FoodNet

Cooking and castle-building

1880

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Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
within an hour. The next clay, and the day after even, you. will find it something more than 'a corpse of an apple-pic.' For four pies, if the apples are not very tart, and you like a rich pie, use the juice of one lemon with that of two oranges and a little grated peel, adding sugar in propor- tion. Most delicious apple-pies are made by using one grated pineappleApple Pie to four pies. Place the grated pineapple with the butter and sugar in the stew-pan, and heat to boiling, then add as befoi*e, laying it lightly and evenly over the apple, which is permeated by the mixture, without being stirred." "Mamma," said Alice, "you have heard of cambric tea. Did you ever hear of linen pie ? " " Oh, yes. I have heard people call hot water, with cream and sugar to taste, by that name. They say Horace Greeley used to consider cambric tea a delightful beverage. I drink it sometimes myself; but I believe I have never tasted linen pie. How is it made ? " " Cousin Kate makes it in this way. Instead of filling her pie-crust with apple, or other fruit, she fills it with pieces of old white linen, and bakes. Meanwhile, on the range she prepares the fruit, if it is desirable to cook it ; and, when the crust is baked, she slips it on a plate, lifts ofi* the upper- crust, takes out the rags, and fills their place with the juicy fruit, which couldn't possibly be baked 152 COOKING AND CASTLE-BUILDING. in the pie, without losing a large portion of the juice, and spoiling the looks, as well as the taste of the pie. At dinner every one who doesn't un- derstand the trick wonders how so juicy a pie was so perfectly baked. And no one can imagine how the upper-crust was baked so rich and brown, without being stained with juice, and the under- crust so crisp, without being soaked or heavy. To the uninitiated it is no doubt as great a marvel as the apple inside the dumpling was to the be- wildered king, who asked, amazed, ' How got the apple in ? ' " "There is another advantage, Alice," I said, " in baking these linen pies. Several crusts may be baked and put away for a day or two unfilled ; and an hour or two before serving, if placed for a few minutes in a hot oven, until warmed tlirough, and then filled with fresh fruit, they can scarcely be distinguished from freshly baked pies. These linen pies are just the things to fill with straw- berries or other fruit which is good uncooked. "To change the subject a little, Emeline, I agree fully with the remark you made this morn- ing, that few persons care for cooked apples, be- cause they are, as a general thing, so poorly cooked. Tlie apple, although it contains so many elements of goodness, is one of our most abused fruits. As a general rule, it is shabbily treated in every process of cooking it is compelled to IN THE ORCHAED. 153 undergo. It is badly ])aked, and wretchedly stewed. It is diluted with water, or dosed with sugar, or doctored with spices, until all the orig- inal flavor is lost, or spoiled. But, in spite of all this bad usage, the apple has retained a place in the culinary department, and is destined, as soon as we learn how to cook it properly, to grow into universal favor, and become a prominent article of diet at every well-ordered table."