The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 67

U.

UDDER SWEET PIE. Either parboil or roast a tongue and udder, slice them into tolerably thin slices, and season them with pepper and salt. Stone half a pound of sun raisins, raise a crust, or put a puff crust round the edge of a dish, place a layer of tongue and udder at the bottom, and then some raisins, and so on till the dish is full. Cover the top with a crust, and when the pie is baked, pour in the following sauce. Beat up some yolks of eggs, with vinegar, white wine, sugar, and b.u.t.ter. Shake them over the fire till ready to boil, and add it to the pie immediately before it is sent to table.

ULCERS. Ulcers should not be healed precipitately, for it may be attended with considerable danger. The first object is to cleanse the wound with emollient poultices, and soften it with yellow basilicon ointment, to which may be added a little turpentine or red precipitate.

They may also be washed with lime water, dressed with lint dipped in tincture of myrrh, with spermaceti, or any other cooling ointment.

UMBRELLA VARNISH. Make for umbrellas the following varnish, which will render them proof against wind and rain. Boil together two pounds of turpentine, one pound of litharge in powder, and two or three pints of linseed oil. The umbrella is then to be brushed over with the varnish, and dried in the sun.

UNIVERSAL CEMENT. To an ounce of gum mastic add as much highly rectified spirits of wine as will dissolve it. Soak an ounce of isingla.s.s in water until quite soft, then dissolve it in pure rum or brandy, until it forms a strong glue, to which add about a quarter of an ounce of gum ammoniac well rubbed and mixed. Put the two mixtures in an earthen vessel over a gentle heat; when well united, the mixture may be put into a phial, and kept well stopped. When wanted for use, the bottle must be set in warm water, and the china or gla.s.s articles having been also warmed, the cement must be applied. It will be proper that the broken surfaces, when carefully fitted, should be kept in close contact for twelve hours at least, until the cement is fully set, after which the fracture will be found as secure as any other part of the vessel, and scarcely perceptible.

W.

WAFERS. Dry some flour well, mix with it a little pounded sugar, and finely pounded mace. Make these ingredients into a thick batter with cream. b.u.t.ter the wafer irons, and make them hot; put a tea-spoonful of the batter into them, bake them carefully, and roll them off the iron with a stick.

WAINSCOTS. Dirty painted wainscots may be cleaned with a sponge wetted in potato water, and dipped in a little fine sand. For this purpose grate some raw potatoes into water, run the pulp through a sieve, and let it stand to settle; the clear liquor will then be fit for use. If applied in a pure state, without the sand, it will be serviceable in cleaning oil paintings, and similar articles of furniture. When an oak wainscot becomes greasy, and has not been painted, it should be washed with warm beer. Then boil two quarts of ale, and put into it a piece of bees' wax the size of a walnut, with a large spoonful of sugar. Wet the wainscot all over with a brush dipped in the mixture, and when dry, rub it bright: this will give it a fine gloss.

WALNUT KETCHUP. To make the finest sort of walnut ketchup, boil or simmer a gallon of the expressed juice of walnuts when they are tender, and skim it well. Then put in two pounds of anchovies, bones and liquor; two pounds of shalot, one ounce of mace, one ounce of cloves, one of whole pepper, and one of garlic. Let all simmer together till the shalots sink; then put the liquor into a pan till cold; bottle it up, and make an equal distribution of the spice. Cork it well, and tie a bladder over. It will keep twenty years, but is not good at first. Be careful to express the juice at home, for what is sold as walnut ketchup is generally adulterated. Some people make liquor of the outside sh.e.l.l when the nut is ripe, but neither the colour nor the flavour is then so fine.--Another way. Take four quarts of walnut juice, two quarts of white wine vinegar, three ounces of ginger sliced, two ounces of black pepper bruised, two ounces of white pepper bruised, half a pound of anchovies; let these simmer gently, till half the quant.i.ty is evaporated; then add to it a quart of red wine, two heads of garlic, the yellow rind of eight Seville oranges, or half a pound of dried orange peel cut very small, and forty bay leaves: give it one boil together, then cover it close in an earthen vessel, and let it stand till it is cold. When it is cold put it into wide-mouthed quart bottles; and into each of the bottles put one ounce of shalots skinned and sliced: cork the bottles close, and put them by for two months, when it will be fit for use. The shalots will likewise eat very fine when taken out, though they will look of a bad colour.--Another way, for fish sauce. Take walnuts, when they are fit for pickling, bruise them well in a marble mortar, and strain off the liquor from them through a cloth, let it stand to settle, pour off the clear, and to every pint of it add one pound of anchovies, half a quarter of an ounce of mace, half a quarter of an ounce of cloves, half a quarter of an ounce of Jamaica pepper, bruised fine; boil them together till the anchovies are dissolved; then strain it off, and to the strained liquor add half a pint of the best vinegar, and eight shalots; just boil it up again, pour it into a stone pan or china bowl, and let it stand till cold, when it is fit to put up in bottles for use. It will keep for years, and is excellent with fish sauce.

WARTS AND CORNS. Warts may safely be destroyed by tying them closely round the bottom with a silk thread, or a strong flaxen thread well waxed. Or they may be dried away by some moderately corroding application, such as the milky juice of fig leaves, of swallow wort, or of spurge. Warts may also be destroyed by rubbing them with the inside of bean sh.e.l.ls. But these corrosives can only be procured in summer; and persons who have very delicate thin skins should not use them, as they may occasion a painful swelling. Instead therefore of these applications, it may be proper to use a little vinegar impregnated with as much salt as it will dissolve. A plaster may also be made of sal ammoniac and some galbanum, which well kneaded together and applied, seldom fails of destroying them. The general and princ.i.p.al cause of corns is, shoes too hard and stiff, or else too small. The cure consists in softening the corns by repeated was.h.i.+ng, and soaking the feet in warm or hot water; then cutting the corn very carefully when softened, with a sharp penknife without wounding the quick, and afterwards applying a leaf of houseleek, ground ivy, or purslain, dipped in vinegar. Or instead of these leaves, they may be dressed every day with a plaster of simple diachylon, or of gum ammoniac.u.m softened in vinegar. The bark of the willow tree burnt to ashes, and mixed with strong vinegar, forms a lixivium which by repeated applications eradicates, warts, corns, and other cutaneous excrescences. It is however the wisest way to obviate the cause which produces them.

WASH. An infusion of horseradish in milk, makes one of the safest and best washes for the skin; or the fresh juice of houseleek, mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of new milk or cream. Honey water made rather thick, so as to form a kind of varnish on the skin, is a useful application in frosty weather, when the skin is liable to be chipped; and if it occasions any irritation or uneasiness, a little fine flour or pure hair powder should be dusted on the hands or face. A more elegant wash may be made of four ounces of potash, four ounces of rose water, and two of lemon juice, mixed in two quarts of water. A spoonful or two of this mixture put into the basin, will scent and soften the water intended to be used.

WASH b.a.l.l.s. Shave thin two pounds of new white soap, into about a teacupful of rose water, and pour on as much boiling water as will soften it. Put into a bra.s.s pan a pint of sweet oil, four pennyworth of oil of almonds, half a pound of spermaceti, and dissolve the whole over the fire. Then add the soap, and half an ounce of camphor that has first been reduced to powder by rubbing it in a mortar with a few drops of spirits of wine, or lavender water, or any other scent. Boil it ten minutes, then pour it into a basin, and stir till it is quite thick enough to roll up into hard b.a.l.l.s, which must then be done as soon as possible. If essence is used, stir it in quick after it is taken off the fire, that the scent may not fly off.

WAs.h.i.+NG. Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be melted in a large jug of water, and some of it poured into the tubs and boiler; and when the lather becomes weak, more is to be added.

The new improvement in soft soap is, if properly used, a saving of nearly half in quant.i.ty; and though something dearer than the hard, it reduces the expence of was.h.i.+ng considerably. Many good laundresses advise soaping linen in warm water the night previous to was.h.i.+ng, as facilitating the operation with less friction.

WASPS. These insects are not only destructive to grapes, peaches, and the more delicate kinds of fruit, but also to bees; the hives of which they attack and plunder, frequently compelling those industrious inmates to forsake their habitation. About the time when the wasps begin to appear, several phials should be filled three parts full of a mixture consisting of the lees of beer or wine, and the sweepings of sugar, or the dregs of mola.s.ses, and suspended by yellow packthread on nails in the garden wall. When the bottles are filled with insects, the liquor must be poured into another vial, and the wasps crushed on the ground.

If they settle on wall fruit, they may be destroyed by touching them with a feather dipped in oil; or may be taken with birdlime put on the end of a stick or lath, and touched while sitting on the fruit. The number of these noxious insects might be greatly reduced by searching for their nests in the spring of the year. The places to find them are at new posts, pales, melon frames, or any solid timber; for as they make their combs of the shavings of sound wood, which they rasp off with their fangs, and moisten up with a mucus from their bodies, they may often be found near such materials.

WATER. As it is difficult in some places to obtain a sufficient quant.i.ty of fresh spring water for constant use, especially in large towns and cities, it is important to know that river water or such as becomes turbid, may be rendered fit for use by the following easy experiment.

Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stir it about in a puncheon of water taken from the river; the impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become as clear as the finest spring water. To purify any kind of water that has become foul by being stagnant, place a piece of wicker work in the middle of a vessel; spread on this a layer of charcoal four or five inches thick, and above the charcoal a quant.i.ty of sand. The surface of the sand is to be covered with paper pierced full of holes, to prevent the water from making channels in the sand. The water to be purified is to be poured on, to filter through the sand and charcoal, and the filter is to be removed occasionally. By this simple process, any person may procure good limpid water at a very trifling expense, and preserve what would otherwise become useless and offensive.

WATER FOR BREWING. The most proper water for brewing is soft river water, which has had the rays of the sun, and the influence of the air upon it, which have a tendency to permit it easily to penetrate the malt, and extract its virtues. On the contrary, hard waters astringe and bind the power of the malt, so that its virtues are not freely communicated to the liquor. Some people hold it as a maxim, that all water that will mix with soap is fit for brewing, which is the case with the generality of river water; and it has frequently been found from experience, that when an equal quant.i.ty of malt has been used to a barrel of river water, as to a barrel of spring water, the brewing from the former has exceeded the other in strength above five degrees in the course of twelve months keeping. It has also been observed, that the malt was not only the same in quant.i.ty for one barrel as for the other, but was the same in quality, having all been measured from the same heap. The hops were also the same, both in quality and in quant.i.ty, and the time of boiling equal in each. They were worked in the same manner, and tunned and kept in the same cellar; a proof that the water only could be the cause of the difference. Dorchester beer, which is generally in much esteem, is chiefly brewed with chalky water, which is plentiful in almost every part of that county; and as the soil is mostly chalk, the cellars, being dug in that dry soil, contribute much to the good keeping of their drink, it being of a close texture, and of a dry quality, so as to dissipate damps; for it has been found by experience, that damp cellars are equally injurious to the casks and the good keeping of the liquor. Where water is naturally of a hard quality, it may in some measure be softened by an exposure to the sun and air, and by infusing in it some pieces of soft chalk; or when the water is set on to boil, in order to be poured on the malt, put into it a quant.i.ty of bran, and it will have a very good effect.

WATER CAKES. Dry three pounds of fine flour, and rub into it a pound of sifted sugar, a pound of b.u.t.ter, and an ounce of carraway seeds. Make it into a paste with three quarters of a pint of boiling new milk; roll the paste very thin, and cut it into any form or size. Punch the cakes full of holes, and bake on tin plates in a cool oven.

WATER GRUEL. Mix by degrees a large spoonful of oatmeal with a pint of water in a saucepan, and when smooth, boil it. Or rub the oatmeal smooth in a little water, and put it into a pint of water boiling on the fire.

Stir it well, and boil it quick, but do not suffer it to boil over. In a quarter of an hour strain it off, add salt and a bit of b.u.t.ter when eaten, and stir it together till the whole is incorporated. To make it however in the quickest manner, mix a spoonful of ground oatmeal very smooth, with as much hot water as will just liquify it. Then gradually pour upon it a pint of boiling water, stirring it all the time to keep it smooth. It may be cooled by pouring it from one basin to another till it is fit to drink. Water gruel made in this way is very smooth and good, and being prepared in a few minutes, it is particularly useful when wanted in haste, to a.s.sist the operation of medicine.

WATER PIPES. To prevent their freezing when full of water, preserve a little circulation by leaving the c.o.c.k dripping; or by tying up the ball c.o.c.k during the winter's frost, the water may be preserved for use. Care should be taken however to lay the pipe which supplies the cistern in such a position as not to retain the water, and of course it will not be liable to freeze.

WATER SOUCHY. Stew two or three flounders, some parsley leaves and roots, thirty peppercorns, and a quart of water, till the fish are boiled to pieces, and then pulp them through a sieve. Set over the fire the pulped fish, the liquor that boiled them, some perch, tench, and flounders, and some fresh leaves or roots of parsley. Simmer them together till done enough, and serve in a deep dish. Slices of bread and b.u.t.ter are to be sent to table, to eat with the souchy.

WAX. Bees' wax is obtained from the combs, after the sweet and liquid parts are extracted, by heating and pressing them between iron plates.

The best sort is firm and hard, of a clear yellow colour and an agreeable odour, similar to that of honey. New wax is tough, yet easily broken; by long keeping it becomes harder and more brittle, loses its colour, and partly also its fragrance. With a view to bleach the wax, it is cut into small pieces, melted, and poured into cold water. In this state it is exposed to the sun, afterwards melted again, poured into water, and exposed to the air, two or three times over, till it is perfectly blanched. It is then dissolved for the last time, cast into flat moulds, and again exposed to the air for a day or two, in order to render it more transparent.

WAX PLASTER. This is made of a pound of yellow wax, half a pound of white rosin, and three quarters of mutton suet, melted together. This forms a proper plaster for blisters, and in other cases where a gentle digestive is necessary.

WEAK EYES. Dimness of sight, arising from weakness or inflammation, is best relieved by frequent was.h.i.+ng of the eyes with cold water. If this do not succeed, the following solution may be applied. Dissolve four grains each of the sugar of lead and crude sal-ammoniac, in eight ounces of water, to which a few drops of laudanum may occasionally be added, and bathe the eyes with it night and morning. A tea-spoonful of brandy in a cup of water will also make good eye-water, or a little simple rose water may supply the place.

WEDDING CAKE. Take two pounds of b.u.t.ter, beat it to a cream with the hand, and put in two pounds of fine sugar sifted. Mix well together two pounds of fine dried flour, half a pound of almonds blanched and pounded with orange-flower water, and an ounce of beaten mace. Beat up sixteen eggs, leaving out three whites, and put to them half a gla.s.s of sack, and the same of brandy. Put a handful of the flour and almonds to the sugar and b.u.t.ter, then a spoonful of the eggs, and so on till they are all mixed together. Beat it an hour with the hand, add two pounds of currants, half a pound of citron, half a pound of orange peel, and two spoonfuls of orange-flower water. b.u.t.ter the tin, and bake it three hours and a half. An iceing should be put over the cake after it is baked.

WEEDS. Weeds are in their most succulent state in the month of June, and there is scarcely a hedge border but might be rendered useful by mowing them at this season, but which afterwards would become a nuisance. After the weeds have lain a few hours to wither, hungry cattle will eat them with great freedom, and it would display the appearance of good management to embrace the transient opportunity.

WELCH ALE. To brew very fine Welch ale, pour forty-two gallons of hot but not boiling water, on eight bushels of malt; cover it up, and let it stand three hours. Mean while infuse four pounds of hops in a little hot water, and put the water and hops into a tub; run the wort upon them, and boil them together three hours. Strain off the hops, and reserve them for the small beer. Let the wort stand in a high tub till cool enough to receive the yeast, of which put in two quarts of the best quality: mix it thoroughly and often. When the wort has done working, the second or third day, the yeast will sink rather than rise in the middle: remove it then, and tun the ale as it works out. Pour in a quart at a time gently, to prevent the fermentation from continuing too long, which weakens the liquor. Put paper over the bung-hole two or three days before it is closed up.

WELCH BEEF. Rub three ounces of saltpetre into a good piece of the round or b.u.t.tock. After four hours apply a handful of common salt, a quarter of an ounce of Jamaica pepper, and the same of black pepper, mixed together. Continue it in the pickle a fortnight, then stuff it with herbs, cover it with a thick paste, and bake it. Take off the paste, pour the liquor from it, and pour over it some melted beef suet.

WELCH PUDDING. Melt half a pound of fine b.u.t.ter gently, beat with it the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs. Mix in six ounces of loaf sugar, and the rind of a lemon grated. Put a paste into a dish for turning out, pour in the batter, and bake it nicely.

WELCH RABBIT. Toast a slice of bread on both sides, and b.u.t.ter it. Toast a slice of Gloucester cheese on one side, and lay that on the bread; then toast the other side with a salamander, rub mustard over, and serve it up hot under a cover.

WENS. These are prevalent chiefly among the inhabitants of marshy countries, bordering on rivers and standing waters, especially among females, and persons of a delicate habit; but they very often arise from scrophula. Camphor mixed with sweet oil, or a solution of sal ammoniac, have often been applied to these tumours with success. In Derbys.h.i.+re, where this disorder greatly prevails, they use the following preparation. Fifteen grains of burnt sponge are beaten up with a similar quant.i.ty of millipede, and from eight to ten grains of cinnabar antimony. The whole is to be mixed with honey, and taken every morning before breakfast.

WESTPHALIA HAM. Rub the ham with half a pound of coa.r.s.e sugar, let it lie twelve hours, then rub it with an ounce of saltpetre pounded, and a pound of common salt. Let it lie three weeks, turning it every day. Dry it over a wood fire, and put a pint of oak sawdust into the water when it is boiled.--Another way. Take spring water that is not hard, add saltpetre and bay salt to it till it will bear an egg, the broad way, then add a pound and a half of coa.r.s.e sugar; mix all together, and let the ham lay in this pickle a fortnight or three weeks; then lay it in the chimney to dry. When you boil it, put some hay into the copper with it. You may keep the pickle as long as you please by often boiling it up.