Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Capsicum, Essence of. — To one pint of brandy or rectified spirits of wine add one ounce of the best cayenne pepper. Let it infuse for three weeks, then pour off the clear liquid, and bottle for use. It is very convenient to have this essence for the flavouring of sauces, &c., as the taste is equally and quickly diffused by stirring a little into some boiling sauce. Cayenne varies so much in strength, that the quantity to be put with each pint of sauce or gravy must be regulated by the taste of the cook. Capsicums, Pickled.— Capsicums may be pickled either green or red. They are finest and ripest in September and October. CAR If they can be obtained from the garden it is best to gather the pods with the stalks before they are red. Put the capsicums into a jar. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, allowing a heaped tea-spoonful of salt, and half an oimce of powdered mace, to every quart of vinegar. Pour this, while hot, upon the pods, and when cold, tie down closely with a bladder. They will be fit for use in five or six weeks. Probable cost, 4s. 6d. to 6s. per himdred. Captain's Biscuits. — Put a pinch of salt with as much flour as may be required, and make it into a paste with a little new milk. Knead it thoroughly till it is firm and stiff, then divide it into balls, and form into cakes about a quarter of an inch in thickness. Prick them with a fork, and bake for about fifteen minutes. Carachi. — Pound a head of garlic, and put it into a jar with three table-spoonfuls each of walnut pickle, mushroom ketchup, and soy, and two tea-spoonfuls of cayenne pepper, two tea-spoonfuls of essence of anchovies, and one of pounded mace. Pour on these one pint of fresh vinegar ; let them remain in the liquid two or three days, then strain, and bottle it for use. Sufficient for one pint and a half. Probable cost, Is. 6d. per pint. Caramel, or Burnt Sugar. — Put a quarter of a pound of finely-sifted sugar into a preserving-pan, place it on a moderate fire, and stir it with a wooden spoon till it becomes liquid ; then stir it constantly until it is a dark brown. Add one pint of cold water. Draw it to the side of the fire, and let it simmer very gently for a quarter of an hour longer. Strain, and bottle for use. If the fire is too fierce, the caramel will be discoloured. This browning should be added to the sauce the last thing. Time, forty minutes. Probable cost, 2 id. per pint. When wanted, pour a few drops at a time into the tureen until the colour is what is required. Caramel, or Burnt Sugar (another way). — Put one pound of sugar into a preserving-pan with half a pint of cold water. Let it stand three or fom- minutes, then place it on the fire, and let it boil, skimming and stii-ring it constantly. It will be first a syrup, then begin to bubble and look white, when, if it is intended for caramel, it must have the juice of a lemon stirred in with it, or it will turn to sugar again. Dip a stick into it, then plunge it into cold water, and when the sugar which drops from the stick snaps like glass, it is ready. It must be poured out instantly. If it is to be used for sugar spinning, the pan must be placed in another of cold water. Have the moulds ready oiled, and throw the sugar over in threads with a fork or spoon.