Take large ripe tomatas; wipe them, and split them in half. Broil them on a gridiron till brown, turning them when half done. Have ready in a dish some butter seasoned with a little pepper. When the tomatas are well broiled, put them into the dish, and press each a little with the back of a spoon, so that the juice may run into the butter and mix with it. This is to make the gravy. Send them to table hot.
Tomatas are very good sliced, and fried in butter.
Take large fine tomatas, (not too ripe,) and scald them to make the skins come off easily. Weigh them, and to each pound allow a pound of the best brown sugar, and the grated peel of a large lemon. Put all together into a preserving kettle, and having boiled it slowly for three hours, (skimming it carefully,) add the juice of the lemons, and boil it an hour longer. Then put the whole into jars, and when cool cover and tie them up closely. This is a cheap and excellent sweetmeat; but the lemon must on no account be omitted. It may be improved by boiling a little ginger with the other ingredients.
To each pound of tomatas, allow the grated peel of a lemon and six fresh peach-leaves. Boil them slowly till they are all to pieces; then squeeze and strain them through a bag. To each pint of liquid allow a pound of loaf-sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Boil them together half an hour, or till they become a thick jelly. Then put it into glasses, and lay double tissue paper closely over the top. It will be scarcely distinguishable from real honey.
Your cucumbers should be well shaped, and all of the same size. Spread the bottom and sides of a preserving kettle with a thick layer of vine leaves. Then put in the cucumbers—with a little alum broken small. Cover them thickly with vine leaves, and then with a dish. Fill up the kettle with water, and let them hang over a slow fire till nest morning, but do not allow the water to boil. Next day, take them out, cool them, and repeat the process with fresh vine leaves, till the cucumbers are a fine green. When cold drain them, cut a small piece out of the flat side, and extract the seeds. Wipe the cucumbers in a dry cloth, and season the inside with a mixture of bruised mace and grated lemon-peel. Tie on with a packthread the bit that was cut out.
Weigh them, and to every pound of cucumbers allow a pound of loaf-sugar. Put the sugar into a preserving kettle, a half pint of water to each pound, and. the beaten white of an egg to every four pounds. Boil and skim the sugar till quite clear, adding sliced ginger and lemon parings to your taste. When cool, pour it over the cucumbers, and let them lie in it two days, keeping them covered with a plate, and a weight on it to press it down. Then boil up the syrup again, adding one-half as much sugar, &c. as you had at first; and at the last the juice and grated peel of two lemons for every six cucumbers. The lemon must boil in the syrup but ten minutes. Then strain the syrup all over the cucumbers, and put them up in glass jars.