Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Lemon Paste for Dessert. — Choose soimd fresh lemons, boil them in two or three waters, and season the first with a handful of salt. When they are tender, drain and let them cool, then put them into a bowl, and beat them to a pulp with a rolling-pin. Pass this pulp through a sieve, and squeeze it well to cause as much as possible to go through. Weigh the pulp. Mix with it an equal quantity of pounded sugar, and stir it without ceasing until it is so dry as to leave the sides of the saucepan and come up with the spoon. Press it into shallow dishes, and put these into a cool oven until the paste is quite diy. It may then be cut into small squares, strips, or any other shape. These should be placed in single layers in a tin box, with foolscap paper between the layers. Time, altogether, about four hours. Probable cost of lemons, Id. each. Lemon Patties.— Rub the rind of a fresh lemon with three ounces of loaf sugar. Crush it to powder, and mix it with the finely-grated crumb of a penny loaf. I'our over the mixture a quarter of a pint of boiling milk, and soak for half an hour. At the end of that time stir in two ounces of clarified butter and two wellbeaten eggs. Butter some small cups, rather more than half fill them with the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. When done, turn the patties out on a hot dish, and send wine sauce to table with them. Probable cost, 8d. Sufficient for half a dozen patties. Lemon Peel, Tincture of,— Take the thin rind of a large fresh lemon. Put it in a bottle with half a pint of brandy, and let it infuse for a fortnight. At the end of that time the brandy will be strongly impregnated with the flavour of the lemon, and should be strained, corked closely, and put aside for use. Probable cost of lemon. Id. Sufficient, a teaspoonful will flavour a pint of custard, &c. LEM (374) LEM Lemon Peel, To Candy. — Choose sound fresh lemons, cut them into quarters lengthwise, remove the pulp entirely, and put the rind into salt and water for three days, and afterwards into cold water for a day. Boil them in fresh cold water until they are tender. Drain them, and cover them Avith their syrup, made in the proportion of a pound of sugar to every quart of water. "When they look clear, which will he in half an hour, drain them again, make a thick syrup, allowing for this a pound of sugar to every pint of water, put them in, and boil over a slow fire until the syrup candies. Take out the lemons, drain them, and dry them in a cool oven. Store in a cool, dry place. Probable cost of lemons, Id. each. Lemon Peel, To Keep for Use.— Lemons should be kept in a cool, dry place, and each one should be hung in a separate net, for if they touch one another they will spoil. The rind may be grated, put into jars, and covered with either salt or sugar, according to the nature of the dish for which it is afterwards to be used. Lemon Peel, To Preserve for Garnishing.— Cut lemon-rind into thin slices. Prepare a syrup by boiling a pint of sugar with three-quarters of a pint of water until the sugar is dissolved. Put in the rind, and simmer both together for a quarter of an hour. When cool, put into pots, cover closely, and store in a cool, dry place. Lemon thus prepared is useful for garnishing dishes. Probable cost of lemons. Id. each.