Cassell's dictionary of cookery

The same sort of sherbet may, of course, be used for brandy-punch or rum-punch singly ; but punch is seldom so made in England : most persons, indeed, mix equal parts of rum and brandy. Arrack-punch, however, is made with. that spirit alone, and usually with a simple sherbet of lime or lemon-juice, with sugar, as the flavour of the Seville orange interferes too much with the peculiar flavour of the arrack, which proves so grateful to most tastes, though to many very unpleasant. Punch may be immediately impregnated with the arrack flavour PUN ( 670 ) PUN by a little of the flower of Benjamin. When with the richest sherbet, sometimes rendered stiU richer by fruit- jellies, and even nutmeg, wine is mingled with the rum and brandy, instead of water, the liquid is called Punch Koyal. The mixture of a small quantity of ale or porter, highly recommended hy some in making punch, seems only advisable when it is rum-punch, made without any brandy, and must, even then, be very sparingly introduced. This article, whatever may appear its value, is furnished, with regard to its principles, by one of the fii'st practical punch-makers in Europe, who could easily, by dwelling on minute circumstances, have supplied matter for a smaU volume : the essence of which is, however, he freely confesses, here sufficiently concentrated for every useful purpose. With regard to the salubrity of punch, when drank in moderation, hot in winter, or cold, and even iced in summer, it affords a grateful beverage, admirably allaying thirst, promoting the secretions, and conveying animation to the spirits. If, however, amid the hilarity excited by the tempting fragrance and luscious taste, which the balmy bowl seldom fails to inspire, it be too freely drank, its powerful combination of spirit and acid, instead of proving favourable to the constitution, wiU infallibly tend to bring on the gout, even sooner than most wines or strong cider, unless happily prevented by using a considerable deal of exercise. Punch, like all the prime blessings of life, is excellent and salutary when prudently enjoyed at proper seasons. We must not charge on them our own want of discretion, by which alone they are ever converted to evils. The apparently whimsical name of punch, like the liquid itself, is of West India origin— the word, in the aboriginal language, signifying simply fire, being the number of ingredients there used: viz., 1. Acid, or Ume, or lemonjuice; 2. Sweetness or sugar; 3. Spirit or rum, &c. ; 4. Water ; and 5. Spicy flavour, or nutmeg, &c. It is singular, too, that punch, the word for five, consists of just five letters. Erom the opposite natures of the ingredients, punch has also been called the liquor of contradictions.— Br. Kitchener. Punch (a la Francaise).— Take a litre of litres. (rather over a pint) and 750 grammes of broken sugar (about a pound and three-quarters), and place these ingredients in a saucepan. Burn the sugar until it becomes candied, brown in colour, and reduced by one-third. Throw in rather more than a pint of boiling tea, with the juice of half a dozen citrons and as many oranges. Drink immediately.