Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Polish Tartlets. — If a little piece of puff paste is left after making vol-au-vents, or tarts, or any other articles of that sort, it may be advantageously used as follows : — Roll out the pastry till it is very thin, and cut it into pieces a little more than two inches square. Moisten the surface of these with a little water, and fold over the corners so that they will all meet in the centre. Put a little ball of pastry in the centre of each, and press it lightly down with the finger. Brush the tartlets over with egg, sprinkle a little powdered sugar upon them, and bake in a hot oven. Before serving, put a little bright-coloured jam round the little ball of pastry, and serve the tartlets on a neatly-folded napkin. Time to bake, a quarter of an hour. Probable cost, 6d. each. Sufficient, a quarter of a pound of puff pastry for a moderate-sized dish. Polish Tea. — Rub two or three large lumps of sugar upon the rind of a large fresh lemon until all the yellow part is taken off. Add a little more sugar to make up two ounces, and crush the sugar to powder. Strain over this the juice of the lemon, add two wine-glassfuls of white wine, and cover the syrup until it is wanted. Put a pint of ale into a saucepan with four inches of stick cinnamon. Let it simmer gently for a few minutes, then stir into it a dessert-spoonful of arrowioot which has been made into a paste with a little wine. Add the syrup, and a little more sugar if required, and simmer the liquid a few minutes longer, stirring constantly. Draw the tea from the fire for a minute, and whisk into it the yolks of two eggs which have been beaten up with a little wine. Before serving, add a glass of maraschino. Time, twenty minutes to simmer the tea. Probable cost, 8d., exclusive of the wine and liqueur. Sufficient for almost a quart of Pohsh tea. Polpetti, Italian (see Italian Polpetti). Pomegranate. — This is the fruit of the pomegranate tree {punica granatum), a plant which grows to the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The fruit is a pulpy many-seeded berry, the size of an orange, covered -with a thick brown coriaceous rind. Its value depends on the smallness of the seed and the largeness of the pulp. The pulp is of a reddish hue, and has a pleasant sub-acid taste ; it is very refreshing. The singular and beautiful appearance of the fruit contributes to the variety of the dessert ; pomegranates, being powerfully acid and astringent, are used medicinally in fevers and inflammatory disorders. The pomegranate is a native of most parts of the South of Europe and of China. In Languedoc, and some parts of Italy, it is employed as a hedge plant. It was cultivated in England, Loudon informs us, by Gerard, in 1596; but though it grows very well in the open air, it seldom ripens its fruit so as to render it worth anything. The finest pomegranates, called by POM ( -597 ) POM the Persians badana, or seedless, are imported into India from Cabul and Candahar, where the tree grows in perfection. The fruit brought to this country from the South of Europe and the West Indies is very inferior to that of Persia. The pomegranate, in addition to its valuable qualities, possesses great historic interest. POMEGRANATE AND FLOWEK.