The Virginia Housewife

LEMON CORDIAL

Cut six fresh lemons in thin slices, put them into a quart and a half of milk, boil it until the whey is very clear, then pass it through a sieve; put to this whey, one and a half quarts of French brandy, and three pounds of powdered loaf sugar; stir it till the sugar is dissolved–let it stand to refine, and bottle it; pare some of the yellow rind of the lemons very thin, and put a little in each bottle.

GINGER BEER

Pour two gallons of boiling water on two pounds brown sugar, one and a half ounce of cream of tartar, and the same of pounded ginger; stir them well, and put it in a small cask; when milk warm, put in half a pint of good yeast, shake the cask well, and stop it close–in twenty-four hours it will be fit to bottle–cork it very well, and in ten days it will sparkle like Champaigne–one or two lemons cut in slices and put in, will improve it much. For economy, you may use molasses instead of sugar–one quart in place of two pounds. This is a wholesome and delicious beverage in warm weather.

SPRUCE BEER

Boil a handful of hops, and twice as much of the chippings of sassafras root, in ten gallons of water; strain it, and pour in, while hot, one gallon of molasses, two spoonsful of the essence of spruce, two spoonsful of powdered ginger, and one of pounded allspice; put it in a cask–when sufficiently cold, add half a pint of good yeast; stir it well, stop it close, and when fermented and clear, bottle and cork it tight.

MOLASSES BEER

Put five quarts of hops, and five of wheat bran, into fifteen gallons of water; boil it three or four hours, strain it, and pour it into a cask with one head taken out; put in five quarts of molasses, stir it till well mixed, throw a cloth over the barrel; when moderately warm, add a quart of good yeast, which must be stirred in; then stop it close with a cloth and board. When it has fermented and become quite clear, bottle it–the corks should be soaked in boiling water an hour or two, and the bottles perfectly clean, and well drained.

TO KEEP LEMON-JUICE

Get lemons quite free from blemish, squeeze them, and strain the juice; to each pint of it, put a pound of good loaf sugar pounded; stir it frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, cover the pitcher closely, and let it stand till the dregs have subsided, and the syrup is transparent; have bottles perfectly clean and dry, put a wine glass full of French brandy into each bottle, fill it with syrup, cork it, and dip the neck into melted rosin or pitch; keep them in a cool dry cellar–do not put it on the fire–it will destroy the fine flavour of the juice.

Pour water on the peels of the lemons, let them soak till you can scrape all the white pulp off, then boil the peel till soft; preserve them with half their weight of sugar, and keep them for mince pies, cakes, &c. They are a very good substitute for citron.

SUGAR VINEGAR

To one measure of sugar, put seven measures of water moderately warm; dissolve it completely–put it into a cask, stir in yeast in the proportion of a pint to eight gallons: stop it close, and keep it in a warm place till sufficiently sour.

HONEY VINEGAR

To one quart of clear honey, put eight quarts of warm water, mix it well together: when it has passed through the acetous fermentation, a white vinegar will be formed, in many respects better than the ordinary vinegar.

SYRUP OF VINEGAR

Boil two pounds of sugar with four quarts of vinegar, down to a syrup, and bottle it. This makes an excellent beverage when mixed with water, either with or without the addition of brandy. It is nearly equal a flavour to the syrup of lime juice, when made with superior vinegar.

AROMATIC VINEGAR

Put a portion of acetate of potash, (sal diureticus,) into a smelling bottle; mix gradually with it half its weight of sulphuric acid, and add a few drops of oil of lavender.

VINEGAR OF THE FOUR THIEVES

Take lavender, rosemary, sage, wormwood, rue, and mint, of each a large handful; put them in a pot of earthen ware, pour on them four quarts of very strong vinegar, cover the pot closely, and put a board on the top; keep it in the hottest sun two weeks, then strain and bottle it, putting in each bottle a clove of garlic. When it has settled in the bottle and become clear, pour it off gently; do this until you get it all free from sediment. The proper time to make it is when the herbs are in full vigour, in June. This vinegar is very refreshing in crowded rooms, in the apartments of the sick; and is peculiarly grateful, when sprinkled about the house in damp weather.

LAVENDER WATER

Put a pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, to one ounce of essential oil of lavender, and two drachms of ambergris; shake them well together, and keep it closely stopped.

HUNGARIAN WATER

One pint spirits of wine, one ounce oil of rosemary, and two drachms essence of ambergris.

TO PREPARE COSMETIC SOAP FOR WASHING THE HANDS

Take a pound of castile, or any other nice old soap; scrape it in small pieces, and put it on the fire with a little water–stir it till it becomes a smooth paste, pour it into a bowl, and when cold, add some lavender water, or essence of any kind–beat it with a silver spoon until well mixed, thicken it with corn meal, and keep it in small pots closely covered–for the admission of air will soon make the soap hard.

COLOGNE WATER

Three quarts spirits of wine, six drachms oil of lavender, one drachm oil of rosemary, three drachms essence of lemon, ten drops oil of cinnamon–mix them together very well.

SOFT POMATUM

Get nice sweet lard that has no salt in it–put in any agreeable perfume, beat it to a cream, and put it in small pots.

TO MAKE SOAP

Put on the fire any quantity of lye you choose that is strong enough to bear an egg–to each gallon, add three quarters of a pound of clean grease: boil it very fast, and stir it frequently–a few hours will suffice to make it good soap. When you find by cooling a little on a plate that it is a thick jelly, and no grease appears, put in salt in the proportion of one pint to three gallons–let it boil a few minutes, and pour it in tubs to cool–(should the soap be thin, add a little water to that in the plate, stir it well, and by that means ascertain how much water is necessary for the whole quantity; very strong lye will require water to thicken it, after the incorporation is complete; this must be done before the salt is added.) Next day, cut out the soap, melt it, and cool it again; this takes out all the lye, and keeps the soap from shrinking when dried. A strict conformity to these rules, will banish the lunar bugbear, which has so long annoyed soap makers. Should cracknels be used, there must be one pound to each gallon. Kitchen grease should be clarified in a quantity of water, or the salt will prevent its incorporating with the lye. Soft soap is made in the same manner, only omitting the salt. It may also be made by putting the lye and grease together in exact proportions, and placing it under the influence of a hot sun for eight or ten days, stirring it well four or five times a day.

TO MAKE STARCH

Wash a peck of good wheat, and pick it very clean; put it in a tub, and cover it with water; it must be kept in the sun, and the water changed every day, or it will smell very offensively. When the wheat becomes quite soft, it must be well rubbed in the hands, and the husks thrown into another tub; let this white substance settle, then pour off the water, put on fresh, stir it up well, and let it subside; do this every day till the water comes off clear–then pour it off; collect the starch in a bag, tie it up tight, and set it in the sun a few days; then open it, and dry the starch on dishes.

TO DRY HERBS

Gather them on a dry day, just before they begin to blossom; brush off the dust, cut them in small branches, and dry them quickly in a moderate oven; pick off the leaves when dry, pound and sift them–bottle them immediately, and cork them closely. They must be kept in a dry place.

TO CLEAN SILVER UTENSILS

Dissolve two tea-spoonsful of alum in a quart of moderately strong lye–stir in a gill of soft soap, and skim off the dross. Wash the silver clean in hot water, let it remain covered with this mixture for ten or fifteen minutes, turning it over frequently; then wash it in hot soap suds, and rub it well with a dry cloth.

TO MAKE BLACKING

A quarter of a pound of ivory black, two ounces of sugar candy, a quarter of an ounce of gum tragacanth; pound them all very fine, boil a bottle of porter, and stir the ingredients in while boiling hot.

TO CLEAN KNIVES AND FORKS

Wash them in warm water, and wipe them till quite dry; then touch them lightly over, without smearing the handles, with rotten stone made wet; let it dry on them, and then rub with a clean cloth until they are bright. With this mode of cleaning, one set of knives and forks will serve a family twenty years; they will require the frequent use of a steel to keep them with a keen edge–but must never be put into very hot water, lest the handles be injured.

THE END

1

Shote being a Provincial term, and not a legitimate English Word, Mrs. R. has taken the liberty of spelling it in a way that conveys the sound of the pronunciation more clearly than shoat, the usual manner of spelling it.