The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

VINEGARS, VARIOUS.— Vinegar is a very important preparation extensively used in all kitchens. It is largely used in all households, and housekeepers would do well to bear in mind how important it is to obtain the best, and to see that it is perfectly pure. As a rule, everything is better made in large quantities than in small, and I have no hesitation in saying that good vinegar cannot be made in very small quantities. Many years ago it was customary in various parts of the country to see housekeepers making their own vinegar by the primitive method of placing some sour beer in a large jar, tying the top over with a piece of muslin, and placing it in the garden in hot weather to see now sour it would get. Pure vinegar is best obtained from large manufacturers. There are various kinds of vinegar sold, but the pure malt 1G1 vinegar is to my thinking the best. Then there is French white wine vinegar, which has these objections to it. First of all, it is rarely to be obtained perfectly pure, and too often its extreme acidity renders it almost unfit for use, except for very rare dishes. Very acid vinegar, indeed, such as white wine vinegar, may be used cautiously, mixed with mayonnaise sauce. When we want vinegar for ordinary purposes there is no doubt that pure malt vinegar is very far superior indeed to the white wine vinegar. So, too, for the purposes of making every land of pickles. All English pickles should be made with pure English vinegar. The idea of making pickles with that sharp vinegar which is met with on the Continent is almost too horrible to contemplate. Many a young person travelling abroad for the first time has been led into serious difficulty in mistaking white wine vinegar for the good old homemade genuine vinegar. I do not like to speak at random, but going by the taste only, I should say that the vinegar met with on the Continent owes its great acidity to some substance far more acid than sour wine. Indeed, we heard a few days back of some sauteme which was tested in some place abroad, the result of the analysis showing that no grape juice existed in it whatever. Its place, however, was supplied by sulphuric acid. What this would be like when it got sour and was made into vinegar there is no saying. In addition to ordinary malt vinegar there are various kinds of vinegar which have been flavoured with other substances sold in bottles. For instance, there is chili vinegar, cayenne vinegar, elder vinegar, garlic vinegar, etc. The names of these vinegars almost explain themselves. In mixing salads, when a slight flavour of chili, cayenne, or garlic is required, these vinegars are very convenient forms of imparting the flavour. WALNUT CATSUP. — Walnutcatsup, though perhaps not so generally used as mushroom catsup, is still a favourite preparation with many people. Indeed, there are some who prefer the flavour of walnut catsup to that of mushroom catsup. This is, of course, purely a matter of taste.