APPLES in Red Jelly (a pretty Supper Dish).
Ingredients.—6 good-sized apples, 12 cloves, 6 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 lemon, 2 teacupfuls of water, 1 tablespoonful of gelatine, a few drops of prepared cochineal. Mode.—Choose rather large apples; peel them and take out the cores, either with a scoop or a small silver knife, and put into each apple 2 cloves and as much sifted sugar as they will hold. Place them, without touching each other, in a large pie-dish; add more white sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, and 2 teacupfuls of water. Bake in the oven, with a dish over them, until they are done. Look at them frequently, and, as each apple is cooked, place it in a glass dish. They must not be left in the oven after they are done, or they will break, and so would spoil the appearance of the dish. When the apples are neatly arranged in the dish without touching each other, strain the liquor in which they have been stewing into a lined saucepan; add to it the rind of the lemon, and a tablespoonful of gelatine which has been previously dissolved in cold water, and, if not sweet, a little more sugar, and 6 cloves. Boil till quite clear; colour with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and strain the jelly through a double muslin into a jug; let it cool a little; then pour it into the dish round the apples. When quite cold, garnish the tops of the apples with a bright-coloured marmalade, jelly, or the white of an egg beaten to a strong froth, with a little sifted sugar. Time.—From 30 to 50 minutes to bake the apples. Average cost, 1s., with the garnishing. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from August to March.
APPLES, to preserve, in Quarters (in imitation of Ginger).
Ingredients.—To every lb. of apples allow ¾ lb. of sugar, 1½ oz. of the best white ginger; 1 oz. of ginger to every ½ pint of water. Mode.—Peel, core, and quarter the apples, and put the fruit, sugar, and ginger in layers into a wide-mouthed jar, and let them remain for 2 days; then infuse 1 oz. of ginger in ½ pint of boiling water, and cover it closely, and let it remain for 1 day: this quantity of ginger and water is for 3 lbs. of apples, with the other ingredients in proportion. Put the apples, &c., into a preserving-pan with the water strained from the ginger, and boil till the apples look clear and the syrup is rich, which will be in about an hour. The rind of a lemon may be added just before the apples have finished boiling; and great care must be taken not to break the pieces of apple in putting them into the jars. Serve on glass dishes for dessert. Time.—2 days for the apples to remain in the jar with sugar, &c.; 1 day to infuse the ginger; about 1 hour to boil the apples. Average cost, for 3 lbs. of apples, with the other ingredients in proportion, 2s. 3d. Sufficient.—3 lbs. should fill 3 moderate-sized jars. Seasonable.—This should be made in September, October, or November.
APPLES, Stewed, and Custard (a pretty Dish for a Juvenile Supper).
Ingredients.—7 good-sized apples, the rind of ½ lemon or 4 cloves,½ lb. of sugar,¾ pint of water,½ pint of custard. Mode.—Pare and take out the cores of the apples, without dividing them, and, if possible, leave the stalks on; boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; then put in the apples with the lemon-rind or cloves, whichever flavour may be preferred, and simmer gently until they are tender, taking care not to let them break. Dish them neatly on a glass dish, reduce the syrup by boiling it quickly for a few minutes, let it cool a little; then pour it over the apples. Have ready quite ½ pint of custard made by the recipe for Boiled Custard; pour it round, but not over, the apples when they are quite cold, and the dish is ready for table. A few almonds blanched and cut into strips, and stuck in the apples, would improve their appearance. Time.—From 20 to 30 minutes to stew the apples. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient to fill a large glass dish. Seasonable from August to March.
APRICOT CREAM.
Ingredients.—12 to 16 ripe apricots,½ lb. of sugar, 1½ pint of milk, the yolks of 8 eggs, 1 oz. of isinglass. Mode.—Divide the apricots, take out the stones, and boil them in a syrup made with ¼ lb. of sugar and ¼ pint of water, until they form a thin marmalade, which rub through a sieve. Boil the milk with the other ¼ lb. of sugar, let it cool a little, then mix with it the yolks of eggs which have been previously well beaten; put this mixture into a jug, place this jug in boiling water, and stir it one way over the fire until it thickens; but on no account let it boil. Strain through a sieve, add the isinglass, previously boiled with a small quantity of water, and keep stirring it till nearly cold; then mix the cream with the apricots; stir well, put it into an oiled mould, and, if convenient, set it on ice; at any rate, in a very cool place. It should turn out on the dish without any difficulty. In winter-time, when fresh apricots are not obtainable, a little jam may be substituted for them. Time.—From 20 to 30 minutes to boil the apricots. Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable in August, September, and October.
APRICOT JAM, or Marmalade.
Ingredients.—To every lb. of ripe apricots, weighed after being skinned and stoned, allow 1 lb. of sugar. Mode.—Pare the apricots, which should be ripe, as thinly as possible, break them in half, and remove the stones. Weigh the fruit, and to every lb. allow the same proportion of loaf sugar. Pound the sugar very finely in a mortar, strew it over the apricots, which should be placed on dishes, and let them remain for 12 hours. Break the stones, blanch the kernels, and put them with the sugar and fruit into a preserving-pan. Let these simmer very gently until clear; take out the pieces of apricot singly as they become so, and, as fast as the scum rises, carefully remove it. Put the apricots into small jars, pour over them the syrup and kernels, cover the jam with pieces of paper dipped in the purest salad-oil, and stretch over the top of the jars tissue paper, cut about 2 inches larger and brushed over with the white of an egg: when dry, it will be perfectly hard and air-tight. Time.—12 hours, sprinkled with sugar; about ¾ hour to boil the jam. Average cost.—When cheap, apricots may be purchased for preserving at about 1s. 6d. per gallon. Sufficient.—10 lbs. of fruit for 12 pots of jam. Seasonable.—Make this in August or September.
APRICOT PUDDING, Baked.
Ingredients.—12 large apricots,¾ pint of bread-crumbs, 1 pint of milk, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 glass of sherry. Mode.—Make the milk boiling hot, and pour it on to the bread-crumbs; when half cold,