Part 218 (2/2)
Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large proportion of sugar. The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be delicately clean, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose. Small tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they will spoil the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour. These warmers should be used for no other purposes.
TO MAKE HOT PUNCH.
1839. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of rum, 1/2 pint of brandy, 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1 large lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of nutmeg, 1 pint of boiling water.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PUNCH-BOWL AND LADLE.]
_Mode_.--Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punchbowl; add the lemon-juice (free from pips), and mix these two ingredients well together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy, and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to.
_Sufficient_.--Allow a quart for 4 persons; but this information must be taken _c.u.m grano salis_; for the capacities of persons for this kind of beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.
PUNCH is a beverage made of various spirituous liquors or wine, hot water, the acid juice of fruits, and sugar. It is considered to be very intoxicating; but this is probably because the spirit, being partly sheathed by the mucilaginous juice and the sugar, its strength does not appear to the taste so great as it really is. Punch, which was almost universally drunk among the middle cla.s.ses about fifty or sixty years ago, has almost disappeared from our domestic tables, being superseded by wine.
There are many different varieties of punch. It is sometimes kept cold in bottles, and makes a most agreeable summer drink.
In Scotland, instead of the Madeira or sherry generally used in its manufacture, whiskey is subst.i.tuted, and then its insidious properties are more than usually felt. Where fresh lemons cannot be had for punch or similar beverages, crystallized citric acid and a few drops of the essence of lemon will be very nearly the same thing. In the composition of ”Regent's punch,” champagne, brandy, and _veritable Martinique_ are required; ”Norfolk punch”
requires Seville oranges; ”Milk punch” may be extemporized by adding a little hot milk to lemonade, and then straining it through a jelly-bag. Then there are ”Wine punch,” ”Tea punch,”
and ”French punch,” made with lemons, spirits, and wine, in fantastic proportions. But of all the compounds of these materials, perhaps, for a _summer_ drink, the North-American ”mint julep” is the most inviting. Captain Marryat gives the following recipe for its preparation:--”Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint; upon them put a spoonful of white sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill up one third, or, perhaps, a little less; then take rasped or pounded ice, and fill up the tumbler.
Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pineapple; and the tumbler itself is very often encrusted outside with stalact.i.tes of ice. As the ice melts, you drink.”
The Virginians, say Captain Marryat, claim the merit of having invented this superb compound; but, from a pa.s.sage in the ”Comus” of Milton, he claims it for his own country.
WHISKEY CORDIAL.
1840. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of ripe white currants, the rind of 2 lemons, 1/4 oz. of grated ginger, 1 quart of whiskey, 1 lb. of lump sugar.
_Mode_.--Strip the currants from the stalks; put them into a large jug; add the lemon-rind, ginger, and whiskey; cover the jug closely, and let it remain covered for 24 hours. Strain through a hair sieve, add the lump sugar, and let it stand 12 hours longer; then bottle, and cork well.
_Time_.--To stand 24 hours before being strained; 12 hours after the sugar is added.
_Seasonable_.--Make this in July.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
INVALID COOKERY.
CHAPTER x.x.xVIII.
A FEW RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN COOKING FOR INVALIDS.
1841. LET all the kitchen utensils used in the preparation of invalids'
cookery be delicately and 'scrupulously clean;' if this is not the case, a disagreeable flavour may be imparted to the preparation, which flavour may disgust, and prevent the patient from partaking of the refreshment when brought to him or her.
1842. For invalids, never make a large quant.i.ty of one thing, as they seldom require much at a time; and it is desirable that variety be provided for them.
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