Page:The Virginia Housewife or, Methodical Cook, Mary Randolph, 1836.djvu/173

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pound of ginger sliced and dried, one of horse-radish scraped and dried, one of mustard seed washed and dried, one ounce long pepper, an ounce of mace, and one of nutmegs finely pounded; put all these ingredients in a pot, pour two gallons of strong vinegar on, and let it stand twelve months, stirring it very frequently. When this vinegar is used for the pickles, put two gallons more vinegar, with some mace and nutmegs, and keep it for another year. When the prepared vinegar is poured from the ingredients, do it very carefully, that it may be quite clear. Pickles keep much better when the vinegar is not boiled. Should the green pickles at any time lose their colour, it may be restored by adding a little more turmeric. All pickles are best, when one or two years old.

white onions that are not too large, cut the stem close to the root with a sharp knife, put them in a pot, pour on boiling salt and water to cover them, stop the pot closely, let them stand a fortnight, changing the salt and water every three days; they must be stirred daily, or those that float will become soft; at the end of this time, take off the skin and outer shell, put them in plain cold vinegar with a little turmeric. If the vinegar be not very pale, the onion will not be of a good colour.

the berries when full grown but young, put them in a pot, pour boiling salt and water on, and