Mrs. Mary Ealess receipts | Page 9

on again, 'till the Peaches are thorough hot; repeat this for three Days; then lay them on Plates to dry, and turn them every Day 'till dry.
To make PEACH-CHIPS.
Pare the Peaches, and cut them in thin Chips; to four Pound of Chips put three Pound and a Half of fine beaten Sugar; let the Sugar and Chips lye a little while, 'till the Sugar is well melted, then boil them fast 'till they are clear; about half an Hour will do them enough; set them by 'till the next Day, then scald them very well two Days, and lay them on earthen Plates in a Stove; sift on them fine Sugar, through a Lawn Sieve; turn them every Day, sifting them 'till almost dry; then lay them on a Sieve a Day or two more in the Stove: Lay them in a Box close together, and when they have lain so a Week, pick them asunder, that they may not be in Lumps.
To preserve or dry NUTMEG-PEACHES.
Peel the Peaches, and put them in boiling Water; let them boil a Quarter of an Hour; lay them to drain, weigh them, and to a Pound of Peaches put a Pound of fine Sugar beaten very small; when the Sugar is pretty well melted, boil them very fast 'till they are clear; set them by 'till they are cold; then scald them very well; take to every Pint of Peach a Pint of Codling-Jelly and a Pound of Sugar; boil it 'till it jellies very well, then put in the Peaches and half the Syrup; let them boil fast; then put them in Pots or Glasses: If you wou'd dry them, scald them three or four Days, and dry them out of their Syrup.
To preserve CUCUMBERS.
Take Cucumbers of the same Bigness that you wou'd to pickle; pick them fresh, green, and free from Spots; boil them in Water 'till they are tender; then run a Knitting-needle through them the long Way, and scrape off all Roughness; then green them, which is done thus: Let your Water be ready to boil, take it off, and put in a good Piece of Roach-Allum; set it on the Fire, and put in the Cucumbers; cover them close 'till you see they look green; weigh them, and take their Weight in single-refin'd Sugar clarify'd; to a Pound of Sugar put a Pint of Water; put your Cucumbers in; boil them a little close-cover'd; set them by, and boil them a little every Day for four Days; then take them out of your Syrup, and make a Syrup of double-refin'd Sugar, a Pound of Sugar and half a Pint of Water to every Pound of Cucumbers; put in your Cucumbers, and boil them 'till they are clear; then put in the Juice of two or three Lemmons, and a little Orange-flower-water, and give them a Boil altogether: You may either lay them out to dry, or keep them in Syrup; but every Time you take any out, make the other scalding hot, and they will keep two or three Years.
To dry GREEN FIGS.
Take the white Figs at the full Bigness, before they turn Colour; slit them at the Bottom; put your Figs in scalding Water; keep them in a Scald, but not boil them 'till they are turn'd yellow; then let them stand 'till they are cold; they must be close cover'd, and something on them to keep them under Water; set them on the Fire again, and when they are ready to boil, put to them a little Verdigrease and Vinegar, and keep them in a Scald 'till they are green; then put them in boiling Water; let them boil 'till they are very tender; drain them well from the Water, and to every Pound clarify a Pound and Half of single-refin'd Sugar, and when the Sugar is cold put in the Figs; let them lye all Night in the cold Syrup; the next Day boil them 'till they are very clear, and the Syrup thick, and scald them every Day for a Week; then lay them to dry in a Stove, turning them every Day; weigh your Figs when they are raw; and when you clarify your Sugar, put half a Pint of Water to a Pound of Sugar: If your Figs grow too dry, you may put them in their Syrup again; they will look new to the End of the Year.
To dry BLACK FIGS.
Weigh the Figs, and slit them at the Bottom; put them into boiling Water, and boil them 'till they are very tender; drain them well from the Water; then make a Syrup of clarify'd single-refin'd Loaf-Sugar, with their Weight, and half a Pint of Water to a Pound of Sugar; when the Syrup is cold put in your Figs; let them