Page:The Virginia Housewife or, Methodical Cook, Mary Randolph, 1836.djvu/182

176 it—the corks should be soaked in boiling water an hour or two, and the bottles perfectly clean, and well drained.

lemons quite free from blemish, squeeze them, and strain the juice; to each pint of it, put a pound of good loaf sugar pounded; stir it frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, cover the pitcher closely, and let it stand till the dregs have subsided, and the syrup is transparent; have bottles perfectly clean and dry, put a wine glass full of French brandy into each bottle, fill it with syrup, cork it, and dip the neck into melted rosin or pitch; keep them in a cool dry cellar—do not put it on the fire—it will destroy the fine flavour of the juice.

Pour water on the peels of the lemons, let them soak till you can scrape all the white pulp off, then boil the peel till soft; preserve them with half their weight of sugar, and keep them for mince pies, cakes, &c. They are a very good substitute for citron.

one measure of sugar, put seven measures of water moderately warm; dissolve it completely—put it into a cask, stir in yeast in the proportion of a pint to eight gallons: stop it close, and keep it in a warm place till sufficiently sour.

one quart of clear honey, put eight quarts of warm water; mix it well together: when it has passed through the acetous fermentation, a white vinegar will be formed, in many respects better than the ordinary vinegar.