Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/71

 Mode: Pass all these ingredients through a mincing machine twice or even three times, then press into a jar and pour in the brandy, let it stand for twenty-four hours, and then stir well to let the brandy get through. Do this twice or three times at intervals, and then cover with a cake of mutton fat, tie down securely, and put away for use.

Mince Meat. (Quickly made and without meat).

Ingredients: Three pounds of raisins (stoned), three pounds of currants, one and a quarter pounds of suet, three pounds of apples, one and a half pounds of sugar, quarter of a pound of candied peel, two pounds of almonds, a little mixed spice, and a glass or two of spirits.

Mode: Put the raisins, currants, apples, suet, peel, almonds, sugar and spice through the mincing machine, moisten with the spirits, and put into a jar for use. This is very useful when in a hurry, but it will not keep very long.

Mince Meat (for a large family)

Ingredients: One pound of sirloin of beef (boiled), two pounds of fresh suet, eight large apples, four pounds of currants, two pounds of sultanas, one pound of mixed candied peel, one and a half pounds of sugar, two nutmegs, cloves, one teaspoonful of ginger, rind of two oranges, and two lemons, juice of six oranges and lemons, one pint of port wine, one pint of brandy.

Mode: Take the meat and suet, freed from all skins, and mince together very fine, then add the green apples, chopped, currants, sultanas, peel, sugar, grated nutmegs, cloves, ginger, grated rinds of oranges and lemons, and the juice, mince all together well, and stir in the port wine and brandy. Tied down securely and stored in a dry place, this should keep twelve months or more. In making mince meat the great secret is to get all the ingredients well mixed together, and the simplest way to do this is by passing all through the mincing machine. The plan I generally follow is mincing all except the currants and those I put in whole, but it is all a matter of taste or opinion.

BAKED PUDDINGS.

N baking light puddings the oven should not be too hot, as the top will brown too quickly. A custard should be removed directly it is set; if left it will become watery. The reason so many cooks fail in making rice, sago, and such simple puddings, is because they use too much rice, sago, &amp;c., forgetting evidently they all swell. Half a breakfast cup is enough for a very large rice pudding, and it should be par-boiled first, then turned into the pie dish, the eggs and milk added, and a little grated nutmeg on the top. A few small lumps of butter added just before putting into the oven is a great improvement. All light puddings should have an edging of pastry round the pie dish;