III.
532. INGREDIENTS.--3 dozen tomatoes; to every pound of tomato-pulp allow 1 pint of Chili vinegar, 1 oz. of garlic, 1 oz. of shalot, 2 oz. of salt, 1 large green capsicum, 1/2 teaspoonful of cayenne, 2 pickled gherkins, 6 pickled onions, 1 pint of common vinegar, and the juice of 6 lemons.
_Mode_.--Choose the tomatoes when quite ripe and red; put them in a jar with a cover to it, and bake them till tender. The better way is to put them in the oven overnight, when it will not be too hot, and examine them in the morning to see if they are tender. Do not allow them to remain in the oven long enough to break them; but they should be sufficiently soft to skin nicely and rub through the sieve. Measure the pulp, and to each pound of pulp, add the above proportion of vinegar and other ingredients, taking care to chop very fine the garlic, shalot, capsicum, onion, and gherkins. Boil the whole together till everything is tender; then again rub it through a sieve, and add the lemon-juice. Now boil the whole again till it becomes as thick as cream, and keep continually stirring; bottle it when quite cold, cork well, and seal the corks. If the flavour of garlic and shalot is very much disliked, diminish the quantities.
_Time_.--Bake the tomatoes in a cool oven all night.
_Seasonable_ from the middle of September to the end of October.
_Note_.--A quantity of liquor will flow from the tomatoes, which must be put through the sieve with the rest. Keep it well stirred while on the fire, and use a wooden spoon.
UNIVERSAL PICKLE.
533. INGREDIENTS.--To 6 quarts of vinegar allow 1 lb. of salt, 1/4 lb. of ginger, 1 oz. of mace, 1/2 lb. of shalots, 1 tablespoonful of cayenne, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, 1-1/2 oz. of turmeric.
_Mode_.--Boil all the ingredients together for about 20 minutes; when cold, put them into a jar with whatever vegetables you choose, such as radish-pods, French beans, cauliflowers, gherkins, &c. &c., as these come into season; put them in fresh as you gather them, having previously wiped them perfectly free from moisture and grit. This pickle will be fit for use in about 8 or 9 months.
_Time_.--20 minutes.
_Seasonable_.--Make the pickle in May or June, to be ready for the various vegetables.
_Note_.--As this pickle takes 2 or 3 months to make,--that is to say, nearly that time will elapse before all the different vegetables are added,--care must be taken to keep the jar which contains the pickle well covered, either with a closely-fitting lid, or a piece of bladder securely tied over, so as perfectly to exclude the air.
PICKLED WALNUTS (Very Good).
534. INGREDIENTS.--100 walnuts, salt and water. To each quart of vinegar allow 2 oz. of whole black pepper, 1 oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of bruised ginger.
_Mode_.--Procure the walnuts while young; be careful they are not woody, and prick them well with a fork; prepare a strong brine of salt and water (4 lbs. of salt to each gallon of water), into which put the walnuts, letting them remain 9 days, and changing the brine every third day; drain them off, put them on a dish, place it in the sun until they become perfectly black, which will be in 2 or 3 days; have ready dry jars, into which place the walnuts, and do not quite fill the jars. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, for 10 minutes, with spices in the above proportion, and pour it hot over the walnuts, which must be quite covered with the pickle; tie down with bladder, and keep in a dry place. They will be fit for use in a month, and will keep good 2 or 3 years.
_Time_.--10 minutes.
_Seasonable_.--Make this from the beginning to the middle of July, before the walnuts harden.
_Note_.--When liked, a few shalots may be added to the vinegar, and boiled with it.
WALNUT KETCHUP.