Orange Cakes.
Cut Seville oranges in pieces, take out the seeds and skins, save the juice, and add to the meat of the fruit, after having beaten it quite fine in a mortar, in the proportion of a pound to a pound and a half of loaf sugar finely beaten first. When the paste is finely mixed, make it into small cakes, and dry them on China plates in a hot room, and turn them daily. Do not let them be too dry.
They are excellent for gouty stomachs, or for travellers.
The peels of China oranges, soaked a night, then drained and boiled up in a syrup till enough to be tender, answer for common puddings extremely well, and are of no value; whereas Seville are usually dear, and sometimes cannot be had.
To preserve Morella Cherries.
Gather them when full ripe, and perfectly dry, take off the stalks, and prick them with a new needle to prevent bursting. Weigh to every pound, one and a half of sugar, beat part, and strew over them; let them lie all night; dissolve the rest in half a pint of currantjuice, set it over the fire, and put in the cherries, and sugar that hangs about them, give them a scald, then put them in a China bowl; next day give them another scald, then take them carefully out, boil the syrup till it is thick, and pour it on them; look at it in a day or two, and if too thin, boil it more, but gently.
To keep Lemonjuice.
Buy the fruit when cheap, keep it in a cool place until the colour becomes very yellow: cut the peel off some, and roll them under your hand to make them part with the juice more readily; others you may leave unpared for grating, when the pulp shall be taken out and dried. Squeeze the juice into a China bason, then strain it through some linen which will not permit the least pulp to pass. Have ready some half and quarter ounce phials perfectly dry: fill them with the juice so near to the top as only to admit half a teaspoonful of sweet oil into each; or a little more, if for larger bottles. Cork the bottles, and set them upright in a cool place.
When you want lemonjuice, open such a sized bottle as you shall use in two or three days, wind some clean cotton round a skewer, and dipping it in, the oil will be attracted; and when all shall be removed, the juice will be as fine as when first bottled.
The peels hang up till dry, then keep them from the dust.