The Rural cook book

Pickled Peppers. — Put two dozen green peppers in a bowl and pour over them a very strong brine. Put a weight over them to keep them under the water and let them lie for two days. Drain them, make a small incision in the side of each to let out the water, wipe them with « soft cloth and put them in a stone jar, with one-half ounce of whole allspice, one-half ounce of whole cloves and a small lump of alum. Pour cold vinegar over them and tie a bladder securely over the jar. Pickled in this way the peppers should preserve their color. Pepper Relish, — Remove the seeds from six large green peppers and one red bell pepper, and chop the peppers fine. Mix the peppers with a finely minced head of cabbage. Turn in a little less than a quarter of a cupful of salt, a full cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of mustard seed and nice cider vinegar enough to cover the mixture. Stir thoroughly and bottle. Piccalilli. — Two pecks of green tomatoes, two heads of white cabbage, 13 large onions, four green peppers, two red peppers, one good root of horseradish (grated), one tablespoonful each of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Chop all fine, stir in two cups of salt and let stand all night, then drain; cover with cold vinegar, boil 10 minutes and drain again. Cover with vinegar, add the spices and three pounds of brown sugar. Boil a few minutes and put away in jars. Canned Pimentos. — These are simply red peppers, the long, tapering, sharp-pointed sweet variety. They repay one for the trouble, as they retail at 15 cents a can, and in glass jars at 35 cents per quart. Select ripe red ones, neither dry nor woody. Cut off stem. end and extract the seeds. Drop in a jar and cover with brine that will float an egg. Let stand three days. Wash in several waters, cover with clear water one day, then drain well. Place peppers iti cans, fill to overflowing with boiling water, add a level tablespoonful of salt to each quart of water; place in a boiler on two-inch layer of straw, weight cans to prevent tipping, pour in boiling water to cover two-thirds of the can, screw lids on loosely and cover the boiler. When the water boils simmer 10 minutes, remove and seal. They are used in salads, as a relish with cold meats or are stuffed with rice, macaroni or bread crumbs. Pumpkin Pickle. — This is very good when there is a scarcity of apples. Pare the pumpkins carefully, leaving out all soft or stringy parts, then cut into pieces about one or two inches square. Soak over night in vinegar, salt and water, just enough vinegar and salt to make a good flavor. The next day make a pickle as you would for any nice pickle and let them simmer on the back of the stove for a long time; without stirring. Our rule for pickle is seven pounds fruit, four pounds sugar and one pint of vinegar. We usually flavor the pumpkin pickle with either sliced lemon or ginger root. Quince Sweet Pickles.— Scrub with a small vegetable brush to remove the down, wipe dry and cut out any spots or decayed portions. Slice, without paring, into rounds a fourth of an inch thick, leaving in both core and seeds, unless imperfect, then weigh. Put the fruit, a thin layer at a time, in a steamer or colander over boiling water, cover closely and steam until it is perfectly tender, then place in a stone jar. Make the syrup of four pounds of sugar, a pint of vinegar of medium strength, a pint of the water over which the fruit was steamed. an ounce of stick cinnamon, a heaping tablespoonfu! of allspice berries and a level tablespoonful of whole cloves to seven pounds of the fruit. Pour over the fruit, cover securely and stand in a cool place over night. The next morning drain off the syrup, boil for 10 minutes with the spice bag, skim and pour again boiling hot over the fruit. Continue this process for three successive mornings.