The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

more than scalded, or boiled up sharply, with the spices, &c., used to flavour it. A very useful flavouring vinegar for most pickles may be made by boiling up together a gallon of good malt vinegar, about lOoz. of salt, 2oz. to 3oz. of bruised ginger, |oz. of mace, 2oz. to 3oz. of shallots, a teaspoonful of cayenne, foz. of mustard seed, and 1 oz, of turmeric ; let this simmer together after the boil up, for fifteen to twenty minutes, and when cold put it into a stone jar ; into which you can throw, as they ripen, any vegetables that come handy, such as broken up cauliflower, French beans, tiuy cucumbers or gherkins, onions, radishes, &c., &c., using perfectly fresh vegetables, carefully wiped free from grit, or dirt ; being very particular to keep the jar closely covered all the time, recovering it tightly each time you add anything to it. This pickle, which will be in condition in eight or nine months, makes a very nice household piccallili, with the least amount of trouble. As a matter of fact almost every household has its own views on the flavouring of pickle vinegar, but care must be taken to keep it delicate, or it will overpower the flavour of the vegetables. Artichoke Bottoms , to pickle. — Boil the artichokes until you can remove all the leaves, and clear the bottoms thoroughly from the choke, &c. Lay each as done in salt and water, and leave them in this for an hour ; then lift them out on to a clean cloth and leave them till dry, when you pack them in wide mouthed bottles, with a little mace and sliced nutmeg between them and then fill up with pure white wine vinegar previously scalded. If preferred, the vinegar may be just boiled up with the nutmeg and mace, and then when cold, strained on to the artichoke bottoms. Asparagus, to pickle. — Well clean and scrape the heads, removing the tough part of the white ; lay the part to be preserved in cold spring water for two hours ; meanwhile boil some fresh spring or filtered water in a large pan with a handful of salt, and when this is boiling put in the asparagus a few pieces at a time, loose, and just scald them, lifting them out as soon as they are done with a skimmer, and lay them on a clean cloth, Have ready a boiling pickle, prepared as below, and as soon as the asparagus is cold lay it into jars, and pour on the spiced vinegar ; let it all stand, covered with a three or four times folded linen cloth, for a week, then pour off the vinegar, boil it up again sharply, and again pour this on the asparagus. Again let it stand a week, and repeat this boiling up a second time, then cover down closely with cork and bladder, or seal it well. For the vinegar : boil up two gallons of best white wiue vinegar, with 1 oz. baysalt, j oz. each of mace and white peppercorns and two nutmegs. Use when boiling. Barberries, to pickle. — Choose the barberries when not over-ripe, cleanse them from all leaves, dead stalks, &c., and lay them in a jar with a (very) few cloves, pour a salt and water pickle over them, and when you see a scum rising on them pour off the first pickle, and replace with fresh brine. They need no vinegar, their own acidity being sufficient. (Oldfashioned housewives prepared red currants in the same way.)