478. INGREDIENTS.--Sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 oz.of ground pepper, salt to taste.
Mode.--Choose some nice young button mushrooms for pickling, and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off
the stalks; if very large, take out the red inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle salt
over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows, and keep them there until it is all dried up again; then add as much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for 1 minute, and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold, tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place; they will remain good for a length of time, and are generally considered delicious.
Seasonable.--Make this the same time as ketchup, from the beginning of September to the middle of October.
NATURE OF THE MUSHROOM.--Locality has evidently a considerable influence on the nature of the juices of the mushroom; for it has been discovered, after fatal experience, that some species, which are perfectly harmless when raised in open meadows and pasturelands, become virulently poisonous when they happen to grow in contact with stagnant water or putrescent animal and vegetable substances. What the precise nature of the poison in fungi may be, has not been accurately ascertained.
A VERY RICH AND GOOD MUSHROOM SAUCE, to serve with Fowls or Rabbits.
479. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint of mushroom-buttons, salt to taste, a little grated nutmeg, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 pint of
cream, 2 oz. of butter, flour to thicken.
Mode.--Rub the buttons with a piece of flannel and salt, to take off the skin; cut off the stalks, and put them in a stewpan with the above ingredients, previously kneading together the butter and flour; boil the whole for about ten minutes, stirring all the time. Pour some of the sauce over the fowls, and the remainder serve in a tureen.
Time.--10 minutes. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient to serve with a pair of fowls. Seasonable from August to October. HOW TO MIX MUSTARD.
480. INGREDIENTS.--Mustard, salt, and water.
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Mode.--Mustard should be mixed with water that has been boiled and allowed to cool; hot water destroys its essential properties, and raw cold water might cause it to ferment. Put the mustard in a cup, with a small pinch of salt, and mix with it very gradually sufficient boiled water to make it drop from the spoon without being watery. Stir and mix well, and rub the lumps well down with the back of a spoon, as well-mixed mustard should be perfectly free from these. The mustard-pot should not be more than half full, or rather less if it will not be used in a day or two, as it is so much better when freshly mixed.
TARTAR MUSTARD.
481. INGREDIENTS.--Horseradish vinegar, cayenne, 1/2 a teacupful of mustard.
Mode.--Have ready sufficient horseradish vinegar to mix with the above proportion of mustard; put the mustard in a cup, with
a slight seasoning of cayenne; mix it perfectly smooth with the vinegar, adding this a little at a time; rub down with the back of a spoon any lumps that may appear, and do not let it be too thin. Mustard may be flavoured in various ways, with Tarragon, shalot, celery, and many other vinegars, herbs, spices, &c.; but this is more customary in France than in England, as there it is merely considered a "vehicle of flavours," as it has been termed.
PICKLED NASTURTIUMS (a very good Substitute for Capers)
482. INGREDIENTS.--To each pint of vinegar, 1 oz. of salt, 6 peppercorns, nasturtiums.
Mode.--Gather the nasturtium-pods on a dry day, and wipe them clean with a cloth; put them in a dry glass bottle, with vinegar, salt, and pepper in the above proportion. If you cannot find enough ripe to fill a bottle, cork up what you have got until you have some more fit: they may be added from day to day. Bung up the bottles, and seal or rosin the tops. They will be fit for use in 10 or 12 months; and the best way is to make them one season for the next.
Seasonable.--Look for nasturtium-pods from the end of July to the end of August. [Illustration: NASTURTIUMS.]
NASTURTIUMS.--The elegant nasturtium-plant, called by naturalists Tropoeolum, and which sometimes goes by the name of In-dian cress, came originally from Peru, but was easily made to grow in these islands. Its young leaves and flowers are of a slightly hot nature, and many consider them a good adjunct to salads, to which they certainly add a pretty appearance. When the beautiful blossoms, which may be employed with great effect in garnishing dishes, are off, then the fruit is used as described in the above recipe.
FRENCH ONION SAUCE, or SOUBISE.
483. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of Bechamel, No. 367, 1 bay-leaf, seasoning to taste of pounded mace and cayenne, 6 onions, a
small piece of ham.
Mode.--Peel the onions and cut them in halves; put them in a stewpan, with just sufficient water to cover them, and add the
bay-leaf, ham, cayenne, and mace; be careful to keep the lid closely shut, and simmer them until tender. Take them out and drain thoroughly; rub them through a tammy or sieve (an old one does for the purpose) with a wooden spoon, and put them to 1/2 pint of Bechamel; keep stirring over the fire until it boils, when serve. If it should require any more seasoning, add it to taste.
Time.--3/4 hour to boil the onions. Average cost, 10d. for this quantity. Sufficient for a moderate-sized dish.
WHITE ONION SAUCE, for Boiled Rabbits, Roast Shoulder of Mutton, &c.
484. INGREDIENTS.--9 large onions, or 12 middling-sized ones, 1 pint of melted butter made with milk (No. 380), 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, or rather more.
Mode.--Peel the onions and put them into water to which a little salt has been added, to preserve their whiteness, and let them remain for 1/4 hour. Then put them in a stewpan, cover them with water, and let them boil until tender, and, if the onions should be
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very strong, change the water after they have been boiling for 1/4 hour. Drain them thoroughly, chop them, and rub them through a tammy or sieve. Make 1 pint of melted butter, by recipe No. 380, and when that boils, put in the onions, with a seasoning of salt; stir it till it simmers, when it will be ready to serve. If these directions are carefully attended to, this onion sauce will be delicious.
Time.--From 3/4 to 1 hour, to boil the onions. Average cost, 9d. per pint.
Sufficient to serve with a roast shoulder of mutton, or boiled rabbit.
Seasonable from August to March.
Note.--To make this sauce very mild and delicate, use Spanish onions, which can be procured from the beginning of September to Christmas. 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of cream added just before serving, will be found to improve its appearance very much. Small onions, when very young, may be cooked whole, and served in melted butter. A sieve or tammy should be kept expressly for onions: an old one answers the purpose, as it is liable to retain the flavour and smell, which of course would be excessively disagreeable in delicate preparations.
BROWN ONION SAUCE.
485. INGREDIENTS.--6 large onions, rather more than 1/2 pint of good gravy, 2 oz. of butter, salt and pepper
