Young Cucumbers.
Choose nice young gherkins; spread them on dishes; salt them, and let them lie a week: drain them, and, putting them in a jar, pour boiling vinegar over them. Set them near the fire, covered with plenty of vineleaves. If they do not become a tolerable good green, pour the vinegar into another jar, set it over the hot hearth, and when it boils, pour it over them again, covering with fresh leaves; and thus do till they are of as good a colour as you wish: but as it is now known, that the very fine green pickles are made so by using brass or bell metal vessels, which, when vinegar is put into them, become highly poisonous, few people like to eat them.
Note. Acids dissolve the lead in the tinning of saucepans. Pickles should never be kept in glazed jars, but in stone or glass; and vinegar, or any acids, should be boiled, by putting them in jars of stone, over a hot hearth, or in a kettle of water.
To Pickle Walnuts.
When they will bear a pin to go into them, put on them a brine of salt and water boiled, and strong enough to bear an egg, being quite cold first. It must be well skimmed while boiling. Let them soak twelve days, then drain them, and pour over them in the jar a pickle of the best white wine vinegar, with a good quantity of pepper, pimento, ginger, mace, cloves, mustardseed, and horseradish; all boiled together, but cold. To every hundred of walnuts, put six spoonfuls of mustardseed, and two or three heads of garlick, or shalot; but the latter is least strong.
Thus done, they will be good for several years, if kept close covered. The air will soften them. They will not be fit to eat under six months.
The pickle will serve as good catsup, when the walnuts are used.
Nasturtions, for Capers.
Keep them a few days after they are gathered; then pour boiling vinegar over them, and when cold, cover.
They will not be fit to eat for some months; but are then finely flavoured, and by many preferred to capers.