Part 19 (1/2)
358. _Essence of Ginger._
Take three ounces of fresh ginger--grate and put it into a quart of French brandy, together with the rind of a fresh lemon--none of the white part of the peel should be put in. Shake the whole up well every day, for eight or ten days--at the end of that time, it will be fit for use. A little of this, mixed with water, or put on a lump of sugar, answers all the purposes of ginger tea, and is much more palatable. It is also nice to flavor many kinds of sweetmeats.
359. _Spice Brandy._
Put into a jar French brandy, and rose or peach leaves, in the proportion of a quart of the former to half a pint of the latter. Let them steep together, till the strength is obtained from the leaves--then turn off the brandy, squeeze the leaves dry, throw them away, and put fresh leaves to the brandy. Continue to go through the above process until the brandy is strongly impregnated with the leaves--then turn the brandy off clear, and bottle it--keep it corked tight. Lemon or orange peel, and peach meats, steeped in a bottle of brandy, give it a fine flavor. It takes the rind of three or four lemons, or a quarter of a pound of peach meats, to flavor a pint of brandy. When all the brandy is used, put in more, with a few fresh rinds. Spice brandy is very nice to season cakes, puddings, and mince pies.
360. _Rosewater._
Gather fragrant, full-blown roses, on a dry day--pick off the leaves, and to each peck of them put a quart of water. Put the whole in a cold still, and set the still on a moderate fire--the slower they are distilled, the better will be the rosewater. Bottle the water as soon as distilled.
361. _To extract the Essential Oil of Flowers._
Procure a quant.i.ty of fresh, fragrant leaves--both the stalk and the flower leaves will answer. Cord very thin layers of cotton, and dip them into fine Florence oil--put alternate layers of the cotton and leaves in a gla.s.s jar, or large tumbler. Sprinkle a very small quant.i.ty of fine salt on each layer of the flowers, cover the jar up tight, and place it in a south window, exposed to the heat of the sun. In the course of a fortnight a fragrant oil may be squeezed out of the cotton. Rose leaves, mignonette, and sweet-scented clover, make fine perfumes, managed in this way.
362. _Perfume Bags._
Rose and sweet-scented clover leaves, dried in the shade, then mixed with powdered cloves, cinnamon, mace, and pressed in small bags, are very nice to keep in chests of linen, or drawers of clothes, to perfume them.
363. _Cologne Water._
Turn a quart of alcohol gradually on to the following oils: a couple of drachms of the oil of rosemary, two of the oil of lemon, or orange-flower water, one drachm of lavender, ten drops of oil of cinnamon, ten of cloves, and a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Keep the whole stopped tight in a bottle--shake it up well. It will do to use as soon as made, but it is much improved by age.
364. _Lavender Water._
Turn a pint of alcohol slowly on to an ounce and a half of the oil of lavender, two drachms of ambergris. Keep the lavender water in a tight-corked bottle--it should be shook up well when first put in.
365. _Aromatic Vinegar._
Mix with a table-spoonful of vinegar enough powdered chalk to destroy the acidity. Let it settle--then turn off the vinegar from the chalk carefully, and dry it perfectly. Whenever you wish to purify an infected room, put in a few drops of sulphuric acid--the fumes arising from it will purify a room where there has been any infectious disorder. Care is necessary in using it, not to inhale the fumes, or to get any of the acid on your garments, as it will corrode whatever it touches.
366. _Barley Water._
Boil a couple of ounces of barley, in two quarts of water, till soft--pearl barley is the best, but the common barley answers very well.
When soft, strain and mix it with a little currant jelly, to give it a pleasant, acid taste. If the jelly is not liked, turn it, when boiled soft, on to a couple of ounces of figs or raisins, and boil it again, till reduced to one quart, then strain it for use.
367. _Rice Gruel._
Put a large spoonful of unground rice into six gills of boiling water, with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Strain it when boiled soft, and add half a pint of new milk--put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and boil it a few minutes longer. If you wish to make the gruel of rice flour, mix a table-spoonful of it, smoothly, with three of cold water, and stir it into a quart of boiling water. Let it boil, five or six minutes, stirring it constantly. Season it with salt, a little b.u.t.ter, and add, if you like, nutmeg and white sugar to your taste.