India relish (No. 2)
Two pounds of citron melon or watermelon rind, two heads of cabbage, white and firm; six white onions, one large cupful of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful, each, of ground cinnamon, mace, paprika (Hungarian sweet pepper), mustard and powdered alum, one tablespoonful of curry powder, one quart of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of celery seed, one tablespoonful of salt.
Prepare the melon by cutting off the green rind and scraping away the softer inner coating, leaving less than an inch, firm and white, to be treated. Cut into thin strips, put into an agate-iron or porcelain-lined kettle, cover with cold water and sprinkle a tablespoonful of powdered alum over it. Cover closely and cook gently—never fast—for three hours. Drain well and cover with ice-water. Change the water twice in four hours, and then wipe the melon dry.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, cook in boiling water slightly salted for fifteen minutes. Let it get perfectly cold. Parboil the onions and allow them also to get cold and stiff.
Now chop cabbage, melons and onions separately, and very fine. Mix all together in a large crock, and pour over them the scalding hot vinegar, in which have been boiled for one minute the spices, sugar and celery seed.
Leave the crock covered twenty-four hours, strain off the vinegar, bring it to a boil and pour again over the mixture in the crock. Repeat this for three days in succession, after which pack in small jars, cover closely and set away to ripen. It will be ready for use in six weeks, but improves by keeping. The result will repay the housewife for the trouble of making.
Pickled watermelon rind
Allow three pounds of brown sugar to each quart of vinegar. Bruise four ounces of stick cinnamon and two ounces of cloves; tie in a mustard bag and boil five minutes with the vinegar. Pour this over the pared and sliced rind and let it remain twenty-four hours. Drain off the liquid, reheat and pour over the rind again, and let it stand for twenty-four hours. Then boil all together for a short time, and put into jars.
Pickled nutmeg melons
Young musk or nutmeg melons, four tablespoonfuls of English mustard seed mixed with two tablespoonfuls of scraped horseradish, one teaspoonful of ground mace and nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of chopped garlic, a little ginger, one dozen whole peppercorns; one-half tablespoonful of ground mustard to a pint of the mixture—allowing one tablespoonful of sugar to the same amount; one tablespoonful best salad oil to each pint of the mixture; one teaspoonful of celery seed. Cut a slit in the side of the melon and extract the seeds. If you can not get them out in this way cut a slender slit out, saving it to replace. Lay the melons in strong brine for three days. Drain off the brine and freshen in pure water for twenty-four hours. “Green” as you would cucumbers—that is, have a kettle lined with green vine leaves, and lay the melons evenly within it, scattering powdered alum over the layers. A piece of alum as large as a pigeon’s egg will be enough for a two-gallon kettleful. Fill with cold water; cover with vine leaves, three deep; put a close lid or inverted pan over all, and steam over a slow fire five or six hours, not allowing the water to boil. When the melons are a fine green remove the leaves and lay the melons in cold water until cold and firm. Fill with the stuffing; sew up the slit, or tie with pack thread. Pack in a deep stone jar and pour scalding vinegar over them. Repeat this process three times more at intervals of two days; then cover and set away in a cool, dry place. They will not be “ripe” under four months, but are very fine when they are. They will keep several years.