AMERICAN A&moi'LTUElST. 
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lar porous material, preserves the uniformity of 
temperature by means of the non-conducting 
air confined in the spaces. Perhaps there is no 
simpler way of keeping eggs than to dip them 
in melted tallow, pack them in dry chaff, and 
store them in a cool dry cellar. 
Never Cook in Copper. 
People do a thousand bad things, and because 
they continue to exist—not to live in the full 
sense of the word—they keep on in the bad prac¬ 
tices, and laugh at “ notional ” persons who are 
careful about little things. The housewife who 
has a fine copper or brass kettle, which is so 
handy to use in all sorts of cooking operations, 
will probably throw down the Agriculturist when 
she reads this item, with the remark that “ it’s all 
book nonsense.” But we wish to tell her, never¬ 
theless, that every item of sauce or food she 
cooks in a copper or brass vessel is poisoned. 
The amount of poison in each case may be 
small, and a person with a vigorous constitution 
may eat out of brass or copper for many years 
without dying; but from what we know of the 
chemical nature and affinities of copper, wc 
would just as soon take a small dose of arsenic 
as to eat fruit, or other food, cooked in a cop¬ 
per or brass kettle, unless the inner surface be 
kept perfectly coated with tin.— Agriculturist. 
Notes on Currant Jelly. 
A “Jersey Housekeeper” furnishes to the 
American Agriculturist some notes on Currant 
Jelly, from which the following are extracted: 
The common rule of “ a pound of sugar to a pint 
of juice,” may suit many persons, but the large 
majority of people will be better pleased with a 
sweeter preparation, say 54 lbs. of sugar to 5 
pints juice, or even 6 lbs. if the currants are very 
sour, like the cherry variety.-It is customary 
to boil down the juice and sugar together. A bet¬ 
ter plan is to first boil the juice separately for 
10 to 15 minutes, and then add the sugar and 
boil 5 minutes or more as may be needed, skim¬ 
ming as necessary.—Currants produce more and 
better jelly if used as soon as fully red ripe. 
They can be used a week or two later if neces¬ 
sary, but they then produce a poorer jelly, and 
require more boiling—sometimes, when much 
over-ripe they will not form a jelly, without half 
an hour or more of boiling, sometimes not at 
all.—Currants picked from the tops and outside 
of buslihs, where they have been exposed to the 
direct rays of the sun, make a finer jelly than 
those from the inside and lower shaded portions 
of the bushes. They should be picked dry, as 
dew or rain on the leaves materially injures the 
fruit for jelly-making.-The addition of a pint 
of raspberry juice to 8 or 10 pints of currant 
juice, gives a delicious flavor to the jelly.- 
A porcelain lined vessel is preferable for boiling 
all kinds of sweetmeats.-All jellies keep 
better if put into tumblers, or very small molds, 
jars, or bowls. For covers, use firm strong pa¬ 
per well pasted down at the edges. Slitting the 
outer edge of the paper facilitates the turning 
down and pasting, but no slits should extend in 
to the top of the vessel, or air will be admitted. 
Blackberry Wine. 
Several recipes for making this have been pub¬ 
lished in the Agriculturist , nearly all of which we 
nave tried. The following ha3 proved best in our 
own experience. Take the ripe berries, picking 
out decayed ones, and press out the juice through 
a close linen cloth To each quart of juice add 
one quart of water in which is dissolved two 
pounds of good white 'sugar—second quality, or 
“ B. sugar” answers well. Put into glass bottles or 
stone-ware jugs, and cover the mouth with mil¬ 
linet or any open woven cloth to admit air and 
keep out insects. Set in the cellar for six months, 
more or less, and then pour off carefully from 
the lees into clean bottles, and cork up for use 
as wanted. For large quantities, clean oaken 
barrels may be used, covering the bung with 
millinet. It is not essential to rack off the wine 
until wanted for use or for sale. 
Currant Wine. 
A judicious housekeeper, whose Currant Wine 
we have tried and approved, furnishes her recipe 
to the American Agriculturist as follows : Let the 
currants get fully ripe before picking, but care¬ 
fully sort out all decaying berries; the stems 
need not be removed. Warm them a little, and 
press out the juice through close flannel. To a 
three gallon jug add three quarts of the juice, 
and 9 lbs. of white sugar, arid fill up with pure 
water. Pulverize a bit of alum, the size of a 
hickory nut, and add it to the jug, shaking it. 
Tie lace or millinet over the mouth, and leave 
in a cool cellar until late in Autumn, or five or 
six months; then rack (or pour) off clear, and 
cork tightly in bottles. 
To Preserve Currants. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist by R. 
H. Smith, Suffolk Co., N. Y. To 7 lbs. of ripe 
currants add 7 lbs. of clean sugar, and 2 lbs. of 
raisins. Put all in the kettle together, and let 
them boil slowly until the fruit is done. Then 
dip out and cook the syrup two or three hours. 
The raisins are a great improvement. 
Pickling Ripe Cucumbers—Good. 
At our request, Mrs. S. Gooding, Niagara Co., 
N. Y., fhrnishes for the Agriculturist the follow¬ 
ing directions for a preparation of cucumbers, 
which is pronounced extra good by several of 
our acquaintances who have tried them: Take 
ripe cucumbers, when yellow but not soft; pare 
and remove seeds; cut lengthwise into quarters, 
or if they are very large, cut into pieces smaller 
than quarters; put into a kettle with just water 
enough to cover them, adding a handful of salt, 
or enough to make a weak brine; boil until 
cooked through, but not soft, (a little alum add¬ 
ed will harden the pickles); take out and drain 
well from the brine; place them in stoneware or 
glass jars, and cover with a syrup made by 
boiling a quart of vinegar with four pounds of 
sugar, skimming it clear. Spice by boiling in 
the syrup, cloves and cinnamon tied in a bag. 
Cover the jars and set aside in a cool place, and 
they will keep well through the year. 
Catcbup—Cucumber Catcbup. 
Judging from the number of recipes in vogue, 
we should say tL.it “ catchup ” could be made 
of any vegetable that grows, as well as sundry 
other things that are not ranked as vegetables— 
the general formula being: Plenty of all sorts 
of strong spices, and a small quantity of any-- 
thing else you choose, from a tomato to a green 
walnut, or boiled bass-wood chips. (Green wal¬ 
nuts, or butternuts, by the way, do make good 
catchup as well as good pickles.) An excellent 
housekeeper of our acquaintance furnishes for 
the Agricultm-ist the latest recipe for catchup, 
said to be very good; to wit: Take green cu¬ 
cumbers ; pare and chop very fine ; sprinkle on 
salt, and let them stand an hour or so; put into 
a strong cloth, and press out all the liquid pos¬ 
sible ; put the fine pieces remaining into bot¬ 
tles, and add vinegar, black pepper, and salt. 
Cork tightly and set aside for use. Small bot¬ 
tles are preferable, so that only a small quantity 
need be opened at a time, as it molds after much 
exposure to the air. 
Strawberry Short Cake—First Rate. 
Every day we have taken dinner in the City 
during the past strawberry season, we have 
called for an article named on the bill of fare at 
the Home Dining Saloon, as “ Strawberry Short 
Cake,” and at our request the proprietor has 
furnished to the American Agriculturist the follow¬ 
ing directions, which our house-keeping readers 
will do well to keep on hand for next year, when 
we hope every one of them will have plenty of 
good berries of their own. (See Strawberry ar¬ 
ticles on pages 241-2): Dissolve 1 teaspoonful ot 
soda in 1 pint of sweet milk. Take nearly flour 
enough for a thin dough, thoroughly mix it with 
2 teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and then rub 
in 4 teacupful of sugar, nearly a teacupful 
of butter, with a little salt. Mix the whole, 
adding flour enough to make it as thick as tea 
biscuit. Bake, split into thin slices, and butter 
the pieces. Have a good lot of strawberries 
previously well sugared, and put them between 
the pieces and on top, dipping over the whole a 
little of the juice of the berries. Let it stand in 
a warm place until the berries are partially 
cooked, and eat with sugar sprinkled over, or 
better, with sugar and cream if you have it. 
This, as we have it at home and at the aforesaid 
dining saloon, is good enough for any queen, 
and better than her fabled “ bread and honey.” 
N. B. Raspberries answer just about as well as 
strawberries for this short cake. 
Nice Pop Overs. 
Mrs. S. B. P., of Queens Co., N. Y., furnishes 
to the American Agriculturist a recipe for pop- 
overs, which having been tried and fully ap¬ 
proved in the editor’s family, is here “ passed 
along” for the benefit of others: Stir the yolks 
of two eggs with two teacupfuls of milk, two 
cups of flour, and a little salt. Beat the whites 
of the two eggs to a froth, and then add it tc 
the batter. Dip 14 to 2 tablespoonfuls of the 
batter into each patty pan, and bake 20 minutes 
in an oven about hot enough for bread. 
Bclicate or Silver Cake—Cheap aud Good. 
The following is to be credited to the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist , which is “responsible”—no 
matter now, who furnished the recipe: Take 
2 teacupfuls of white sugar; 3 cup of but¬ 
ter; 1 cup of sweet milk; 4 cups of floui; 
the whites of 4 eggs beaten to a stiff froth; 1 
teaspoonful of soda and 2 of cream of tartar; 
and flavor with vanilla, nutmeg, or lemon, or 
as you like. First rub the butter and sugar to a 
cream, and then add the other ingredients. 
Bake in a quick oven. 
Rooster Cake. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist by 
“Aunt Molly.”—(This is a queer name, never¬ 
theless the cake may be good.— Ed.)- -2 cups 
sugar, 1 cup butter, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful saler- 
atus, and a little dried fruit. Drop it in a drip¬ 
ping pan, and bake 15 minutes in a hot oven. 
To Keep Old Cheese. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist 1 by 
“ An Old Cheesemaker.” When brought from 
their winter quarters in the cellar, wash and dry 
them; then with a paste of rye or wheat floujr, 
cover them entirely with clean wrapping pa¬ 
per. They will, need ny further atteution ex¬ 
cept to turn v;them occasionally on the shelves, 
to keep them from molding. 
