Virginia Cookery-book

The next best seasoning of vanilla for home-made cream is obtained from the vanilla grass, a clump or two furnishing flavoring enough for a summer. Gather the seed-heads, and, tying a bunch of them together, boil in a bag in milk, as directed in case of the bean. When your cream has been set to freeze beat up the whites of four eggs, and add them when the freezing has just begun, stirring so as to mix thoroughly. Whether you whip up the cream or not must be left to discretion, for, in the judgment of many, the beating up inside the freezer is amply sufficient for making it light, and a good housekeeper never encourages a useless expenditure of time and strength. Economical Lemon Icb-crbam. Often in the country cream cannot be spared, because all must be given to the churn, and yet a nice dessert is wanted. For ice-cream enough for twelve persons take two quarts of fresh buttermilk (it must not be cheesy), then put on the fire a quart of unskimmed sweet milk, in 9* which you have dropped the thinly-pared rinds of three lemons ; meanwhile beat up very well the yolks of four eggs, and stir into them one pound of sugar ; as soon as the milk boils pour it upon the eggs, a very little at a time, till all is smoothly mixed ; then return to the kettle and keep there for about five minutes, stirring constantly, or until the custard thickens ; then mix with the buttermilk, and if upon tasting it you find the acid to be at all perceptible, however mild, you need add no lemon-juice. If you think a little would give piquancy to the flavor, however, squeeze in just the least bit. This combination so successfully imitates cream that it would deceive an expert. The little egg put in gives a delicate yellow hue that aids in the pleasing illusion, the eye having more to do with the perceptions of the palate than we are accustomed to believe. Save the whites of the egg to add while the freezing is going on. When lemons are out of season use a sirup made by the following recipe. It is judicious to keep some on hand, making it in the spring of the year, when lemons are so cheap and plentiful in the cities. Lbmon Sirup. To two pounds of loaf or pulverized sugar put two pints of water and the juice of eight good lemons, with the rind of three, boiled for about twenty minutes. After the sugar and water are boiled and skimmed till clear you then add the juice, which is not to be strained until the sirup is done ; when done, then strain and bottle it. This quantity makes two quart bottles full, bringing the cost to about twenty or thirty cents apiece. Lbmon Ice-cbkam. Differing from vanilla, lemon -juice greatly enriches cream, so that if it is very rich it will stand a considera- VlBQimA VOOKERTBOOK. 208 ble admixture of milk, and be the better for it. Take two fair-sized lemons, pare off their rinds very thin, and put them on the fire to boil in a pint of fresh milk ; squeese the juice from the lemons; put into your freezer three pints of pure cream, and then strain into it the pint of seasoned milk, in which has been dissolved three-quarters of A pound of sugar ; lastly, strain the juice, and do not be alarmed if the milk curdles, for the process of freezing will restore it to its first condition. We have moreover seen cream that had really turned to bonny-clabber, when seasoned and frozen, answer just as well as if it had been perfectly sweet. This is especially the case when flavored with lemon. Ice-cream should always have rather more sugar allowed in the first instance than taste requires, because it loses in sweetness from being frozen.