San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-09-14
HINTS FOR TIE HOUSEHOLD.

HINTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD.
Grape Batter.-Prepare your fruit
the same as for preserves, allowing o
pound of sugar to pound OF fruit,
pint OF vinegar to pounds of sugar !;
add a teaspoonful of cloves, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and allspice; boil until jel-
lied, stirring it all the time.
SteDed Tomatoes. with boiling
water and remove the skins; place in a
thick pan or pot and add l onion chop
ped fine and dozen whole peppers; let
them simmer gently for a couple of
hours, then mash and add piece of
butter the size of an egg, pepper, salt, l
teaspoonful of -four and tablespoon
fuls of sugar; stir until perfectly smooth
and thick and serve Immediately.
Canned Grapcs.-Take the Concord
grape when fully ripe, stemming them
without breaking any more than can be
helped; allow little over / of a
pound of sugar to pound of fruit; make
a sirup of about quart of water at a
time, putting in fruit enough for only
one can; let your strip, with the fruit
in it, just come to boil putting them in
the cans before they crack open. Seal
them up. E a-
To Preserve Peacles.-Peel free. stone
peaches and cut them in halves; weigh
them and take their weights in sugar |;
put your sugar in a porcelain kettle and
cover it well with cold water; add the
beaten whites of 2 eggs to every ten
pounds; stir it we'll and put it over the
fire; boil and skim it until perfectly
clear, then put in the peaches, and cook
slowly until the sirup is as thick as hon
ey, carefully removing the scum that
rises to the top. Put them in your jars
warm, and place paper, dipped in white
of egg, on the top Of the peaches. Fast
en- securely, and keep in dry place.
Mango Pickzes.-Take muskinelons
and cut small hole in the side that
lies on the ground, take out the seed.
Soak in weak brine 10 days Che sure
and keep them all under the brine);
take out and sprinkle on the inside with
ground cloves, pepper and nutmeg,
then fill them with strips of horserad-
ish, cinnamon, small onions and string
beans; fill the crevices with white mus
ard.seed. Replace the small pieces
that were cut out and bind them in with
strips of white cloth sewed on; lay the
melons in stone-jar with the plugged
side up and cover with scalding- hot
vinegar.
Cucumber Pickle.-Take small and
perfect cucumbers, not over finger in
length; pack in a stone-jar or wooden
pail in layers, strewing salt thickly be-
tween. Cover the top layer out of sight
with salt and pour over cold water
enough to cover all. Lay plate or
board on top with stone to keep them
down. Leave them for week or month,
stirring from the bottom every day. Be
sure your brine is strong enough to bear
an egg. When you are ready to pickle
them throw away the brine and any OF
the cucumbers that have grown soft, LAY
the rest in cold fresh water for "a hours.
Change the water for fresh and leave
another day. Have kettle ready lined
with vine leaves, put in the pickles in
layers and scatter powdered alum
among them. A bit of alum as large as
a pigeon-egg is enough for two gallon
kettle full. Fill with cold water, cover
thick with vine leaves, put a close lid
over all and set over slow fire for six
hours, but do not let them boil. When
the pickles are fine green remove the
leaves and throw the cucumbers into
very cold water. Let them stand in this
L. cxl
lows-to 1 gallon, allow 1 cup sugar, 8
dozen whole black peppers, same of
whole cloves, half as much allspice,
dozen blades of mace. Boil 8 minutes;
put the cucumbers into a stone-jar and
pour this spiced vinegar boiling hot
over them. Cover closely; 2 days later,
pour off this vinegar, scald it again and
pour hot over them. Repeat this pro-
cess times with intervals of 2 days be-
tween. Cover close and keep in a cool
dry place. They will be ready for eat
ing in about 2 months.