The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

Pickles were formerly almost inevitably home-made, and in each household there was some little private method of preserving some out-of-the-way article, the secret of which the housewife guarded almost as carefully as she would her life. Give a bottle of her pickle ? Why certainly, if the friendship warranted it ; but give the recipe, even to her nearest, never. However, since those days very few of us take the trouble to manufacture such addenda, though in truth few things more repay the small amount of labour involved. Pickles are like all other preserves ; the best material alone should be used, the vegetables chosen should be sound, ripe, but not over ripe, and freshly gathered on a dry, and if possible, warm day. The vinegar should be above suspicion. For ordinary pickles the best brown malt vinegar answers admirably, but its quality must be first-rate: for more delicate preparations the very best French, or white wine vinegar should alone be used. Copper pans or metal spoons must be carefully avoided, unglazed stoneware is far and away the safest for anything connected with vinegar, and clean if not new, wooden spoons should alone be used. Glass bottles (Riband's make are most useful for these) or jars are the best for storing, but of course where pickles in large quantities are made, stone jars may be used ; only remember in this case, to be particular in the covering if to be stored for some time, place a piece of bladder over the mouth of the bottle, force the cork in over this, and then tie down carefully with more moistened bladder. Another way is to put a piece of vegetable parchment into the neck, force in the cork as before, and then dip the mouth and neck of the bottle into boiling wax, which can be either bought ready made, or else may be made thus at home : melt lib. of common red sealing wax, with lib. of black resin, and ^lb. of beeswax, melting it all over a very gentle fire, and stirring it during the process with a tallow candle to prevent its burning. Or the recipe for bottling-wax, previously given, will answer. Any way never think covering a jar with brown paper, however many the folds, will keep a jar airtight, for it will not, paper in itself not being airproof. Oldfashioned housewives, who always kept a store of pickles, &c., and prided themselves on their keeping powers,used to cork the jars and bottles but loosely for the first two days, and then fill them up with scalded vinegar to the very neck, and lastly fasten them down closely ; for the pickles absorb a great deal of the vinegar first poured into them, yet, unless they are perfectly covered with the liquid they will not keep. It must be borne in mind that all fermented liquors lose by boiling, so the vinegar should never (unless the contrary be expressly stated in the recipe) be