Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit allow 6 oz. of pounded sugar; melted mutton suet. Mode.—Choose sound fruit, not too ripe; pick off the stalks, weigh it, and to every lb. allow the above proportion of pounded sugar. Put the fruit into large dry stone jars, sprinkling the sugar amongst it; cover the jars with saucers, place them in a rather cool oven, and bake the fruit until it is quite tender. When cold, cover the top of the fruit with a piece of white paper cut to the size of the jar; pour over this melted mutton suet about an inch thick, and cover the tops of the jars with thick brown paper well tied down. Keep the jars in a cool dry place, and the fruit will remain good till the following Christmas, but not much longer. Time.—From 5 to 6 hours to bake the damsons in a very cool oven. Seasonable in September and October.
DAMSONS, Compôte of.
Ingredients.—1 quart of damsons, 1 pint of syrup (see [Syrup]). Mode.—Procure sound ripe damsons, pick the stalks from them, and put them into boiling syrup made by the recipe. Simmer them gently until the fruit is tender, but not sufficiently soft to break; take them up, boil the syrup for 5 minutes, pour it over the damsons, and serve. This should be sent to table in a glass dish. Time.—About ¼ hour to simmer the damsons; 5 minutes to boil the syrup. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable in September and October.
DAMSONS, Preserved.
Ingredients.—To every quart of damsons allow ½ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Put the damsons (which should be picked from the stalks and quite free from blemishes) into a jar, with pounded sugar sprinkled amongst them in the above proportion; tie the jar closely down, set it in a saucepan of cold water; bring it gradually to boil, and simmer gently until the damsons are soft, without being broken. Let them stand till cold; then strain the juice from them, boil it up well, strain it through a jelly-bag, and pour it over the fruit. Let it cool, cover with oiled papers, and the jars with tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg, and store away in a dry place. Time.—About ¾ hour to simmer the fruit after the water boils; ¼ hour to boil the juice. Seasonable.—Make this in September or October.
DAMSONS, or any kind of Plums, to Preserve. (Useful in Winter.)
Ingredients.—Damsons or plums; boiling water. Mode.—Pick the fruit into clean dry stone jars, taking care to leave out all that are broken or blemished. When full, pour boiling water on the plums, until it stands one inch above the fruit; cut a piece of paper to fit the inside of the jar, over which pour melted mutton-suet; cover down with brown paper, and keep the jars in a dry cool place. When used, the suet should be removed, the water poured off, and the jelly at the bottom of the jar used and mixed with the fruit. Seasonable in September and October.
DARIOLES À LA VANILLE. (Sweet Entremets.)
Ingredients.—½ pint of milk, ½ pint of cream, 2 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 6 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, puff-paste, flavouring of essence of vanilla. Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter, with the milk; stir in the cream, sugar, the eggs, which should be well whisked, and the butter, which should be beaten to a cream. Put in some essence of vanilla, drop by drop, until the mixture is well flavoured; line some dariole-moulds with puff-paste, three-parts fill them with the batter, and bake in a good oven from 25 to 35 minutes. Turn them out of the moulds on a dish, without breaking them; strew over sifted sugar, and serve. The flavouring of the darioles may be varied by substituting lemon, cinnamon, or almonds, for the vanilla. Time.—25 to 35 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 8d. Sufficient to fill 6 or 7 dariole-moulds. Seasonable at any time.