18(53.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
915 
are sent to the table. Cauliflower lias its delicate 
flavor entirely destroyed by being eooked with 
meat. Simply boiling vegetables renders them 
eatable, but a little care in cooking and dressing 
them will make a delicious dish. Carrots are sel- 
dom seen upon the table, yet there is no vegetable 
that wo prefer to nicely cooked carrots. The root 
should be cut into small pieces, not larger than a 
filbert, and then stewed with a little water, so that 
by the time the carrots are done, there will be but 
a little left ; butter, salt, and a little flour are ad- 
ded to make a gravy, or what is better, cream may- 
be used. Let those who like carrots at all, try this 
method of cooking them, and they will thank the 
American Agriculturist for the hint. 
Preserving' Tomatoes. 
"L. G.," writes as follows : On page 1S3 of the 
June No., you speak of boiling down tomatoes one 
half. Now, if that is the way you do, Mr. Editor, 
though for several years I have been a subscriber, 
(a paying one,) and an admirer of your paper, still 
I shall never make a special pilgrimage either to 
" pick a bone " with you, or to eat your tomatoes. 
Much cooking of this fruit destroys not only its 
flavor, hut leaves a pultaceous mass, hardly recog- 
nizable by its taste or appearance. As my wife has 
a more excellent way — so we think — I will describe 
it. Put the tomatoes into a large dish ; then pour 
on boiling water so that the rind or peel can be 
more readily taken otf. After which, squeeze a 
good part of the juice out of the tomato while it 
is in the hand ; theu cut into 3 to 4 pieces accord- 
ing tosize. Cook fora few minutes until well heated 
through; bottle, using no corks, thick drilling only, 
cemented on the under side, put on mouth of bot- 
tle and pressed down and tied. Then with a spoon 
dip on the wax (resin with a little lard) until the top 
is covered ; when cool, set in cellar and exclude the 
light. Prepared in this way, you will get the real, 
genuine flavor of the tomatoes when cooked, nearly 
equal to those just picked from the vines. 
Parched Corn Meal. 
Among the various uses to which ourgreat Amer- 
ican cereal can be put, the " Medical and Surgical 
Reporter" gives the following: "Any one who 
has travelled over the western prairies, is undoubt- 
edly familiar with the kind of food named at the 
head of this article. The mode of preparing it is 
to parch the corn, reduce it to meal, and add a due 
proportion of sugar. Provided with this simple ar- 
ticle of diet, the Indians, hunters, and trappers of 
the West will travel hundreds of miles, a very small 
quantity in bulk sufficing for many days. It is, 
withal, exceedingly palatable, and is usually mixed 
in water when eaten. — This would be an excellent 
addition to the rations of our soldiers, taking the 
place of both flour and coffee. A small quantity of 
it will go a great way, and its use would econo- 
mize niouey, time, bulk, and weight, all considera- 
tions of importance— the three last, especially so in 
rapid army movements." [The preparation de- 
scribed above, forms under the name of Pinole, a 
large share of the rations of the Mexican army, and 
is much used as an article of food by the Mexi- 
can people generally. When travelling in that 
country, it ofteu was our principal food. We have 
often wondered why it was not introduced into our 
army, for the use of detached expeditions; it is 
very nutritious and requires no cooking: stirred 
with a sullleieut quantity of water to form a kind 
of gruel, it satisfies both thirst and hunger.— Ed.] 
How To Draw Tea. 
" L," of St. Louis Co., Mo., writes to the Agricul- 
turist : A few years since, the writer took tea with 
a relative, and was delighted with the quality of the 
beverage. Upon euquiry, it proved that the article 
was from the same package used by another friend," 
whose tea always tasted miserably, and the differ- 
ence was wholly owing to the methods used in its 
preparation. The last named person followed the 
usual plan of pouring boiling water upon the tea, 
which causes the most of the aroma to escape with 
the steam. The other friend adopted the following 
process, which I have since practised, and would 
recommend : Pour tepid or cold water enough on 
the tea to cover it, place it on the stove hearth, top 
of tea kettle, or any place where it will be warm, 
but not enough so as to cause the aroma to escape 
in steam. Let it remain about half an hour, then 
pour on boiling water and bring to the table. 
Hints on Cooking. 
Orntiam Bread. — Communicated to the 
Agriculturist by Frances K. Hurlbut, Fond du Lac 
Co., Wis. For enough to make two loaves, take 
three pints of warm water (sweet milk is better) 
one teaspoouful of salt, a tea-cup two thirds full 
of good hop yeast, and make a sponge as in fine 
flour bread. Keep iu a warm place, and when 
light, work in a piece of pulverized soda the size 
of two peas, and Graham flour to make it just moist 
enough to cleave to the dish. Let it rise again in the 
same pan ; when very light, sprinkle flour on the 
moulding board and mould into two loaves : when 
this rises again, bake from fifty to sixty minutes. 
The Oraham flour requires soda when it is un- 
necessary for fine flour bread. Add three table- 
spoonfuls of molasses in making the sponge, if you 
think it improves the flavor. Persons with weak 
stomachs should not eat this bread until it is at 
least 34 hours old. 
Chicken Pudding.— Contributed to the 
Agriculturist by N. E. Anderson, Franklin Co., Pa. 
Beat well 10 eggs, add 1 quart rich milk, % lb. 
melted butter, pepper and salt, stir in as much flour 
as will make a batter. Take 4 young chickens and 
cut them up, then put them in a sauce pan, with 
salt and water, thyme and parsley. Boil these until 
nearly done, then take them out, and put them in 
the batter, and bake, and send urj the gravy in a 
separate dish. 
Halted Apple Pudding-. — Contributed 
to the Agriculturist by G. W. Patterson, Clinton Co., 
Pa. Pare and core sour apples and fill a deep dish 
with them, adding a little water; then take flour 
with a little salt, saleratus, and shortening, (propor- 
tions as for soda biscuit,) and stir iu buttermilk to 
the consistence of a thick batter, and spread this 
over the apples and bake. Serve with sauce to the. 
taste. This makes a very nice, light pudding, good 
for dyspeptics. 
Pound Cake and Fruit. Cake.— Con- 
tributed to the Agriculturist, in answer to Mrs. Pry, 
by Susan North Barney. Stir 1 11). of butter and 1 
lb. of granulated white sugar until they form a 
cream. Beat the whites of 1 lb. of eggs (9 large or 
10 of common size) until they will remain upon an 
inverted plate; stir these with the butter and sugar, 
then add the yolks also previously well beaten. 
Mix with this 1 lb. of flour, 1 small teaspoouful of 
saleratus, and flavor with lemon. After stirring the 
whole well together, pour it into two basins well 
buttered, and with white paper iu the bottom. 
Two-quart basins with perpendicular sides are best. 
Fruit Cake is made in the same way, except 
that good brown sugar is used instead of white, and 
there are added 1 lb. figs sliced, 1 lb. currants, % lb. 
citron, and 2}£ lbs. of the best kind of raisins. The 
currants need washing thoroughly, and the seeds 
should he removed from the raisins. Flavor with 
nutmeg, cloves, ciunamon, and lemons, as desired. 
Frosting. — For a half pound loaf. The whites of 
3 eggs, beaten until they will remain upon an in- 
verted plate ; to which add pulverized white sugar, 
a little at a time, until of the desired consistence. 
After spreading it on the cake, set in a warm oveu 
to dry; when thoroughly dried, spread on another 
layer and dry as before, until of the required thick- 
ness. [We will try to get a " Frosting Recipe " 
from one of the housekeepers in time fur another 
paper — at least her frosting has a peculiar lustre, 
as we have seen it. — Ed.] 
Blse tor liroken Cakes.— Contributed to 
the Agriculturist by " L. A. M." Cut the pieces in 
thin slices, lay in a deep dish, and pour over it a 
custard made as follows : Beat the yolks of 3 eggs 
with 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar, add 1 pint of milk 
: and season as liked. Put it in a covered pail, Bet in 
a kettle of boiling water : when it has thickened, 
stir in the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth, 
then pour on to the cake. Soft molasses ginger 
cake is very good treated in this way. Several 
kinds of cake may be used in the same dish. 
Sponge Cake.— Contributed to the Agricul- 
turist, by Mrs. I. 8. Kaler, Lincoln Co., Me. BeatG 
eggs, yolks and whites together, 3 minutes. Add 3 
cups white sugar and beat 5 minutes ; 3 cups flour 
with 3 teaspoonfuls cream tartar, beat 3 minutes ; 
1 cup cold water with 1 teaspoouful soda dissolved 
in it and beat 1 minute; the grated rind and juice of 
a lemon ; a little salt and 3 more cups of flour, and 
beat 1 minute. Observe the time exactly, and bake 
iu rather deep cup pans. This will make 3 quite 
large sheets, and it does not dry quickly as most 
sponge cakes do. [What if some folks beat twice 
as slow as others ?J 
Currant Jelly. — The following method was 
recently recommended at a meeting of the N. Y. 
Farmer's Club. Pass the currants between rollers 
so as to burst each currant, and press out the juice. 
(Any other method will answer to break the fruit, 
but this is most convenient.) Place the juice in a 
perfectly clean copper or brass vessel over the lire, 
and heat it slowly until it simmers, being careful 
not to permit it to boil, or much of the aroma of 
the currant will be lost. Skim the juice until the 
scum ceases to rise ; then pour the hot juice on to 
loaf 6Ugar broken, and placed in a wooden vessel. 
Stir it uutil the sugar is melted by the hot juice, 
theu pour into tumblers or other convenient ves- 
sels ; when cold, it will he found thickened to a 
firm bright colored and high flavored jelly. 
IShuuarb Wine.— Trim off the leaves and 
grind and press the stalks iu any eider mill. To 
each gallon of juice add one gallon of water and 
six pounds of refined sugar, and Jill the casks, leav- 
ing the bungs out. A moderately cool cellar is the 
best place to keep it. Fill up occasionally either 
from juice kept on purpose, or with sweeteued wa- 
ter, so that impurities which rise to the surface 
while fermentation is going on, may be worked off. 
When sufficiently fermented, which will require 
from one to two months, bung tightly and let it re- 
main until Winter, when it may be racked off into 
other casks, or bottled. Some persons refine it be- 
fore bottling, by putting into each barrel two 
ounces of isinglass dissolved in a quart of wine. 
Sweet Fielded Tomatoes.— Contrib- 
uted to the Agriculturist by Mrs. J. Kice, Lapeer 
Co., Mich. Take smooth, half ripe tomatoes, scald 
and peel them, place them in a small-necked jar, 
keeping them whole. Scald vinegar and sugar to- 
gether the same as in pickling for peaches, pour it 
over the tomatoes to cover the fruit, of which the 
jar must he full. Then set it in a boiler of hot wa- 
ter and let it boil till perfectly heated through, and 
then cover and seal up. They are nice either 
with or without spices. 
Clieap and Good Prepared <«lue.— 
Contributed to the Agriculturist by "L.," St. Louis, 
Mo. Dissolve common glue in cider vinegar, as 
thick as may be wanted. As it becomes too thick 
from time to time, add vinegar. This is as good as 
any that can be purchased. 
Starching' Bosoms and Collars.— A 
"Jersey Farmer's Daughter " sends to the Agricul- 
urist the following directions: Pour a pint of boil- 
ing water upon two ounces of gum arabic, cover it 
and let it stand over night ; iu the morning pour it 
carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it 
and keep it for future use. A tablcspoonful of 
this gum arabic water stirred in a pint of starch 
made in the usual manner will give to lawns, either 
white or printed, a look of newness, when nothing 
else can restore them after they have been washed. 
To every pint of starch, add a piece of butter, lard, 
tallow or spermaceti caudle the size of a chestnut. 
