Samphire.—By persons living near the sea it is usually preserved, when freshly gathered, in equal parts vinegar and sea water, or even sometimes in the water only; but when brought inland it should be steeped 2 days in brine, then drained, and put into a stone jar, covered with vinegar, and having a lid, over which put a thick paste of flour and water, and set it in a very cool oven all night, or in a warmer oven till it nearly but not quite boils. Then let it stand on a warm hob for ½ hour, and allow it to become quite cold before the paste is removed; then add cold vinegar if any more is required, and secure as other pickles.
Tomato.—(a) Gather 4 doz. tomatoes when turned, but not too ripe. Lay them in salt and water for 2 days, changing them twice; drain them, and dry them in a coarse cloth; put them in a pickling jar. To 1 gal. vinegar add 1 oz. ginger, shred, 1 oz. whole pepper, ½ oz. cloves, 1 pint mustard seeds, and 2 tablespoonfuls mustard flour, curry powder, turmeric, 2 oz. garlic, 2 oz. shallots, shred, 1 oz. bay salt, and a little common salt. Half of the spice to be strewed in the jar, and the other half to be boiled in the vinegar, and to be poured hot over the tomatoes; then let them be covered close with a flannel, and a weight at the top to keep in the steam, and let them stand in the chimney corner for 2 days, but not too near the fire. The vinegar must be boiled up twice more, and poured over the tomatoes as before. When quite cold fill up with more vinegar previously boiled, so that the tomatoes are covered and tied up with bladder.
(b) Cut some green tomatoes in slices, sprinkle them with salt, and let them stand 12-15 hours, drain, and put them in a saucepan over the fire with fresh water, changing it until all the salt is washed out. When thoroughly scalded and partially cooked, drain them again and put them into a boiling hot syrup, made with 1 pint vinegar, 3 lb. sugar, ½ oz. cinnamon, ¼ oz. cloves, simmer them in this until tender, then carefully lift them out and put them into jars, reduce the syrup and pour it over them. After a day or two boil up the syrup again, pour it afresh over the tomatoes, and when cold tie them down carefully.
Vinegar.—(a) To every gal. water put 2 lb. coarsest West India sugar; boil and skim this. Pour the mixture into a common clean washing mug, and, when sufficiently cool, take 4 pints from it into a basin, and stir well into it ½d. worth good fresh yeast if 3 gal. vinegar are to be made, or in that proportion, and set the basin, near a fire, covered with a cloth, to get it to work. When this end is obtained, put it back to the larger quantity from which it came, and which ought to be still lukewarm; stir well round with a wooden preserving spoon, and cover the mug with a cloth, and in a few hours, or by next morning (if made in an evening) the mixture will be found in full work. Let it stand one week from the day it was made, then carefully skim the barm off it, and put it into a barrel or mug in a warm place in winter, or in the sun in summer. It will be fit for use in 4-6 months, and then bottle off for use. As soon as you have bottled off a making of vinegar, immediately begin again, as the jelly-like “mother,” called the vinegar plant, formed on the surface by the time it is ready for bottling, helps the making of the next vinegar. Add it on pouring the mixture into the barrel or closed mug.
(b) Make vinegar from a vinegar plant by mixing ½ lb. coarse brown sugar and ½ lb. treacle with 5 pints water, stirring it until all the sugar is dissolved; then laying the fungus on the top, and covering it with thick brown paper tied down. In 6 weeks (or a little longer in cold weather), the liquid is turned to vinegar, and must then be strained off and bottled, and a fresh mixture made for the plant. It must be put in a white ware vessel—a washstand basin is very suitable, as the vinegar corrodes the yellow glazed ware, and is injurious. The plant does not get useless if kept “going,” but improves by growing thicker.
(c) Best of all, buy Beaufoy’s vinegar, and run no risk of subsequent fermentations.
Vinegar, Primrose.—To 18 qt. water add 6 lb. moist sugar; boil and stir it very well. Let it stand until it is just warm, then add 1 peck primroses with their stalks, and a little yeast. Let it stand all night, then put it into a cask, bung it up, and allow it to remain for 2 months. Then give it a little air, and let it stand 2-3 months longer. Then taste, and, if not sour, let it stand till it is. It must be placed in a warm situation: a great deal depends on where it is kept.
Vinegar, Raspberry.—Put 1 lb. very fine raspberries in a bowl, bruise them well, and pour upon them 1 qt. best cider vinegar; next day strain the liquor on 1 lb. fresh ripe raspberries, bruise them also, and on the following day do the same, but do not squeeze the fruit, or it will make it ferment, only drain the liquor as dry as you can from the fruit. The last time pass it through a canvas bag, previously wetted with vinegar to prevent waste. Put the juice into a stone jar with 1 lb. sugar to every pint of juice; the sugar must be broken into lumps, stir it, and when melted, put the jars into a saucepan of water, let it simmer a little, skim and remove from the fire. When cool, bottle off.
Vinegar, Tarragon.—Gather full-grown shoots of tarragon the day before they are wanted. Fill a ½ gal. jar with as many as it will hold without pressing them down; add 3 cloves and the thin rind of 1 lemon, and fill up the jar with white wine vinegar; leave it, tightly corked, exposed to the sun for 2-3 weeks, then strain off the vinegar, wringing the tarragon in a cloth, filter it through paper, and bottle it.
Walnuts.—Take 50 large walnuts gathered before the shell is hard; folding them separately in vine leaves, place them in a jar amidst plenty more leaves, so that they do not touch each other; fill up so as to cover them with best pale vinegar, and tie down closely that the air may be excluded; let stand 20 days; then pour off the vinegar and wrap the fruit again in fresh leaves, and fill up the jar again with fresh pale vinegar, standing 14 days longer; take off the leaves, put them in a jar, and make a pickle of white wine vinegar and salt that will float an egg, in which simmer for ¼ hour ¼ oz. mace, ½ oz. each of cloves and nutmeg, and 2 heads of garlic, peeled and sliced; pour hot over the walnuts; tie close with bladder and leather.