Mode.—Put the shalots and mushrooms into a stewpan with the stock and ham, and simmer very gently for ½ hour, when add the Béchamel. Let it just boil up, and then strain it through a tammy; season with the above ingredients, and serve very hot. If this sauce should not have retained a nice white colour, a little cream may be added.
Time.—½ hour. Average cost, for this quantity, 10d.
Sufficient for a moderate-sized dish.
Note.—To preserve the colour of the mushrooms after pickling, throw them into water to which a little lemon-juice has been added.
TO PICKLE LEMONS WITH THE PEEL ON.
455. INGREDIENTS.—6 lemons, 2 quarts of boiling water; to each quart of vinegar allow ½ oz. of cloves,½ oz. of white pepper, 1 oz. of bruised ginger,¼ oz. of mace and chilies, 1 oz. of mustard-seed,½ stick of sliced horseradish, a few cloves of garlic.
Mode.—Put the lemons into a brine that will bear an egg; let them remain in it 6 days, stirring them every day; have ready 2 quarts of boiling water, put in the lemons, and allow them to boil for ¼ hour; take them out, and let them lie in a cloth until perfectly dry and cold. Boil up sufficient vinegar to cover the lemons, with all the above ingredients, allowing the same proportion as stated to each quart of vinegar. Pack the lemons in a jar, pour over the vinegar, &c. boiling hot, and tie down with a bladder. They will be fit for use in about 12 months, or rather sooner.
Seasonable.—This should be made from November to April.
THE LEMON.—In the earlier ages of the world, the lemon does not appear to have been at all known, and the Romans only became acquainted with it at a very late period, and then only used it to keep moths from their garments. Its acidity would seem to have been unpleasant to them; and in Pliny's time, at the commencement of the Christian era, this fruit was hardly accepted, otherwise than as an excellent antidote against the effects of poison. Many anecdotes have been related concerning the anti-venomous properties of the lemon; Athenaeus, a Latin writer, telling us, that on one occasion, two men felt no effects from the bites of dangerous serpents, because they had previously eaten of this fruit.
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 principal component part of lemon-juice, which, in addition to the agreeableness of its flavour, is also particularly cooling and grateful. It is likewise an antiscorbutic; and this quality enhances its value. In order to combat the fatal effects of scurvy amongst the crews of ships 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 quantities of it in this manner.
LEMON SAUCE FOR BOILED FOWLS.
457. INGREDIENTS.—1 small lemon,¾ pint of melted butter, No. 380.
Mode.—Cut the lemon into very thin slices, and these again into very small dice. Have ready ¾ pint of melted butter, 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, FRICASSEES, &c.
458. INGREDIENTS.—¾ pint of cream, the rind and juice of 1 lemon,½ teaspoonful of whole white pepper, 1 sprig of lemon thyme, 3 oz. of butter, 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 ½ hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes, or until there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of butter 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,¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient, this quantity, for a pair of large boiled fowls.
Note.—Where the expense of the cream is objected to, milk may be substituted for it. In this case, an additional dessertspoonful, or rather more, of flour must be added.
[Illustration: 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,¾ oz. of garlic,½ 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 shelled. 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.
Seasonable.—This sauce should be made as soon as walnuts are obtainable, from the beginning to the middle of July.
LEMON BRANDY.
460. INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of brandy, the rind of two small lemons, 2 oz. of loaf-sugar,¼ pint of water.
Mode.—Peel the lemons rather thin, taking care to have none of the white pith. Put the rinds into a bottle with the brandy, and let them infuse for 24 hours, when they should be strained. Now boil the sugar with the water for a few minutes, skim it, and, when cold, add it to the brandy. A dessertspoonful of this will be found an excellent flavouring for boiled custards.
LEMON RIND OR PEEL.—This contains an essential oil of a very high flavour and fragrance, and is consequently esteemed both a wholesome and agreeable stomachic. It is used, as will be seen by many recipes in this book, as an ingredient for flavouring a number of various dishes. Under the name of CANDIED LEMON-PEEL, it is cleared of the pulp and preserved by sugar, when it becomes an excellent sweetmeat. By the ancient medical philosopher Galen, and others, it may be added,