Enquire within upon everything · Chapter 42Part 3 (8)
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2226. Grill Sauce
To a quarter of a pint of gravy add half an ounce of butter and a dessertspoonful of flour, well rubbed together; the same of mushroom or walnut ketchup; a teaspoonful of lemon juice; half a teaspoonful of made mustard, and of minced capers; a small quantity of black pepper; a little lemon-peel grated very thin; a saltspoonful of essence of anchovies; a very small piece of minced shalot, and a little chili vinegar, or a few grains of cayenne; simmer together for a few minutes; pour a portion of it over the grill, and send up the remainder in a sauce-tureen.
2227. Tomato Sauce
Twelve tomatoes, ripe and red; take off the stalk; cut in halves; put them in a stewpan with a capsicum, and two or three tablespoonfuls of beef gravy; set on a slow stove till properly melted; rub them through a sieve into a clean stewpan; add a little white pepper and salt, and let them simmer a few minutes.—French cooks add an onion or shalot, a clove or two, or a little tarragon vinegar.
One Story is Good until Another is Told.
2228. Beef Gravy Sauce
(
Or Brown Sauce for ragoût, Game, Poultry, Fish, &c.
.)—If you want gravy, put in a thick and well-tinned stewpan a thin slice of fat ham or bacon, or an ounce of butter, and a middling-sized onion; on this lay a pound of nice juicy gravy-beef (as the object in making gravy is to extract the nutritious qualities of the meat, it must be beaten so as to reduce the containing vessels, and scored to render the surface more susceptible to the action of the water); cover the stewpan. Set it on a slow fire; when the meat begins to brown, turn it about, and let it get slightly browned (but
take care it is not at all burnt
): then pour in a pint-and-a-half of boiling water, set the pan on the fire;—when it boils, carefully catch the scum, and then put in a crust of bread toasted brown (don't burn it), a sprig of winter savoury, or lemon thyme and parsley, a roll of thin-cut lemon peel, a dozen berries of allspice, and a dozen of black pepper; cover the stewpan close, let it
stew very gently
for about two hours, then strain it through a sieve into a basin.
If you wish to thicken it, set a clean stewpan over a slow fire, with about an ounce of butter in it; when it is melted, dredge into it (by degrees) as much flour as will dry it up, stirring them intimately; when thoroughly mixed, pour in a little of the gravy,— stir it well together, and add the remainder by degrees; set it over the fire, let it simmer gently for fifteen or twenty minutes longer, and skim off the fat, &c., as it rises; when it is about as thick as cream, squeeze it through a tamis or fine sieve, and you will have a fine rich brown sauce, at a very moderate expense, and without much trouble.
Observe
—If you wish
to make it still more relishing
—for
poultry
, you may pound the liver with a piece of butter, rub it through a sieve, and stir it into the sauce when you put in the thickening.
2229. Chutney
One pound of salt, one pound of mustard seed, one pound of stoned raisins, one pound of brown sugar, twelve ounces of garlic, six ounces of cayenne pepper, two quarts of unripe gooseberries, two quarts of best vinegar. The mustard seed gently dried and bruised; the sugar made into a syrup with a pint of the vinegar; the gooseberries dried and boiled in a quart of the vinegar; the garlic to be well bruised in a mortar. When cold, gradually mix the whole in a large mortar, and with the remaining vinegar thoroughly amalgamate them. To be tied down close. The longer it is kept the better it will become.
2230. Wow Wow Sauce
Chop parsley leaves fine; take two or three pickled cucumbers, or walnuts, and divide into small squares, and set them by in readiness; put into a saucepan a piece of butter as big as an egg; when it is melted, stir into it a tablespoonful of fine flour, and half a pint of the broth of the beef; add a tablespoonful of vinegar, one of mushroom ketchup, or port wine, or both, and a tablespoonful of made mustard; simmer together till it is as thick as you wish, put in the parsley and pickles to get warm, and pour it over the beef, or send it up in a sauce-tureen. This is excellent for stewed or boiled beef.
2231. Sage-and-Onion, or Goose-Stuffing Sauce
Chop very fine an ounce of onion and half an ounce of green sage leaves, put them into a stewpan with four spoonfuls of water, simmer gently for ten minutes, then put in a teaspoonful of pepper and salt, and one ounce of fine bread-crumbs; mix well together; then pour to it a quarter of a pint of broth, or gravy, or melted butter; stir well together, and simmer it a few minutes longer. This is an excellent relish for roast pork, poultry, geese or ducks, or green peas.
2232. Garnishes
Parsley is the most universal garnish for all kinds of cold meat, poultry, fish, butter, cheese, and so forth. Horseradish is the garnish for roast beef, and for fish in general; for the latter, slices of lemon are sometimes laid alternately with the horseradish.
Slices of lemon for boiled fowl, turkey, and fish, and for roast veal and calf's head.
Carrot in slices for boiled beef, hot or cold.
Barberries, fresh or preserved, for game.
Red beetroot sliced for cold meat, boiled beef, and salt fish.
Fried smelts as garnish for turbot.
Fried sausages or forcemeat balls are placed round turkey, capon, or fowl.
Lobster coral and parsley round boiled fish.
Fennel for mackerel and salmon, either fresh or pickled.
Currant jelly for game, also for custard or bread pudding.
Seville orange or lemon in slices for wild ducks, widgeons, teal, and so forth.
Mint, either with or without parsley, for roast lamb, either hot or cold.
Pickled gherkins, capers, or onions, for some kinds of boiled meat and stews.
The Sea is the Heaving Bosom of the World.
2233. Relish, for Chops, &c.
Pound fine an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice, with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of scraped horseradish, and the same of shalots, peeled and quartered; put these ingredients into a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a fortnight, and then strain it.
Observe
.—A teaspoonful or two of this is generally an acceptable addition, mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks; or added to thick melted butter.
2234. Mock Crab
Take any required quantity of good fat mellow cheese, pound it well in a mortar, incorporating made mustard, salad oil, vinegar, pepper (cayenne is the best), and salt sufficient to season and render it about the consistence of the cream of a crab. Add and mix well half a pint or more of pickled shrimps, and serve in a crab-shell, or on a dish, garnished with slices of lemon.
2235. Female Dress
It is well known that a loose and easy dress contributes much to give the sex the fine proportions of body that are observable in the Grecian statues, and which serve as models to our present artists, nature being too much disfigured among us to afford any such. The Greeks knew nothing of those ligatures and bandages with which our bodies are compressed. Their women were ignorant of the use of stays, by which ours distort their shape instead of displaying it. This practice, carried to excess as it is in England, is in bad taste. To behold a woman cut in two in the middle, as if she were like a wasp, is as shocking to the eye as it is painful to the imagination. Such a deformity would be shocking in a naked figure; wherefore, then, should it be esteemed a beauty in one that is dressed? Everything that confines and lays nature under restraint is an instance of bad taste. This is as true in regard to the ornaments of the body as to the embellishments of the mind. Life, health, reason, and convenience ought to be taken first into consideration. Gracefulness cannot subsist without ease.
2236. How to take care of your Hat
Should you get caught in a shower, always remember to brush your hat well while wet. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron it over with a smooth flat iron.
If your hat is very wet, or stained with sea water, get a basin of clean cold water, and a good stiff brush; wash it well all over, but be careful to keep the nap straight; brush it as dry as you can, then put it on a peg to dry. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron it over as above.
Should you get a spot of grease on your hat, just drop one drop of benzine or sapine on the place, and then rub it briskly with a piece of cloth until out.
Should you be travelling, always tie your hat up in a handkerchief before putting it into your case; this will save it from getting rubbed or damaged through the friction of the rail or steamboat.
Never put your hat flat on the brim, as it will spoil its shape; but always hung it up on a peg.
Never put your hat, wet or dry, in front of the fire, as it will soften it, and throw it all out of shape.
Before putting your hat down, be careful to see if the place is free from spots of grease, beer, sugar, &c., as these things often spoil a good hat more than a twelvemonths' wear, and are often very difficult to remove.
These simple rules will save a good hat for a very long time.
Music is Soul Embodied in Sound.
2237. French Polishes
Naphtha Polish.—Shell-lac, three pounds; wood naphtha, three quarts. Put the shell-lac in the naphtha and let it dissolve.
Spirit Polish.—Shell-lac, two pounds; powdered mastic and sandarac, of each one ounce; copal varnish, half a pint; spirits of wine, one gallon. Digest in the cold till dissolved.
2238. French Polish for Boots and Shoes
Mix together two pints of the best vinegar and one pint of soft water; stir into it a quarter of a pound of glue, broken up, half a pound of logwood chips, a quarter of an ounce of finely powdered indigo, a quarter of an ounce of the best soft soap, and a quarter of an ounce of isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire, and let it boil for ten minutes or more. Then strain the liquid, and bottle and cork it: when cold it is fit for use. Apply it with a clean sponge.
2239. To Polish Enamelled Leather
Two pints of the best cream, one pint of linseed oil; make them each lukewarm, and then mix them well together. Having previously cleaned the shoe, &c., from dirt, rub it over with a sponge dipped in the mixture: then rub it with a soft dry cloth until a brilliant polish is produced.
2240. Boots and Shoes
Boots and shoes should be cleaned frequently, whether they are worn or not, and should never be left in a damp place, nor be put too near to the fire to dry. In cleaning them, be careful to
brush
the dirt from the seams, and not to scrape it off with a knife, or you may cut the leather. Let the hard brush do its work thoroughly well, and the polish will be all the brighter.
2241. Blacking
Blacking is generally made with ivory black, treacle, linseed, or sweet oil, and oil of vitriol. The proportions vary in the different directions, and a variable quantity of water is added, as paste or liquid blacking is required; the mode of making being otherwise precisely the same.
2242. Liquid Blacking
Ivory black and treacle, of each, one pound; sweet oil and oil of vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Put the first three together until the oil is perfectly mixed or "
killed
;" then add the oil of vitriol, diluted with three times its weight of water, and after standing three hours add one quart of water or sour beer. The ivory black must be very finely ground for liquid blacking, otherwise it settles rapidly. The oil of vitriol is powerfully corrosive when undiluted, but uniting with the lime of the ivory black, it is partly neutralized, and does not injure the leather, whilst it much improves the quality of the blacking.
2243. Paste Blacking
Ivory black, two pounds; treacle, one pound; olive oil and oil of vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Mix as before, adding only sufficient water to form into a paste.
2244. Best Blacking for Boots and Shoes
Ivory black, one ounce and a half; treacle, one ounce and a half; sperm oil, three drachms; strong oil of vitriol, three drachms; common vinegar, half a pint. Mix the ivory black, treacle, and vinegar together, then mix the sperm oil and oil of vitriol separately, and add them to the other mixture.
2245. Waterproofing for Boots and Shoes (1)
Linseed oil, one pint; oil of turpentine, or camphine, a quarter of a pint; yellow wax, a quarter of a pound; Burgundy pitch, a quarter of a pound. Melt together with a gentle heat, and when required for use, warm and well rub into the leather before a fire, or in the hot sun. The composition should be poured, when melted, into small gallipots, or tin boxes.
2246. To Render Shoes Waterproof (2)
Warm a little bees'-wax and mutton suet until it is liquid, and rub some of it slightly over the edges of the sole, where the stitches are.
Out of Debt, Out of Danger.
2247. Directions for putting on Gutta-Percha Soles
Dry the old sole, and rough it well with a rasp, after which, put on a thin coat of warm solution of gutta percha with the finger, rub it well in; let it dry, then hold it to the fire, and whilst warm, put on a second coat of solution thicker than the first; let it dry. Then take the gutta percha sole, and put it in hot water until it is soft; take it out, wipe it, and hold the sole in one hand and the shoe in the other to the fire, and they will become sticky; immediately lay the sole on, beginning at the toe, and proceed gradually. In half an hour, take a knife and pare it. The solution should be warmed by putting as much as you want to use in a cup, and placing it in hot water, taking care that no water mixes with it.
2248. Boot Tops (1)
Clean boot tops with one ounce of white vitriol, and one ounce of oxalic acid dissolved in a quart of warm water. Apply with a clean sponge. Or, sour milk, one pint; gum arabic, half an ounce; juice of a lemon, white of an egg, and one ounce of vitriol, well mixed.
2249. Boot-top Liquid (2)
Oxalic acid and white vitriol, of each one ounce; water, one pint and a half. To be applied with a sponge to the leather, previously washed, and then wiped off again. This preparation is poisonous.
2250. Care of Gloves
Nothing looks worse than shabby gloves; and, as they are expensive articles in dress, they require a little management. A good glove will outlast six cheap ones with care. Do not wear your best gloves at night, the heat of the gas, &c., gives a moisture to the hands, that spoils the gloves; do not wear them in very wet weather; as carrying umbrellas, and drops of rain, spoil them.
2251. To Clean Kid Gloves (1)
Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm water, in which steep a small piece of new flannel. Place the glove on a flat, clean, and unyielding surface —such as the bottom of a dish, and having thoroughly soaped the flannel (when squeezed from the lather), rub the kid till all dirt be removed, cleaning and re-soaping the flannel from time to time. Care must be taken to omit no part of the glove, by turning the fingers, &c. The glove must be dried in the sun, or before a moderate fire, and will present the appearance of old parchment. When quite dry, they must be gradually "pulled out," and will look new.
2252. To Clean French Kid Gloves (2)
Put the gloves on your hand and wash them, as if you were washing your hands, in some spirits of turpentine, until quite clean; then hang them up in a warm place, or where there is a current of air, and all smell of the turpentine will be removed.
2253. How to Wash Kid Gloves (3)
Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean; if coloured, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry; and old gloves will soon look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, well-shaped, and elastic.
2254. Preserving the Colour of Dresses
The colours of merinos, mousseline-de-laines, ginghams, chintzes, printed lawns, &c., may be preserved by using water that is only milk warm; making a lather with white soap,
before
you put in the dress, instead of rubbing it on the material; and stirring into a first and second tub of water a large tablespoonful of oxgall. The gall can be obtained from the butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in every house. No coloured articles should be allowed to remain long in the water. They must be washed fast, and then rinsed through two cold waters. In each, rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, which will help to brighten the colours; and after rinsing, hang them out immediately. When
ironing-dry
(or still a little damp), bring them in; have irons ready heated, and iron them at once—as it injures the colours to allow them to remain damp too long—or sprinkle and roll them up in a cover for ironing next day. If they cannot be conveniently ironed immediately, let them hang till they are
quite
dry, and then damp and fold them on the,
following day,
a quarter of an hour before ironing.
It is better not to do coloured dresses on the day of the general wash, but to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be undertaken in clear bright weather. If allowed to freeze, the colours will be irreparably injured. We need scarcely say that no coloured articles should ever be boiled or scalded. If you get from a shop a slip for testing the durability of colours, give it a fair trial by washing it as above; afterwards pinning it to the edge of a towel, and hanging it to dry. Some colours (especially pinks and light greens), though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon as a warm iron is applied to them; the pink turning purplish, and the green bluish. No coloured article should be smoothed with a
hot
iron.
A Gambler and a Swindler are Near Neighbours.
2255. To Renovate Silks (1)
Sponge faded silks with warm water and soap, then rub them with a dry cloth on a flat board; afterwards iron them on the
inside
with a smoothing iron. Old black silks may be improved by sponging with spirits; in this case, the ironing may be done on the right side, thin paper being spread over to prevent glazing.
2256. Black Silk Reviver (2)
Boil logwood in water for half an hour; then simmer the silk half an hour; take it out, and put into the dye a little blue vitriol, or green copperas; cool it, and simmer the silk for half an hour. Or, boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until it is reduced to one pint; squeeze the leaves, and bottle the liquor for use. When wanted, sponge the silk with this preparation.
2257. Restoring Colour to Silk (3)
When the colour has been taken from silk by acids, it may be restored by applying to the spot a little hart's-horn, or sal volatile.
2258. To Remove Water Stains from Black Crape
When a drop of water falls on a black crape veil or collar, it leaves a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this, spread the crape on a table (laying on it a large book or a paper-weight to keep it steady), and place underneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a large camel's-hair brush dipped in common ink go over the stain, and then wipe off the ink with a small piece of old soft silk. It will dry at once, and the white mark will be seen no more.
2259. To Remove Stains from Mourning Dresses
Boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until reduced to a pint. Bombazines, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a sponge dipped in this liquor, and the stains will be instantly removed.
2260. Wax
Wax may be taken out of cloth by holding a red-hot iron within an inch or two of the marks, and afterwards rubbing them with a soft clean rag.
2261. Grease Spots from Silk
Upon a deal table lay a piece of woollen cloth or baize, upon which lay smoothly the part stained, with the right side downwards. Having spread a piece of brown paper on the top, apply a flat iron just hot enough to scorch the paper. About five or eight seconds is usually sufficient. Then rub the stained part briskly with a piece of whity-brown paper.
2262. Liquid for Preserving Furs from Moth
Warm water, one pint; corrosive sublimate, twelve grains. If washed with this, and afterwards dried, furs are safe from moth. Care should be taken to label the liquid—
Poison
.
One Doubt may Lead to Disbelief.
2263. Velvet
When Velvet gets crushed from pressure, hold the parts over a basin of
hot
water, with the lining of the article next the water; the pile will soon rise, and assume its original beauty.
2264. Stockings
Worsted and Lambs'-Wool stockings should never be mended with worsted or lambs'-wool, because, the latter being new, it shrinks more than the stockings, and draws them up till the toes become short and narrow, and the heels have no shape left.
2265. Making Flannels
All Flannels should be soaked before they are made up, first in cold, then in hot water, in order to shrink them.
2266. Washing Flannel
Flannel should always he washed with white soap, and in warm but not boiling water.
2267. Brewing
The best time of the year for brewing is the autumn. The spring is also suitable, but less so. It is a great object to secure a moderate temperature for the cooling of the worts, and to insure gradual fermentation. To those who wish to enter upon the practice, without any previous knowledge, we would advise their calling in the aid of some one practically acquainted with the process for the first operation. By so doing they will save a great deal of trouble, disappointment, and expense. In all places, town or country, there are persons who have worked in brewing establishments, or in gentlemen's families where they have superintended the operations of the brew-house, and the aid of such persons would be valuable. With such assistance, the following receipts will be of importance, since many who are able to go through the manipulations of brewing are unaware of the proper proportions to employ:
2268. Ale
Take three bushels of malt, three pounds of hops, fifty-two gallons of water, for two workings. Or,—malt, two bushels and a half; sugar, three pounds; hops, three pounds; coriander seeds, one ounce; capsicum, a drachm. Thirty-six gallons. This gives a pleasant ale, with a good body.
2269. Amber Ale
Three bushels of amber malt, three quarters of a bushel of pale amber malt, two pounds of hops, a tablespoonful of salt. Three mashes, forty to fifty gallons. Skim, and fine with isinglass.
2270. Burton Ale
One quarter of pale malt, eight pounds and a half pale hops; mash three times. Work the first mash at 170°, second at 176°, third at 150°. Boil the first wort by itself; when boiling add three pounds of honey, a pound and a half of coriander seeds, one ounce of salt. Mix the worts when boiled, cool to 61°, set to work with a pint and a half of yeast. As soon as the liquor gets yeasty, skim the head half off; rouse the rest with another pint and a half of yeast, three quarters of an ounce of bay salt, and a quarter of a pound of malt or bean flour. This makes a hogshead.
2271. Edinburgh Ale
Mash two barrels per quarter, at 183°; mash for three quarters of an hour; let it stand one hour, and allow half an hour to run off. Or, mash one barrel per quarter, at 190°; mash three quarters of an hour, let it stand three quarters of an hour, and tap.
2272. Porter
Brown amber and pale malt, in equal quantities; turn them into the mash-tub. Turn on the first liquor at 165°; mash one hour, then coat the whole with dry malt. In one hour set the tap. Mix ten pounds of brown hops to a quarter of malt, half old, half new; boil the first wort briskly with the hops for three quarters of an hour, after putting into the copper one pound and a half of sugar, and one pound and a half of extract of liquorice to the barrel, turn it into coolers, rousing the wort the while. Turn on the second liquor at 174°, set tap again in an hour. The second wort having run off, turn on again at 145°; mash an hour, and stand an hour; boil the second wort with the same hops for one hour. Turn into the coolers, and let into the tub at 64°, mixing the yeast as it comes down. Cleanse the second day at 80°, previously adding a mixture of flour and salt, and rousing well.
When in Motion, to Push on is Easy.
2273. Making Wines
Wines from Rhubarb, Unripe Grapes, Currants, Gooseberries, &c.—The whole art of wine-making consists in the proper management of the fermenting process; the same quantity of fruit, whether it be rhubarb, currants, gooseberries, unripe grapes, leaves, tops, and tendrils, water, and sugar, will produce two different kinds of wine, by varying the process of fermentation only—that is, a dry wine like sherry, or a brisk beverage like champagne; but neither rhubarb, currants, nor gooseberries will produce a wine with the true champagne flavour; it is to be obtained only from the fruit of the grape, ripe or unripe, its leaves, tops, and tendrils. The following receipt will do for rhubarb, or any of the above-mentioned fruits.
2274. English Champagne
Take fifty pounds of rhubarb and thirty-seven pounds of fine moist sugar. Provide a tub that will hold from fifteen to twenty gallons, taking care that it has a hole for a tap near the bottom. In this tub bruise the rhubarb; when done, add four gallons of water; let the whole be well stirred together; cover the tub with a cloth or blanket, and let the materials stand for twenty-four hours; then draw off the liquor through the tap; add one or two more gallons of water to the pulp, let it be well stirred, and then allowed to remain an hour or two to settle, then draw off; mix the two liquors together, and in it dissolve the sugar.
Let the tub be made clean, and return the liquor to it, cover it with a blanket, and place it in a room the temperature of which is not below 60° Fahr.; here it is to remain for twenty-four, forty-eight, or more hours, until there is an appearance of fermentation having begun, when it should be drawn off into the ten-gallon cask, as fine as possible, which cask must be filled up to the bung-hole with water, if there is not liquor enough; let it lean to one side a little, that it may discharge itself; if there is any liquor left in the tub not quite fine, pass it through flannel, and fill up with that instead of water.
As the fermentation proceeds and the liquor diminishes, it must be filled up daily, to encourage the fermentation, for ten or twelve days; it then becomes more moderate, when the bung should be put in, and a gimlet hole made at the side of it, fitted with a spile; this spile should be taken out every two or three days, according to the state of the fermentation, for eight or ten days, to allow some of the carbonic acid gas to escape. When this state is passed, the cask may he kept full by pouring a little liquor in at the vent-hole once a week or ten days, for three or four weeks.