PICKLES AND CATCHUPS.

Pickles, for Country Use (Mrs. Shaw).

Make a brine strong enough to bear the weight of an egg. Into this put cucumbers fresh from the garden. They will keep in this brine indefinitely. Whenever fresh pickles are wanted, take out as many as are desired from the brine, and let them soak in fresh water two days, changing the water once. Now put two quarts of the best cider vinegar (to fifty cucumbers) on the fire in a porcelain kettle, with one ounce of whole pepper, half an ounce of mustard-seed, one ounce of ginger sliced, half an ounce of mace, a small stalk of horse-radish, a piece of alum the size of a large pea, and half a cup of sugar. Tie up the spices in three muslin bags. Boil all together ten minutes; then pour all over the pickles. It is not necessary to scald the cucumbers, yet many do so, putting them into the kettle, with the vinegar and spices when cold, and covering the bottom, sides, and top closely with cabbage leaves, which improve the color. If they are not green enough at the first scalding, scald them a second time, with fresh leaves around.

This receipt is especially desirable for people living in the country, because, having many vines, the cucumbers of any size preferred can be picked each day, washed, and put into the brine.

Indian Pickle.

Ingredients: To every gallon of vinegar put four ounces of curry powder, four ounces of mustard powder, three ounces of bruised ginger, two drams of Cayenne pepper, two ounces of turmeric, two ounces of garlic, half a pound of onions (skinned), and a quarter of a pound of salt.

Put all into a stone jar. Cover it with a bladder wet with the pickle, and keep it warm by the fire for three days, shaking it well three times a day. Any thing may be put into this preparation, excepting red cabbage and walnuts. Gather every thing fresh, such as small cucumbers, green grapes, green tomatoes, cauliflowers, small onions, nasturtiums, string-beans, etc., etc. Wipe them, cut them when too large, and throw them fresh into the vinegar.

Chowchow Pickle (Miss Beltzhoover).

Ingredients: One peck of green tomatoes, half a peck of ripe tomatoes, half a dozen onions, three heads of cabbage, one dozen green peppers, and three red peppers.

Chop them any size you choose, then sprinkle half a pint of salt over them. Put them into a coarse cotton bag. Let them drain twenty-four hours. Put them into a kettle, with three pounds of brown sugar, half a tea-cupful of grated horse-radish, one table-spoonful each of ground black pepper, ground mustard, white mustard, mace, and celery seed. Cover all with vinegar, and boil till clear.

To Pickle Cauliflowers.

Cut the cauliflowers into little flowerets of equal size. Throw them into boiling salted water. Place them at the back of the range, and when they are just about to boil take them off and drain them. Put them into jars. Boil (about fifteen minutes) enough vinegar to well cover them, seasoning it with one ounce of nutmeg, one ounce of mustard-seed, and half an ounce of mace to three quarts of vinegar. Pour this hot over the cauliflowers, adding a little sweet-oil the last thing, to cover the top. Cover them, while warm, with a bladder or fine leather over their corks.

Pickled Walnuts.

Ingredients: One hundred walnuts, salt and water, one gallon of vinegar, two ounces of whole black pepper, half an ounce of cloves, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of root ginger sliced, one ounce of mace.

Gather the walnuts in July, when they are full grown. They should be soft enough to be pierced all through with a needle. Prick them all well through. Let them remain nine days in brine (four pounds of salt to each gallon of water), changing the brine every third day. Drain them, and let them remain in the sun two or three days until they become black. Put them into jars, not quite filling them. Boil the vinegar and spices together ten minutes, and pour the liquid over the walnuts. They will be fit for use in a month, and will keep for years.

Pickled Green Tomatoes and Onions (Mrs. Monks).

Chop one peck of green tomatoes, and half a peck of onions. Let them stand two days in layers of salt. Bring vinegar (enough just to cover them) to the boiling-point. Put in the vegetables, mixed with cloves (one ounce), allspice (one ounce), white mustard-seed (two ounces), and red peppers (five large ones shredded). When well scalded, they are ready to be put in jars.

Pickled Onions.

Select small silver-skinned onions. After taking off the outside skins, remove with a knife one more skin, when each onion should look quite clear. Put them into strong brine for three days. Bring vinegar to a boil with one or two blades of mace and some whole red peppers. Pour it hot over the onions well drained from the brine.

Pickled Bell Peppers.

Cut a slit in the side of each pepper, and take out all the seeds. Let them soak in brine (strong enough to float an egg) two days. Then, washing them in cold water, put them into a stone jar. Pour over them vinegar boiled with cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. Whenever they are wanted to be served, stuff each one with a boiled tongue cut into dice, and mixed with a Mayonnaise dressing. Or little mangoes may be made, stuffing each one with pickled nasturtiums, grapes, minced onions, red cabbage or cucumbers, seasoned with mustard-seed, root ginger, and mace.

Ripe Cucumber Pickles.

Pare and seed ripe cucumbers. Slice each cucumber lengthwise into four pieces, or cut it into fancy shapes, as preferred. Let them stand twenty-four hours covered with cold vinegar. Drain them: then put them into fresh vinegar, with two pounds of sugar, and one ounce of cassia-buds to one quart of vinegar. Boil all together twenty minutes. Cover them closely in a jar.

Sweet Pickled Peaches.

To seven pounds of peaches allow three and three-quarter pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, two ounces of cloves, and two ounces of stick-cinnamon. Pare the peaches, and stick one or two cloves into each one. Boil the sugar and vinegar, with several sticks of cinnamon, for five minutes, then put in the peaches. When cooked till thoroughly done, take them out. Boil the sirup, reducing it to nearly half, and pour it over the peaches.

Strawberry Pickle.

Ingredients: Seven pounds of strawberries, three and a half pounds of brown sugar, one and a half pints of cider vinegar, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of stick-cinnamon. Place the strawberries and spices in alternate layers in a deep dish. Boil the sugar and vinegar three minutes, and pour it over them, letting them remain until the next day. The second day pour the liquor off and boil it again three minutes, returning it, as before, to the strawberries. Let them remain until the third day, when boil all together over a slow fire for half an hour. Put it away in jars.

Tomato Catchup.

Boil one bushel of tomatoes in a porcelain kettle until soft; press them through a sieve; then add half a gallon of vinegar, two ounces of cloves, one and a half pints of salt, one ounce of Cayenne pepper, five heads of garlic (skinned and chopped), two ounces of whole pepper, one pound of allspice, five ounces of mace, and five ounces of celery seed. Mix all together; and boil until it is reduced to half. Strain, and bottle it.

Tomato Catchup (Mrs. Cramer, of Troy).

Ingredients: One peck of tomatoes, two quarts of vinegar, five table-spoonfuls of mustard, five table-spoonfuls of salt, four table-spoonfuls of black pepper, two table-spoonfuls of cloves, three table-spoonfuls of allspice, and two tea-spoonfuls of red pepper.

Let it boil an hour. Strain it through a sieve.

Gooseberry Catchup (Mrs. Shaw).

Ingredients: Three pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, two ounces of cloves, and two ounces of cinnamon.

Boil all four hours. Bottle it.

Cucumber Catchup.

Grate the cucumbers, and strain off the water through a colander. Add six large onions (chopped very fine) to a gallon of the grated and strained cucumbers. Add vinegar, salt, Cayenne pepper, and horse-radish to taste. Bottle it without cooking.