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A HANDBOOK OF COOKERY FOR A SMALL HOUSE BY JESSIE CONRAD [1923]

Christmas Pudding

Take one and a half pounds of finely chopped beef suet, one quartern of best pastry white (not self-raising) flour, three pounds of stoned raisins, two pounds of sultanas and two pounds of currants carefully washed and picked, one and a half pounds of the best mixed peel, ten well-beaten eggs, and four pounds of brown sugar.

Stir all these ingredients together with a pint of ale and half a bottle of brandy.

Stir fairly slack. This should make six very large puddings. Fill as many buttered pudding basins as required, taking care that each basin is full. Tie a wet cloth over each, and boil for twelve hours. Pour a little neat brandy over the top of each and these puddings will then keep for six months. Always boil again for four hours to make hot.

Plain Christmas Cake

Take one pound flour (household, not self-raising), half a pound of currants which have been carefully washed and dried (this is best done in a cullender under the tap and rubbed dry on a clean white cloth), half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, two ounces of candied lemon peel cut into thin strips, two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, three eggs well beaten, whites and yolks together, and half a pint of milk, sour will do.

Place the flour in the pastry bowl, thoroughly mix the baking-powder into it, rub in the butter, add the sugar and currants and peel, stir in the eggs, and mix all together with the milk. Butter your cake tin and line it with a buttered sheet of white cooking paper, bake in a steady but gentle oven for one and a half hours.

Recipes from Allied Cookery Arranged by Grace Clergue Harrison and Gertrude Clergue [1916]

OLD ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING

Two lbs. raisins stoned, 2 lbs. currants, 1½ lbs. Sultanas, 1 lb. mixed peel chopped fine, 2 lbs. brown sugar, 2 lbs. breadcrumbs, 2 lbs. chopped suet, 1½ lemons grated with the juice, 4 ozs. chopped almonds blanched, 2 nutmegs grated, ½ teaspoon of mixed spice, ¼ teaspoon crushed clove, pinch of salt, 6 eggs whisked, ¼ pint (generous) brandy.

Mix all together thoroughly, boil 12 hours, the longer the better on the first day and 2 hours just before serving. This is the secret for making it black and light. This makes about 1 two-quart and 5 one-quart puddings. This recipe makes excellent plum cake, black and rich, by substituting flour for the crumbs and lard for the suet.

Victorian Christmas Recipes from Cassell’s Vegetarian Cookery, A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet [1891]

Frumenty

Take a quarter of a pint of wheat, wash it thoroughly, and let it soak for twelve hours or more in water. Strain it off and boil it in some milk till it is tender, but do not let it get pulpy. As soon as it is tender add a quart of milk, flavoured with a little cinnamon, three ounces of sugar, three ounces of carefully washed grocer’s currants, and let it boil for a quarter of an hour. Beat up three yolks of eggs in a tureen, and gradually add the mixture. It must not be added to the eggs in a boiling state or else they will curdle. A wineglassful of brandy is a great improvement, but is not absolutely necessary. The wheat takes a long time to get tender, probably four hours.

MODERN COOKERY FOR PRIVATE FAMILIES (New Edition) by ELIZA ACTON [1882]

NGOLDSBY CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS.

Mix very thoroughly one pound of finely-grated bread with the same quantity of flour, two pounds of raisins stoned, two of currants, two of suet minced small, one of sugar, half a pound of candied peel, one nutmeg, half an ounce of mixed spice, and the grated rinds of two lemons; mix the whole with sixteen eggs well beaten and strained, and add four glasses of brandy. These proportions will make three puddings of good size, each of which should be boiled six hours.

Bread-crumbs, 1 lb.; flour, 1 lb.; suet, 2 lbs.; currants, 2 lbs.; raisins, 2 lbs.; sugar, 1 lb.; candied peel, 1/2 lb.; rinds of lemons, 2; nutmegs, 1; mixed spice, 1/2 oz.; salt, 1/4 teaspoonsful; eggs, 16; brandy, 4 glassesful: 6 hours.

Obs.—A fourth part of the ingredients given above, will make a pudding of sufficient size for a small party: to render this very rich, half the flour and bread-crumbs may be omitted, and a few spoonsful of apricot marmalade well blended with the remainder of the mixture.[147]

147.  Rather less liquid will be required to moisten the pudding when this is done, and four hours and a quarter will boil it.

VEGETABLE PLUM PUDDING. (Cheap and good.)

Mix well together one pound of smoothly-mashed potatoes, half a pound of carrots boiled quite tender, and beaten to a paste, one pound of flour, one of currants, and one of raisins (full weight after they are stoned), three quarters of a pound of sugar, eight ounces of suet, one nutmeg, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt.

Put the pudding into a well-floured cloth, tie it up very closely, and boil it for four hours. The correspondent to whom we are indebted for this receipt says, that the cost of the ingredients does not exceed half a crown, and that the pudding is of sufficient size for a party of sixteen persons. We can vouch for its excellence, but as it is rather apt to break when turned out of the cloth, a couple of eggs would perhaps improve it.

It is excellent cold. Sweetmeats, brandy, and spices can be added at pleasure.

Mashed potatoes, 1 lb.; carrots, 8 oz.; flour, 1 lb.; suet, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 lb.; currants and raisins, 1 lb. each; nutmeg, 1; little salt. 4 hours.

THE AUTHOR’S CHRISTMAS PUDDING.

To three ounces of flour and the same weight of fine, lightly-grated bread-crumbs, add six of beef kidney-suet, chopped small, six of raisins weighed after they are stoned, six of well-cleaned currants, four ounces of minced apples, five of sugar, two of candied orange rind, half a teaspoonful of nutmeg mixed with pounded mace, a very little salt, a small glass of brandy, and three whole eggs. Mix and beat these ingredients well together, tie them tightly in a thickly-floured cloth, and boil them for three hours and a half. We can recommend this as a remarkably light small rich pudding: it may be served with German, wine, or punch sauce.

Flour, 3 oz.; bread-crumbs, 3 oz.; suet, stoned raisins, and currants, each, 6 oz.; minced apples, 4 oz.; sugar, 5 oz.; candied peel, 2 oz.; spice, 1/2 teaspoonful; salt, few grains; brandy, small wineglassful; eggs, 3; 3-1/2 hours.

MINCEMEAT. (Author’s Receipt.)

To one pound of an unsalted ox-tongue, boiled tender and cut free from the rind, add two pounds of fine stoned raisins, two of beef kidney-suet, two pounds and a half of currants well cleaned and dried, two of good apples, two and a half of fine Lisbon sugar, from half to a whole pound of candied peel according to the taste, the grated rinds of two large lemons, and two more boiled quite tender, and chopped up entirely, with the exception of the pips, two small nutmegs, half an ounce of salt, a large teaspoonful of pounded mace, rather more of ginger in powder, half a pint of brandy, and as much good sherry or Madeira.

Mince these ingredients separately, and mix the others all well before the brandy and the wine are added; press the whole into a jar or jars, and keep it closely covered. It should be stored for a few days before it is used, and will remain good for many weeks. Some persons like a slight flavouring of cloves in addition to the other spices; others add the juice of two or three lemons, and a larger quantity of brandy. The inside of a tender and well-roasted sirloin of beef will answer quite as well as the tongue.

Of a fresh-boiled ox-tongue, or inside of roasted sirloin, 1 lb.; stoned raisins and minced apples, each 2 lbs.; currants and fine Lisbon sugar, each 2-1/2 lbs.; candied orange, lemon or citron rind, 8 to 16 oz.; boiled lemons, 2 large; rinds of two others, grated; salt, 1/2 oz.; nutmegs, 2 small; pounded mace, 1 large teaspoonful, and rather more of ginger; good sherry or Madeira, 1/2 pint; brandy, 1/2 pint.

Obs.—The lemons will be sufficiently boiled in from one hour to one and a quarter.

SUPERLATIVE MINCEMEAT.

Take four large lemons, with their weight of golden pippins pared and cored, of jar-raisins, currants, candied citron and orange-rind, and the finest suet, and a fourth part more of pounded sugar. Boil the lemons tender, chop them small, but be careful first to extract all the pips; add them to the other ingredients, after all have been prepared with great nicety, and mix the whole well with from three to four glasses of good brandy. Apportion salt and spice by the preceding receipt. We think that the weight of one lemon, in meat, improves this mixture; or, in lieu of it, a small quantity of crushed macaroons added just before it is baked.

MINCE PIES.

(ENTREMETS.)

Butter some tin pattypans well, and line them evenly with fine puff paste rolled thin; fill them with mincemeat, moisten the edges of the covers, which should be nearly a quarter of an inch thick, close the pies carefully, trim off the superfluous paste, make a small aperture in the centre of the crust with a fork or the point of a knife, ice the pies or not, at pleasure, and bake them half an hour in a well-heated but not fierce oven: lay a paper over them when they are partially done, should they appear likely to take too much colour.

1/2 hour.

MINCE PIES ROYAL.

(ENTREMETS.)

Add to half a pound of good mincemeat an ounce and a half of pounded sugar, the grated rind and the strained juice of a large lemon, one ounce of clarified butter, and the yolks of four eggs; beat these well together, and half fill, or rather more, with the mixture, some pattypans lined with fine paste; put them into a moderate oven, and when the insides are just set, ice them thickly with the whites of the eggs beaten to snow, and mixed quickly at the moment with four heaped tablespoonsful of pounded sugar; set them immediately into the oven again, and bake them slowly of a fine light brown.

Mincemeat, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 1-1/2 oz.; rind and juice, 1 large lemon; butter, 1 oz.; yolks, 4 eggs. Icing: whites, 4 eggs; sugar, 4 tablespoonsful.

Victorian Christmas Recipes from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management [1861]

LEMON MINCEMEAT.

1293. INGREDIENTS.—2 large lemons, 6 large apples, 1/2 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1 oz. of citron, mixed spice to taste.

Mode.—Pare the lemons, squeeze them, and boil the peel until tender enough to mash. Add to the mashed lemon-peel the apples, which should be pared, cored, and minced; the chopped suet, currants, sugar, sliced peel, and spice. Strain the lemon-juice to these ingredients, stir the mixture well, and put it in a jar with a closely-fitting lid. Stir occasionally, and in a week or 10 days the mincemeat will be ready for use.

Average cost, 2s.

Sufficient for 18 large or 24 small pies.

Seasonable.—Make this about the beginning of December.

MINCEMEAT.

1309. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of raisins, 3 lbs. of currants, 1-1/2 lb. of lean beef, 3 lbs. of beef suet, 2 lbs. of moist sugar, 2 oz. of citron, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 2 oz. of candied orange-peel, 1 small nutmeg, 1 pottle of apples, the rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 1, 1/2 pint of brandy.

Mode.—Stone and cut the raisins once or twice across, but do not chop them; wash, dry, and pick the currants free from stalks and grit, and mince the beef and suet, taking care that the latter is chopped very fine; slice the citron and candied peel, grate the nutmeg, and pare, core, and mince the apples; mince the lemon-peel, strain the juice, and when all the ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together, adding the brandy when the other things are well blended; press the whole into a jar, carefully exclude the air, and the mincemeat will be ready for use in a fortnight.

Average cost for this quantity, 8s.

Seasonable.—Make this about the beginning of December.

EXCELLENT MINCEMEAT.

1310. INGREDIENTS.—3 large lemons, 3 large apples, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of suet, 2 lbs. of moist sugar, 1 oz. of sliced candied citron, 1 oz. of sliced candied orange-peel, and the same quantity of lemon-peel, 1 teacupful of brandy, 2 tablespoonfuls of orange marmalade.

Mode.—Grate the rinds of the lemons; squeeze out the juice, strain it, and boil the remainder of the lemons until tender enough to pulp or chop very finely. Then add to this pulp the apples, which should be baked, and their skins and cores removed; put in the remaining ingredients one by one, and, as they are added, mix everything very thoroughly together. Put the mincemeat into a stone jar with a closely-fitting lid, and in a fortnight it will be ready for use.

Seasonable.—This should be made the first or second week in December.

MINCE PIES.

1311. INGREDIENTS.—Good puff-paste No. 1205 [see recipe below], mincemeat No. 1309. [see recipe above]

Mode.—Make some good puff-paste by recipe No. 1205; roll it out to the thickness of about 1/4 inch, and line some good-sized pattypans with it; fill them with mincemeat, cover with the paste, and cut it off all round close to the edge of the tin. Put the pies into a brisk oven, to draw the paste up, and bake for 25 minutes, or longer, should the pies be very large; brush them over with the white of an egg, beaten with the blade of a knife to a stiff froth; sprinkle over pounded sugar, and put them into the oven for a minute or two, to dry the egg; dish the pies on a white d’oyley, and serve hot. They may be merely sprinkled with pounded sugar instead of being glazed, when that mode is preferred. To re-warm them, put the pies on the pattypans, and let them remain in the oven for 10 minutes or 1/4 hour, and they will be almost as good as if freshly made.

Time.—25 to 30 minutes; 10 minutes to re-warm them.

Average cost, 4d. each.

Sufficient—1/2 lb. of paste for 4 pies. Seasonable at Christmas time.

[Note from Leigh – You can use the puff pastry recipe below or simply buy a pack of puff pastry from your local grocery shop]

VERY GOOD PUFF-PASTE. [1205] For Mince Pie recipe

1205. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of flour allow 1 lb. of butter, and not quite 1/2 pint of water.

Mode.—Carefully weigh the flour and butter, and have the exact proportion; squeeze the butter well, to extract the water from it, and afterwards wring it in a clean cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift the flour; see that it is perfectly dry, and proceed in the following manner to make the paste, using a very clean paste-board and rolling-pin:—Supposing the quantity to be 1 lb. of flour, work the whole into a smooth paste, with not quite 1/2 pint of water, using a knife to mix it with: the proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the discretion of the cook; if too much be added, the paste, when baked, will be tough. Roll it out until it is of an equal thickness of about an inch; break 4 oz. of the butter into small pieces; place these on the paste, sift over it a little flour, fold it over, roll out again, and put another 4 oz. of butter. Repeat the rolling and buttering until the paste has been rolled out 4 times, or equal quantities of flour and butter have been used. Do not omit, every time the paste is rolled out, to dredge a little flour over that and the rolling-pin, to prevent both from sticking. Handle the paste as lightly as possible, and do not press heavily upon it with the rolling-pin. The next thing to be considered is the oven, as the baking of pastry requires particular attention. Do not put it into the oven until it is sufficiently hot to raise the paste; for the best-prepared paste, if not properly baked, will be good for nothing. Brushing the paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter placed thereon, with the white of an egg, assists it to rise in leaves or flakes. As this is the great beauty of puff-paste, it is as well to try this method.

BAKED PLUM-PUDDING.

1324. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of suet, 2 eggs, 1 pint of milk, a few slices of candied peel.

Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix with it the flour, currants, stoned raisins, and candied peel; moisten with the well-beaten eggs, and add sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of very thick batter. Put it into a buttered dish, and bake in a good oven from 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours; turn it out, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. For a very plain pudding, use only half the quantity of fruit, omit the eggs, and substitute milk or water for them. The above ingredients make a large family pudding; for a small one, half the quantity would be found ample; but it must be baked quite 1-1/2 hour.

Time.—Large pudding, 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours; half the size, 1-1/2 hour.

Average cost, 2s. 6d.

Sufficient for 9 or 10 persons.

Seasonable in winter.

AN EXCELLENT PLUM-PUDDING, made without Eggs.

1325. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of flour, 6 oz. of raisins, 6 oz. of currants, 1/4 lb. of chopped suet, 1/4 lb. of brown sugar, 1/4 lb. of mashed carrot, 1/4 lb. of mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of treacle, 1 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1 oz. of candied citron.

Mode.—Mix the flour, currants, suet, and sugar well together; have ready the above proportions of mashed carrot and potato, which stir into the other ingredients; add the treacle and lemon-peel; but put no liquid in the mixture, or it will be spoiled. Tie it loosely in a cloth, or, if put in a basin, do not quite fill it, as the pudding should have room to swell, and boil it for 4 hours. Serve with brandy-sauce. This pudding is better for being mixed over-night.

Time.—4 hours.

Average cost, 1s. 6d.

Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.

Seasonable in winter.

AN UNRIVALLED PLUM-PUDDING.

1326. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 lb. of muscatel raisins, 1-3/4 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of sultana raisins, 2 lbs. of the finest moist sugar, 2 lbs. of bread crumbs, 16 eggs, 2 lbs. of finely-chopped suet, 6 oz. of mixed candied peel, the rind of 2 lemons, 1 oz. of ground nutmeg, 1 oz. of ground cinnamon, 1/2 oz. of pounded bitter almonds, 1/4 pint of brandy.

Mode.—Stone and cut up the raisins, but do not chop them; wash and dry the currants, and cut the candied peel into thin slices. Mix all the dry ingredients well together, and moisten with the eggs, which should be well beaten and strained, to the pudding; stir in the brandy, and, when all is thoroughly mixed, well butter and flour a stout new pudding-cloth; put in the pudding, tie it down very tightly and closely, boil from 6 to 8 hours, and serve with brandy-sauce. A few sweet almonds, blanched and cut in strips, and stuck on the pudding, ornament it prettily. This quantity may be divided and boiled in buttered moulds. For small families this is the most desirable way, as the above will be found to make a pudding of rather large dimensions.

Time.—6 to 8 hours. Average cost, 7s. 6d.

Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 12 or 14 persons.

Note.—The muscatel raisins can be purchased at a cheap rate loose (not in bunches): they are then scarcely higher in price than the ordinary raisins, and impart a much richer flavour to the pudding.

A PLAIN CHRISTMAS PUDDING FOR CHILDREN.

1327. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of bread crumbs, 3/4 lb. of stoned raisins, 3/4 lb. of currants, 3/4 lb. of suet, 3 or 4 eggs, milk, 2 oz. of candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of powdered allspice, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.

Mode.—Let the suet be finely chopped, the raisins stoned, and the currants well washed, picked, and dried. Mix these with the other dry ingredients, and stir all well together; beat and strain the eggs to the pudding, stir these in, and add just sufficient milk to make it mix properly. Tie it up in a well-floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for at least 5 hours. Serve with a sprig of holly placed in the middle of the pudding, and a little pounded sugar sprinkled over it.

Time.—5 hours. Average cost, 1s. 9d.

Sufficient for 9 or 10 children. Seasonable at Christmas.

RAISINS.—Raisins are grapes, prepared by suffering them to remain on the vine until they are perfectly ripe, and then drying them in the sun or by the heat of an oven. The sun-dried grapes are sweet, the oven-dried of an acid flavour. The common way of drying grapes for raisins is to tie two or three bunches of them together, whilst yet on the vine, and dip them into a hot lixivium of wood-ashes mixed with a little of the oil of olives: this disposes them to shrink and wrinkle, after which they are left on the vine three or four days, separated, on sticks in a horizontal situation, and then dried in the sun at leisure, after being cut from the tree.

CHRISTMAS PLUM-PUDDING.

(Very Good.)

1328. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 lb. of raisins, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1/2 lb. of mixed peel, 3/4 lb. of bread crumbs, 3/4 lb. of suet, 8 eggs, 1 wineglassful of brandy.

Mode.—Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and press the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mould, and will require the same time allowed for cooking. As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy-sauce. On Christmas-day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame.

Time.—5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served.

Average cost, 4s.

Sufficient for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons.

Seasonable on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions till March.

Note.—Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests arrive, will be found an acceptable, and, as it only requires warming through, a quickly-prepared dish. Moulds of every shape and size are manufactured for these puddings, and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J. Slack, 336, Strand.

A POUND PLUM-PUDDING.

1329. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 8 eggs, 1/2 grated nutmeg, 2 oz. of sliced candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/2 pint of milk.

Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix with it the dry ingredients; stir these well together, and add the well-beaten eggs and milk to moisten with. Beat up the mixture well, and should the above proportion of milk not be found sufficient to make it of the proper consistency, a little more should be added. Press the pudding into a mould, tie it in a floured cloth, and boil for 5 hours, or rather longer, and serve with brandy-sauce.

Time.—5 hours, or longer. Average cost, 3s.

Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Note.—The above pudding may be baked instead of boiled; it should be put into a buttered mould or tin, and baked for about 2 hours; a smaller one would take about 1-1/4 hour.

PLUM-PUDDING OF FRESH FRUIT.

1330. INGREDIENTS.—3/4 lb. of suet crust No. 1-1/2 pint of Orleans or any other kind of plum, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar.

Mode.—Line a pudding-basin with suet crust rolled out to the thickness of about 1/2 inch; fill the basin with the fruit, put in the sugar, and cover with crust. Fold the edges over, and pinch them together, to prevent the juice escaping. Tie over a floured cloth, put the pudding into boiling water, and boil from 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Turn it out of the basin, and serve quickly.

Time.—2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Average cost, 10d.

Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.

Seasonable, with various kinds of plums, from the beginning of August to the beginning of October.

CHRISTMAS CAKE.

1754. INGREDIENTS.—5 teacupfuls of flour, 1 teacupful of melted butter, 1 teacupful of cream, 1 teacupful of treacle, 1 teacupful of moist sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 oz. of powdered ginger, 1/2 lb. of raisins, 1 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, 1 tablespoonful of vinegar.

Mode.—Make the butter sufficiently warm to melt it, but do not allow it to oil; put the flour into a basin; add to it the sugar, ginger, and raisins, which should be stoned and cut into small pieces. When these dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, stir in the butter, cream, treacle, and well-whisked eggs, and beat the mixture for a few minutes. Dissolve the soda in the vinegar, add it to the dough, and be particular that these latter ingredients are well incorporated with the others; put the cake into a buttered mould or tin, place it in a moderate oven immediately, and bake it from 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 hours.

Time.—1-3/4 to 2-1/4 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d.

TURKEY SOUP (a Seasonable Dish at Christmas).

188. INGREDIENTS.—2 quarts of medium stock, No. 105, the remains of a cold roast turkey, 2 oz. of rice-flour or arrowroot, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tablespoonful of Harvey’s sauce or mushroom ketchup.

Mode.—Cut up the turkey in small pieces, and put it in the stock; let it simmer slowly until the bones are quite clean. Take the bones out, and work the soup through a sieve; when cool, skim well. Mix the rice-flour or arrowroot to a batter with a little of the soup; add it with the seasoning and sauce, or ketchup. Give one boil, and serve.

Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 10d. per quart.

Seasonable at Christmas.

Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—Instead of thickening this soup, vermicelli or macaroni may be served in it.

Victorian Christmas Recipes from A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes BY CHARLES ELMÉ FRANCATELLI, [1852]

Plum or Currant Dough Pudding.

Ingredients, two pounds of dough from the baker’s, four ounces of plums [raisins] or currants, a pinch of allspice, ditto of salt, a gill of milk. Mix all the above ingredients together in a pan; tie up the pudding in a well-greased pudding-cloth, and place it in a pot containing boiling water, and allow it to continue boiling for two hours; at the end of this time the pudding will be done, and may be turned out on its dish.

Christmas Plum Pudding.

Ingredients, two pounds of flour, twelve ounces of raisins, twelve ounces of currants, twelve ounces of peeled and chopped apples, one pound of chopped suet, twelve ounces of sugar, four eggs, one pint and a-half of milk or beer, one ounce of salt, half an ounce of ground allspice. Boil the pudding four hours. First, put the flour, suet, and all the fruit in a large pan; mix these well together, and having made a deep hole in the middle thereof with your fist, add the salt, sugar, and allspice, and half a pint of the milk, or beer, to dissolve them; next, add the four eggs, and the remaining pint of milk, or beer; mix all vigorously together with the hand, tie up the pudding in a well-greased and floured cloth, boil it for at least four hours, taking care that the water boils before the pudding is put into the pot to boil. When done, turn the pudding out on its dish, and, if you can afford it, pour over it the following sauce:—

Sweet Pudding Sauce. [for recipe above]

Ingredients, two ounces of common flour, ditto of butter, ditto of sugar, chopped lemon-peel, half a gill of any kind of spirits, and half a pint of water. First mix the flour, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan by kneading the ingredients well together with a wooden spoon, then add the water, spirits, and lemon-peel; stir the sauce on the fire till it comes to a boil, and then pour it all over the pudding.

Note: 1 gill equals 125 millilitres or half a cup

Mince-pie Paste.

Ingredients, one pound of flour, eight ounces of butter or lard, three gills of water, half an ounce of salt, a tea-spoonful of baking-powder. Place the flour on the table, hollow out a hole or well in the centre with your fist, place the salt and baking-powder in this, add the water and the butter, work all together lightly with the fingers, without positively absorbing or entirely uniting the butter with the flour, but, on the contrary, keeping the butter in distinct pieces here and there; then roll up the paste in the form of a ball of dough, spread it out on the floured table, and, with a rolling-pin, roll it out to the extent of eighteen inches in length, by eight inches wide; then fold the paste in three equal folds, roll it out the reverse way, fold it up again as before, and after repeating the rolling out and folding up a third time, the paste will be ready for use.

To make a Mince-pie.

Having prepared the paste according to the directions given in the recipe above, divide it in two equal parts, roll these out either round or square, place one of the flats on a tin baking-dish, wet all round the edge of the paste, spread some of the mince-meat about half an inch thick all over the paste to within an inch of its edge, then cover all in by laying the other flat of paste evenly upon the whole, press all round the edge of the pie with your thumb to secure the mince-meat from running out at the sides, score the pie neatly over the surface, in the form of reversed strokes, and bake it for an hour.

Raisinet—A Preserve for Winter.

Ingredients, twelve pounds of fruit, consisting of peeled apples, pears, plums, and blackberries, in equal proportion; six pounds of raw sugar, at 4 1/2d. per pound; one quart of water. Bake three hours in a slack or slow oven. First, prepare the fruit, and put it in mixed layers of plums, pears, berries, apples, alternating each other, in stone jars. Next, put the six pounds of sugar in a clean saucepan, with the quart of water, and stir it with a spoon on the fire till it comes to a gentle boil; remove the dirty scum from the surface of the sugar; and, after allowing it to boil for ten minutes, pour it in equal proportions into the jar or jars containing the fruits, and place them in a moderate heat to bake slowly for three hours at least. When boiling the sugar for this purpose, remember that it is most prudent to use a saucepan capable of containing double the quantity, as sugar is very liable to boil over and waste. When the fruit is nearly dissolved, the raisinet will be done; it must then be removed to a cool place until it has become thoroughly cold and partially set firm; the jars should then be tied down with thick paper, or bladder, and kept in the cellar for winter use, either for making puddings or tarts, or for spreading on bread for the children.

Roast Fowl and Gravy. [chicken or turkey]

Let us hope that at Christmas, or some other festive season, you may have to dress a fowl or turkey for your dinner. On such occasions I would recommend the following method:—First, draw the fowl, reserving the gizzard and liver to be tucked under the wings; truss the fowl with skewers, and tie it to the end of a skein of worsted, which is to be fastened to a nail stuck in the chimney-piece, so that the fowl may dangle rather close to the fire, in order to roast it. Baste the fowl, while it is being roasted, with butter, or some kind of grease, and when nearly done, sprinkle it with a little flour and salt, and allow the fowl to attain a bright yellow-brown colour before you take it up. Then place it on its dish, and pour some brown gravy over it.

This is the Brown Gravy for the Fowl. [for roast fowl recipe above]

Chop up an onion, and fry it with a sprig of thyme and a bit of butter, and when it is brown, add a good tea-spoonful of moist sugar and a drop of water, and boil all together on the fire until the water is reduced, and the sugar begins to bake of a dark brown colour. It must then be stirred on the fire for three minutes longer; after which moisten it with half-a-pint of water, add a little pepper and salt; boil all together for five minutes, and strain the gravy over the fowl, etc.

Bread Sauce for a Roast Fowl. [for roast fowl recipe]

Chop a small onion or shalot fine, and boil it in a pint of milk for five minutes; then add about ten ounces of crumb of bread, a bit of butter, pepper and salt to season; stir the whole on the fire for ten minutes, and eat this bread sauce with roast fowl or turkey.

Egg Sauce for Roast Fowls, etc. [for roast fowl recipe]

Boil two or three eggs for about eight minutes; remove the shells, cut up each egg into about ten pieces of equal size, and put them into some butter-sauce made as follows:—viz., Knead two ounces of flour with one ounce and-a-half of butter; add half-a-pint of water, pepper and salt to season, and stir the sauce on the fire until it begins to boil; then mix in the pieces of chopped hard-boiled eggs.

THE LADY’S OWN COOKERY BOOK, AND NEW DINNER-TABLE DIRECTORY; [1844]

A Yorkshire Christmas Pie.

Let the crust be made a good standing one; the wall and bottom must be very thick. Take a turkey and bone it, a goose, a fowl, a partridge, and a pigeon, and season all well. Take half an ounce of cloves, the same of black pepper, and two table-spoonfuls of salt, and beat them well together; let the fowls be slit down the back, and bone them; put the pigeon into the partridge, the partridge into the fowl, the fowl into the goose, and the goose into the turkey. Season all well first, and lay them in the crust; joint a hare, and cut it into pieces; season it, and lay it close on one side; on the other side woodcocks, or any other sort of game; let them also be well seasoned and laid close. Put four or five pounds of butter into the pie; cover it with a very rich paste, put it in a very hot oven, and four hours will bake it.

A bushel of flour is about the quantity required for the paste.

Mince Meat. No. 1.

One pound of beef, one pound and a half of suet, one pound of currants, half a pound of chopped raisins, one pound of sugar, if moist, half a pint of brandy, a pint of raisin wine, mace, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, pounded together. Sweetmeats, candied lemon, and fresh peel, may be added, when used for baking.

Mince Meat. No. 2.

One pound of beef suet, one pound of apples peeled and cored, one pound of raisins stoned and chopped very fine, the same of currants well picked, half a pound of sugar made very fine, a glass of brandy, a glass of wine, half an ounce of allspice, the juice of two large lemons, the rind chopped as fine as possible: add sweetmeats to your taste.

Mince Meat. No. 3.

Take one pound of beef and two pounds of suet shred fine, two pounds of currants, one pound of the best raisins stoned, but not chopped, three quarters of a pound of sugar, four fine pippins or russetings chopped fine, some grated lemon-peel, half an ounce of cinnamon, the same of nutmeg, a quarter of an ounce of mace, wine and brandy to your taste, and whatever sweetmeats you please.

Mince Meat without Meat. No. 1.

Twelve pounds of currants, very well washed, dried, and picked, six pounds of raisins stoned and chopped very small, a quarter of a pound of cloves, three ounces of mace, and two of nutmegs, pounded very fine, the rind of three large fresh lemons pared very thin and chopped fine, six pounds of powder sugar, a quart of sack, a quart of brandy, one hundred golden rennets, pared, cored, and chopped small: mix all well together, and let it stand two days, stirring it from the bottom twice or thrice a day. Add three whole dried preserved oranges and an equal weight of dried citron. Mix in the suet a day or two before you use it. Add lemon-juice to your taste, and that only to the quantity you mean to bake at once. Without suet these ingredients will keep for six months.

Mince Meat without Meat. No. 2.

To make a mince meat that will keep for five or six years, take four pounds of raisins of the sun, stoned and chopped very fine, five pounds of currants, three pounds of beef suet shred very fine, the crumb of a half-quartern loaf, three pounds of loaf-sugar, the peel of four lemons grated, half an ounce of nutmeg, a quarter of an ounce of mace, the same of cloves, and one pint of good brandy. When you make your pies, add about one third of apple chopped fine; and to each pie put six or eight small slices of citron and preserved orange-peel, with a table-spoonful of sweet wine, ratafia, and a piece of a large lemon mixed together.

Mince Meat without Meat. No. 3.

Three pounds of suet, three pounds of apples, pared and cored, three pounds of currants washed, picked, and dried, one pound and a half of sugar powdered, three quarters of a pound of preserved orange-peel, six ounces of citron, the juice of six lemons, one pint of sack and one of brandy, a quarter of an ounce of mace, the same of nutmeg, and of cloves and cinnamon half a quarter of an ounce each.

Lemon Mince Meat.

Cut three large lemons, and squeeze out the juice; boil the peels together with the pulp till it will pound in a mortar; put to it one pound of beef suet, finely chopped, currants and lump sugar, one pound of each; mix it all well together; then add the juice with a glass of brandy. Put sweetmeats to your taste.

Plum Pudding. No. 1.

Half a pound of raisins stoned, half a pound of suet, good weight, shred very fine, half a pint of milk, four eggs, two of the whites only. Beat the eggs first, mix half the milk with them, stir in the flour and the rest of the milk by degrees, then the suet and raisins, and a small tea-cupful of moist sugar. Mix the eggs, sugar, and milk, well together in the beginning, and stir all the ingredients well together. A plum pudding should never boil less than five hours; longer will not hurt it. This quantity makes a large plain pudding: half might do.

Plum Pudding. No. 2.

One pound of jar raisins stoned and cut in pieces, one pound of suet shred small, with a very little salt to it; six eggs, beat with a little brandy and sack, nearly a pint of milk, a nutmeg grated, a very little flour, not more than a spoonful, among the raisins, to separate them from each other, and as much grated bread as will make these ingredients of the proper consistence when they are all mixed together.

Plum Pudding. No. 3.

Take half a pound of crumb of stale bread; cut it in pieces; boil half a pint of milk and pour over it; let it stand half an hour to soak. Take half a pound of beef suet shred fine, half a pound of raisins, half a pound of currants beat up with a little salt; mix them well together with a handful of flour. Butter the dish, and put the pudding in it to bake; but if boiled, flour the bag, or butter the mould, if you boil it in one. To this quantity put three eggs.

Plum Pudding. No. 4.

One pound of beef suet, one pound of raisins stoned, four table-spoonfuls of flour, six ounces of loaf-sugar, one tea-spoonful of salt, five eggs, and half a grated nutmeg. Flour the cloth well, and boil it six hours.

Plum Pudding. No. 5.

Take currants, raisins, suet, bread crumb, and sugar, half a pound of each, five eggs, two ounces of almonds blanched and shred very fine, citron and brandy to taste, and a spoonful of flour.

A rich Plum Pudding.

A pound and a quarter of sun raisins, stoned, six eggs, two spoonfuls of flour, a pound of suet, a little nutmeg, a glass of brandy: boil it five or six hours.

Georgian Christmas Recipes from English Housewifry by Elizabeth Moxon [1764]

A Rich White PLUMB-CAKE.

Take four pounds of flour dry’d, two pounds of butter, one pound and a half of double refin’d sugar beat and searc’d, beat the butter to cream, then put in the sugar and beat it well together; sixteen eggs leaving out four yolks; a pint of new yeast; five jills of good cream, and one ounce of mace shred; beat the eggs well and mix them with the butter and sugar; put the mace in the flour; warm the cream, mix it with the yeast, and run it thro’ a hair sieve, mix all these into a paste; then add one pound of almonds blanch’d and cut small, and six pounds of currants well wash’d, pick’d and dry’d; when the oven is ready, stir in the currants, with one pound of citron, lemon or orange; then butter the hoop and put it in.

This cake will require two hours and a half baking in a quick oven.

An ISING for the CAKE.

One pound and a half of double-refin’d sugar, beat and searc’d; the whites of four eggs, the bigness of a walnut of gum-dragon, steep’d in rose or orange-flower water; two ounces of starch, beat fine with a little powder-blue (which adds to the whiteness) while the cake is baking beat the ising and lie it on with a knife as soon as the cake is brought from the oven.

Little PLUMB CAKES.

Take two pounds of flour dry’d, three pounds of currans well wash’d, pick’d and dry’d, four eggs beaten with two spoonfuls of sack, half a jack of cream, and one spoonful of orange-flower or rose-water; two nutmegs grated, one pound of butter wash’d in rose-water and rub’d into the flour, and one pound of loaf sugar searc’d, mix all well together, and put in the currans; butter the tins and bake them in a quick oven; half an hour will bake it.

To make MINC’D PIES another Way.

Take half a pound of Jordan almonds, blanch and beat them with a little rose-water, but not over small; take a pound of beef-suet shred very fine, half a pound of apples shred small, a pound of currants well cleaned, half a pound of powder sugar, a little mace shred fine, about a quarter of a pound of candid orange cut in small pieces, a spoonful or two of brandy, and a little salt, so mix them well together, and bake it in a puff-paste.

To make SACK POSSET another Way.

Take a quart of good cream, and boil it with a blade or two of mace, put in about a quarter of a pound of fine powder sugar; take a pint of sack or better, set it over the fire to heat, but don’t let it boil, then grate in a little nutmeg, and about a quarter of a pound of powder sugar; take nine eggs, (leave out six of the whites and strains) beat ’em very well, then put to them a little of your sack mix the sack and eggs very well together, then put to ’em the rest of your sack, stir it all the time you are pouring it in, set it over a slow fire to thicken, and stir it till it be as thick as custard; be sure you don’t let it boil, if you do it will curdle, then pour it into your dish or bason; take your cream boiling hot, and pour to your sack by degrees, stirring it all the time you are pouring it in, then set it on a hot-hearth-stone; you must make it half an hour before you use it; before you set on the hearth cover it close with a pewter dish.

To make PLUMB PORRIDGE.

Take two shanks of beef, and ten quarts of water, let it boil over a slow fire till it be tender, and when the broth is strong, strain it out, wipe the pot and put in the broth again, slice in two penny loaves thin, cutting off the top and bottom, put some of the liquor to it, cover it up and let it stand for a quarter of an hour, so put it into the pot again, and let it boil a quarter of an hour, then put in four pounds of currants, and let them boil a little; then put in two pounds of raisins, and two pounds of prunes, let them boil till they swell; then put in a quarter of an ounce of mace, a few cloves beat fine, mix it with a little water, and put it into your pot; also a pound of sugar, a little salt, a quart or better of claret, and the juice of two or three lemons or verjuice; thicken it with sagoo instead of bread; so put it in earthen pots, and keep it for use.

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