Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Plum Loaf, Plain. — Put 2 lbs. of best flour into a bowl, and mix with it half a teaspoonful of salt, Yz lb. of picked and dried currants, 4 ozs. of moist sugar, and half a nutmeg, grated. Dissolve Yz oz. of yeast very gradually in three-quarters of a pint of lukewarm milk, in which has been dissolved 4 ozs. of butter or good beef dripping. Stir this into the flour, and knead it to a smooth dough. Put a cover over the bowl, and set it to rise for about an hour. Make it up into a loaf, put it into a buttered tin, and bake in a moderate oven. If preferred, a table-spoonful of solid brewer’s yeast or two dessert-spoonfuls of baking-powder may be used instead of the yeast. In order to ascertain whether the loaf is sufficiently baked, put a skewer into it; if it comes out clean and dry, the cake is done. It is perhaps a better plan to knead in the sugar, currants, and spice after the dough has risen. Plum Lozenges (for dessert). — Put I lb. of ripe and sound plums into a jar, and place them in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire until they are so soft that the stones can be removed. While this is being done, soften in the same way Y* lb. of cored and sliced apples. Turn both plums and apples into a preserving -pan. Put with them the juice of half a lemon and lb* of sugar, and boil quickly for three-quarters of an hour. Stir well, to keep the fruit from burning. Pour the paste upon shallow dishes, and when it is cold cut it into lozenges, and dry these on a sieve before the fire. Plum Vol-au-vent. — Boil 6 ozs. of loaf sugar in half a pint of water for ten minutes. Take off the stalks from 1 lb. of plums, wash and drain them, and then put them into the syrup. Let them boil up once, then draw the saucepan to the side, and simmer them very gently for about three minutes, or until they are quite tender without being broken. Lift the plums out carefully, boil the syrup until it is considerably reduced and very thick, strain it, and when cold pour it over the fruit. Plums prepared in this way may be used for large and small vol-au-vents. The fruit should not be put into the pastry until the moment before it is to be served. Prunes and Prunelloes. — Prunes and prunelloes are a sort of dried plums, of which there are many varieties. The finest prunes come from France and California. Prunes, when stewed, form an excellent article of diet for convalescents or persons in delicate health, as they act as gentle laxatives. Prunes, Stewed (for dessert). — Wash the prunes, and let them soak all night in as mucli water as will cover them. Lift them out and let the liquid stand a little while, then drain it from the sediment, and put it into a stewpan with a small quantity of sugar, if desired, and a little lemonrind and cinnamon for flavoring. Prune Whip Raspberry Meringue Stew gently for half an hour. If desired, add wine — port is the most suitable for the purpose — and stew twenty minutes longer; serve cold in a glass dish.