Tarragon vinegar

“ Ingredients.—1⁄2 teaspoonful of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls of water, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of 1⁄2 lemon; salt to taste. Mode.—Put all the ingredients, except the lemon-juice, into a stewpan; set it over the fire, and keep continually stirring. When it is sufficiently thick, take it off, as it should not boil. If, however, it happens to curdle, strain the sauce through a tammy, add the lemon-juice, and serve. Tarragon vinegar may be used instead of plain, and, by many, is considered far preferable. ”

“ Put in a sauce pan six very finely-chopped shallots, a spoonful of crushed white peppers, and a glass of tarragon vinegar, and reduce until nearly dry. Then put the pan in another vessel containing hot water, add the yolks of five eggs and stir in well. Then add one pound of sweet butter cut in small pieces. Stir the butter in piece by piece, and as it melts the sauce will become thick, like mayonnaise. Be careful that the sauce does not become too hot. Salt, strain through cheese cloth, add one teaspoonful of melted meat extract, some chopped fresh tarragon, and a little Cayenne pepper. ”

“ Tarragon, mint and the seed herbs, such as dill, are perhaps more often used in ordinary cookery as infusions than otherwise. An objection to decoctions is that the flavor of vinegar is not always desired in a culinary preparation, and neither is that of alcohol or wine, which are sometimes used in the same way as vinegar. ”

“ Boil some eggs hard, two or three will be enough, take out the yolks, bruise them with the back of a spoon quite smooth, add a teaspoon of made mustard. Mix well, then add two tablespoons of olive oil, a little at a time, till well mixed, then two tablespoons of vinegar, stirring all the while. Lastly, a few drops of tarragon vinegar, a few drops of garlic vinegar, a salt spoon of castor sugar, and salt to taste. Some like a spoonful of anchovy sauce added ”

“ When cold cut them into small pieces, dip each in batter, and fry them a light brown colour; these must be well drained from the fat, piled high on a dish, and sent to table as hot as possible, with the following sauce poured round them: Thicken 1⁄2 pint stock with corn flour or arrowroot, add 2 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar, one of Mogul or other sauce, a little salt, and a lump of sugar, with a little browning, if necessary, to make it a good colour. ”

“ Any of these vinegars may be used to form the base of chilli, tarragon, or eschalot vinegar, the ingredients from which they take their name being steeped in the vinegar until the desired flavour is imparted. An inferior variety of vinegar is distilled from wood, but it is somewhat lacking in flavour, and consequently considered suitable only for pickling purposes. Vinegar serves many useful purposes in cookery: it enters largely into the composition of many sauces, and greatly assists in softening the fibres of tough meat. ”

“ Cook one-half teaspoon finely chopped shallot in one tablespoon tarragon vinegar five minutes. Wash one-third cup butter, and divide in thirds. Add one piece butter to mixture, with yolks two eggs, one teaspoon lemon juice, and one teaspoon meat extract. Cook over hot water, stirring constantly; as soon as butter is melted, add second piece, and then third piece. When mixture thickens, add one-half tablespoon grated horseradish. ”

“ Then take some of the juice, and add it to the liquid after you have strained it from the tarragon leaves, and before you put in the butter.
Tarragon is an herb well worth cultivating. It grows from a slip or root, and is easily raised. The leaves are fit to gather in July and August. They impart a fine and peculiar flavour to sauces, soups, and salad; and are indispensable in making French mustard. Tarragon may be kept a year or more by drying it in bunches. Also by filling a bottle half with tarragon leaves, and half with good vinegar. ”

“ Peel and chop very fine six shallots and a clove of garlic; put them into a saucepan with five tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and reduce on the fire one half. Pound the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs, which mix well with a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce; add to them half a pint of sauce Allemande (Art. 81) and a quarter of a [44] tablespoonful of sweet-oil, and then the shallots, garlic, and vinegar; heat without boiling, and add a pinch of tarragon, the same of chervil and of parsley all chopped fine, a little salt and pepper, and, just before serving, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. ”

“ A good result is obtained by mixing a quarter of a [43]
[44] pound of salt, a pound of mustard, half an ounce each of dried garlic, dried thyme, dried tarragon, and mixed spices—all finely powdered. The mixture should be stored in air-tight boxes or bottles.
To make a Spiced Table Vinegar.—Mix in an earthenware pan two ounces of cloves, a quarter of an ounce of mace, and the same quantity each of orange blossoms and cassia bark. Pour a quart of heated strong vinegar over the spices, and let the mixture digest in a warm place for a week. Strain, filter through filter-paper, and bottle. ”

“ By putting some fresh spinach-leaves or fresh grape-vine-leaves on the top of the fruit or vegetable, it will keep it more green than without. When blanched, take from the fire and drain. Drop it immediately in cold water, and drain again. When dry, put the fruit or vegetable in jars, cover it with boiling vinegar; season with peppers, pepper-corns, cloves, and tarragon, also some rock-salt. When perfectly cold, seal the jars air-tight, and keep in a dark, cool, and dry closet. Every kind of fruit or vegetables can be pickled in the same way ”

“ Success will not be obtained if the right vinegar is not procured, therefore we advise our friends who wish to excel in making a French salad to procure a bottle of the best French vinegar, flavoured with Tarragon or not as the taste may dictate. Those persons living in or near London, can purchase the vinegar of Messrs. Crosse & Blackwell, Soho Square, at whose establishment the quality of this important ingredient in a salad can be relied on. Time.—To be stirred at least 5 minutes after all the ingredients are put in. Sufficient. Allow 2 moderate-sized lettuces for 4 persons. ”

“ When you have collected all the things you require, turn all out in a large pan, and thoroughly mix them. Now put the mixed vegetables into smaller jars, without any of the vinegar; then boil the vinegar again, adding as much more as will be required to fill the different jars, and also cayenne, mustard-seed, turmeric, and mustard, which must be well mixed with a little cold vinegar, allowing the quantities named above to each gallon of vinegar. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot, over the pickle, and when cold, tie down with a bladder. ”

“ Ordinary or table vinegars, which contain, in addition to acetic acid, small quantities of alcohol, higher acids such as tartaric and succinic, various esters, albuminous substances, &c., are produced solely by acetous fermentation, wood vinegar being only employed in certain arts. Ordinary vinegar has been known from the earliest times, and its power of combining with or dissolving mineral substances caused the alchemists to investigate its preparation and properties. ”

“ It is perfectly colourless, and its taste is very pungent and grateful. But the vinegar generally prepared for sale in this country is made from malt; which to be good should be of a pale brown colour, perfectly transparent, of a pleasant and rather pungent acid taste, but without acrimony, and a fragrant grateful odour. These are the readiest and best tests of good vinegar. But as a false strength is frequently given to it by adding oil of vitriol, sulphuric acid, or the extract of some acrid vegetable, as pellitory of Spain, capsicum, &c. ”

“ In the United States cider vinegar is considered the best, and the process essentially is the same as that used in making malt vinegar, warmth and exposure to the air being the two necessary conditions. Home-made vinegar is often produced by putting what is known as the vinegar plant or mother into a weak solution of sugar or molasses. The vinegar plant is found in old vinegar barrels, and is a fungus growth similar to the yeast-plant. The word vinegar means sour wine. ”

“ It is one of the most valuable fruits, not only because of its use in the manufacture of wine, and is the source also from which brandy, vinegar, and tartaric acid are obtained, but because, both in a fresh and dried state, it forms not a mere article of luxury, but a great part of the food of the inhabitants of some countries. ”

“ The vinegars thus produced, if properly purified, and providing no injurious adulterants are resorted to, are, for many purposes, almost all that can be desired; but for table use, for sauces and salads, where delicacy of flavour is appreciated, and for medicinal purposes where pureness and wholesomeness are essential, I venture to say that no vinegar can be compared with that produced from Honey. ”

“ A true malt vinegar always contains phosphates, and a wine vinegar cream of tartar. The presence of any acrid vegetable substance in a vinegar is known by the residue having a pungent taste, especially if before the evaporation the vinegar has been exactly neutralised with soda.
In a pure apple cider vinegar hydrogen sulphide gas will not cause any discoloration, nor will the addition of a solution of either barium nitrate, silver nitrate, or ammonium oxalate cause anything more than the very slightest perceptible turbidity. ”

“ Pickling consists in preserving fruits or other vegetable products in spiced vinegar, the details of the process differing slightly according to the product to be pickled. To make the spiced vinegar, place in a stoneware or enamelled boiling-pan a quart of strong vinegar, from half an ounce to four ounces of black peppercorns, a couple of ounces of crushed ginger, and from two to eight ounces of mustard seed. ”

“ The antiseptic power of vinegar is employed with advantage in domestic economy for preserving from decay a variety of fruits, roots, leaves, and other parts of vegetables, which by a species of refinement and luxury, are often considered as condiments to improve the relish of several kinds of food. Their qualities, no doubt, depends almost entirely on the vinegar, spice, or salt imbibed by them.
The art of preparing vinegar pickles consists in impregnating the vegetable substances with the strongest vinegar, to which are usually added a portion of common salt, and the most heating spices. ”

“ By the mycoderma aceti, the wine is, in its turn, converted into vinegar. Of the experiments made in connection with this subject one deserves especial mention. It is that in which Pasteur suppressed all albuminous matters, and carried on the fermentation with purely crystallizable substances. He studied the deterioration of vinegar, revealed its cause, and the means of preventing it. He defined the part played by the little eel-like organisms which sometimes swarm in vinegar-casks, and ended by introducing important ameliorations and improvements in the manufacture of vinegar. ”

“ The young leaves are said to be used in pickles, soups and sauces, and even in salads. For the last purpose they are rather strong to suit most people, and for the others the seeds are far more popular.
Dill vinegar is a popular household condiment. It is made by soaking the seed in good vinegar for a few days before using. The quantity of ingredients to use is immaterial. Only a certain amount of the flavor can be dissolved by the vinegar, and as few samples of vinegar are alike, the quantities both to mix and of the decoction to use must be left to the housewife. ”

“ Very fine drinks for summer are prepared by putting strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries into good vinegar and then straining it off, and adding a new supply of fruit till enough flavor is secured, as directed in Strawberry Vinegar. Keep the vinegar bottled, and in hot weather use it thus. Dissolve half a teaspoonful or less of saleratus, or soda in a tumbler, very little water till the lumps are all out. Then fill the tumbler two-thirds full of water, and then add the fruit vinegar. ”

“ Such acrid substances as red pepper and mustard are sometimes added to vinegar to increase its apparent sharpness. They may be detected by their biting taste after evaporating a portion of the vinegar to a small bulk. Consumers need have little fear of adulterations, however, if their vinegar comes from ordinarily reputable dealers; besides, genuine vinegar can be made more cheaply than any passable imitation. ”

“ They should be as fresh from the vine as possible, few vegetables being more unwholesome when long gathered. As soon as they are brought in lay them in cold water. Just before they are to go to the table take them out, pare them and slice them into a pan of fresh cold water. When they are all sliced, transfer them to a deep dish; season them with a little salt and black pepper, and pour over them some of the best vinegar. You may mix with them a small quantity of sliced onions, not to be eaten, but to communicate a slight flavor of onion to the vinegar. ”

“ Cut your cabbage and scald them in strong salt water till you can run a straw through them; drain them for a day and put into plain vinegar for two weeks; let them drain again a day or two before putting into the prepared vinegar. Put two tablespoonfuls turmeric in the plain vinegar to turn the cabbage yellow.—Mrs. J. T. A.
Yellow Pickle.
One peck cabbage cut up. Lay in a jar, sprinkling with salt; leave it twenty-four hours; squeeze out and put in a kettle with half a dozen onions chopped, cover with vinegar, add one ounce turmeric, and boil one hour. Then add:
2 pounds brown sugar. ”