The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

process till you see the cucumbers turn a good green (which they should do in four or five scaldings), being careful to keep them covered with vine leaves, and then a clean cloth ; and last of all a soup plate turned over the basin in which they are, to keep in the steam, which helps to colour them quicker. When thoroughly greened, drain them on a sieve, and then pour the following pickle, hot, upon them, and tie down with bladders. For the pickle ; to each quart of white wine vinegar, allow joz. of mace, or five or six cloves, foz. sliced ginger, foz. black pepper, and half a handful of salt ; boil this altogether for five minutes, then use hot. Cucumber Mangoes. — Choose large, green, and not too ripe cucumbers, and take a strip out all down one side ; through this remove all the seeds with a teaspoon, and pound some of these seeds with scraped horseradish, finely shred garlic, mustard seed, and white pepper ; fill the cucumbers up as full as possible with this mixture, then replace the strip cut out, and tie it into place with thread. Place them in a basin, and pour enough boiling hot vinegar over them to cover them ; next day pour off the vinegar, boil it up again, and again pour it over the cucumbers ; repeat this twice more, at twenty-four hours’ interval, and the last time boil up the vinegar with joz. each of mace and cloves, loz. each pepper and mustard seed, half a stick of horseradish, and half a clove of garlic to each quart of vinegar. Pack the cucumbers in jars, pour the boiling vinegar over them, tie down closely and store. (This pickle can also be made in precisely the same way with melons of the kind used for pickling, peaches, lemons, vegetable marrows, &c.) Cucumbers with Mustard. — Slice some not too ripe cucumbers, or cut them into inch lengths, and quarter these ; slice also some good large onions very thinly, and arrange these in layers on a dish, with salt sprinkled upon each layer, turn another plate over them, and let them drain for six hours or so ; have ready some good spiced vinegar as for other pickles, mix with this a dessertspoonful of good mustard for each quart of vinegar (adding this when mixed with a little warm vinegar, when the spices and vinegar have been boiled up together), pour it, all hot, over the cucumber, &c., and leave till next day, when you bottle and cork it all down. This pickle, though excellent, does not keep over well, so should be eaten soon. Eggs, to 'pickle. — Boil the eggs well for half an hour, then let them cool, and shell them. Now place them in jars, and pour over them some scalding hot vinegar, previously boiled up with allspice, whole peppers, cloves, ginger, and a few cloves of garlic. Let it all stand till cold, then cork down very closely. They must be well covered with the vinegar. Excellent with cold meat. Elder Buds, to pickle. — Gather the elder buds when of the size of hop buds, and leave them in strong brine for nine days, stirring them daily. Then drain off the water, put the buds in a pai well covered with vine leaves, and pour on to them the water drained from them. Set them over a slow fire till they are quite green, then strain them M 9