Pulque is the sap of several varieties of agaves, called
pulcre, which are at home in Mexico ; the sap, when drawn,
ferments, yields a wine, and a spirit by distillation. The
wine, qpdque f^tertc, is termed met or maguey by the in-
habitants of Mexico ; the amount of alcohol contained in it
may rise to nearly 6 per cent, by volume. Palm sap and
wine, called toddy in India, is a product in the collection of
which specially-trained persons are employed. Maqde yields
a sap and a sugar. In North America these products are
not rarely used for cooking ; in Europe they hardly ever
occur.
622
THE SPIRIT 01 COOKERY
Liqueurs are sweet alcoholic preparations flavoured with
vegetable essences. They are not beverages in the true
sense, although they are taken out of little glasses and
sipped. They are truly small gratifications for the organ of
taste, and follow more substantial articles of food and drink,
as the French say, ‘ pour la bonne bouche,’ or to leave a
pleasant impression upon the gustatory nerves. Liqueurs
should never be of great Icoholic strength ; they should be
of superb finesse of flavour, and sufficiently sweet to please
ladies. Some liqueurs are prepared with the fruit of which
they represent the essence, being kept in them, and are
served with some of the fruit, e.g., cherry brandy. This
popular preparation should be made with Morelia cherries.
A similar liqueur is raspberry brandy, but this is filtered
and clarified. Ratafia, also spelt ratajfia and tafia, is
believed to be derived from the Malay tafia, a spirit or
liqueur prepared from cane-sugar syrup, therefore the East
Indian original of the West Indian ncm ; the prefix ra is a
contraction of the Arabian arrack, the spirit distilled from
malted and fermented rice, and sweetened, arag meaning
both juice and sweet, i.e., as we term it, a liqueur. The
spirit was flavoured in various ways, one consisting in the
addition of sweet cakes, macroons of sweet and bitter
almonds. By the practice of steeping bitter almond macroons
in spirit, and calling the product ratafia, any liqueur of
bitter almond flavour, however made, is now called ratafia.
When made from bitter almonds directly, or with pounded
apricot or peach kernels, or cherry laurel or young peach
leaves, the liqueur is called noyeau. The flavour of this
latter is stronger and more specific, while the flavour of
ratafia liqueur is jnilder and somewhat aromatic from the
roasted or baked almonds.
Liqueurs have lost much of their popularity in England,
partly owing to the excessively high excise and import tax,
partly to the injurious practice of hotel and restaurant
623
LIQUEURS AND SHERBETS
Page 392
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Pulque is the sap of several varieties of agaves, called pulcre, which are at home in Mexico ; the sap, when drawn, ferments, yields a wine, and a spirit by distillation. The wine, pulque fuerte, is termed met or maguey by the inhabitants of Mexico ; the amount of alcohol contained in it may rise to nearly 6 per cent, by volume. Palm sap and wine, called toddy in India, is a product in the collection of which specially-trained persons are employed. Maqde yields a sap and a sugar. In North America these products are not rarely used for cooking ; in Europe they hardly ever occur.
Liqueurs are sweet aalcoholic preparations flavoured with vegetable essences. They are not beverages in the true sense, although they are taken out of little glasses and sipped. They are truly small gratifications for the organ of taste, and follow more substantial articles of food and drink, as the French say, ‘ pour la bonne bouche,’ or to leave a pleasant impression upon the gustatory nerves. Liqueurs should never be of great Icoholic strength ; they should be of superb finesse of flavour, and sufficiently sweet to please ladies. Some liqueurs are prepared with the fruit of which they represent the essence, being kept in them, and are served with some of the fruit, e.g., cherry brandy. This popular preparation should be made with Morelia cherries. A similar liqueur is raspberry brandy, but this is filtered and clarified. Ratafia, also spelt ratafia and tafia, is believed to be derived from the Malay tafia, a spirit or liqueur prepared from cane-sugar syrup, therefore the East Indian original of the West Indian rum ; the prefix ra is a contraction of the Arabian arrack, the spirit distilled from malted and fermented rice, and sweetened, arag meaning both juice and sweet, i.e., as we term it, a liqueur. The spirit was flavoured in various ways, one consisting in the addition of sweet cakes, macroons of sweet and bitter almonds. By the practice of steeping bitter almond macroons in spirit, and calling the product ratafia, any liqueur of bitter almond flavour, however made, is now called ratafia. When made from bitter almonds directly, or with pounded apricot or peach kernels, or cherry laurel or young peach leaves, the liqueur is called noyeau. The flavour of this latter is stronger and more specific, while the flavour of ratafia liqueur is milder and somewhat aromatic from the roasted or baked almonds.
Liqueurs have lost much of their popularity in England, partly owing to the excessively high excise and import tax, partly to the injurious practice of hotel and restaurant
LIQUEURS AND SHERBETS