The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

OINTMENT OF MARSHMALLOWS. Take half a pound of marshmallow roots, three ounces of linseed, and three ounces of fennugreek seed. Bruise and boil them gently half an hour in a quart of water, and then add two quarts of sweet oil. Boil them together till the water is all evaporated: then strain off the oil, and add to it a pound of bees' wax, half a pound of yellow rosin, and two ounces of common turpentine. Melt them together over a slow fire, and keep stirring till the ointment is cold.

OINTMENT OF SULPHUR. This is the safest and best application for the itch, and will have no disagreeable smell, if made in the following manner. Take four ounces of fresh lard, an ounce and a half of flour of sulphur, two drams of crude sal-ammoniac, and ten or a dozen drops of lemon essence. When made into an ointment, rub it on the parts affected.

OLIVES. This foreign article, sent over in a state of preservation, requires only to be kept from the air. Olives are of three kinds, Italian, Spanish, and French, of different sizes and flavour. Each should be firm, though some are most fleshy.

OMLET. Make a batter of eggs and milk, and a very little flour. Add chopped parsley, green onions, or chives, or a very small quantity of shalot, a little pepper and salt, and a scrape or two of nutmeg. Boil some butter in a small frying-pan, and pour the above batter into it. When one side is of a fine yellow brown, turn it and do the other: double it when served. Some lean ham scraped, or grated tongue, put in at first, is a very pleasant addition. Four eggs will make a pretty omlet, but some will use eight or ten, and only a small proportion of flour, but a good deal of parsley. If the taste be approved, a little tarragon will give a fine flavour. Ramakins and omlet, though usually served in the course, would be much better if they were sent up after, that they might be eaten as hot as possible.

ONION GRAVY. Peel and slice some onions into a small stewpan, with an ounce of butter, adding cucumber or celery if approved. Set it on a slow fire, and turn the onion about till it is lightly browned; then stir in half an ounce of flour, a little broth, a little pepper and salt, and boil it up for a few minutes. Add a table-spoonful of port wine, the same of mushroom ketchup, and rub it through a fine sieve. It may be sharpened with a little lemon juice or vinegar. The flavour of this sauce may be varied by adding tarragon, or burnt vinegar.

ONION SAUCE. Peel the onions and boil them tender. Squeeze the water from them, chop and add them to butter that has been melted rich and smooth, with a little good milk instead of water. Boil it up once, and serve it for boiled rabbits, partridges, scrag or knuckle of veal or roast mutton. A turnip boiled with the onions makes them milder.

ONION SOUP. Put some carrots, turnips, and a shank bone, into the liquor in which a leg or neck of mutton has been boiled, and simmer them together two hours. Strain it on six onions, sliced and fried of a light brown; simmer the soup three hours, and skim it carefully. Put a small roll into it, or fried bread, and serve it up hot.

ONIONS. In order to obtain a good crop of onions, it is proper to sow at different seasons. On light soils sow in August, January, or early in February: on heavy wet soils in March, or early in April. Onions however should not be sown so soon as January, unless the ground be in a dry state, which is not often the case at that time of the year: otherwise, advantage should be taken of it. As this valuable root is known frequently to fail by the common method of culture, the best way is to sow the seed successively, that advantage may be taken of the seasons as they happen.

ORANGE BISCUITS. Boil whole Seville oranges in two or three waters, till most of the bitterness is gone. Cut them, and take out the pulp and juice; then beat the outside very fine in a mortar, and put to it an equal weight of double-refined sugar beaten and sifted. When extremely well mixed to a paste, spread it thin on china dishes, and set them in the sun, or before the fire. When half dry, cut it into what form you please, and turn the other side up to dry. Keep the biscuits in a box, with layers of paper. They are intended for desserts, and are also useful as a stomachic, to carry in the pocket on journeys, and for gouty stomachs.

ORANGE BRANDY. Steep the peels of twenty Seville oranges in three quarts of brandy, and let it stand a fortnight in a stone bottle. Boil two quarts of water with a pound and a half of loaf sugar nearly an hour, clarify,it with the white of an egg, strain it, and boil it till reduced nearly one half. When cold, strain the brandy into the syrup.

ORANGE BUTTER. Boil six hard eggs, beat them in a mortar with two ounces of fine sugar, three ounces of butter, and two ounces of blanched almonds beaten to a paste. Moisten with orange-flower water; and when all is mixed, rub it through a cullender on a dish, and serve with sweet biscuits between.

ORANGE CHEESECAKES. Blanch half a pound of almonds, beat them very fine, with orange-flower water, half a pound of fine sugar beaten and sifted, a pound of butter that has been melted carefully without oiling, and which must be nearly cold before it is used. Then beat the yolks of ten and the whites of four eggs. Pound in a mortar two candied oranges, and a fresh one with the bitterness boiled out, till they are as tender as marmalade, without any lumps. Beat the whole together, and put it into pattipans.

ORANGE CHIPS. Cut oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve, and soak the peels in water. Next day boil them in the same till tender; then drain and slice the peels, add them to the juice, weigh as much sugar, and put all together into a broad earthen dish. Place the dish at a moderate distance from the fire, often stirring till the chips candy, and then set them in a cool room to dry, which commonly requires about three weeks.

ORANGE CREAM. Boil the rind of a Seville orange very tender, and beat it fine in a mortar. Add to it a spoonful of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, four ounces of loaf sugar, and the yolks of four eggs. Beat them all together for ten minutes; then by gentle degrees, pour in a pint of boiling cream, and beat it up till cold. Set some custard cups into a deep dish of boiling water, pour the cream into the cups, and let it stand again till cold. Put at the top some small strips of orange paring cut thin, or some preserved chips.

ORANGE-FLOWER CAKES. Soak four ounces of the leaves of the flowers in cold water for an hour; drain, and put them between napkins, and roll with a rolling-pin till they are bruised. Have ready boiled a pound of sugar to add to it in a thick syrup, give them a simmer until the syrup adheres to the sides of the pan, drop it in little cakes on a plate, and dry them in a cool room.

ORANGE FOOL. Mix the juice of three Seville oranges, three eggs well beaten, a pint of cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and sweeten it to taste. Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it till it becomes as thick as good melted butter, but it must not be boiled. Then pour it into a dish for eating cold.

ORANGE JAM. Lay half a dozen oranges in water four or five days, changing the water once or twice every day. Take out the oranges, and wipe them dry. Tie them up in separate cloths, and boil them four hours in a large kettle, changing the water once or twice. Peel off the rinds and pound them well in a marble mortar, with two pounds of fine sugar to one pound of orange. Then beat all together, and cover the jam down in a pot.

ORANGE JELLY. Grate the rind of two Seville and two China oranges, and two lemons. Squeeze the juice of three of each, and strain it; add a quarter of a pound of lump sugar dissolved in a quarter of a pint of water, and boil it till it nearly candies. Prepare a quart of jelly, made of two ounces of isinglass; add to it the syrup, and boil it once up. Strain off the jelly, and let it stand to settle before it is put into the mould.

ORANGE JUICE. When the fresh juice cannot be procured, a very useful article for fevers may be made in the following manner. Squeeze from the finest fruit, a pint of juice strained through fine muslin. Simmer it gently with three quarters of a pound of double-refined sugar twenty minutes, and when cold put it into small bottles.

ORANGE MARMALADE. Rasp the oranges, cut out the pulp, then boil the rinds very tender, and beat them fine in a marble mortar. Boil three pounds of loaf sugar in a pint of water, skim it, and add a pound of the rind; boil it fast till the syrup is very thick, but stir it carefully. Then add a pint of the pulp and juice, the seeds having been removed, and a pint of apple liquor; boil it all gently about half an hour, until it is well jellied, and put it into small pots. Lemon marmalade may be made in the same way, and both of them are very good and elegant sweetmeats.

ORANGE PEEL. Scrape out all the pulp, soak the peels in water, and stir them every day. In a week's time put them in fresh water, and repeat it till all the bitterness is extracted. Boil the peels in fresh water over a slow fire till they are quite tender, and reduce the liquor to a quantity sufficient to boil it to a thick syrup. Put the peels into the syrup, simmer them gently, take them out of the syrup, and let them cool. Lay them to dry in the sun, and the peel will be nicely candied.

ORANGE PUDDING. Grate the rind of a Seville orange, put to it six ounces of fresh butter, and six or eight ounces of lump sugar pounded. Beat them all in a marble mortar, and add at the same time the whole of eight eggs well beaten and strained. Scrape a raw apple, and mix it with the rest. Put a paste round the bottom and sides of the dish, and over the orange mixture lay cross bars of paste. Half an hour will bake it. – Another. Mix two full spoonfuls of orange paste with six eggs, four ounces of fine sugar, and four ounces of warm butter. Put the whole into a shallow dish, with a paste lining, and bake it twenty minutes. – Another. Rather more than two table-spoonfuls of the orange paste, mixed with six eggs, four ounces of sugar, and four ounces of butter melted, will make a good pudding, with a paste at the bottom of the dish. Twenty minutes will bake it. – Or, boil the rind of a Seville orange very soft, and beat it up with the juice. Then add half a pound of butter, a quarter of a pound of sugar, two grated biscuits, and the yolks of six eggs. Mix all together, lay a puff paste round the edge of the dish, and bake it half an hour.

ORANGE TART. Squeeze, pulp, and boil two Seville oranges quite tender. Weigh them, add double the quantity of sugar, and beat them together to a paste. Add the juice and pulp of the fruit, and a little bit of fresh butter the size of a walnut, and beat all together. Choose a very shallow dish, line it with a light puff-crust, lay the orange paste in it, and ice it over. Or line a tart pan with a thin puff-paste, and put into it orange marmalade made with apple jelly. Lay bars of paste, or a croquant cover over, and bake it in a moderate oven. – Another. Squeeze some Seville oranges into a dish, grate off the outside rind, throw the peel into water, and change it often for two days. Boil a saucepan of water, put in the oranges, and change the water three or four times to take out the bitterness: when they are quite tender, dry and beat them fine in a mortar. Take their weight in double refined sugar, boil it to a syrup, and skim it clean: then put in the pulp, and boil it till it is quite clear. Put it cold into the tarts, and the juice which was squeezed out, and bake them in a quick oven. Lemon tarts are made in the same way.

ORANGE WINE. To six gallons of water put fifteen pounds of soft sugar: before it boils, add the whites of six eggs well beaten, and take off the scum as it rises. When cold, add the juice of fifty oranges, and two thirds of the peels cut very thin; and immerse a toast covered with yeast. In a month after it has been in the cask, add a pint of brandy, and two quarts of Rhenish wine. It will be fit to bottle in three or four months, but it should remain in bottles for twelve months before it is drunk.

ORANGES. If intended to be kept for future use, the best way is to dry and bake some clean sand; and when it is cold, put it into a vessel. Place on it a layer of oranges or lemons with the stalk end downwards, so that they do not touch each other, and cover them with the sand two inches deep. This will keep them in a good state of preservation for several months. Another way is to freeze the fruit, and keep them in an ice-house. When used they are to be thawed in cold water, and will be good at any time of the year. If oranges or lemons are designed to be used for juice, they should first be pared to preserve the peel dry. Some should be halved, and when squeezed, the pulp cut out, and the outsides dried for grating. If for boiling in any liquid, the first way is the best.

ORANGES CARVED. With a penknife cut on the rinds any shape you please, then cut off a piece near and round the stalk, and take all the pulp out carefully with an apple scoop. Put the rinds into salt and water two days, and change the water daily. Boil them an hour or more in fresh salt and water, and drain them quite dry. Let them stand a night in plain water, and then another night in a thin syrup, in which boil them the next day a few minutes. This must be repeated four days successively. Then let them stand six or seven weeks, observing often whether they keep well; otherwise the syrup must be boiled again. Then make a rich syrup for the oranges.

ORANGES IN JELLY. Cut a hole in the stalk part, the size of a shilling, and with a blunt knife scrape out the pulp quite clear without cutting the rind. Tie each part separately in muslin, and lay them in spring water two days, changing the water twice a day. In the last water boil them over a slow fire till they are quite tender. Observe that there is enough at first to allow for wasting, as they must be kept covered till the last. To every pound of fruit, allow two pounds of double-refined sugar, and one pint of water. Boil the two latter, with the juice of the orange, till reduced to a syrup. Clarify it, skim it well, and let it stand to be cold. Then boil the fruit in the syrup half an hour; and if not clear, repeat it daily till they are done. – Lemons are preserved in a similar way. Pare and core some green pippins, and boil them in water till it is strongly flavoured with them. The fruit should not be broken, only gently pressed with the back of a spoon, and the water strained through a jelly bag till it is quite clear. To every pint of liquor put a pound of double-refined sugar, the peel and juice of a lemon, and boil the whole to a strong syrup. Drain off the syrup from the fruit, and turning each lemon with the hole upwards in the jar, pour the apple jelly over it. The bits cut out must undergo the same process with the fruit, and the whole covered down with brandy paper.

ORANGES PRESERVED. To fill preserved oranges for a corner dish, take a pound of Naples biscuits, some blanched almonds, the yolks of four eggs beaten, four ounces of butter warmed, and sugar to taste. Grate the biscuits, mix them with the above, and some orange-flower water. Fill the preserved oranges, and bake them in a very slow oven. If to be frosted, sift some fine sugar over them, as soon as they are filled; otherwise they should be wiped. Or they may be filled with custard, and then the fruit need not be baked, but the custard should be put in cold.

ORANGEADE. Squeeze out the juice of an orange, pour boiling water on a little of the peel, and cover it close. Boil water and sugar to a thin syrup, and skim it. When all are cold, mix the juice, the infusion, and the syrup, with as much more water as will make a rich sherbet. Strain the whole through a jelly bag; or squeeze the juice and strain it, and water and capillaire.

ORCHARD. Fruit trees, whether in orchards, or espaliers, or against walls, require attention, in planting, pruning, or other management, almost every month in the year, to render them productive, and to preserve the fruit in a good state. – January. Cut out dead wood and irregular branches, clean the stumps and boughs from the moss with a hollow iron. Repair espaliers by fastening the stakes and poles with nails and wire, and tying the shoots down with twigs of osier. Put down some stakes by all the new-planted trees. Cut grafts to be ready, and lay them in the earth under a warm wall. – February. Most kinds of trees may be pruned this month, though it is generally better to do it in autumn; but whatever was omitted at that season, should be done now. The hardiest kinds are to be pruned first; and such as are more tender, at the latter end of the month, when there will be less danger of their suffering in the wounded part from the frost. Transplant fruit trees to places where they are wanted. Open a large hole, set the earth carefully about the roots, and nail them at once to the wall, or fasten them to strong stakes. Sow the kernels of apples and pears, and the stones of plums for stocks. Endeavour to keep off the birds that eat the buds of fruit trees at this season of the year. – March. The grafts which were cut off early and laid in the ground, are now to be brought into use; the earliest kinds first, and the apples last of all. When this is done, take off the heads of the stocks that were inoculated the preceding year. A hand's breadth of the head should be left, for tying the bud securely to it, and that the sap may rise more freely for its nourishment. The fruit trees that were planted in October should also be headed, and cut down to about four eyes, that the sap may flow more freely. – April. Examine the fruit trees against the walls and espaliers, take off all the shoots that project in front, and train such as rise kindly. Thin apricots upon the trees, for there are usually more than can ripen; and the sooner this is done, the better will the rest succeed. Water new-planted trees, plant the vine cuttings, and inspect the grown ones. Nip off improper shoots; and when two rise from the same eye, take off the weakest of them. Weed strawberry beds, cut off the strings, stir the earth between them, and water them once in two or three days. Dig up the borders near the fruit trees, and never plant any large kind of flowers or vegetables upon them. Any thing planted or sown near the trees, has a tendency to impoverish the fruit. – May. If any fresh shoots have sprouted upon the fruit trees, in espaliers, or against walls, take them off. Train the proper ones to the walls or poles, at due distances, and in a regular manner. Look over vines, and stop every shoot that has fruit upon it, to three eyes beyond the fruit. Then train the branches regularly to the wall, and let such as are designed for the next year's fruiting grow some time longer, as their leaves will afford a suitable shade to the fruit. Water the trees newly planted, keep the borders about the old ones clear, and pick off the snails and other vermin. – June. Renew the operation of removing from wall trees and espaliers, all the shoots that project in front. Train proper branches to their situations, where they are wanted. Once more thin the wall fruit: leave the nectarines four inches apart, and the peaches five, but none nearer: the fruit will be finer, and the next year the tree will be stronger, if this precaution be adopted. Inoculate the apricots, and choose for this purpose a cloudy evening. Water trees lately planted, and pick up snails and vermin. – July. Inoculate peaches and nectarines, and take off all projecting shoots in espaliers and wall fruit-trees. Hang phials of honey and water upon fruit-trees, to protect them from the depredations of insects, and look carefully for snails, which also will destroy the fruit. Keep the borders clear from weeds, and stir the earth about the roots of the trees; this will hasten the ripening of the fruit. Examine the fruit trees that were grafted and budded the last season, to see that there are no shoots from the stocks. Whenever they rise, take them off, or they will deprive the intended growth of its nourishment. Attend to the trees lately planted, and water them often; and whatever good shoots they make, fasten them to the wall or espalier. Repeat the care of the vines, take off improper or irregular shoots, and nail up the loose branches. Let no weeds rise in the ground about them, for they will exhaust the nourishment, and impoverish the fruit. – August. Watch the fruit on the wall trees, and keep off the devourers, of which there will be numberless kinds swarming about them during this month. Send away the birds, pick up snails, and hang bottles of sweet water for flies and wasps. Fasten loose branches, and gather the fruit carefully as it ripens. Examine the vines all round, and remove those trailing branches which are produced so luxuriantly at this season of the year. Suffer not the fruit to be shaded by loose and unprofitable branches, and keep the ground clear of weeds, which otherwise will impoverish the fruit. – September. The fruit must now be gathered carefully every day, and the best time for this purpose is an hour after sun-rise: such as is gathered in the middle of the day is always flabby and inferior. The fruit should afterwards be laid in a cool place till wanted. Grapes as they begin to ripen will be in continual danger from the birds, if not properly watched and guarded. Transplant gooseberries and currants, and plant strawberries and raspberries: they will then be rooted before winter, and flourish the succeeding season. – October. It is a useful practice to prime the peach and nectarine trees, and also the vines, as it invigorates the buds in the spring of the year. Cut grapes for preserving, with a joint of the vine to each bunch. For winter keeping, gather fruits as they ripen. Transplant all garden trees for flowering, prune currant bushes, and preserve the stones of the fruit for sowing. – November. Stake up all trees planted for standards, or the winds will rock them at the bottom, and the frost will be let in and destroy them. Throw a good quantity of peas straw about them, and lay on it some brick bats or pebbles to keep it fast: this will mellow the ground, and keep the frost from the roots. Continue to prune wall fruit-trees, and prune also at this time the apple and pear kinds. Pull off the late fruit of figs, or it will decay the branches. – December. Prepare for planting trees where they will be wanted in the spring, by digging the ground deep and turning it well, in the place intended for planting. Scatter over the borders some fresh mould and rotted dung, and in a mild day dig it in with a three-pronged fork. Look over the orchard trees, and cut away superfluous wood and dead branches. Let the boughs and shoots stand clear of each other, that the air may pass between, and the fruit will be better flavoured. This management is required for old trees: those that are newly planted are to be preserved by covering the ground about their roots.

ORGEAT. Boil a quart of new milk with a stick of cinnamon, sweeten it to taste, and let it cool. Then pour it gradually over three ounces of almonds, and twenty bitter almonds that have been blanched and beaten to a paste, with a little water to prevent oiling. Boil all together, and stir it till cold, then add half a glass of brandy. – Another way. Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of almonds, and thirty bitter ones, with a spoonful of water. Stir in by degrees two pints of water, and three pints of milk, and strain the whole through a cloth. Dissolve half a pound of fine sugar in a pint of water, boil and skim it well; mix it with the other, adding two spoonfuls of orange-flower water, and a teacupful of the best brandy.

ORGEAT FOR THE SICK. Beat two ounces of almonds with a tea-spoonful of orange-flower water, and a bitter almond or two; then pour a quart of milk and water to the paste. Sweeten with sugar, or capillaire. This is a fine drink for those who feel a weakness in the chest. In the gout also it is highly useful, and with the addition of half an ounce of gum arabic, it has been found to allay the painfulness of the attendant heat. Half a glass of brandy may be added, if thought too cooling in the latter complaint, and the glass of orgeat may be put into a basin of warm water.

ORTOLANS. Pick and singe, but do not draw them. Tie them on a bird spit, and roast them. Some persons like slices of bacon tied between them, but the taste of it spoils the flavour of the ortolan. Cover them with crumbs of bread.