Mackerel are at certain times exceedingly plentiful, especially to those who live near the coast. They may be preserved so as to make an excellent and well-flavoured dish, weeks or months after the season is past, by the following means. Having chosen some fine fish, cleanse them perfectly, and either boil them or lightly fry them in oil. The fish should be divided, and the bones, heads, and skins removed; they should then be well rubbed over with the following seasoning:—For every dozen good-sized fish use three tablespoonfuls of salt (heaped), one ounce and a half of common black pepper, six or eight cloves, and a little mace, finely powdered, and as much nutmeg, grated, as the operator chooses to afford,—not, however, exceeding one nutmeg. Let the whole surface be well covered with the seasoning; then lay the fish in layers packed into a stone jar (not a glazed one); cover the whole with good vinegar, and if they be intended to be long kept, pour salad oil or melted fat over the top.
Caution
.—The glazing on earthen jars is made from lead or arsenic, from which vinegar draws forth poison.
1654. Preserving Potatoes
The preservation of potatoes by dipping them in boiling water is a valuable and useful discovery. Large quantities may be cured at once, by putting them into a basket as large as the vessel containing the boiling water will admit, and then just dipping them a minute or two, at the utmost. The germ, which is so near the skin, is thus destroyed without injury to the potato. In this way several tons might be cured in a few hours. They should be then dried in a warm oven, and laid up in sacks, secure from the frost, in a dry place.
1655. To Preserve Cucumbers
Take large and fresh-gathered cucumbers; split them down and take out all the seeds, lay them in salt and water, sufficiently strong to bear an egg, for three days; set them on a fire with cold water, and a small lump of alum, and boil them a few minutes, or till tender; drain them, and pour on them a thin syrup:—let them lie two days; boil the syrup again, and put it over the cucumbers; repeat this part of the process a second and a third time; then have ready some fresh clarified sugar, boiled to a
blow