Part 161 (2/2)

_Sufficient_ for 9 or 10 children. _Seasonable_ at Christmas.

RAISINS.--Raisins are grapes, prepared by suffering them to remain on the vine until they are perfectly ripe, and then drying them in the sun or by the heat of an oven. The sun-dried grapes are sweet, the oven-dried of an acid flavour. The common way of drying grapes for raisins is to tie two or three bunches of them together, whilst yet on the vine, and dip them into a hot lixivium of wood-ashes mixed with a little of the oil of olives: this disposes them to shrink and wrinkle, after which they are left on the vine three or four days, separated, on sticks in a horizontal situation, and then dried in the sun at leisure, after being cut from the tree.

CHRISTMAS PLUM-PUDDING.

(_Very Good_.)

1328. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of raisins, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1/2 lb.

of mixed peel, 3/4 lb. of bread crumbs, 3/4 lb. of suet, 8 eggs, 1 winegla.s.sful of brandy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHRISTMAS PLUM-PUDDING IN MOULD.]

_Mode_.--Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and _press_ the pudding into a b.u.t.tered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mould, and will require the same time allowed for cooking. As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy-sauce. On Christmas-day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a winegla.s.sful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame.

_Time_.--5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served.

_Average cost_, 4s.

_Sufficient_ for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions till March.

_Note_.--Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests arrive, will be found an acceptable, and, as it only requires warming through, a quickly-prepared dish. Moulds of every shape and size are manufactured for these puddings, and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J.

Slack, 336, Strand.

BRANDY is the alcoholic or spirituous portion of wine, separated from the aqueous part, the colouring matter, &c., by distillation. The word is of German origin, and in its German form, _brantuein_, signifies burnt wine, or wine that has undergone the action of fire; brandies, so called, however, have been made from potatoes, carrots, beetroot, pears, and other vegetable substances; but they are all inferior to true brandy.

Brandy is prepared in most wine countries, but that of France is the most esteemed. It is procured not only by distilling the wine itself, but also by fermenting and distilling the _marc_, or residue of the pressings of the grape. It is procured indifferently from red or white wine, and different wines yield very different proportions of it, the strongest, of course, giving the largest quant.i.ty. Brandy obtained from marc has a more acrid taste than that from wine. The celebrated brandy of Cognac, a town in the department of Charente, and that brought from Andraye, seem to owe their excellence from being made from white wine. Like other spirit, brandy is colourless when recently distilled; by mere keeping, however, owing, probably, to some change in the soluble matter contained in it, it acquires a slight colour, which is much increased by keeping in casks, and is made of the required intensity by the addition of burnt sugar or other colouring matter. What is called _British brandy_ is not, in fact, brandy, which is the name, as we have said, of a spirit distilled from _wine;_ but is a spirit made chiefly from malt spirit, with the addition of mineral acids and various flavouring ingredients, the exact composition being kept secret. It is distilled somewhat extensively in this country; real brandy scarcely at all. The brandies imported into England are chiefly from Bordeaux, Roch.e.l.le, and Cognac.

A POUND PLUM-PUDDING.

1329. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 8 eggs, 1/2 grated nutmeg, 2 oz. of sliced candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 pint of milk.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BAKED PUDDING OR CAKE-MOULD.]

_Mode_.--Chop the suet finely; mix with it the dry ingredients; stir these well together, and add the well-beaten eggs and milk to moisten with. Beat up the mixture well, and should the above proportion of milk not be found sufficient to make it of the proper consistency, a little more should be added. Press the pudding into a mould, tie it in a floured cloth, and boil for 5 hours, or rather longer, and serve with brandy-sauce.

_Time_.--5 hours, or longer. _Average cost_, 3s.

_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

_Note_.--The above pudding may be baked instead of boiled; it should be put into a b.u.t.tered mould or tin, and baked for about 2 hours; a smaller one would take about 1-1/4 hour.

CITRON.--The fruit of the citron-tree (_Citrus medica_) is acidulous, antiseptic, and antis...o...b..tic: it excites the appet.i.te, and stops vomiting, and, like lemon-juice, has been greatly extolled in chronic rheumatism, gout, and scurvy. Mixed with cordials, it is used as an antidote to the _machineel poison_. The candied peel is prepared in the same manner as orange or lemon-peel; that is to say, the peel is boiled in water until quite soft, and then suspended in concentrated syrup (in the cold), after which it is either dried in a current of warm air, or in a stove, at a heat not exceeding 120 Fahrenheit. The syrup must be kept fully saturated with sugar by reboiling it once or twice during the process. It may be dusted with powdered lump sugar, if necessary. The citron is supposed to be the Median, a.s.syrian, or Persian apple of the Greeks. It is described by Risso as having a majestic appearance, its s.h.i.+ning leaves and rosy flowers being succeeded by fruit whose beauty and size astonish the observer, whilst their odour gratifies his senses. In China there is an enormous variety, but the citron is cultivated in all orange-growing countries.

PLUM-PUDDING OF FRESH FRUIT.

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