The Book of Household Management - The Original Classic Edition. Beeton Mrs

essentials for making this sauce good.

       MINT SAUCE, to serve with Roast Lamb.

       469. INGREDIENTS.--4 dessertspoonfuls of chopped mint, 2 dessertspoonfuls of pounded white sugar, 1/4 pint of vinegar. Mode.--Wash the mint, which should be young and fresh-gathered, free from grit; pick the leaves from the stalks, mince them very

       fine, and put them into a tureen; add the sugar and vinegar, and stir till the former is dissolved. This sauce is better by being made

       2 or 3 hours before wanted for table, as the vinegar then becomes impregnated with the flavour of the mint. By many persons, the above proportion of sugar would not be considered sufficient; but as tastes vary, we have given the quantity which we have found to suit the general palate.

       Average cost, 3d.

       Sufficient to serve with a middling-sized joint of lamb.

       Note.--Where green mint is scarce and not obtainable, mint vinegar may be substituted for it, and will be found very acceptable in early spring.

       [Illustration: MINT.]

       MINT.--The common mint cultivated in our gardens is known as the Mentha viridis, and is employed in different culinary processes, being sometimes boiled with certain dishes, and afterwards withdrawn. It has an agreeable aromatic flavour, and forms an ingredient in soups, and sometimes is used in spring salads. It is valuable as a stomachic and antispasmodic; on which account it is generally served at table with pea-soup. Several of its species grow wild in low situations in the country.

       MINT VINEGAR.

       470. INGREDIENTS.--Vinegar, mint.

       Mode.--Procure some nice fresh mint, pick the leaves from the stalks, and fill a bottle or jar with them. Add vinegar to them until the bottle is full; cover closely to exclude the air, and let it infuse for a fortnight. Then strain the liquor, and put it into small bottles for use, of which the corks should be sealed.

       Seasonable.--This should be made in June, July, or August. MIXED PICKLE.

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       (Very Good.)

       471. INGREDIENTS.--To each gallon of vinegar allow 1/4 lb. of bruised ginger, 1/4 lb. of mustard, 1/4 lb. of salt, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, 1-1/2 oz. of turmeric, 1 oz. of ground black pepper, 1/4 oz. of cayenne, cauliflowers, onions, celery, sliced cucumbers, gherkins, French beans, nasturtiums, capsicums.

       Mode.--Have a large jar, with a tightly-fitting lid, in which put as much vinegar as required, reserving a little to mix the various powders to a smooth paste. Put into a basin the mustard, turmeric, pepper, and cayenne; mix them with vinegar, and stir well until no lumps remain; add all the ingredients to the vinegar, and mix well. Keep this liquor in a warm place, and thoroughly stir every morning for a month with a wooden spoon, when it will be ready for the different vegetables to be added to it. As these come into season, have them gathered on a dry day, and, after merely wiping them with a cloth, to free them from moisture, put them into the pickle. The cauliflowers, it may be said, must be divided into small bunches. Put all these into the pickle raw, and at the end of the season, when there have been added as many of the vegetables as could be procured, store it away in jars, and tie over with bladder. As none of the ingredients are boiled, this pickle will not be fit to eat till 12 months have elapsed. Whilst the pickle is being made, keep a wooden spoon tied to the jar; and its contents, it may be repeated, must be stirred every morning.

       Seasonable.--Make the pickle-liquor in May or June, as the season arrives for the various vegetables to be picked. MUSHROOM KETCHUP.

       472. INGREDIENTS.--To each peck of mushrooms 1/2 lb. of salt; to each quart of mushroom-liquor 1/4 oz. of cayenne, 1/2 oz. of allspice, 1/2 oz. of ginger, 2 blades of pounded mace.

       Mode.--Choose full-grown mushroom-flaps, and take care they are perfectly fresh-gathered when the weather is tolerably dry; for, if they are picked during very heavy rain, the ketchup from which they are made is liable to get musty, and will not keep long. Put a layer of them in a deep pan, sprinkle salt over them, and then another layer of mushrooms, and so on alternately. Let them remain for a few hours, when break them up with the hand; put them in a nice cool place for 3 days, occasionally stirring and mashing them well, to extract from them as much juice as possible. Now measure the quantity of liquor without straining, and to each quart allow the above proportion of spices, &c. Put all into a stone jar, cover it up very closely, put it in a saucepan of boiling water, set it over the fire, and let it boil for 3 hours. Have ready a nice clean stewpan; turn into it the contents of the jar, and let the whole simmer very gently for 1/2 hour; pour it into a jug, where it should stand in a cool place till the next day; then pour it off into another jug, and strain it into very dry clean bottles, and do not squeeze the mushrooms. To each pint of ketchup add a few drops of brandy.

       Be careful not to shake the contents, but leave all the sediment behind in the jug; cork well, and either seal or rosin the cork, so as perfectly to exclude the air. When a very clear bright ketchup is wanted, the liquor must be strained through a very fine hair-sieve, or flannel bag, after it has been very gently poured off; if the operation is not successful, it must be repeated until you have quite a clear liquor. It should be examined occasionally, and if it is spoiling, should be reboiled with a few peppercorns.

       Seasonable from the beginning of September to the middle of October, when this ketchup should be made.

       Note.--This flavouring ingredient, if genuine and well prepared, is one of the most useful store sauces to the experienced cook, and no trouble should be spared in its preparation. Double ketchup is made by reducing the liquor to half the quantity; for example, 1 quart must be boiled down to 1 pint. This goes farther than ordinary ketchup, as so little is required to flavour a good quantity of gravy. The sediment may also be bottled for immediate use, and will be found to answer for flavouring thick soups or gravies.

       HOW TO DISTINGUISH MUSHROOMS FROM TOADSTOOLS.--The cultivated mushroom, known as Agaricus campestris, may be distinguished from other poisonous kinds of fungi by its having pink or flesh-coloured gills, or under-side, and by its invariably having an agreeable smell, which the toadstool has not. When young, mushrooms are like a small round button, both the stalk and head being white. As they grow larger, they expand their heads by degrees into a flat form, the gills underneath being at first of a pale flesh-colour, but becoming, as they stand longer, dark brown or blackish. Nearly all the poisonous kinds are brown, and have in general a rank and putrid smell. Edible mushrooms are found in closely-fed pastures, but seldom grow in woods, where most of the poisonous sorts are to be found.

       TO DRY MUSHROOMS.

       473. Mode.--Wipe them clean, take away the brown part, and peel off the skin; lay them on sheets of paper to dry, in a cool oven, when they will shrivel considerably. Keep them in paper bags, which hang in a dry place. When wanted for use, put them into cold gravy, bring them gradually to simmer, and it will be found that they will regain nearly their usual size.

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       [Illustration: THE MUSHROOM.]

       THE MUSHROOM.--The cultivated or garden mushroom is a species of fungus, which, in England, is considered the best, and

       is there usually eaten. The tribe, however, is numerous, and a large proportion of them are poisonous; hence it is always dangerous to make use of mushrooms gathered in their wild state. In some parts of Europe, as in Germany, Russia, and Poland, many species grow wild, and are used as food; but in Britain, two only are generally eaten. These are mostly employed for the flavouring of dishes, and are also dried and pickled. CATSUP, or KETCHUP, is made from them by mixing spices and salt with their juice. The young, called buttons, are the best for pickling when in the globular form.

       BROWN MUSHROOM SAUCE, to serve with Roast Meat, &c.

       474. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of button mushrooms, 1/2 pint of good beef gravy, No. 435, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom

       ketchup (if at hand), thickening of butter and flour.

       Mode.--Put the gravy into a saucepan, thicken it, and stir over the fire until it boils. Prepare the mushrooms by cutting off the stalks and wiping them free from grit and dirt; the large flap mushrooms cut into small pieces will answer for a brown sauce, when the buttons are not obtainable; put them into the gravy,