Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/201

 SAUCES AND DRESSINGS-PICKLES. 179

quart of the sifted apple, add a teacupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of pepper, one of cloves, one of mustard, two of cinnamon, and two me- dium-sized onions, chopped very fine. Stir all together, adding a tablespoonful of salt and a pint of vinegar. Place over the fire and boil one hour, and bottle while hot; seal very tight. It should be about as thick as tomato catsup, so that it will just run from the

bottle.

CELERY VINEGAR.

A QTJART of fresh celery, chopped fine, or a quarter of a pound of celery seed ; one quart of best vinegar ; one tablespoonful of salt, and one of white sugar. Put the celery or seed into a jar, heat the vine- gar, sugar and salt; pour it boiling hot over the celery, let it cool, tover it tightly and set away. In two weeks strain and bottle.

SPICED VINEGAR.

TAKE one quart of cider vinegar, put into it half an ounce of cel- ery seed, one-third of an ounce of dried mint, one-third of an ounce of dried parsley, one garlic, three small onions, three whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole pepper-corns, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, salt to taste and a tablespoonful of sugar; add a tablespoonful of good brandy. Put all into a jar, and cover it well; let it stand for three weeks, then strain and bottle it well. Useful for flavoring salad and other dishes.

��PICKLES.

PICKLES should never be put into vessels of brass, copper or tin, as the action of the acid on such metals often results in poisoning the pickles. Porcelain or granite-ware is the best for such purposes.

Vinegar that is used for pickling should be the best cider. or white- wine, and should never be boiled more than five or six minutes, as it reduces its strength. In putting away pickles, use stone or glass jars ; the glazing on common earthenware is rendered injurious by the ac- tion of the vinegar. When the jar is nearly filled with the pickles, the vinegar should completely cover them, and if there is any appear- ance of their not doing well, turn off the vinegar, cover with fresh

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