Infuse for fourteen days in a gentle heat, strain and bottle for use, corking and sealing well.
FRENCH SAUSAGE SPICE.
| Black pepper, finely powdered | 5 | lb. |
| Mace, finely powdered | 3 | oz. |
| Cloves, finely powdered | 1½ | lb. |
| Nutmeg, finely powdered | 1½ | lb. |
| Jamaica ginger, finely powdered | 2½ | lb. |
| Coriander seeds, finely powdered | ¾ | lb. |
| Aniseeds, finely powdered | ¾ | lb. |
Mix them thoroughly, sift, bottle, cork well and seal.
Preserved Fruits
TO PREPARE SYRUP FOR PRESERVING FRUIT.
The best refined sugar, which will require no clarifying, should invariably be used for this process; but when inferior qualities are chosen they must be prepared in the following manner: To clarify six pounds of sugar, break it into large lumps, put it into a preserving pan, and pour upon it five pints of cold spring water; in another pint of water beat up lightly the white of one small egg, but not frothing it very much, add it to the sugar, and stir it to mix it well with the whole. Set the pan over a gentle fire, when the sugar is nearly dissolved, and let the scum rise without being disturbed; when the syrup has boiled five minutes, take it off the fire, let it stand two minutes, and then skim it very clean, let it boil again, then throw in half a cupful of cold water, which will bring the remainder of the scum to the surface; skim it until it is perfectly clear, strain it through a thin cloth, and it will be ready for use, or for further boiling.
All unripe fruit must be rendered perfectly tender by gentle scalding, before it is put into syrup, or it will not imbibe the sugar; and the syrup must be thin when it is first added to it, and be thickened afterwards by frequent boiling, or with sugar added, or the fruit will shrivel instead of becoming plump and clear. A pound of sugar boiled for ten minutes in a pint of water will make a very light syrup, but it will gradually thicken if rapidly boiled in an uncovered pan. Two pounds of sugar to the pint of water will become thick with little more than half an hour’s boiling, or with three or four separate boilings of eight or ten minutes each; if too much reduced it will candy, instead of remaining liquid.
WEST INDIA PRESERVED GREEN GINGER.
Take half a dozen middle-sized cucumbers, cut them open lengthwise, take out the seeds, cut off the pulpy part, and soak them three days in strong salt and water, and weighted down so as to be completely submerged. Next, take them out and wash them in cold water, and put them, with plenty of cold water, into a pan on the fire, and when it comes to the boiling point, take them off, pour off the water, and add more cold water with a quarter of an ounce of bicarbonate of potash to each quart of water. Now boil them half an hour, and set by in the water they were boiled in till next day. Then take out, and set them to drain on a sieve, covered with a cloth. Then take