Vinegar

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Everything that makes wine will make vinegar also; and the stronger the wine the stronger the vinegar. The vinous fermentation must be first brought on, but it need not produce perfect wine, for when the intention is to make vinegar, the liquor is kept still warm, and it goes on without stopping to another kind of fermentation, called the acetous, the product of which is vinegar. ”

“ If a sample of vinegar be placed in a shallow dish on a warm stove or boiling teakettle and heated to a temperature sufficient for evaporation and not sufficient to burn the residue, the odor of the warm residue is also characteristic of the different kinds of vinegar. Thus, the residue from cider vinegar has the odor of baked apples and the flavor is acid and somewhat astringent in taste, and that from wine vinegar is equally characteristic. ”

“ Four sorts of vinegar are prepared, all of which are perfectly limpid, which do not, like the common, contain any tartar, malic acid, resinous or extractive matter, nor indeed any mineral acid, lime, copper, or other substances. The simple vinegar marks—2° hydrometer for salts, at 12° centigrade thermo. it is stronger tasted than common vinegar, and produces a disagreeable irritation. ”

“ The wine and the sun will make vinegar without any shouting to help them, as your Florentine sages would say. ”

“ 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. ”

“ People are frequently running round and asking, "Where can I buy some vinegar?" When I was keeping a house, if my neighbors had a million hogsheads of vinegar, I had no need to buy a spoonful of it, for I would make a plenty {458} for my own use, and would have eggs, butter, and pork, of my own production, and manage to secure beef, and salt it away nicely, and we had all the essentials for comfortable diet. ”

“ Draw off the vinegar, and return it scalding hot several times until the heads become tender.
35. Pickled (Rural New Yorker) .—Break the heads into small sprays, throw them into a kettle [Pg 217] of scalding brine; let them come to a boil, and drain carefully, so as not to break them; pack in stone or glass jars, and cover with scalding vinegar seasoned as follows: To one gallon of vinegar allow one cup of white sugar, half an ounce of mace, one ounce of peppercorns, two or three red pepper pods broken into bits, and a tablespoonful each of coriander seed, celery seed, and white mustard. ”

“ To two quarts of good vinegar, put an ounce of the flour of mustard, one of ginger, one of long pepper, four of cloves, a few shalots, and a little horseradish. Boil the vinegar, put the vegetables into a jar, and pour it hot over them. When cold, tie them down, and add more vinegar afterwards, if necessary. In the course of a week or two, the pickle will be fit for use.
INDIGESTION. Persons of weak delicate habits, particularly the sedentary and studious, are frequently subject to indigestion. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The vinegar maker is equally concerned with the distiller in the brewing process. Vinegar is produced in the last stage of fermentation, when a gross, tartareous, unctous matter, consisting of the coarser oils extracted either from the grain or the grapes, generally falls to the bottom of the liquor, and no longer prevents its acidity, or affects its flavor. Though the best vinegar proceeds either from the strongest wines or beers, this strength consists in the quantity of fermentable principles, and not in that of mere oleaginous parts. ”

“ If you have not any distilled vinegar, you may use white wine vinegar, or even allegar, but it must be boiled with a little mace, salt, and a few slices of ginger; it must be cold before you pour it on your mushrooms. If your vinegar or allegar is too sharp, it will make your mushrooms soft; neither will they keep so long, or appear so white. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A plant is now grown from which vinegar is made. "In addition to the consumption of vinegar in culinary uses and the preparation of preserved food, it is indispensable in several branches of manufacture, as in the dressing of morocco leather, and in dye and print works." ”

“ But if you look for a white and clear salt, then the vineger must be distilled, else it doth not shoot into crystals, but remaineth a yellow liquor like unto honey, and it is also needless to make the solution in glasses, and by digestion continued for a long time, but it may as well be done in a glazed pot, viz. pouring the vinegar upon the Mineum in the pot, and boyling it on a coal fire; for you need not fear that any thing of the vinegar will evaporate, in regard that the lead keeps all the spirits, and lets only go an unsavory phlegm. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The essential point is to obtain good wine-vinegar. After having well washed and wiped them, put them into either white or red vinegar (the colour is better preserved by using the white) ; add salt; cover simply the vessel containing them with a board. The vinegar must always be an inch higher than the cucumbers, and must be entirely renewed at the end of a month.”—Parmentier.{74}
LETTUCE.
From time immemorial the lettuce has occupied a most distinguished place in the kitchen garden. The Hebrews ate it, without preparation, with the Paschal lamb. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Dry, pound, and put them into a wide mouthed bottle or jar, with a gallon of the best vinegar, and cork close. Set it in the sun, for a fortnight, strain it, squeeze the herbs; let it stand a day, then strain and bottle it.
Garlic Vinegar.
Peel and bruise 2 oz. garlic, infuse it in a quart of vinegar, three weeks. Strain and bottle it. A few drops to a pint of gravy; a very slight flavour is approved of by some, which by others, is considered highly offensive. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Those who take away vinegar, refuse the chief of seasonings. That is what those stern persons do, who say that Noah discovered wine. At the same time it could hardly have been made from apples, dates, grapes, and sour juices without vinegar becoming known even by chance. Yet who that knows the various drinks of the Americans will deny that some sort of intoxicants were made of old from fruits, berries or corn to warm their primitive sternness? ”

“ Glucose vinegar is the product made by the alcoholic and subsequent acetous fermentations of solutions of starch sugar or glucose, is dextro-rotatory, and contains, in one hundred (100) cubic centimeters (20° C.) , not less than four (4) grams of acetic acid.
6. Spirit vinegar, distilled vinegar, grain vinegar, is the product made by the acetous fermentation of dilute distilled alcohol, and contains, in one hundred (100) cubic centimeters (20° C.) , not less than four (4) grams of acetic acid. ”

“ The vapour of vinegar inhaled greatly relieves hoarseness, and, diluted as a gargle, is useful in throat complaints.
Honey and honey vinegar in equal quantities, and taken a teaspoonful at a time, is an excellent remedy for sore throat and cough.
Mixed with water it is cooling and invigorating for sponging the body.
Taken in moderation, owing to its effect upon fatty and other substances, vinegar is an aid to digestion. Pure vinegar is usually only unwholesome if taken in large quantities. [Pg 15]
Raspberry Vinegar.—Pour 1 pint of honey vinegar on a quart of bruised raspberries. ”

“ The vinegar-plant develops during the process of acetification, and its presence tends to accelerate the operation. Manufacturers get rid of it as soon as possible, for it interferes with the flow of the vinegar through their apparatus. It grows on the surface of the vinegar, and if not disturbed will cover the whole surface, conforming to the shape of the vessel. ”

“ It is poor economy to buy vinegar by the gallon, Buy a barrel, or half a barrel, of really strong vinegar, when you begin house-keeping. As you use it, fill the barrel with old cider, sour beer, or wine-settlings, &c., left in pitchers, decanters or tumblers; weak tea is likewise said to be good: nothing is hurtful, which has a tolerable portion of spirit, or acidity. ”

“ Put them in strong brine—keep them in a warm place. When they turn yellow, drain off the brine, and turn hot vinegar on them. Let them remain in it till they turn green, keeping them in a warm place. Then turn off the vinegar—add fresh scalding hot vinegar, spiced with mace, allspice, and peppercorns—add alum and salt, in the same proportion as for cucumbers. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ DEWBERRY VINEGAR
⁠Over three quarts of dewberries pour one pint of vinegar and let it stand twenty-four hours. Strain and add one pound of sugar to one pint of juice. Scald twenty minutes and bottle tight. Strawberry and raspberry vinegar may be made in the same way. ”

“ To make Rasberry Vinegar. Extract a liquor from the rasberries, in the same manner as from currants: to a pint of liquor, add two pounds of clarified sugar, and a pint of the best white wine vinegar: boil all over a slow fire till the scum is taken off, and, when cold, put it in bottles.
48 To make Grape Essence, or Syrup. To half a pound of good dry elder flowers, put three quarts of boiling water; let it stand close covered two hours; then strain it through a lawn sieve, and put to it the juice of twelve good lemons; boil ten pints of sugar to the degree called blown ”