Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Lemon, Essence of. — Choose fresh, sound lemons, wipe them well with a soft cloth, then take two or three large lumps of sugar and rub the yellow rind entirely off. Powder the sugar, put it into a glass jar, press it down, and cover it carefully to exclude the air, as the flavour of lemon quickly evaporates. Keep it in a cool dry place. Time, half an hour to prepare. Probable cost of lemons. Id. each. A very small portion of the essence of lemon from the point of a knife will flavour a pint of custard. Lemon filled with Jelly.— Cut a small round about the size of a shilling from the stalk end of each lemon with a small sharp-pointed knife, then scoop out the inside with the handle of a tea-spoon, and take great care not to injure the rind. Throw the skins into cold water for an horn- to harden them, drain them on a sieve, and when they are quite dry inside, half fill them with pink jellj'. Place them in rows upon ice, and when the jelly is firm, fill them up with white jelly, blancmange, or cream. Lay them on the ice once more, and, before serving, cut them neatly into quarters with a sharp knife. They should be arranged prettily on a glass dish with a sprig of myrtle between each quarter. Probable cost of lemons. Id. each. Lemon Floating Island.— Take half a dozen fresh eggs, separate the whites and the yolks ; beat the whites to a solid froth, sweeten them, and flavour with two or three drops of the essence of lemon. Beat the yolks, mix them with a pint and a half of milk, flavour strongly with lemon, and stir the custard over a gentle fire until it thickens, but it must not boil. When nearly cool, add very gradually a table-spoonful of lemon-juice. Pour it into a glass dish, and pile the whites upon it. Garnish according to taste. A small piece of red-currant jelly placed here and there is an improvement, or half of the froth may be thickly coloured with cochineal. Time, a few minutes to thicken LEM (372) LEM the custard. Probable cost, Is. Sufficient for four or five persons. Lemon Fritters. — Shred two ounces of beef suet very finely, add a dessert-spoonful of flour, three ounces of fine bread-crumbs, the grated rind of a large lemon, and two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar. When the dry ingredients are thoroughly blended, stir in a table-spoonful of milk, two well-beaten eggs, and a table-spoonful of strained lemon-juice. Fry the mixture in small quantities until it is lightly browned on each side ; drain, and serve as hot as possible. Time, five or six minutes to fry. Probable cost, 6d. Sufficient for two or three persons. Lemon Gingerbread {see Gingerbread, Lemon). Lemon Honeycomb. — Mix the whites of two eggs with a pint of cream. Sweeten it, and flavour with a little grated lemon-rind. Whip it briskly, and as the froth rises place it upon the strained and sweetened juice of two lemons. Let it remain a few hours before being used. The juice should be put into the glass dish in which the honeycomb is to be served. Time to whip the cream, about one hour. Probable cost, 2s. Sufficient for four or five persons.