Cut the cauliflowers into little flowerets of equal size. Throw them into boiling salted water. Place them at the back of the range, and when they are just about to boil take them off and drain them. Put them into jars. Boil (about fifteen minutes) enough vinegar to well cover them, seasoning it with one ounce of nutmeg, one ounce of mustard-seed, and half an ounce of mace to three quarts of vinegar. Pour this hot over the cauliflowers, adding a little sweet-oil the last thing, to cover the top. Cover them, while warm, with a bladder or fine leather over their corks.

Ingredients: One hundred walnuts, salt and water, one gallon of vinegar, two ounces of whole black pepper, half an ounce of cloves, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of root ginger sliced, one ounce of mace.

Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving — Part 179

Gather the walnuts in July, when they are full grown. They should be soft enough to be pierced all through with a needle. Prick them all well through. Let them remain nine days in brine (four pounds of salt to each gallon of water), changing the brine every third day. Drain them, and let them remain in the sun two or three days until they become black. Put them into jars, not quite filling them. Boil the vinegar and spices together ten minutes, and pour the liquid over the walnuts. They will be fit for use in a month, and will keep for years.

Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving — Part 179

PICKLED GREEN TOMATOES AND ONIONS (_Mrs. Monks_).

Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving — Part 179

Chop one peck of green tomatoes, and half a peck of onions. Let them stand two days in layers of salt. Bring vinegar (enough just to cover them) to the boiling-point. Put in the vegetables, mixed with cloves (one ounce), allspice (one ounce), white mustard-seed (two ounces), and red peppers (five large ones shredded). When well scalded, they are ready to be put in jars.

Select small silver-skinned onions. After taking off the outside skins, remove with a knife one more skin, when each onion should look quite clear. Put them into strong brine for three days. Bring vinegar to a boil with one or two blades of mace and some whole red peppers. Pour it hot over the onions well drained from the brine.

Cut a slit in the side of each pepper, and take out all the seeds. Let them soak in brine (strong enough to float an egg) two days. Then, washing them in cold water, put them into a stone jar. Pour over them vinegar boiled with cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. Whenever they are wanted to be served, stuff each one with a boiled tongue cut into dice, and mixed with a _Mayonnaise_ dressing. Or little mangoes may be made, stuffing each one with pickled nasturtiums, grapes, minced onions, red cabbage or cucumbers, seasoned with mustard-seed, root ginger, and mace.