Part 55 (1/2)

TO PICKLE LEMONS WITHOUT THE PEEL.

456. INGREDIENTS.--6 lemons, 1 lb. of fine salt; to each quart of vinegar, the same ingredients as No. 455.

_Mode_.--Peel the lemons, slit each one down 3 times, so as not to divide them, and rub the salt well into the divisions; place them in a pan, where they must remain for a week, turning them every other day; then put them in a Dutch oven before a clear fire until the salt has become perfectly dry; then arrange them in a jar. Pour over sufficient boiling vinegar to cover them, to which have been added the ingredients mentioned in the foregoing recipe; tie down closely, and in about 9 months they will be fit for use.

_Seasonable_.--The best time to make this is from November to April.

_Note_.--After this pickle has been made from 4 to 5 months, the liquor may be strained and bottled, and will be found an excellent lemon ketchup.

LEMON-JUICE.--Citric acid is the princ.i.p.al component part of lemon-juice, which, in addition to the agreeableness of its flavour, is also particularly cooling and grateful. It is likewise an antis...o...b..tic; and this quality enhances its value.

In order to combat the fatal effects of scurvy amongst the crews of s.h.i.+ps at sea, a regular allowance of lemon-juice is served out to the men; and by this practice, the disease has almost entirely disappeared. By putting the juice into bottles, and pouring on the top sufficient oil to cover it, it may be preserved for a considerable time. Italy and Turkey export great quant.i.ties of it in this manner.

LEMON SAUCE FOR BOILED FOWLS.

457. INGREDIENTS.--1 small lemon, 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, No. 380.

_Mode_.--Cut the lemon into very thin slices, and these again into very small dice. Have ready 3/4 pint of melted b.u.t.ter, made by recipe No.

380; put in the lemon; let it just simmer, but not boil, and pour it over the fowls.

_Time_.--1 minute to simmer. _Average cost_, 6d.

_Sufficient_ for a pair of large fowls.

LEMON WHITE SAUCE, FOR FOWLS, FRICa.s.sEES, &c.

458. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 pint of cream, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of whole white pepper, 1 sprig of lemon thyme, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1 teacupful of white stock; salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Put the cream into a very clean saucepan (a lined one is best), with the lemon-peel, pepper, and thyme, and let these infuse for 1/2 hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes, or until there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour in the above proportions; stir this well in, and put in the lemon-juice at the moment of serving; mix the stock with the cream, and add a little salt. This sauce should not boil after the cream and stock are mixed together.

_Time_.--Altogether, 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Sufficient_, this quant.i.ty, for a pair of large boiled fowls.

_Note_.--Where the expense of the cream is objected to, milk may be subst.i.tuted for it. In this case, an additional dessertspoonful, or rather more, of flour must be added.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEMON THYME.]

LEMON THYME.--Two or three tufts of this species of thyme, _Thymus citriodorus_, usually find a place in the herb compartment of the kitchen-garden. It is a trailing evergreen, is of smaller growth than the common kind (_see_ No. 166), and is remarkable for its smell, which closely resembles that of the rind of a lemon. Hence its distinctive name. It is used for some particular dishes, in which the fragrance of the lemon is desired to slightly predominate.

LEAMINGTON SAUCE (an Excellent Sauce for Flavouring Gravies, Hashes, Soups, &c.).

_(Author's Recipe.)_

459. INGREDIENTS.--Walnuts. To each quart of walnut-juice allow 3 quarts of vinegar, 1 pint of Indian soy, 1 oz. of cayenne, 2 oz. of shalots, 3/4 oz. of garlic, 1/2 pint of port wine.

_Mode_.--Be very particular in choosing the walnuts as soon as they appear in the market; for they are more easily bruised before they become hard and sh.e.l.led. Pound them in a mortar to a pulp, strew some salt over them, and let them remain thus for two or three days, occasionally stirring and moving them about. Press out the juice, and to _each quart_ of walnut-liquor allow the above proportion of vinegar, soy, cayenne, shalots, garlic, and port wine. Pound each ingredient separately in a mortar, then mix them well together, and store away for use in small bottles. The corks should be well sealed.