162 
MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM, 
ment may also be bottled for immediate use, and will be 
found to answer for flavoring thick soups or gravies. 
Mushroom Ketchup.—In making ketchup use the 
very best mushrooms, full grown but young and fresh, 
as it is highly important to secure fine flavor, and this 
we can not get from inferior mushrooms. Take a meas¬ 
ure of fine fresh mushrooms and see that they are clean 
and free from grit; stem and peel them ; cut them into 
very thin slices and place a layer of these on the bottom 
of a deep dish or tureen ; sprinkle this layer with fine 
salt, then put in another layer and sprinkle with salt as 
before, and so on until the dish is full. The white suc¬ 
culent part of the stems may also be used in the ketch¬ 
up, but never any discolored, tough or stringy part. 
On the top of all strew a layer of fresh walnut rind cut 
into small pieces. Place the dish in a cool cellar for 
four or five days, to allow the contents to macerate.. 
When the whole mass has become nearly liquid pass it 
through a colander. Then boil down the strained liquor 
to half of its bulk and add its own weight of calf s-foot 
jelly ; season with allspice or white pepper and boil down 
to the consistence of jelly. Pour into stoneware jars 
and keep in a cool place. 
Pickled Mushrooms.—Use sufficient vinegar to 
cover the mushrooms ; to each quart of mushrooms two 
blades of pounded mace, one ounce of ground pepper, 
salt to taste. Choose young button mushrooms for pick¬ 
ling, and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, 
and cut off the stalks ; if very large take out the red gills 
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 wfill cover them ; let it simmer for one 
minute, and store it away in stone jars fcr use. When 
