VINTAGE RECIPES – The Household

[Welland Tribune September 8, 1905]

Onions peeled under water do not disturb the eyes.

To vary the ever present lettuce sandwich use mayonnaise on the bread instead of butter and add chopped olives to the lettuce.

Please tell the housekeepers how to keep fresh fruit. When brought home pick over, rejecting all unripe or overripe fruit. Put into glass airtight jars, screwing the covers on. Set beside the ice on your ice box.

Canned Peaches—Select fine freestone peaches; pare, cut in two, and stone them. Immerse in cold water; taking care not to break the fruit. See that the peaches are not overripe. Place in the kettle, scattering between the layers—the sugar should be in the proportion of a full tablespoonful to a quart of fruit. To prevent burning put a little water in the kettle. Heat slowly to a boil for three or four minutes.

Dried peaches and apples—pit peel and cut to suit; dry partly and then pack them in jars, spreading sugar thickly between layers. Tie down and they will keep well and be delicious for pies and sauce. They may also be dried without sugar and put away for use.

Dried peaches—Halve the fruit. Remove the stones, fill the cavities with white sugar, and dry in a moderate oven. The fruit, if first-class peaches are used, will be found delicious, almost equal when stewed to preserves.

Cream Peach Pie—Pare ripe, juicy peaches and remove the stones; have your pie dishes ready lined with a good paste; fill with peaches; cover with sugar; slightly butter, and the bake without an upper crust. When the pie is done, pour in a cream made of the following ingredients;–One cup of rich milk put over to boil, stir in the whites of two eggs, whipped, one tablespoon of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of cornstarch wet up in the milk. Boil three minutes. The cream must be cold when it goes into the hot pie. Place over the top the white of an egg beaten and sweetened. Return to the oven and brown. To be eaten when cold.

Raspberry and Currant jam—Either raspberries or currants may be made into jam by this rule, but the mixture of raspberries and currants is much more delicious. To five pounds of raspberries and five pounds currants add five pounds granulated sugar; mash the fruit and sugar together, and boil gently until it will jelly upon a cold plate. Put in small jars and cover.

Gooseberry Jam—Take equal quantities of gooseberries and sugar, and mash thoroughly. Let stand for two hours, and then cook over a hot fire until the fruit settles to the bottom of kettle. Care must be taken not to scorch jam, as any fruit cooked with the seeds is liable to settle and stick to the bottom of the kettle.

Marmalade– All kinds marmalades are not only delicious but wholesome, and since jams have somewhat fallen into disrepute the popularity of marmalade is increasing. For making marmalade a porcelain-lined kettle is better than granite ware, as it is thicker, and constant attention and thorough stirring must be given to prevent the mixture from adhering to the bottom of the kettle. Marmalade requires longer cooking than jam, because the gelatinous skins are rejected. The fruit is cooked until it is soft and then strained through a puree strainer. The sugar is then added, and the mixture cooked very slowly until it is smooth and when cooled on a plate is firm and free from juice. As is the making of jams, better results are obtained by mixing the fruit, or at least adding a cup of currant juice to either raspberry or strawberry marmalade.

Raspberry Marmalade—Cook the raspberries until soft in a small amount of water, and then press through a puree strainer. Add three fourths pound of sugar to every pound of the pulp, and cook, slowly, stirring constantly until, when a portion is cooled, it can be cut with a knife.

Pickled onions must be small, of even size and perfectly round. Peel them but do not cut the tops and roots close enough to break them apart. As fast as peeled drop into strong brine and let stand for twenty-four hours. Then drain in collander or on sieve and dry with a cloth. Drop into glass jars. Spice vinegar with whole cloves, cinnamon stick, mace, peppercorns, using about a tablespoon of the mixed spices for each quart jar of onions. Heat the vinegar scalding hot and then cool it and pour into the jars over the onions. Cover the jars to keep out the dust and let stand three days, on the second and third days pouring off the vinegar, scalding it and pouring it over the onions. On the third day seal them up.

Some housekeepers boil the onions in equal proportions of sweet milk and water to keep them white. Others parboil them in salted water, blanch and cover with spiced white vinegar, adding a very little sugar.

For mustard pickle use about equal proportions of tiny green cucumbers, large ones cut into dice, thinly sliced green tomatoes, cauliflower broken in small tufts, small string beans or large ones cut in small strips, green grapes, green radish pods, nasturtium seeds and a very small white onions.

Make a brine with a pint of salt to one and one-half gallons of cold water. Soak the vegetables over night in this. Drain off the brine in the morning, scald and pour over the vegetables again, and let get cold. Again drain. To each gallon of vinegar allow a pound each of mustard and curry powder, half cup of salt, one cup brown sugar and half a teaspoonful cayenne. Add salt and sugar to the vinegar while heating. Mix the mustard, curry powder and cayenne to a paste with a little of the vinegar and add to the rest, and when scalding hot pour over the vegetables. If you prefer a thick mustard dressing, mix a little flour with the mustard, etc.