Wash and peel the mushrooms (cutting them in
pieces if very large, removing the stalks), and blanch
them in boiling water for two or three minutes (not
longer) then strain well, and thread on a long, strong-
thread, keeping each separate, and then dry in the
shade or a very moderate oven, and when perfectly
dry store in air-tight tins tree from dust and damp.
(Be sure the oven is not too hot, or the heat will
utterly destroy the flavour of the mushrooms). To
cook mushrooms preserved thus, soak them for lialf-
an-hour in vinegar and water, and then finish off in
any way you choose. Or, put a thin layer of salt at
the bottom of an unglazed jar, and lay in the mush-
rooms, then more salt, and finish off as for the
French beans in salt. Or :
Pack well wiped, perfect, even-sized and shaped
mushrooms, in wide- mouthed glass bottles, not too
tightly, sprinkling them with a little finely minced
shallot; then cover them completely with light-
white (French or German) win✪ Preserved Mushroomse, cook and boil for
half an hour in the bain-marie. Let them stand till
perfectly cold in the water they are cooked in, then
wipe, screw down tightly, and store. Or : wipe the
mushrooms very clean, taking out the brown, and
paring off the skin of the large ones ; lay them on
paper, and set them in a cool oven to dry, then store
in paper bags. When wanted for use, simmer them
very slowly in good gravy, and they will swell out to
very nearly their original size. If after drying in
this way the mushrooms are crushed to a fine powder
22
PICKLES AND PRESERVES.
in a mortar, and kept in tightly corked and sealed
(small) bottles, this powder will be a great addition
to sauces, &c.
Or lastly, a very satisfactory essence of mushrooms
can be made thus : Wash and peel the mushrooms
and cut them up small ; place a layer a quarter of an
inch thick of this mince in a new earthenware jar,
sprinkling it with fine salt, and fill up the jar in this
way ; now press it down with a light weight (the
best way is to slip a reversed saucer into the jar, and
stand the weight on that), and next day pound it all
together, and let it stand for forty-eight hours
(stirring it well up every six hours) till it becomes a
puree ; add to this black pepper and a little mustard
seed, and boil for three hours in the bain-marie.
Now run it through a fine wire sieve, let it stand for
a little, then decant the clear part off very carefully.
Be careful not to shake the bottle, and add a spoon-
ful of spirit of some ki✪ Essence of Mushroomsnd at the last, before corking
and sealing down tightly.
I may add here the recipe for a mustard-like paste,
which is, abroad, considered an immense addition to
mushrooms in any shape : Blanch and pound almonds
in a mortar with a little water, olive oil, lemon- juice,
a suspicion of garlic, and a few black peppercorns✪ Mustard-like Paste
till of the consistency of thick mustard.
CHAPTER IH.
CANNING AND BOTTLING
(Continued) .
Page 11 · 3 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1902. 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
Wash and peel the mushrooms (cutting them in pieces if very large, removing the stalks), and blanch them in boiling water for two or three minutes (not longer) then strain well, and thread on a long, strongthread, keeping each separate, and then dry in the shade or a very moderate oven, and when perfectly dry store in air-tight tins tree from dust and damp. (Be sure the oven is not too hot, or the heat will utterly destroy the flavour of the mushrooms). To cook mushrooms preserved thus, soak them for half an hour in vinegar and water, and then finish off in any way you choose. Or, put a thin layer of salt at the bottom of an unglazed jar, and lay in the mushrooms, then more salt, and finish off as for the French beans in salt. Or :
Pack well wiped, perfect, even-sized and shaped mushrooms, in wide- mouthed glass bottles, not too tightly, sprinkling them with a little finely minced shallot; then cover them completely with light white (French or German) wine, cook and boil for half an hour in the bain-marie. Let them stand till perfectly cold in the water they are cooked in, then wipe, screw down tightly, and store. Or : wipe the mushrooms very clean, taking out the brown, and paring off the skin of the large ones ; lay them on paper, and set them in a cool oven to dry, then store in paper bags. When wanted for use, simmer them very slowly in good gravy, and they will swell out to very nearly their original size. If after drying in this way the mushrooms are crushed to a fine powder
in a mortar, and kept in tightly corked and sealed (small) bottles, this powder will be a great addition to sauces, &c.
Or lastly, a very satisfactory essence of mushrooms can be made thus : Wash and peel the mushrooms and cut them up small ; place a layer a quarter of an inch thick of this mince in a new earthenware jar, sprinkling it with fine salt, and fill up the jar in this way ; now press it down with a light weight (the best way is to slip a reversed saucer into the jar, and stand the weight on that), and next day pound it all together, and let it stand for forty-eight hours (stirring it well up every six hours) till it becomes a puree ; add to this black pepper and a little mustard seed, and boil for three hours in the bain-marie. Now run it through a fine wire sieve, let it stand for a little, then decant the clear part off very carefully. Be careful not to shake the bottle, and add a spoonful of spirit of some kind at the last, before corking and sealing down tightly.
I may add here the recipe for a mustard-like paste, which is, abroad, considered an immense addition to mushrooms in any shape : Blanch and pound almonds in a mortar with a little water, olive oil, lemon- juice, a suspicion of garlic, and a few black peppercorns till of the consistency of thick mustard.
CHAPTER IH.
(Continued) .
Records on this page
Preserved MushroomsEssence of MushroomsMustard-like Paste