Page:Art of Cookery 1774 edition.djvu/307



TAKE new stertion-seeds or limes, pickle them when large, have ready vinegar, with what spice you please, throw them in, and stop the bottle close.

TAKE two hundred oysters, the newest and best you can get, be careful to save the liquor in some pan as you open them, cut off the black verge, saving the rest, put them into their own liquor; then put all the liquor and oysters into a kettle, boil them about half an hour on a very gentle fire, do them very slowly, skimming them as the scum rises, then take them off the liquor whilst it is hot, put thereto three quarters of an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of cloves. Just give it one boil, then put it to the oysters, and stir up the spices well among the oysters, then put in about a spoonful of salt, three quarters of a pint of the best white-wine vinegar, and a quarter of an ounce of whole pepper; then let them stand till they be cold, then put the oysters, as many as you well can, into the barrel; put in as much liquor as the barrel will hold, letting them settle a while, and they will soon be fit to eat, or you may put them into stone jars, cover them close with a bladder and leather, and be sure they are quite cold before you cover them up. Thus do cockles and mussels; only this, cockles are small, and to this spice you must have at least two quarts, nor is there any thick to pick off them. Mussels you must have two quarts, take great care to pick the crab out under the tongue, and a little fus which grows at the root of the tongue. The two latter, cockles and mussels, must be washed in several waters, to clean them from grit; put them in a stew-pan by themselves, cover them close, and when they are open, pick them out of the shells, and strain the liquor.

TAKE young suckers, pare them nicely, all the hard ends of the leaves and stalks, just scald them in salt and water, and when they are cold put them into little glass bottles, with two or three large blades of mace and a nutmeg sliced thin,