Colonial recipes, from old Virginia and Maryland manors

Gather the mint when the dew is on it, sprinkle it with pulverized sugar and a few drops of brandy and water, and bruise it gently till the mint oil begins to come. In bruising the mint use a glass mortar and a wooden pestle. A pestle made of beechwood is best (but be sure to use a wooden pestle). Put the bruised mint in a glass and pour over it a cup of boiling water. Let this set for 15 minutes. Then strain the mint and pour the juice in a silver tankard that has been filled with crushed ice. Let this set for a few minutes, and then Mint 8 1 pour into it your French brandy that has been kept at a temperature of about 40 degrees Fahr., and garnish the silver tankard with sprigs of mint. Do not use a straw when drinking it, but drink from the tankard. Miss Mary Josephine Bomberger. MINT BRANDY {Hampton) Gather the mint at a season when the sun is hot — say, July; use only the tender shoots. Strip off the leaves and cover them with brandy in an open bowl and allow it to remain in the sun for three or four hours, according to the strength of the mint flavor desired. Strain without bruising, and then sweeten to taste before bottling. (Dissolve the sugar in just enough hot water to melt it.) It can be strained through a strainer first, and then through a bit of cheesecloth, to insure clearness. This is a specific for some forms of bowel trouble, and is a famous old recipe at Hampton. Mrs. John Ridgely. 82 Mint MINT SAUCE FOR LAMB {Weldori) One-fourth pint vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls chopped mint, and 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let stand for an hour or more before using. Mrs. M. BOMBERGER. MINT JELLY FOR LAMB (Weld on) Wash a generous handful of mint leaves and put to steep in 1 pint of boiling water. After the infusion has stood several hours, strain through a flannel bag and add an equal amount of granulated sugar. Boil without stirring, to a thick syrup. It is better to fill your pint cup several times with leaves and make about a quart of the essence at once, as it boils down greatly. Make a clear apple jelly and add enough of the mint essence to give a pale green color. Mrs. Bomberger. "Y- conserved mint leaves. Make a syrup of sugar and water, and while hot dip the mint leaves in it. Then drain them Mint 83 carefully one at a time. When cold, dust well with granulated sugar. Mrs. O. H. W. Hunter. CREAM MINTS {Weldon) One cup of white sugar, \ cup of mint essence; boil together until it will candy in cold water. Remove from the fire, pour into another dish and stir till creamy. Drop quickly with a teaspoon on a marble slab. To prepare the mint essence for the candy, take a generous handful of mint, bruise it gently till the mint oil comes, then pour 1 cup of boiling water on it and let it steep for 15 minutes, then strain and use £ cup of mint essence to 1 cup of sugar. This is a candy recipe of the old school. Mrs. M. Benton Bomberger. Sing me a song of perfumes, Where winding your lyric rhyme ; Are sprigs of spicy tansy, And aromatic thyme. The breath of the pure and open From brooks where cedars glint, And best of all where ripples call The poignant scent of mint. — Isabel S. Mason. WILLIAMS' PORT