Pickled gherkins
Put the “prickly cucumbers” by the layer in a stone crock, strewing each layer thickly with salt; then pour in enough cold water to cover them. Lay a heavy plate on the top of all to keep them from floating. Leave the pickles in brine for a fortnight, frequently stirring them up from the bottom. Pick all over, rejecting such as are soft, and lay the firm ones in a kettle lined with grape leaves, sprinkling a generous pinch of alum over each layer of gherkins. Cover with cold water and three thicknesses of grape leaves over the surface of the water; put on a closely-fitting top and steam over a low fire for half a day. Drain the pickles and throw into cold water. Have ready a gallon of vinegar to which have been added eighteen allspice, three dozen cloves, three dozen black peppercorns, a dozen blades of mace, and a cup of sugar. Boil this vinegar for five minutes, then pack the cold gherkins in jars and fill the jars with the scalding vinegar.