Jane Hamilton's recipes

Grate off the yellow rinds of the lemons and cut them across each end; pack them in a small vessel of dry salt, covering them with it. Let them remain eight days; take them out and put them in dishes and set the dishes in a hot oven, turning them until dry and the salt candies on them. Then put them in a pot, and put to twenty-five lemons one pound of white mustard seed, half pound of black pepper, the same of race ginger, a tablespoonful of mace, two of celery seed, a handful of horseradish, and a pound (or more) of brown sugar. Bruise the spices well, but do not pound them. Slice the ginger. Put the spices in with the lemons and pour on the vinegar enough to cover them. Cover the pot closely as soon as the contents is entirely cold. MARTINIA. Take the young and tender martinias, wash them, and put them in strong salt water for ten days. Then take them out (they will probably have become very soft if not mashed up), wash them, and put in weak vinegar for five or six days. Then wash them carefully, and to one gallon of martinias put two quarts of strong cider vinegar, two ounces of scraped horseradish, one-half ounce of ginger, an ounce of allspice, three-quarters of an ounce of black pepper, an ounce of black mustard seed (all beaten fine), two large silver onions chopped fine, two pounds of brown sugar, and a pod of pounded red pepper. Bottle this, cork and seal the bottles, and set them away in the cellar. NASTURTIUM. Gather the berries when they are green and tender and put them in brine for twenty-four hours. Then take them out of the brine, put them in a jar, and cover them (92) with vinegar. To a gallon of nasturtiums put a gill of black pepper, broken, and a fourth of that quantity of bruised mace. OYSTERS, PICKLED. Wash the oysters carefully in the liquor and strain the liquor through a cloth. Put the oysters in a brass skillet with all of the liquor. Put the skillet on the fire and let them simmer for about twenty-five minutes, then take out the oysters, lay each one separately in a dish, pour off the liquor, and when the oysters are cold, put them in a jar intermixed with bruised allspice, black pepper, and cloves. Make the liquor very salt ; add as much vinegar as there is liquor, and pour it on the oysters. The best way of putting up the oysters is to put in a layer of oysters, then the spice (do not put in so much spice that it will spoil the oysters), then pour on some of the liquor and vinegar, then a layer of oysters, and so on until the jar is filled. The oysters should (93) be cooked as much as when they are stewed for the table. Cover the jar closely. PEACHES, PICKLED. Gather the peaches when they are perfectly ripe. The soft black Georgia peach or the white Heath peach make the best pickle. Wash them and put them in salt water for two days, then soak them in cold water for four or five hours. Wipe them carefully so as to get off as much of the fur as possible without bruising the peach. If the peaches are stoned, stuff them with mustard seed and a little pounded mace. Put one ounce of allspice, the same of cloves, the same of ginger, four ounces of black mustard seed (all well bruised), an ounce of horseradish scraped, and a pound of sugar to a peck of peaches.