Harper's cook book encyclopædia

importations the home-made cordial makes no effort to enter into competition, although a well-compounded cherry or peach liqueur is hard to equal, either in flavor or stimulating qualities," by even foreign products. But there is a large and respectable class of home-brewed beverages which are palatable in hot weather and valuable in sickness. They are easy to make and are of trifling expense. The labor of picking over the fruit and putting it up for grape shrub, cherry liqueur, raspberry royal, and the like, is no greater than that involved in making fruit jellies, and less than that demanded in preparing preserved, pickled, or brandied fruit. Cream Nectar. — Beat 2 lbs. of granulated sugar with 2 ozs. of tartaric acid. Moisten a level table-spoonful of flour with the same amount of water and rub until it is as smooth as starch. Add another spoonful of water and blend with the acid and sugar before adding one quart of water. Then add the whites of two eggs beaten to a froth. Flavor with any fruit syrups desired. Bottle and cork tightly and keep in a cool place. To a glass three-quarters full of ice-water add two table-spoonfuls of the mixture and one-third of a teaspoonful of soda. Cream Soda. — In a porcelain saucepan or small preserving - kettle put two quarts of water, 3 lbs. of white sugar, and 2^4 ozs. of tartaric acid; place over the fire, and let it just come to a boil. Beat to a stiff froth the whites of three eggs, and add to the boiling water, etc. Let it boil just four minutes, stirring constantly ; strain, and when cold add one teaspoonful of either lemon, pineapple, or any flavoring essence that is desired ; bottle it tightly. Mix two table-spoonfuls of this in half a tumblerful of ice-water, with one-third of a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Crème de Menthe. — Chop a quantity of spearmint and place in a Currant Shrub Grape Wine fruit-can, fill with alcohol to the top of the mint, and screw on cover to prevent evaporation. Let it stand from two days to a week. Strain off through thin muslin. Make a syrup by boiling together equal quantities of sugar and water ; when still warm, but not hot, take measure for measure of the syrup and strained tincture of mint, bottle, and put away for use. In using, fill small cordial glasses with finely crushed or shaved ice, and pour over from one teaspoonful to one table-spoonful of the creme de menthe, according to the strength desired. Snow can be used instead of the ice, in which case it is to be eaten with a spoon. Currant Shrub. — Fill a stone jar with red currants, stripped from their stems. Place the jar in a kettle of water. Let the water boil around the jar until the juice is well extracted. Let it drip then through a flannel jelly-bag. To each pint of clear juice add I lb. of white sugar and half a gill of best brandy. Cork up tightly. Currant Wine. — Put the perfect fruit in a stone crock and crush the fruit ; then strain and squeeze out all the juice. To each quart of juice add 3 lbs. of granulated sugar; stir well, and to this amount of juice and sugar add water enough to make one gallon of liquid. Put in demijohns and let it ferment. Have a little quantity extra of the mixture to pour into the jugs as it works over, so that the wine will clarify itself. After the wine has ceased to ferment, cork, draw off, and bottle.