The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

Peaches or Apricots, to pickle. — Quarter unripe peaches, and lay them in a basin for a night, well sprinkled with salt, then dry them for two or three days in the sun. Meanwhile, prepare a sauce thus : Put a full 2|oz. each of crushed (but not powdered) ginger, and sugar, with a spoonful or two of turmeric to the quart of vinegar, and let it all boil up ; when boiling, lay in the dried peaches, bring the vinegar, &c., again to the boil, then simmer for an hour, after which cork up closely in a stone jar. Samphire, to pickle. — Throw some good green samphire into a pan with two or three handfuls of salt according to quantity, and cover with cold spring water. Let it stand for twenty-four hours, put it into a clean pan, add another handful of salt, and cover it with good vinegar. Cover down the pan, let it cook till the samphire is green and crisp, then lift it off that moment and turn it into a jar with its vinegar, and cover down. When quite cold, cover with cork and bladder and put it away, The secret of this pickle is to lift it off the fire the moment it has greened and crisped, for if left long enough to soften, it is spoiled. Samphire can be kept all the year round, if stored in strong salt and water brine, draining it out as wanted, and leaving it to steep for a few minutes in best vinegar before using it. Strawberries , to pickle. — Place m a jar alternate layers of stalked strawberries and crushed cloves and cinnamon, till the jar is full ; pour to them a syrup made with 31b. of sugar boiled in half a pint of cider or white vinegar for five minutes, and let this all stand for twenty-four hours. Now pour off the liquid from the berries, bring it to the boil, pour it back over them and again let it all stand for twenty-four hours ; after which boil the berries aud the syrup together for twenty minutes, slowly, then pot and cover them. This is for six quarts of strawberries. Tomatoes to pickle {American). — Chop finely together a peck of green tomatoes and eight large green peppers. Soak these for twenty-four hours in weak brine, then drain off the latter, and add a head of finely chopped cabbage to the tomatoes, scald it all in boiling vinegar for twenty minutes, then drain off the vinegar; put the tomatoes, &c., into a stone jar, add to it three pints of grated horseradish and spice to taste, and fill up with strong cold vinegar ; or if preferred, put in the horseradish and fill up with scalded spiced vinegar. Walnuts, to pickle. — The nuts should be gathered when they can be pierced with a pin easily, for if the shell can be felt at all they are too ripe for pickling. Make enough brine to cover them thoroughly, using 6oz. of salt to the quart of water, carefully removing all the scum that will rise as the salt dissolves, before laying in the nuts, and stir them night and morning. Change the brine every three days, then on the ninth day strain off the walnuts and leave them on dishes exposed to the air till they turn quite black, which they should do in twelve hours at