Cassell's dictionary of cookery

or earthen jars, place layers of spice amongst them, allowing an ounce of whole pepper, a tea-spoonful of mustard seed, and a quarter of a tea-spoonful of coriander seed to each quart of onions. Cover them with cold vinegar, and cork securely. As the vinegar is absorbed by the onions more should be added, so as to keep them weU covered. Store in a cool, dry place. Probable cost of onions. Is. to Is. 6d. per gallon. Onions, Pickled, with Cucumbers. — Put a moderate-sized onion with three cucumbers. Peel and slice them, and take the seeds out of the cucumbers. Put the slices in a colander. Sprinkle salt over them, and leave them twenty-four hours to drain, then place them in a large earthen jar, and pour over them sufficient boiling vinegar to cover them. Tie a bladder over them, and place the jar near the fire. Boil up the vinegar every day, pour it upon the pickle, and cover the jar instantly, so that none of the steam may escape. Repeat this until the cucumbers are green ; and add an ounce of whole pepper to every quart of vinegar the last time of boiling. Store in a cool, diy place. The vinegar of this pickle is excellent for salads. Time, four or five days. Probable cost of onions, l^d. each; cucumbers. Is. Onions, Plain, Boiled. — Peel half a dozen medium-sized Spanish onions, and boil them gently for five or six minutes in a little salt and water. Drain them on a sieve, and throw them into cold water for an hour. Put them into a saucepan with plenty of cold water, and let them simmer gently until they are tender quite through, without being broken. Serve on a hot dish, with a little melted butter poured over them. Time, medium-sized Spanish onions, an hour and a half to boil. Probable cost, 11d. each. Sufficient for five or six persons. Onions, Sliced and Pried. — Onions, cut into thin slices, fried in a little hot butter until they are browned, without being burnt, then mixed with flour, and afterwards pressed through a fine sieve, are excellent for flavouring and colouring brown soups and sauces. Onions, Spanish, and Beet-root, to Pickle. — Take equal quantities of Spanish onions and beet-root. Slice the onions, and lay them in brine for twenty-four hours, then drain them well. Wash the beet-root gently ; if the skin or fibres are broken the colour will be spoilt. Boil it for an hour, and leave it until the next day. Peel the roots, and cut them into slices. Place alternate layers of beet-root and onion in wide-mouthed earthen jars, poui- over them vinegar which has been boiled with spices and allowed to cool. Cover with bladder, and store for use. Two or three drops of cochineal will improve the colour of this pickle, and will not harm it. Beet-root, time to boU, one hour. Onions, Spanish, Baked. — Wash and trim, without peeling, half a dozen Spanish onions of medium size. Put them into a saucepan, cover them with water slightly salted, and let them simmer very gently for about an hour. Take them up, drain them, wrap each onion in a separate piece of paper, put them into a moderate oven, and let them remain until quite tender. Before dishing them, remove the skins, sprinkle a little pepper and salt over them, and pour half a pint of good gravy into the dish with them. Time to bake, about an hour and a half. Probable cost, 8d. Sufficient for five or six persons.