Red Currant Ice.—Strip from the stalks and take two pounds weight of fine ripe currants and half a pound of raspberries; rub them through a fine sieve, and mingle thoroughly with them sufficient cold syrup to render the mixture agreeably sweet, and,—unless the pure flavour of the fruit be altogether preferred,—add the strained juice of one large or of two small lemons, and proceed at once to freeze the mixture as above. Currants, 2 lbs.; raspberries, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 to 1 lb.; boiled for 6 or 8 minutes in 1/2 pint of water and left till quite cold. (Juice of lemon or lemons at pleasure.)
Strawberry and raspberry water-ices are made in precisely the same manner.
To convert any of these into English ice-creams, merely mingle the juice and pulp of the fruit with sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten them, or with the syrup as above, and then blend with them gradually from a pint and a half to a quart of fresh sweet cream, and the lemon-juice or not at choice. The Queen’s Custard, the Currant, and the Quince or Apple Custard of pages 481 and 482 may all be converted into good ices with a little addition of cream and sugar; and so likewise may the Countess Cream of page [472], and the Bavarian Cream of page [477], by omitting the isinglass from either of them.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Syrups, Liqueurs, &c.
Antique Wine Vase.
STRAWBERRY VINEGAR, OF DELICIOUS FLAVOUR.
Take the stalks from the fruit which should be of a highly flavoured sort, quite ripe, fresh from the beds, and gathered in dry weather; weigh and put it into large glass jars, or wide-necked bottles, and to each pound pour about a pint and a half of fine pale white wine vinegar, which will answer the purpose better than the entirely colourless kind sold under the name of distilled vinegar, but which is often, we believe, merely pyroligneous acid greatly diluted.[[180]] Tie a thick paper over them, and let the strawberries remain from three to four days; then pour off the vinegar and empty them into a jelly-bag, or suspend them in a cloth, that all the liquid may drop from them without pressure; replace them with an equal weight of fresh fruit, pour the vinegar upon it, and three days afterwards repeat the same process, diminishing a little the proportion of strawberries, of which the flavour ought ultimately to overpower that of the vinegar. In from two to four days drain off the liquid very closely, and after having strained it through a linen or a flannel bag, weigh it, and mix with it an equal quantity of highly-refined sugar roughly powdered; when this is nearly dissolved, stir the syrup over a very clear fire until it has boiled for five minutes, and skim it thoroughly; pour it into a delicately clean stone pitcher, or into large china jugs, throw a thick folded cloth over and let it remain until the morrow. Put it into pint or half-pint bottles, and cork them lightly with new velvet corks; for if these be pressed in tightly at first, the bottles will sometimes burst:[[181]] in four or five days they may be closely corked, and stored in a dry and cool place. Damp destroys the colour and injures the flavour of these fine fruit-vinegars, of which a spoonful or two in a glass of water affords so agreeable a summer beverage, and one which, in many cases of illness, is so acceptable to invalids. They make also most admirable sauces for her Majesty’s pudding, common custard, batter, and various other simple and sweet light puddings.