Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Wassail Bowl (another way).— Put into a bowl half a pound of Lisbon sugar, pour on it a pint of warm beer, grate a nutmeg and some ginger into it, add four glassfuls of sherry and five additional pints of beer ; stir well, and sweeten to taste. Let the preparation stand covered up for two or three hours, then put into it three or four slices of bread cut thin and toasted brown. Sometimes a couple or three slices of lemon and a few lumps of loaf sugar rubbed into the peeling of a lemon are introduced. Wassail Custard. — A wassail custard is really a tipsy cake under another name. Cover the bottom of a punch bowl or a deep glass dish with a mixture of macaroons, ratafias, and -sponge biscuits, all crumbled. Moisten with sherry or raisin wine, and add a glassful of brandy and the strained juice of a lemon. Let the biscuits stand in a cool place for an hour, till they have absorbed the wine. Cover them with some rich, highly-seasoned custard, sprinkle grated nutmeg and powdered sugar hghtly upon the surface, and ornament ■with blanched and sliced almonds. Water as a Beverage.— No water whatever is absolutely pure ; the freer, however, from extraneous matter the better, except that it should not be deprived of the common air, of which it usually contains a portion; consequently, newly-distilled water is not desirable, nor water that is just produced from thawed ice or snow — such water should be exposed for a day or two to the atmosphere, that it may absorb air, which appears to be essential to it as an agreeable beverage. Spring water is the most agreeable, from its general purity and coolness; but all spring water is not fit for di-ink, as it often contains various salts. The water of rivers is in general good, particularly when filtered, so also is rain-water; stagnant is the worst. It is necessary to boil water only when it contains salts which require to be precipitated. "Water," says Dr. Paris, " is unquestionably the natural beverage of man; but any objection against the use of other beverages founded on their artificial origin I should at once repel bj^ an argument which might be also used in defence of cookery. We are to consider man as he is, not as he might have been had he never forsaken the rude paths of nature. I am willing to confess that the more simply life is supported, and the less stimulus we use, the better, and that he is happy who considers water the best drink and salt the best sauce ; but how rarely does a physician find a patient who has regulated his life by such a maxim ! " Water, Cherry. — Take a dozen morella cherries, crush the fruit, and break the kernels ; put them into a large tumbler, and pour over them a wine-glassful of capillaire. Half fill the tumbler with shaved ice, add a large wineglassful of cold water, and serve with sponge biscuits.