The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

two teaspoonfuls of black pepper and one of cayenne ; pour on to this a quart of boiling vinegar, and let it all infuse closely covered for three or four days, then strain off, bottle and seal up. Another way is to put into a wide-necked dry bottle, 3oz. salt, 2\oz. freshly grated horseradish, ^oz. bruised ginger, a clove of garlic, and either four chillies or a good pinch of cayenne ; mix this all well with half a pint of cold boiled vinegar, then pour on to it two and a half pints of vinegar previously brought to the boil, then allowed to cool a little before pouring it into the bottle. Cover this all down tightly, let it stand for thirty-six hours in a warm place, then strain and bottle off into little bottles, with a chilli in each. Seal down closely when cold. (N.B. — Most delicious mustards for eating with cold meat can be made by mixing the mustard flour with either of these horseradish, or indeed any of the flavoured, vinegars). Mint Vinegar. — Make this precisely like tarragon vinegar. Ravigotte Vinegar. — In a pint of French wine vinegar, infuse a couple of tablespoonfuls each of minced garden- cress and tarragon, one of minced chives, a small clove of garlic (if liked) or a minced shallot, and three chillies. Let it stand till fully flavoured, then strain and bottle off as before. Shallot Vinegar. — Peel and mince 4oz. of fully, but not over, ripe shallots (or it will give a bitter flavour to the vinegar), put them into a bottle and cover with a quart of best vinegar, and infuse for ten days, shaking the bottle well daily ; then strain and filter off the vinegar, bottle in small bottles, and store tightly corked and sealed. Spiced Vinegar. — (This can be nsed at once for pickling any vegetables, or if bottled off cold like the other flavouring vinegars it makes an excellent addition to salads, &c.) Bruise well 2oz. black whole peppers, loz. each of ginger and salt and -|oz. of allspice, then mix this in a bottle with a quart of good vinegar (whether malt or wine vinegar does not matter, but the quality must be first rate), adding if you like loz. of chopped shallot, an atom of garlic, and some chillies, or a little cayenne (this of course makes it pretty hot). Tie the bottle over with bladder wetted with vinegar, and leave it in a warm place for a few days ; then stand the bottle in the bainmarie, keep the water round it at simmering point for one or two hours, and bottle off in the usual way. If to be used for pickling purposes, boil up the vinegar with all the condiments mentioned, to which, if liked, a bay leaf and a good bouquet may be added ; then let it cool a little, and pour it on to the things to be pickled. Tarragon Vinegar. — Pick young tarragon shoots, and dry them in the sun for a day or two, then infuse them in good vinegar for a fortnight, after which you strain and bottle off the vinegar as before. You can let the tarragon infuse longer if you like, but that is a matter of taste; or you can pour a second supply of vinegar over the tarragon, allowing it to infuse for a month or so, when it will yield a very good vinegar for cooking purposes, though not as delicate as the first, which answers for salads, &c. You simply put tlie tarragon points into the bottle not too tightly, and fill up with the vinegar.