The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-12-08
Preparing for christmls.

Only lew weeks and We VIII near
the joyous ringing Of the merry Christ
mas bells. In the meantime there IS
a certain amount of work that must be
accomplished by every weii-regulated
family before rest can be conscientious
ly enjoyed.
First of all, there is the Christmas
fruit cake to make, the mince-mest to
prepare and the plum pudding, without
which the family would feel that Christ
mas had been robbed of half its pleas
ures, must be carefully and judiciously
mixed. Then all the small cakes that
seem to belong especially to the holidays
must be baked and sent to the distant
members Of the family. Is it, then,
any wonder that the good housewife
feels that she is overloaded with wOrk2
There is a way by which all the con-
fusion incident to the season may be
avoided and the work so lightened that
one will hardly realize thai Christmas
is near at hand.
Take pencil and paper and your fay-
orite cook book, sit down and quietly
read over the receipt for fruit cake.
Now put down the amount of raisils
you require for it, how much c;tron aHd
the amount Of currants and each spice
that is wanted. All this must be pIac-
ed under the head of fruit cake. Now
do the same thing with the receipts for
plum pudding and mince-meat. Order
these things sent from the grocer's,
marked with the quantity contained in
each, and as soon as possible stone the
raisins, wash the currants (even If they
are marked warranted perfectly clean
and after they are thoroughly dried put
them in the bags marked "for plum pGd-
ding" "for fruit cake" etc. Now, the
citron must be finely sliced aud put in
the bag for which it is intended. The
nuts may now be cracked and put with
the other things, all ready for you to
mix when the time comes, and you may
draw a breath of relief, for the most try
ing part of the work has been done.
When the day for mixing has been de-
cided upon order from your butcher a
sufficient amount of suet finely chop
ped, and this will save you some trouble,
as the suet is sure to stick when chop
ped in a warm kitchen. With all the
Ingredients ready the mixing is a mat
ter Of little moment, for the plum pud
ding, ftsiit cake and mince-meat can all
be mixed he same day without trouble
and the small cakes can be done later
on. When ready to make the small
cakes you will be more sure OF success if
you mix the batter one day and bake
the cakes the next, being careful to
keep the batter in cold place. The fol-
lowing receipts for fruit cake, plum
pudding, etc, have been successfully
used for years:
FRUIT CAKE.
Cream well together three-quarters Of
pound of sugar and stir in with the
hands the yOlks Of five eggs. Two
wingIasses of milk, one wineglass Of
brandy and one of wine are next added;
then the stifiiy-beaten whites Of the
eggs. Two teaspOOnfuls of cinnamon,
one teaspoonful of allspice, half tea
spoonful of cloves and a small nutmeg
must now be added, with half pound
OF flour, another half-pound Of -four be-
ing reserved to add with the fruit,
using one pound in all. Now mix
thoroughly together one pound of seed
ed raisins, one pound of well-washed
and dried currauts, halfa pound of fine-
ly-slieed cltron, one pound of English
walnuts, sprinkling them with flour as
you add them. This receipt will make
one large cake, Weighing about six
pounds.
PLUM PUDDING.
One pound of suet, one Of bread
crumbs, one of -four, one cup Of mOlas-
ses, one teaspoonful of salt, one pound
Ofeurrants, one pound of raisins, half
pound Of citr1n, one pOaad of English
wslnuts, half a pound Of sugar, one Ia
blespoOnfIl of rose water, half pound
of figs, one wineglsss of brandy, one Of
wine, five eggs, two teaspoOnSful of bak-
ing powder, one quart ofmilk, allspiee,
cloves, ciunOmon and the well beaten
whites Of five eggs, the yolks being adj
ded before tn e fruit is put in.
NINCE NEAT.
pounds Of apples peeled and chop
ped, two pounds Of rLisins seeded aad
chopped, two pounds OF currants care
fully washed, one pound of Sultana rais-
ins washed aud dried, two pounds Of
lean beef5oilslanlch9pp,i ghsn c,ld
one pound of beef suet finely chopped,
three-quarteIs ola pound of ffinely-sliced
citron, two tablezpOOnsful ofcinnamon,
two tablespoonsfIi of mace, one table
spoonful OF cloves, one Of allspice, one
tablespoonful OF salt, one nutmeg graf
ed, two pounds and a halfof sugar, one
pint of sherry and half a pint Of
brandy.