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Classic
Cook Books
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Chestnuts for dessert or tea with bread and butter have their shells split and
are either roasted in a coffee roaster or an iron kettle--adding a small handful
of salt to a pound of chestnuts--and are roasted until soft and tender, which
will take from 1/2-3/4 of an hour; be careful to stir or shake them frequently.
Before serving the chestnuts rub them in a coarse cloth; they should be quite
hot when put on the table.
40. Spice Extract for Stews. Cover the kernels of 60 sound walnuts with hot
water for a few minutes, rub with a cloth to hull them, and when they are dry
put them in layers into a stone jar with the following spices which have first
been well ground together: 1/2 ounce of mace, some cloves (or, if preferred,
garlic), ginger, 1 ounce of mustard seed, a pinch of whole white pepper, a piece
of grated horse-radish, a handful of salt, 6 or 8 bay leaves, then add 1 quart
of good wine vinegar well boiled. After the mixture has cooled, cover the jar,
set it outside in the air, and after 2 or 3 weeks the extract can be filled into
bottles which must be well corked.
The spices retain strength enough for another filling of boiled vinegar which
has been cooled. 2 teaspoonfuls of this extract are sufficient for a stew for 6
persons.
41. Dill in Vinegar for pickling purposes. Dill is a favorite aromatic plant and
is much used with pickles in vinegar. Dill is at its best immediately after the
blossoming time, but very often when wanted for use, it is no longer green; for
this reason it would be well to cut the dill when the heads are still fresh and
green, and preserve them in a large glass jar covered with vinegar until they
are wanted for use.
42. Pepper, Nutmeg, Cloves and Mace should be ground when needed and not before,
because they otherwise lose a large percentage of their aromatic strength and
flavor.
43. Mustard. As a usual thing, prepared mustards are of a very inferior quality,
and it is advisable, therefore, to prepare them oneself. Take black and yellow
mustard flour in equal parts, and to each 1/4 pound add 1 heaping teaspoonful of
white sugar, a pinch of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoonful of allspice, and enough
white wine vinegar and white wine in equal parts to make a moderately
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