freely from the mouth of a bottle when cold. Cork and set aside.

APPLE CATSUP.

Peel and quarter a dozen sound, tart apples; stew them until soft in as little water as possible, then pa.s.s them through a sieve. To a quart of the sifted apple, add a teacupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of pepper, one of cloves, one of mustard, two of cinnamon, and two medium-sized onions, chopped _very_ fine. Stir all together, adding a tablespoonful of salt and a pint of vinegar. Place over the fire and boil one hour, and bottle while hot; seal very tight. It should be about as thick as tomato catsup, so that it will just run from the bottle.

CELERY VINEGAR.

A quart of fresh celery, chopped fine, or a quarter of a pound of celery seed; one quart of best vinegar; one tablespoonful of salt, and one of white sugar. Put the celery or seed into a jar, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt; pour it boiling hot over the celery, let it cool, cover it tightly and set away. In two weeks strain and bottle.

SPICED VINEGAR.

Take one quart of cider vinegar, put into it half an ounce of celery seed, one-third of an ounce of dried mint, one-third of an ounce of dried parsley, one garlic, three small onions, three whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole pepper-corns, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, salt to taste and a tablespoonful of sugar; add a tablespoonful of good brandy. Put all into a jar, and cover it well; let it stand for three weeks, then strain and bottle it well. Useful for flavoring salad and other dishes.

PICKLES.

Pickles should never be put into vessels of bra.s.s, copper or tin, as the action of the acid on such metals often results in poisoning the pickles. Porcelain or granite-ware is the best for such purposes.

Vinegar that is used for pickling should be the best cider or white-wine, and should never be boiled more than five or six minutes, as it reduces its strength. In putting away pickles, use stone or gla.s.s jars; the glazing on common earthenware is rendered injurious by the action of the vinegar. When the jar is nearly filled with the pickles, the vinegar should completely cover them, and if there is any appearance of their not doing well, turn off the vinegar, cover with fresh vinegar and spices. Alum in small quant.i.ties is useful in making them firm and crisp. In using ground spices, tie them up in muslin bags.

To green pickles, put green grape-vine leaves or green cabbage leaves between them when heating. Another way is to heat them in strong ginger tea. Pickles should be kept closely covered, put into gla.s.s jars and sealed tightly.

"Turmeric" is India saffron, and is used very much in pickling as a coloring.

A piece of horse-radish put into a jar of pickles will keep the vinegar from losing its strength, and the pickles will keep sound much longer, especially tomato pickles.

CUc.u.mBER PICKLES.

Select the medium, small-sized cuc.u.mbers. For one bushel make a brine that will bear up an egg; heat it boiling hot and pour it over the cuc.u.mbers; let them stand twenty-four hours, then wipe them dry; heat some vinegar boiling hot and pour over them, standing again twenty-four hours. Now change the vinegar, putting on fresh vinegar, adding one quart of brown sugar, a pint of white mustard seed, a small handful of whole cloves, the same of cinnamon sticks, a piece of alum the size of an egg, half a cup of celery seed; heat it all boiling hot and pour over the cuc.u.mbers.

SLICED CUc.u.mBER PICKLE.

Take one gallon of medium-sized cuc.u.mbers, put them into a jar or pail. Put into enough _boiling_ water to cover them a small handful of salt, turn it over them and cover closely; repeat this three mornings, and the fourth morning scald enough cider vinegar to cover them, putting into it a piece of alum as large as a walnut, a teacup of horse-radish root cut up fine; then tie up in a small muslin bag, one teaspoonful of mustard, one of ground cloves, and one of cinnamon.

Slice up the cuc.u.mbers half of an inch thick, place them in gla.s.s jars and pour the scalding vinegar over them. Seal tight and they will keep good a year or more.

_Mrs. Lydia C. Wright, South Vernon, Vermont._

CUc.u.mBER PICKLES. (For Winter Use.)

A good way to put down cuc.u.mbers, a few at a time:--

When gathered from the vines, wash, and put in a firkin or half barrel layers or cuc.u.mbers and rock-salt alternately, enough salt to make sufficient brine to cover them, no water; cover with a cloth; keep them under the brine with a heavy board; take off the cloth, and rinse it every time you put in fresh cuc.u.mbers, as a sc.u.m will rise and settle upon it. Use plenty of salt and it will keep a year. To prepare pickles for use, soak in hot water, and keep in a warm place until they are fresh enough, then pour spiced vinegar over them and let them stand over night, then pour that off and put on fresh.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLES. (Sweet.)

One peck of green tomatoes, sliced the day before you are ready for pickling, sprinkling them through and through with salt, not _too_ heavily; in the morning drain off the liquor that will drain from them. Have a dozen good-sized onions rather coa.r.s.ely sliced; take a suitable kettle and put in a layer of the sliced tomatoes, then of onions, and between each layer sprinkle the following spices: Six _red_ peppers chopped coa.r.s.ely, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of ground allspice, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, a teaspoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of mustard. Turn over three pints of good vinegar, or enough to completely cover them; boil until tender. This is a choice recipe.

If the flavor of onions is objectionable, the pickle is equally as good without them.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLES. (Sour.)

Wash and slice, without peeling, one peck of sound green tomatoes, put them into a jar in layers with a slight sprinkling of salt between.

This may be done over night; in the morning drain off the liquor that has acc.u.mulated. Have two dozen medium-sized onions peeled and sliced, also six red peppers chopped fine. Make some spiced vinegar by boiling for half an hour a quart of cider vinegar with whole spices in it. Now take a porcelain kettle and place in it some of the sliced tomatoes, then some of the sliced onions; shake in some black pepper and some of the chopped red peppers; pour over some of the spiced vinegar; then repeat with the tomatoes, onions, etc., until the kettle is full; cover with cold, pure cider vinegar and cook until tender, but not too soft. Turn into a jar well covered and set in a cool place.

PICKLED MUSHROOMS.

Sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms two blades pounded mace, one ounce ground pepper, salt to taste.

Choose some nice young b.u.t.ton mushrooms for pickling and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off the stalks; if very large, take out the red inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows and keep them there until it is all dried up again; then add as much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for one minute and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place; they will remain good for a length of time, and are generally considered excellent for flavoring stews and other dishes.

PICKLED CABBAGE. (Purple.)