Practical household cookery

Pick and chop very finely one pound of beef suet and one pound of roast lean beef ; add both to the basin with the fruit, together with one pound of pounded sugar, one ounce of ground cinnamon, half an ounce of lemon-peel chopped very fine, half an ounce each of pounded cloves and allspice, and a quarter of an ounce of grated nutmeg; mix the whole well together, moistening with half a pint of sherry and a pint of brandy. Put the mince-meat into jars and tie closely down with brown paper. Note, — Mince-meat should be made at least a fortnight before using it ; and if a month, all the better. 855. MINCE PIES. Make a puff paste of six turns (No. 318), roll it out thin, and with it line some small tartlet moulds ; fill them with mince-meat, cover them with a similar rolled paste, press and out them round, then egg them over with a pastebrush dipped in yolks ; cut a small pattern on the top, and bake in a well-heated oven for about a quarter of an hour. When done take out of the moulds, dish up, and serve. 856. CLARIFIED SYRUP FOR JELLIES. Whatever quantity of syrup may be required, put three gills of cold water to one pound of finest loaf-sugar into a copper sugar-boiler, and half the white of an egg, whipped with a little water; whisk the lot together on the fire until it boils, then pour a few drops of cold water to enable the scum to rise, which must at once be removed with a silver spoon ; let the syrup simmer gently, until the whole of the scum has been thrown up and removed, adding a little more cold water if necessary ; then strain the syrup through a napkin or jelly- bag into a basin and put by in a cool place for use. 857. LEMON JELLY. Calf's-foot, isinglass, and gelatine are the foundations or basis of all kinds of jellies, bavarois creams, and blancmange. I have already described the manner of making a plain calfs-foot jelly (No. 227), which is the most wholesome stiffening to usa Isinglass is the best, being prepared from the bladder of sturgeons. It is perhaps the purest and cleanest, but it is also the dearest; consequently gelatine is generally the stiffening used, on account of its lower cost. Put two ounces of gelatine ia a stewpan with three quarters of a pound of loaf-sugar and the juice of two lemons. Whisk the whites of two eggs in a basin, mix them with a quart of water, and pour the whole into the stewpan with the gelatine ; stir the liquid over the fire with the whisk until it boUs ; then take the stewpan off the fire, let it cool for a few minutes ; after which, pour the contents into the jelly-bag over the yellow peel of four lemons to strain, pour it back again, and again, until it is quite clear. Should there be no jelly-bag and frame handy, a kitchen stool upside down, with a fine diaper broth-napkin, previously rinsed in hot water, tied to the four legs, and a bain-marie put underneath to receive the strained jelly, will make a very good substitute for a jelly-bag and stand, but the proper jelly-bag is to be preferred. Press out or squeeze the juice of six lemons; strain through a silk sieve and filter with some filtering or white blotting paper into a water-bottle or decanter. Meanwhile have a three-pint jelly-mould in about three inches of broken rough ice, mix the filtered juice with the jelly, pour it in the mould, and let it set for some two hours. When the jelly is set firm, ten minutes before sending to the table, dip the mould in warm water, wipe with a cloth, shake it gently, so as to free the jelly from the mould without breaking, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Note, — As there are several kinds of gelatine with more or less stiffening power, it is advisable, after having clarified the jelly, to try a little in the ice firsts to see if it be too stiff, in which case a little more syrup may be added. 858. STRAWBERRY JELLY.