Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Oranges. — Slice thin three oranges, cutting each slice in four pieces. Put a layer, with very little powdered sugar; cover with cracked ice, and so on. Arrange on the top a few maraschino cherries, pouring over a gill of best brandy, and serve with little cakes. Orange Calf’s-foot Jelly. — Take one pint of calf’s-foot stock, carefully freed from fat and sediment; mix with it half a pint of strained orange juice, the juice of two lemons, the whites and crushed shells of three eggs, the thin rinds of two oranges and one lemon, a dessert-spoonful of gelatine, and 4 ozs. of sugar in lumps ; stir these gently over the fire until they are well mixed, but as soon as the liquid begins to heat leave off stirring, and let the scum rise undisturbed ; let the jelly simmer fifteen minutes after it has reached the boiling-point, then draw it to the side of the fire and let it stand to settle fifteen minutes longer; lift the bead of scum off carefully, and pour the jelly through a tamis until it is quite clear. Take a damp mould, pour in a little of the jelly to the depth of half an inch, and let it stand in a cool place until it is stiff; arrange the quarters of an orange on this in the form of a star, first freeing them entirely from the thick, white skin ; pour the rest of the jelly on them, and set the mould in a cool place. Turn it out carefully before serving. Oranges, Compote of. — Pare the rind very thinly off three or four large, sound oranges. Cut the fruit across into halves, removing the white skin and pips, and pile the oranges in a glass dish. Boil the rind with half a pint of water and ¾ lb. of sugar until the syrup is clear ; mix a table-spoonful of brandy with it, and strain it over the fruit. When cold, it is ready to serve. A tablespoonful of arrow-root may be mixed with the syrup to thicken it, and two or three drops of cochineal may be put in by way of coloring. Time, Orange Float Orange Paste five or ten minutes to boil the syrup. Orange Float. — Squeeze the juice of two lemons into a quart of cold water; add a cupful of sugar and four table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, boiled until thick. Peel and slice half a dozen oranges ; pour the mixture over. Spread the top with meringue, and set on ice until very cold. Oranges Filled with Jelly. — When a large variety of dishes is required, orange-skins are sometimes emptied entirely of the fruit, cut out in the shape of baskets, and filled with bright, clear jelly of different colors. They look pretty ; very great care and a sharp knife, however, are required to make them. The handle of the basket should be cut across the stalk end of the fruit, and should be fully half an inch wide. The basket part should take up half of the orange. The best way to make these baskets is to mark out their shape first without piercing the fruit, then take away the quarters of the rind which will not be required, and pass the flat part of a teaspoon carefully under the handle to separate it from the fruit, which must then be pressed out through the empty spaces. The jelly should be nearly cold before it is put into the skins.