Household hints

When the time for pickling draws near, the question of what recipes shall be used demands serious consideration ; there are so many ways to pickle and yet so few that are satisfactory. The following recipe has been used year after year by the writer, and she has received with humility and pride the praise of a grateful family for the excellence of her pickles : Be sure that your cucumbers are fresh, then for three mornings pour hot salt and water over them ; take one cup of salt to about six quarts of water ; have it fresh each morning. The fourth morning heat some weak vinegar with small lumps of alum in it, and turn it over the cucumbers, allowing them to remain in it until the next day ; then take them out of the vinegar, put them in stone jars or glass cans, pour over them cold vinegar of good strength, in which put plenty of white mustard seed, about in the proportion of one ounce of seed to one gallon of vinegar ; put in also a lump of alum about the size of a butternut ; lay fresh horseradish leaves over the cucumbers, cover closely, and set in the cellar. The pickles may be seasoned by putting in sliced onions, or small whole onions, green or red peppers, pieces of horseradish root, spices and brown sugar to taste. Never in any circumstances "green them " by using a copper kettle. Late in the winter, when you begin to have empty fruit cans, it is a good thing to fill them with pickles and seal them up for use in the spring ; heat the vinegar and pour over them. If you wish to keep chopped pickle, heat that, vinegar and all. Chopped Pickle, — One dozen green tomatoes, two large cucumbers, one head of cabbage, three heads of celery, three green peppers, half a dozen onions ; chop these all together, scald in weak brine, drain off and scald in one quart of vinegar and water (equal proportions of each), drain this off, then pour on hot one gallon of vinegar in which is put one pound and a half of sugar, one quarter of a pound of white mustard seed, one table-spoonful of cinnamon, one tea-spoonful each of black pepper, red pepper, ground mustard, cloves, and allspice. Put into earthen jars with fresh horseradish leaves over the top. If not convenient to get them, the cucumbers may be left out, and add in their j>lace a few more tomatoes. The pickle will be nice if the tomatoes are gathered before they begin to get at all ripe and soft. If you are unable to get celery when you make the pickle, you can add it at any time. When preparing it for the table, take the stalks, which are not nice-looking or not thoroughly bleached, chop them and put them into the pickle without scalding, as that causes the celery to lose strength. French Pickle. — Slice one peck of green tomatoes and nine large onions, scatter one tea-spoonful of salt over them ; cover with water and let them stand all night ; in the morning drain and boil in weak vinegar. Then take four quarts of vinegar of good strength, two pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of white mustard seed, two table-spoonfuls each of ground allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, half a tea-spoonful of red pepper. Boil all together for half an hour. If the tomatoes are a little too near ripe they will not need boiling quite so long. This is an inexpensive but appetizing pickle. Pickled Peaches. — Take seven pounds of sugar to one quart of vinegar, boil the peaches in this until a broom splint will easily pierce the skin ; stick some cloves into the peaches before putting them into the vinegar, and scatter a handful of stick cinnamon over them. If you have only ground cinnamon in the house, make a little muslin bag and put the cinnamon into it and boil in the vinegar. If the amount of sugar frightens you, do not weigh it, but just PICKLES. 49