You may use some of the first syrup to boil up the pulp of the orange or lemons that has been left. It will make a sort of marmalade, that is very good for colds.
PRESERVED WATER-MELON RIND.—
Having pared off the green skin, cut the rind of a water-melon into pieces of any shape you please; stars, diamonds, circles, crescents or leaves, using for the purpose a sharp penknife. Weigh the pieces, and allow to each pound a pound and a half of loaf sugar. Set the sugar aside, and put the pieces of melon-rind into a preserving kettle, the bottom and sides of which you have lined with green vine leaves. Put a layer of vine leaves between each layer of melon-rind, and cover the top with leaves. Disperse among the pieces some very small bits of alum, each about the bigness of a grain of corn, and allowing one bit to every pound of the melon-rind. Pour in just water enough to cover the whole, and place a thick double cloth (or some other covering) over the top of the kettle to keep in the steam, which will improve the greening. Let it simmer (but not boil) for two hours. Then take out the pieces of melon-rind and spread them on dishes to cool. Afterwards if you find that they taste of the alum, simmer them in very weak ginger tea for about three hours. Then proceed to make your syrup. Melt the sugar in clear spring or pump water, allowing a pint of water to a pound and a half of sugar, and mixing in with it some white of egg beaten to a stiff froth. The white of one egg will be enough for two pounds of sugar. Boil and skim it; and when the scum ceases to rise, put in the melon-rind, and let it simmer an hour. Take it out and spread it to cool on dishes, return it to the syrup, and simmer it another hour. After this take it out, and put it into a tureen. Boil up the syrup again, and pour it over the melon-rind. Cover it, and let it stand all night. Next morning give the syrup another boil; adding to it some lemon-juice, allowing the juice of one lemon to a quart of the syrup. When you find it so thick as to hang in a drop on the point of the spoon, it is sufficiently done. Then put the rind into glass jars, pour in the syrup, and secure the sweetmeats closely from the air with paper dipped in brandy, and a leather outer cover.
This, if carefully done and well greened, is a very nice sweetmeat, and may be used to ornament the top of creams, jellies, jams. &c. laying it round in rings or wreaths.
Citrons may be preserved green in the same manner, first paring off the outer skin and cutting them into quarters. Also green limes.
PRESERVED PEPPERS.—
For this purpose take the small round peppers while they are green. With a sharp penknife extract the seeds and cores; and then put the outsides into a kettle with vine leaves, and a little alum to give them firmness, and assist in keeping them green. Proceed precisely as directed for the water-melon rind, in the above receipt.
PUMPKIN CHIPS.—
It is best to defer making this sweetmeat (which will be found very fine) till late in the season when lemons are ripe and are to be had in plenty. Pumpkins (as they keep well) can generally be procured at any time through the winter.
Take a fine pumpkin of a rich deep colour, pare off the outer rind; remove the seeds; and having sliced the best part, cut it into chips of equal size, and as thin as you can do them. They should be in long narrow pieces, two inches in breadth, and four in length. It is best to prepare the pumpkin the day before; and having weighed the chips, allow to each pound of them a pound of the best loaf-sugar. You must have several dozen of fine ripe lemons, sufficient to furnish a jill of lemon-juice to each pound of pumpkin. Having rolled them under your hand on a table, to make them yield as much juice as possible, pare off the yellow rind and put it away for some other purpose. Then having cut the lemons, squeeze out all the juice into a pitcher. Lay the pumpkin chips in a large pan or tureen, strewing the sugar among them. Then having measured the lemon-juice in a wine-glass, (two common wine-glasses making one jill,) pour it over the pumpkin and sugar, cover the vessel, and let it stand all night.