RECIPES AND HELPFUL HINTS
(Not
including Dyes, Medical Assistance to the Military, Advice to Soldiers, Coffee
and Tea Substitutes, Candles, Soap, Spinning, Weaving, Shoes, Knitting)
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], January 19,
1860, p. 1, c. 2
Cranberry Pudding.--Boil one pint and a half of cranberries cleared of the
stalks in four ounces of sugar and water, until they are broken and form a kind
of jam; make up a large ball of; cover it well with rice washed clean and dry;
then round each fold a floured piece of cloth, which tie as for dumplings. Boil them one hour; sift sugar over when served, and butter
in a boat.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], February 10,
1860, p. 3, c. 2
Valuable Recipe for Dysentery--Take of peach leaves one handful, pour one pint
of boiling water over them; then add one tablespoonful of Epson Salts. Take a wine glass full every two or three hours till it
operates freely; then take the tea without the salts three times a day until
cured. The tea must be cold when
the salt is put.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, May 15, 1860, p. 2, c. 8
A teaspoonful of salt and teaspoonful of mustard stirred quickly in warm water
and swallowed after any poison taken into the stomach by accident, will
instantly act as an emetic. As soon
after as the stomach is quiet, drink a cup of coffee, clear and strong, or
swallow the white of an egg.
A simple but very effectual remedy for biliousness, arising from any
cause whatever, will be found in drinking half a tumbler of lemon juice.
It can be repeated, if necessary, and will put many a headache to flight.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], July 24,
1860, p. 2, c. 3
Preserving Fruit.--As many of our readers will soon be engaged in preserving
fruit, we publish the following recipe, which is furnished the Mobile Tribune by
a correspondent:
Any glass jar, with a mouth large enough to admit the fruit, will answer
the purpose. Corks to fit may be
procured at any of the drug stores. Select the most solid ones, or those least porous.
When the fruit is properly cooked, fill up the jars with it and the
syrup, and let them stand fifteen minutes.
By that time the fruit will settle down in the jars.
Then fill up the jar with hot syrup, and put in the cork tightly and seal
it over with a composition of one-third beeswax and two-thirds rosin, melted
together and applied with a small mop. After
the jars have cooled, fill up all the air holes that may be seen with more of
the composition and put away the jars for use when wanted.
A light syrup will answer, as there is no danger of fermentation if
properly sealed. Crushed sugar
makes the best syrup and is the cheaper in reality.
Jars made for this purpose, with good corks in them, may be procured at
the crockery stores. The jars
should be tempered to prevent cracking, by putting into each but a small
quantity of hot syrup at first. A
small blister can be seen on the sealing wherever any air has escaped.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, September 1, 1860, p. 3, c. 1
How to put up shirt bosoms.—We have heard ladies expressing a desire to
know by what process the fine gloss observable on new linens, shirt bosoms,
&c., is produced, and in order to gratify them, we subjoin the following
recipe for making Gum Arabic Starch:
Take two ounces of fine white gum arabic powder—put it into a pitcher,
and pour on it a pint of more of boiling water (according to the degree of
strength you desire,) and then having covered it, let it set all night.
In the morning pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork
it, and keep it for use. A table
spoonful of gum water poured into a pint of starch made in the usual manner,
will give to lawns, (either white or printed) a look of newness, when nothing
else can restore them after washing. It
is also good (much diluted) for thin white muslin and bobinet.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, September 8, 1860, p. 1, c. 7
Hard Butter Without Ice.—To have delightfully hard butter in summer,
without ice, the plan recommended by that excellent and useful publication, the
Scientific American, is a good one. Put
a trivet, or any open flat thing with legs, in a saucer; put on this trivet the
plate of butter; fill the saucer with water; turn a common flower-pot over the
butter, so that its edge shall be within the saucer and under the water; plug
the flower-pot with a cork, then drench the flower-pot with water; set in a cool
place until morning, or if done at breakfast the butter will be very hard by
supper time. How many of our town
boarding-school girls, who have been learning philosophy, astronomy, syntax and
prosody, can write an explanation of this within a month.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], September 12,
1860, p. 1, c. 1
Useful Information.--A friend furnishes us the following facts, which will not
spoil by becoming generally known:
Cotton
clothing of children, and adults also, will not burn with a flame, if rinsed in
Alum water. A handful of alum to a
tub of water is sufficient.
Water standing in cases, in factories and on bridges, will keep sweet in
warm weather, and not freeze in cold, if a few pounds of Lime are stirred in
each cask.
DALLAS HERALD, December 26, 1860, p. 4, c. 1
Cakes for the Holidays.
A lady correspondent of the American
Agriculturist gives the following receipts for making good cake for the
holidays:
Welcome Cake.—Stir a cup and
a half of sugar and half a cup of butter together, with three well beaten eggs.
Sift a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of soda
with three small cups of flour; this, with half a cup of milk, must be mixed
with the above, and baked in a moderately quick oven.
By adding raisins and currents, ½ lb. of each, a very good fruit cake
may be made.
New Year's Cake.—1 cup of
butter, 1 of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar, ½ teaspoonful of soda,
and caraway seeds to the taste. Flour
must be added till the dough is fit to roll—these require a quick oven.
Spice Cake.—1 cup of sugar, 2
of molasses, ½ cup butter, a teaspoonful of spice, and one of soda dissolved in
a little milk; add flour till it is quite stiff; then roll thin and cut in
cakes. Bake quick.
Wealthy Cake.—Take ½ pound
of butter, ¾ pound of sugar, the same of flour, 4 eggs, 2 lb. of seeded
raisins, 1 pound of currants, ¼ pound of citron, 1 gill of brandy.
Spice well with nutmeg and ground cloves. Bake slowly three hours.
This cake will keep six months. Icing
for the cake: beat the white of two
eggs to a froth, then stir in half a pound of powdered sugar.
Flavor with a little essence of lemon, and spread on with a knife when
the cake is cold.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, February 20, 1861, p. 4, c. 1
Golden Pie.—Take one lemon; grate the peel, and squeeze the pulp and
juice in a bowl—be sure to remove every seed—to which add one teacup of new
milk, one tablespoonful of powdered starch, and the yolks of three eggs, well
beaten; pour this mixture into a nice paste crust, and bake slowly.
Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, and when the pie is just
done pour it over the top evenly, and return to the oven, just to stiffen, not
brown.
SAVANNAH [GA]
REPUBLICAN, May 4, 1861, p. 1, c. 6
Camphor and Flowers.—Two or three drops of a saturated solution of
camphor in alcohol, put into half an ounce of soft water, forms a mixture which
will revive flowers that have begun to droop and wilt, and give them freshness
for a long time. Let the fair
ladies, whose most appropriate sphere is among the flowers, try the experiment.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
15, 1861, p. 2, c. 1
Keep Off the Moths.--It is usual, during the summer months, for dry goods
and clothing houses, as well as private families, to use large quantities of
camphor for the purpose of preserving their goods from the moths.
Now, as camphor is one of the most necessary drugs for medicinal
purposes, and as our means for receiving further supplies are restricted, it
behooves us to husband the supply now on hand, especially as many other and more
plentiful articles will answer equally as well for the removal of these
destructive insects.
One of our most prominent druggists has recommended us to suggest the use
of Vanilla leaves, which grow in abundance in the neighborhood of Summerville.
Tobacco leaves are also an excellent substitute.
Either of these articles are just as good for the preservation of clothes
as the more expensive article of camphor.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
24, 1861, p. 4, c. 2
How to Take Care of the Hair.--As to men, we say, when the hair begins to
fall out, the best plan is to have it cut short; give it a good brushing with a
moderately stiff brush, while the hair is dry; then wash it well with warm soap
suds; then rub into the scalp, about the roots of the hair, a little bay rum,
brandy, or camphor water. Do these things twice a month--the brushing of the scalp may
be profitably done twice a week. Damp
the hair with water every time the toilet is made.
Nothing ever made is better for the hair than pure soft water, if the
scalp is kept clean in the way we have named.
The use of the oils or pomatums, or grease of any kind, is ruinous to the
hair of man or woman. We consider
it a filthy practice, almost universal though it be, for it gathers dust and
dirt, and soils whenever it touches. Nothing
but pure soft water should ever be allowed on the heads of children.
It is a different practice that robs our women of their most beautiful
ornament long before their prime; the hair of our daughters should be kept
within two inches, until their twelfth year.
Hall's Journal of Health.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, June 5, 1861, p. 4, c. 2
Water muffins.—Sift one quart of flour; add one teaspoonful of salt;
make a batter with tepid water, putting first into the flour two teaspoonful of
cream tartar; when just ready to bake, add one teaspoonful of car soda [sic?],
dissolved. Bake on a griddle, in
rings.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 7, 1861, p. 3, c. 2
To Drive Away Mosquitoes.--Camphor is the most powerful agent. A camphor bag hung up in an open casement will prove an
effectual barrier to their entrance. Camphorated
spirit applied as perfume to the face and hands will act as an effectual
preventive; but when bitten by them, aromatic vinegar is the best antidote.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, June 19, 1861, p. 2, c. 1
Seasonable Hints about Personal Comfort.
A thin shawl may be made warm by folding a newspaper inside of it.
The paper is impervious to the wind and cold air from outside, and
prevents the rapid escape of the warm air beneath it.
Every one knows that the heat of the body is carried off much more
rapidly in a high wind than in a calm. The
wind blows away the heat envolved [sic] from the body, but in a perfectly still
calm this heat remains, and constitutes an atmospheric envelope so nearly of the
same temperature with the body itself that the latter is not so quickly robbed
of the natural heat.
A piece of silk oil cloth, stitched in the folds of a shawl, is more
flexible than the paper, and will last a whole winter.
It has the advantage of securing inward warmth without the additional
weight of a thicker garment.
When you set out on a winter journey, if you are liable to suffer from
cold toes, which many people do in spite of "rubbers," fold a piece of
newspaper over your stockings, which you can readily do, if your boots and shoes
are not irrationally tight. This is
better than 'rubbers,' which are, in fact, very cold comforters in extreme,
while they make the feet sweat in moderate weather.
The main use of India rubber overshoes is to keep out water, and for that
they are second only to a stout, waterproof, first-rate calf-skin boot.
There is not a more villainously unwholesome article of wear made than
the hightopped rubber boot. It makes the foot tender, especially in children, gives an
ugly gait, and when left off in any weather, the wearer is liable to catch cold.
Saint Crispin is the best friend of the human foot, when his leather and
stitches are honest.
The constitutional vivacity and temper of a person has much to do with
his endurance of cold, for his vivacity is a sort of nervous fire that lessons
the sensibility to outward impressions. An
indifferent milk and water person, without energy and force, is at the mercy of
every cold blast that sweeps the corner. He,
and especially she, has no defence but to wear a dozen shawls during the day,
and sleep under a bale of blankets at night. One without any mental purpose, (unfortunately there are
such,) though in vigorous health, is much more liable to catch cold than a
spirited delicate body bent on some positive pursuit.
AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE,
June 22, 1861, p. 4, c. 1
Interesting to Housewives.--Fly time is now fairly upon us, and these
troublesome little insects are as much of a nuisance as the Black Republican
army in St. Louis. The weapon
wherewith to repel this invasion may be found in the following, which we find in
an exchange:
Take three or four onions and boil them well in a pint of water, and then
brush the liquid over your glasses and frames, and the flies will not light in
smelling distance of them. The
receipt is a safe one, and will do no injury to your furniture.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, June 26, 1861, p. 1, c. 7
To Clean Glass.—Common newspaper is one of the best articles.
The chemical operation of some ingredient of the printing ink gives a
beautiful polish. Slightly moisten
a piece of paper; roll it up and rub the glass; then take a dry, soft piece and
repeat the process. No lint will
remain, as in the case of using cloth.
Bites and Stings.—Apply instantly, with a soft rag, most freely,
spirits of hartshorn. The venom of
stings being an acid the alkali nullifies them.
Fresh wood ashes, moistened with water, and made into a poultice,
frequently renewed, is an excellent substitute—or soda or salaratus—all
being alkalies.
To Take Out Thorns or Splinters.—Make a plaster of turpentine and
tallow, spread on a piece of leather and apply it to the wound.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, June 26, 1861, p. 3, c. 1
A globule of belladonna,
taken every morning, by each and every member of a family—adults, children,
servants and all inmates—will prevent the spread of scarlet fever in every
household that may adopt it, as certainly as vaccination will prevent small pox.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 4, 1861, p. 3, c. 4
Starch of Home Manufacture.--We commend the following recipe for making
starch, to all who may wish to try it, it having been furnished us by one who
has tried it, and who knows it to be a good one.
This starch will be found as good an article as that which comes from
Yankeedoodledum:
Take a peck of unground wheat of the best quality; pick and soak it
carefully. Next put into a tub;
pour on sufficient clear, soft water to cover it, and then set it in the sun.
Be sure to change the water every day, keeping it in the sun as much as
possible, or an equally warm place in the house, should the weather prove
unfavorable. When all the grains of wheat have become quite soft, rub it
well in your hands, and separate it from the husks, which must be thrown into
another tub. Let the soft wheat
settle in a mass; and then pour off the water and put it on fresh; stir it well,
and let it settle again. Repeat
this every day, till the last water comes off clear and colorless.
Then pour the water finally off. Take
the starch out of the tub, collect it into a thin bag, and hang it for a few
days in the sun; after which spread on dishes or a sheet to dry.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, July 10, 1861, p. 4, c. 2
Making Vinegar.—To eight gallons of clear rain water add three quarts
of molasses; put into a good cask; shake well a few times, then add two or three
spoonfuls of good yeast cakes. If
in summer, place the cask in the sun; if in winter, near the chimney, where it
may warm. In ten or fifteen days
add to this liquid a sheet of brown paper, town in strips, dipped in molasses,
and good vinegar will be produced. The
paper will, in this way, form what is called the "mother," or life of
vinegar.—Genessee Farmer.
Parsley.—Parsley may be preserved through the whole season, and in
every climate, by the following process: pull
or cut your parsley when full grown, hang it up to dry, and when wanted for use,
rub a little of it betwixt the palms of the hand, put it in the pot, and it will
immediately resume its smell, flavor and color, although it may have been kept
for years.
SAVANNAH [GA]
REPUBLICAN, July 16, 1861, p. 1, c. 4
Hard Butter Without Ice.—To have delightfully hard butter in summer
without ice, put a trivit [sic], or any open flat thing with legs, in a saucer,
put on this trivit [sic] the plate of butter; fill the saucer with water, turn a
common flower pot upside down over the butter, so that its edge shall be within
the saucer and under the water. Stop
up the hole of the flower-pot with a cork, then drench the flower-pot with
water, set it in a cool place until morning, or if done at breakfast the butter
will be very hard by supper time.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], July 20,
1861, p. 3, c. 2
Antidote for Intermittent Fever--Substitute for Quinine--Dr. D. B. Phillips,
late of the United States Navy, now of the Confederate Navy, says:
"Raw corn meal unsifted and freshly ground, administered in doses of
a large table spoonful six or eight times a day, or a tea made of fodder, is an
admirable remedy in intermittent fever.--The yellow corn is the better variety,
and a drink made of a table spoonful of the meal stirred in a glass of water and
taken frequently, is not only a good remedy but a pleasant and refreshing
beverage, which may be taken in all stages of the disease without the slightest
evil effects.
MOBILE REGISTER AND
ADVERTISER, July 24, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
A correspondent of the Peedee Times recommends the Boneset (Eupatorium
Perfoliatum) as a substitute for quinine. It
is a valuable suggestion; let our Lady Bountifuls see to gathering and drying
it.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 16, 1861, p. 1, c. 6
Persimmon
Beer.
To the Editor of the
Charleston Mercury:
In response to your call, contained in The Mercury of a late date, I send
you the following from the Southern Cultivator for March:
The best Persimmons ripen soft and sweet, having a clear, thin,
transparent skin, without any rough taste.
A good ripe persimmon is a delicious morsel; most animals fatten on them;
the chicken, duck, turkey, goose, dog, hog, sheep and cow, all eat them
greedily. The fruit, when mashed
and strained through a coarse wire sieve, makes delightful bread, pies and
pudding. When kneaded with the
wheat bran, and well baked in an oven, the bread may be put away for winter use
in making Beer, and used when wanted.
The following is one of the very best receipts for making the Beer:
Sweet ripe persimmons, mashed and strained-------1 bushel.
Wheat bran------------------------------------------------1/2
"
Mix well together, and bake in loaves of convenient size; break them in a
clean barrel, and add 12 gallons of water and two or three ounces of hops.
Keep the barrel in a warm room. As
soon as fermentation subsides, bottle off the beer, having good long corks, and
place the bottles in a low temperature, and it will keep and improve for twelve
months.
This beer, when properly made, in a warm room, is an exquisitely
delightful beverage, containing no alcohol, and is, to the connoisseur of
temperate taste, not inferior to the fermented juice of the vine.
The ordinary way of making it is more simple, and the drink is relished
heartily by most persons. A layer
of straw is put in the bottom of the cask, on which a sufficient quantity of
fruit, well mashed, is laid; and the cask then filled with water.
It should stand in a warm room, and if the weather is cold, fermentation
will be promoted by occasionally putting a warm brick or stone in the barrel.
The addition of a few honey locusts, roasted sweet potatoes, or apple
peelings, will make the beer more brisk. Wheat
bran always improves the quality.
SAVANNAH [GA]
REPUBLICAN, August 20, 1861, p. 1, c. 5
A Remedy for Killing Bed Bugs.—When the crevices are large enough,
insert gum camphor, or make a solution of two ounces of camphor and one pint of
alcohol, and apply in the cracks with a feather.
Follow up the application a few days and you will exterminate your
disagreeable visitors. In warm
weather musquitoes [sic] may be kept at bay by keeping a cloth wet with camphor
near the person.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, August 28, 1861, p. 2, c. 1
"T. A.," in the Houston Telegraph, says that a strong tea, made
from corn shucks, has been used successfully as an anti-periodic, for the arrest
of chills. It requires several big drinks, at intervals of an hour. Also, a tea of ripened seedpods of the common cockle-burr, he
says, has also been used for the same purpose, when quinine failed to break the
chills.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], August 29, 1861, p. 2,
c. 4
Useful Hints to Planters' Wives.--Editors Rural:--The following recipes
are at your service:
Corn Starch, or Farina.--Grate well filled green corn from the cob into a
tub of clean water, say a bushel into each tub.
Let it remain a few hours, then strain the contents of each tub into
fresh water. The finest hair sifter
or fine muslin must be used for a strainer.
After straining into fresh water, let it remain twelve hours or more;
then pour off the water--the starch will be precipitated to the bottom of the
tub, which must be spread on a clean cloth, and dried in the sun.
It must be kept stirred to prevent it from molding.--When thoroughly dry
put it into glass jars.
Corn Starch Blanc Mange.--Take a teacup full of the starch, mix it up
with cold water perfectly smooth; add this to a quart of milk which must be
boiled, stir in the starch while the milk is boiling; it must be stirred while
it is boiling to prevent it from burning. Let
it boil up once or twice, then take off and pour it into moulds.
This Blanc Mange must be eaten with loaf sugar and cream.--Any seasoning,
such as lemon, or vanilla, can be used to season it; and if preferred the Blanc
Mange can be sweetened while it is boiling.
Mrs. W. P. W.
Auburn, near Laconia, Arkansas.
[Southern Rural Gentleman.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], August 30, 1861, p. 2,
c. 4
The Virtues of Borax.--The washer women of Holland and Belgium, so
proverbially clean, and who get up their linen so beautifully white, use refined
borax as washing powder, instead of soda, in the proportion of a large handful
of borax powder to about ten gallons of boiling water; they save in soap nearly
half. All the large washing
establishments adopt the same mode. For
laces, cambrics, etc., an extra quantity of the powder is used, and for
crinolines, (required to be made stiff,) a strong solution is necessary.
Borax being a neutral salt, does not in the slightest degree injure the
texture of the linen; its effect is to soften the hardest water, and therefore
it should be kept on every toilet table. To
the taste it is rather sweet, is used for cleaning the hair, is an excellent
dentifrice, and in hot countries is used in combination with tartaric acid and
bicarbonate of soda as a cooling beverage.
Good tea cannot be made with hard water; all water may be made soft by
adding a teaspoonful of borax powder to an ordinary sized kettle of water, in
which it should boil. The saving in
the quantity of tea used will be at least one-fifth.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], August 31, 1861, p. 2,
c. 4
Chicken Fried in Batter.--make a batter of two eggs, a teacup of milk and
a little salt, and thickened with flour; have the chickens cut up, washed and
seasoned; dip the pieces separately in the batter, and fry them in hard lard;
when brown on both sides take them up and make a gravy as for fried chickens.
Lard fries much nicer than butter, which is apt to burn.
MOBILE REGISTER AND
ADVERTISER, September 1, 1861, p. 2, c. 4
Hot Spice for Steaks, &c.--Three drachms each of black pepper,
ginger, and cinnamon, seven cloves, mace half an ounce, one quarter of an ounce
of cayenne pepper, nutmegs one ounce, white pepper one ounce and a half; mix;
more cayenne may be added if desired. This
is a delicious adjunct to chops, steaks, soups, etc.
NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER,
September 7, 1861, p. 2, c. 5
For
Curing Beef.
Prepare
your brine in the middle of October, after the following manner:
Get a thirty gallon cask and see that it is quite tight and clean.
Put into it one pound of saltpeter powdered, fifteen quarts of salt and
fifteen gallons cold water; stir it frequently until dissolved; throw over the
cask a thick cloth to keep out the dust; look at it often and skim off the scum.
In about two weeks it will be ready for use and if kept in a cool, dry
place and skimmed when necessary the same brine may answer to cure all the beef
a family can use in the course of a winter.
For salting your beef prepare some large new tubs, bore holes in the
bottom and raise them one or two inches opposite the holes that the bloody brine
may run off.
As soon
as the beef has been cut into pieces of suitable size for packing, rub each
piece well with good Liverpool salt--a vast deal depends on rubbing the salt
into every part--sprinkle a good deal of salt in the bottom of the tub and when
each piece has been well salted, lay it in the tub and be sure to put the fleshy
side downward. When the tub is full
cover it over with a layer of salt and let it remain for ten days, then take it
out, brush off the salt and wipe the pieces with a damp cloth; put it in the
brine with a board and weight to keep it under. In about ten days it will look red and be fit for the table.
The
best time to begin to salt beef is the latter end of October, if the weather be
cook, and from that time by the use of the same brine (for the older it is the
better) beef may be had in succession throughout the winter.
Another--For
Curing Beef or Pork.
Water,
one gallon; salt, one and a half pounds; brown sugar, half pound; saltpeter,
half ounce; potash, half ounce. In
this ratio, the pickle to be increased to any quantity desired.
Let these be boiled together until all the dirt from the salt and sugar
(which will not be little) rises to the top and is skimmed off.
The pour the pickle into a large tub to cool, and when cold, pour it over
your beef or pork which has been packed after passing through the process of
salting and dripping, a slight sprinkle of powdered saltpetre having been mixed
with the salt.
The
brine may be poured over the meat two days after killing, but the brine will
have to be drawn off and reboiled as often as the presence of bloody matter may
render it necessary.
In
giving the above receipts a fair test, it will be well to bear in mind the
importance first of securing the best article of brine that can be made.
It should be strong and free from every particle of dirt which will show
itself on the surface in the form of scum which must be removed.
Before the meat is packed ready for the brine to be poured on, it should
be allowed to remain in salt, with the fleshy side downward, until it has
thoroughly dripped. If the brine is
tinged with bloody matter after it has been poured over the meat, it is evidence
that the dripping was not thorough and the brine should be drawn off and
reboiled until perfectly clear. As
long as anything remains liable to acidify there is present an element of
impurity which will impart itself to the meat and will injure and perhaps spoil
it.
Hoping
these suggestions will not be out of place and the information herewith
communicated upon a subject, at this time, of very great importance to the
country, may prove beneficial to the public, I remain yours, &c.,
J. R. Galtney.
Bloomfield, August, 1861.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], September 10,
1861, p. 2, c. 3
We are informed that a ripe Dog-wood berry taken three times a day, just before
eating, will cure ague and fever. It
wouldn't cost much to try.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, September 11, 1861, p. 1, c. 5
Tobacco for Disease of the Throat.—The Boston Medical and Surgical
Journal makes the following observations in a review of Sir Benjamin Brodie's
letter in the London Times, on the "Use and Abuse of
Tobacco:"
"There is a local effect of tobacco, when smoked, which we have not
as yet seen mentioned, and which, in a therapeutical aspect, may be of
considerable importance; we refer to its action in preventing that peculiar
condition of the throat which, if neglected, is liable to terminate in
follicular inflammation, or what is more properly known as clergyman's sore
throat. It has been said that few,
if any, instances of this affection can be found to exist in those in the habit
of smoking, and we know of one or two instances where it yielded at once to the
potent influence of tobacco. It
most probably acts by allaying commencing irritation, which, if allowed to
increase, would end in inflammation; and, perhaps, counteracting any spasmodic
condition, of the surrounding muscles-— very natural source of trouble in this
distressing disease."
NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER,
September 14, 1861, p. 1, c. 5
Substitute for quinine. Dr. D. B.
Phillips, late of the United States Navy, now of the Confederate Navy, says:
"Raw corn meal unsifted, and freshly ground, administered in doses of a
large tablespoonful six or eight times a day, or a tea made of fodder, is an
admirable remedy in intermittent fever. The
yellow corn is the better variety, and a drink made of the tablespoonful of the
meal, stirred in a glass of water, and taken frequently, is not only a good
remedy but a pleasant and refreshing beverage, which may be taken in all stages
of the disease without the slightest evil effect.
NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER,
September 21, 1861, p. 1, c. 3
Typhoid fever in the army. Messrs.
Editors: Every day we hear the sad
tidings of death among our boys in the army, from that scourge, Typhoid Fever.
A gentleman of the medical profession, now in our city, a citizen of
Texas, expresses his surprise that the potent remedy of Spirits of Turpentine
has made so little progress in the country for the cure of this ailment.
My friend Dr. R., a man of splendid professional ability, says that if
any remedy can ever be called a specific, Spirits of Turpentine may be so
considered in cases of Typhoid Fever.
He
begins with small doses of about ten drops every two hours, and continue the
remedy in larger doses, giving as high as a teaspoonful at a dose, till the
right action is seen on the skin. Spirits
of Nitre may be needed to relieve the stranury apt to follow the administration
of turpentine, but nothing further is ever needed.--Atlanta Confederacy.
We will add our humble testimony to the efficiency of this remedy.
During a serious spell of Billious fever, from which we suffered for
several weeks, last summer, the use of turpentine mainly, brought us out safe
and sound.
NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER,
September 27, 1861, p. 1, c. 5
Removing sunburn. If your young
lady friends would like to know what will take off tan and sunburn, tell them to
take a handful of bran, pour a quart of boiling water on it, let it stand one
hour, then strain. When cold put to
it a pint of bay rum. Bottle it and
use it when needed.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], September 29, 1861, p.
2, c. 2-3
The
Tomato Catsup Question Up--Who Will Settle It.
Editors
Confederacy: Having seen a call
through your valuable paper for a receipt for making good Tomato Catsup,
I send you one that I have tried for the last ten years, and it has proved good.
I have made and kept Catsup by this receipt three years, and found it as
good as when first put up.
Take one peck of large, ripe tomatoes; having cut them up, put them into
a preserving kettle; let them boil half an hour; then press and strain the pulp
through a hair sieve; put back into the kettle and add one ounce of salt, one
ounce powdered mace, half ounce powdered cloves, one teaspoonful of ground black
pepper, the same of Cayenne pepper, and eight tablespoonsful of ground mustard.
Mix the ingredients with the tomato pulp, and let it boil slowly four
hours. Then put it in a tureen and
let it stand until next day uncovered; when cold, stir into it one pint of best
cider vinegar. Put it in bottles
and seal the corks. It is then
ready for use.
Yours respectfully,
Mrs.
H. C. Holcombe.
Atlanta, Sept. 26th, 1861.
September 27th, 1861.
Mr. Editor: I enclose you a receipt
to make Tomato Catsup, which I have used several years, and have seen none
better. If you are fond of it, try
it; I think you will be pleased with it. I
think many of our soldier boys would relish it finely, and their friends ought
to make a double supply.
S.V.H.
Tomato
Catsup.
Have
your fruit perfectly ripe; wash and mash it; boil it well; when done, strain it
through a sieve, and to four quarts of the liquid, add one quart of good
vinegar--apple is preferable--also, two tablespoonsful of ground mustard, two of
fine salt, two of ground black pepper, two of whole allspice, one of cloves, two
large onions cut fine, three pods of green pepper, and half pound of sugar.
Boil it to a proper consistency; then strain again, bottle and cork
tightly.
I will
send you another which I prefer to Catsup, and no doubt would be much relished
among our sick soldiers.
[You have told us how much vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, &c., to use, but
you did not say how much tomatoes. We
suppose you meant "right smart."--Eds. Confed.]
Green
Tomato Sauce.
Slice a peck of green tomatoes; sprinkle each layer lightly with salt;
let them stand all night; next morning, wash them, and if too salt, let them
stand a short time in cold water; take them out and let them drain; slice 12 or
15 large onions, put them with the tomatoes in a kettle, with 3 pods of green or
red pepper, cut in thin slices; also, a half pound of white mustard seed, once
ounce of ground allspice, half ounce of mace, two ounces of cloves, one ounce of
ground black pepper, and half a pound of sugar.
Cover the whole with good vinegar, and boil rapidly until the tomatoes
are done. Then add two
tablespoonfuls of ground mustard and stir it in well.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], October 2, 1861, p. 1,
c. 1
The
Catsup Question.
Messrs.
Editors: I see, in your last issue,
some receipts for making Tomato Catsup. I
send you a bottle of catsup, which I hope you will do me the honor to try, and,
if you think it worthy, you can publish the following receipt by which it is
made.
Tomato
Catsup.
To
every gallon of peeled tomatoes, add 4 tablespoonfuls of salt, 4 of black
pepper, 2 of allspice, 8 pods red pepper, 4 spoonfuls of mustard seed.
Bruise your spices and add to the tomatoes; then boil slowly three hours;
strain it and boil it again, till it is thick enough, when you take it off, add
one pint of vinegar to the gallon, and bottle.
I also
send you a jar of "Axejar Pickle," which I think would be more
desirable for our soldiers than catsup.
Try it
at dinner to-day, and see if you can't agree with me.
It requires only vinegar enough to keep it moist, and could be sent
without doing damage to any other articles in a box, which you know is
preferable to other pickles and sauces, which require a quantity of vinegar to
keep them. If you would like to
publish the receipt, I will send it to you with pleasure.
Respectfully,
Mrs. S. B. Robson.
Monday
Morning, Sept. 30, 1861.
[The catsup and the Axejar are both very fine as we learn by testing
them. Please send us the receipt
for making the pickle.]
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], October 6,
1861, p. 3, c. 1
The willow bark, the bark of the root of the wild plum, and piperine, can
be advantageously used as substitutes for Quinine.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], October 9, 1861, p. 3,
c. 2
Recipe
for Dysentery and Flux.
We have the following
from Mrs. E. C. Jennings, of Oxford. She
is a highly intelligent lady--well known to us, and we place every confidence in
her recommendation:
Take sweet gum bark and make a strong tea; to one quart add one gill of
brandy and an ounce vial of laudanum, with a little sugar to make it palatable.
Take a teaspoonful until the disease abates.
I have known one dose to effect an immediate cure of the worst
case I ever saw, and I know it to be a never-failing remedy.
SAVANNAH [GA]
REPUBLICAN, October 12, 1861, p. 1, c. 2
Receipt for Making Corned Beef.—A correspondent, whom we know to be a
good housekeeper, sends us the following:
Sprinkle the beef with salt, and let it lie till the animal heat is all
out. Then for every 100 pounds of
beef, take 4 quarts of salt, 4 ounces of salt petre, pounded finely, and 4
pounds of brown sugar, all well mixed. Scatter
some over the bottom of the barrel, and put down one layer of beef—over this
sprinkle a portion of the mixture of salt, salt petre and sugar, allowing a
larger portion for the top layer. Proceed
with each layer in the same manner, till the beef is all packed.
Keep it well covered with salt, and you will have corned beef, equal to
Fulton Market.
BELLVILLE [TX] COUNTRYMAN, October l9, 1861, p. 4, c. 1
How to Wash Clothes.—Soak the clothes over night, or longer, in cold
water, rubbing soap, with the hand, on the dirty spots; in the morning wring
out, and put in a pounding barrel, the dirtiest at the bottom; on these pour
plenty of boiling hot suds; pound them, taking off the top layers as fast as
done, and you will find that but a few of the very dirtiest will need any
rubbing whatever, and but little boiling. In
this way I usually get my washing all out of the way before breakfast Monday
mornings, and though not exactly a pleasant recreation, yet the horrors of
washing day are diminished fully one half.—Rural New Yorker.
MOBILE REGISTER AND
ADVERTISER, October 22, 1861, p. 1, c. 7
The willow bark, the bark of the root of the wild plum, and the piperine
can be advantageously used as substitutes for quinine.
A Mr. Dance, of Texas, has made quinine from a tree common to our
Southern forest. The Houston
(Texas) Telegraph thinks it is made from the prickly ash.
In its taste it has the same long, lingering, bitter sensations that
quinine leaves.
ALBANY [GA.] PATRIOT,
October 31, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
A Recipe for Putting up Beef.--A Gentleman who has tried the following recipe
warmly recommends it:
Cut the beef into pieces of the proper size for packing, sprinkle them
with salt lightly, and let them be 24 hours, after which shake off the salt and
pack them in a barrel. In ten
gallons of water, put four gallons salt one pound salt peter half-pound black
pepper, half pound allspice and a half gallon of sugar.
Place the mixture in a vessel over a slow fire, and bring it to a boil;
then take it off and when it has cooled pour it on the beef sufficient to cover
it and fill the barrel. After the
lapse of three or four days turn the barrel up side down to be sure that the
beef is all covered by the brine. If
the beef is good, it will make it fit to set before a king. The beef will keep good for a long time.
During the scarcity and exorbitant price of Bacon, our readers might try
the recipe, and test its virtues.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], November 1, 1861, p.
2, c. 4
Peach
Leaf Yeast.
Hops
cost $2 00 per pound, leaves cost nothing, and peach leaves make better yeast
than hops. Make it thus:
Take three large peach leaves and three medium sized potatoes, boil them
in two quarts of water until the potatoes are done; take out the leaves and
throw them away, peel the potatoes, and rub them up with a pint of flour, adding
cold water sufficient to make a paste, then pour on the h hot peach leaf tea,
and scald for about five minutes. If
you add to this a little old yeast, it will be ready for use in three hours.
If you add none, it will require to stand a day and night before use.
Leaves dried in the shade are as good as fresh ones.
As this is stronger than hop yeast, less should be used in making up the
dough. I have tried this often, and
I am
A LOVER OF GOOD BREAD.
[We find the foregoing in the Richmond Whig of the 23d October, and would
take great pleasure in commending it to our readers, if it had only told us
whether sweet or Irish potatoes were meant.--Eds. Confed.]
NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER,
November 2, 1861, p. 1, c. 4
Liquid blacking. One pound of ivory
black, three quarters of a pound of treacle or molasses, two ounces sweet oil,
rub these well together and then add one pint of vinegar and one pint of beer.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], November 5, 1861, p.
2, c. 4.
Directions
for Keeping Sweet Potatoes Through the Winter.
by Samuel Johnson, of Desoto, Mississippi.
----
A
good method of keeping them is to dig them, without cutting the potatoes, as
soon as the leaves are bitten by frost, and the same day they are dug put them
in a hill, which should be elevated six inches at the bottom above the
surrounding earth, and also place under the hill a floor of boards and a heavy
coat of cornstalks, on them, and the potatoes on the cornstalks.
As many as one hundred and fifty bushels may be put in a hill with
safety. Form the hill as near a
circle as convenient, and also have it tall in proportion to its base.
Then cover it well with cornstalks, next a course of boards which are
dry, and then a light coat of dirt, commencing with the dirt at the bottom of
the hill and going half way to the top of it.
The hill should then be sheltered and well drained, eighteen inches deep,
all around it. Ten days from the
time the hill is put up, cover it all over with dirt four or five inches deep,
and if the winter be a cold one cover still deeper.
I have kept sound every year for eighteen years on the above method, and
think it a good one for general use.
I have
known the potato kept well in a cellar under a brick house.
The house was twenty feet square, the wall twenty inches thick, and went
into the ground two feet--the floor two and a half feet above the level of the
ground, one half of it next to the fire place was tongued-grooved, the other
half was made of plank as it came from the mill--the room over the cellar was
used regularly the year round as a cook house, had two doors and two windows to
the room above the cellar--the wall which surrounded the cellar had a few small
air holes in it, which were left open until the potatoes went through a sweat,
and were then closed.
I have
heard from reliable authority that the sweet potato has been preserved in a high
state of perfection, the year round, in the town of Covington, Tennessee, by
placing them in a cellar under a brick house, and filling, as they are heaped,
with pulverized charcoal, and also covering them sufficiently deep to prevent
the cold or heat from damaging them. I am fully convinced that the small potato may be kept well,
quite cheap, and kept in such a way as to undergo a small amount of freezing and
thawing, and yet not be damaged by it. If
so, our army and navy should have the benefit of them, this coming fall, without
fail.
The
method of preserving them, as last alluded to, is this:
take the potatoes, pile them, when dug, in a ordinary house, cover them a
few inches deep with crab grass, then let them remain in that condition about
ten days, at which commence and bake them in a good brick oven, having its heat
just enough to blister the potatoes, but not so hot as to scorch them, laying
only one layer deep of potatoes on the bottom of the oven.
Each oven full should remain in the oven from the time they are put in
until it is cold. After baking
them, box them in shallow slated boxes, and they are ready for transportation.
Potatoes raised and saved as first directed, cost about twenty cents a
bushel; yield an average of one hundred and fifty bushels per acre.
The cost of seed, cultivating, digging and putting up, about eighteen
dollars, per acre; there are raised annually in the State of Mississippi perhaps
three millions of bushels, and in North Mississippi, I think I may safely state,
fully half of what are raised annually, rot from imperfect keeping; and as they
are worth in every family fifty cents a bushel, the State loses annually, by not
preserving them well, over a million of dollars, yet might, if they be kept with
certainty by baking, be made an article of commerce in so preparing them.
AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE,
November 9, 1861, p. 4, c. 2
Save your okra seeds. Okra
is the best substitute for coffee that is known.
Besides this, the okra plant will kill out noxious weeds, even coco,
better than any other known means. The
okra plant makes a shade so dense, that nothing will grow in it.
Gardens that have been allowed to go to the weeds have in this way been
cleared of them. Fields may be in
the same way. An acre of okra will
produce seen enough to furnish a plantation of fifty negroes with coffee in
every way equal to that imported from Rio.
The green pods taken from an acre of okra and dried, would furnish the
best thickening for soup in the winter, that could be made.
Okra is the most valuable plant that is raised.
Save your okra seeds.--Telegraph.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], November 24, 1861, p.
2, c. 4
Corned Beef.--A lady asks us how to cure beef for plantation use, as the
"cattle upon a thousand sandhills are about to be sacrificed on the alters
[sic] of secession." An unexceptionable recipe for corned is the following, which
we have always used:
"To every twenty five pounds of beef, put one ounce of saltpetre,
one pound of brown sugar, and one quart of salt.
Molasses will do as well as sugar. Rub
the beef well with the mixture, and place it in a barrel, so that the liquor
exuding from the beef will cover it. Turn
it every day, and in a week you will have fine corned beef.
No water should be used. To
preserve it for a long time, after a week, pour off the liquor, boil it a short
time, until the scum arises, remove that, and when cold, pour it again upon the
beef. Beef so prepared will keep
for many months, and be equal to the best "Boston Mess." For family use, there is no better recipe than the above; for
plantation use, a little more salt may be used. Beef so prepared may be kept for a long time without becoming
hard.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], November 28, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
The
manner of making potash in the most perfect way is this:
a quantity of vegetable matter is burnt into gray ashes, and the ashes
boiled in water, so as to make a very strong lixivium or ley; after which, the
ley, being previously strained, is evaporated over a quick fire almost to
dryness, the matter remaining is put into an iron crucible, melted, and then
poured on an iron plate, where, when cool, it appears in the form of a solid
lump of potash.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], December 4, 1861, p.
3, c. 1
How
to Cure Bacon with Little Salt
To 5 gallons water, 7 lbs salt, 1 lb of sugar or 1 pint molasses, 1 tea
spoonful saltpeter; mix, and after sprinkling the flesh side of the hams in the
salt, pack in a tight barrel--hams first, then shoulders, lastly midlings.
Pour over the brine, and if not enough to cover, make another draft of
the above and repeat till all is covered--leaving the meat in brine from 4 to 7
weeks according to size.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], December 18,
1861, p. 3, c. 1
A
respected correspondent sends us the following, which he says is a specific cure
for Dyspepsia and all derangements of the liver. The materials can be found in any drug store.
He says:
"It may be used with impunity for an indefinite time.
1 oz. of Liverwort, 1 do Black Root, 1 do Black Snakeroot, 1 1/2 do Senna.
Mix these several articles together, and put them in a large pitcher or
any other convenient vessel, pour over them five half-pints (or a quart and
half-pint) of boiling water, cover the vessel closely and set it away.
After steeping 18 or 20 hours, stirring occasionally during that time,
strain it through a coarse cloth, and then add about a half-pint of good brandy,
or some other good spirits. Bottle,
and in the summer or warm weather in the winter, keep it in a cool place to
prevent it from souring. Dose, a
table spoon full three times a day, and always immediately after eating.
Some constitutions may require a little more, and others a little less;
each one must adjust the dose to suit themselves. There is no harm in the remedy, and if necessary it should be
persisted in for weeks and months."
Philos.
ALBANY [GA.] PATRIOT,
December 19, 1861, p. 2, c. 3
The following receipts have been furnished us for publication by Mrs. Gen.
Hansell of Marietta--a lady whose elegant accomplishments, and skill in all the
departments of housewifery, will entitle her experience to the highest
consideration. They have come in a
good time, and will be properly appreciated by the country at large: . . .
For
Corning Beef or Pork.
To one gallon of water, take 11-2 pounds of salt, half pound of brown
sugar, half ounce of saltpetre; in this ration, the pickle to be increased to
any quantity desired. Let these be
boiled until all the dirt from the salt and sugar rises to the top and is
skimmed off. Then throw the pickle
into a large, clean tub to cool, and when *perfectly cold*; pour it over the
meat, which must be in a tight barrel or box, which will not leak. After three
or four weeks it is cured. The meat
must be kept well covered with the brine by putting something heavy on it.
The meat must not be put in the brine until it has been killed at least
two days, during which time it must be spread out and lightly sprinkled with
saltpetre. Twenty gallons of water,
30 pounds of salt, 10 pounds of sugar and 10 ounces of saltpetre will fill a
barrel. The same brine can be used
a second time by boiling and skimming it well.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], December 21, 1861, p.
2, c. 2
Valuable
Recipes.
The following recipes are furnished by one of the most experienced
house-wives in our State, and we can assure our readers that they are good.
These recipes have been going the rounds of the press with a very
material error in one of them, which we now correct--our attention being called
to the mistake by the excellent lady who furnished them. . . .
For
Corning Beef or Pork.
To one gallon of water, take 1 1/2 pounds of salt, half pound of brown
sugar, half ounce of saltpetre; [Here our correspondent says the following
ingredients should be added: to every half gallon you put in half ounce of Soda ash in two
ounces of Carbonates of Soda.--Ed. Con.] in this ratio, the pickle to be
increased to any quantity desired. Let
these be boiled until all the dirt is skimmed off.--Then throw the pickle into a
large, clean tub to cool, and when perfectly cold, pour it over the meat, which
must be in a tight barrel or box, which will not leak.
After three or four weeks it is cured.
The meat must be kept well covered with the brine, by putting something
heavy on it. The meat must not be
put in the brine until it has been killed at least two days, during which time
it must be spread out and lightly sprinkled with saltpetre.
Twenty gallons of water, 30 pounds of salt, 10 pounds of sugar, and 10
ounces of saltpetre will fill a barrel. The
same brine can be used a second time by boiling and skimming it well.
SOUTHERN WATCHMAN
[ATHENS, GA], December 25, 1861, p.
1, c. 4
To restore faded parasols.--Sponge the faded silk with warm water and
soap, then rub them with a dry cloth, afterward iron them on the inside with a
smoothing iron. If the silk be old
it may be improved by smoking with spirits, in which case the ironing would be
done on the right side; thin paper being spread over to prevent glazing.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 28, 1861, p. 3, c. 3
A certain cure for coughs.--A remedy never known to fail:
Three cents' worth of liquourice; three cents' worth of rock candy; three
cents' worth of gum arabic. Put
them in a quart of water, simmer them till thoroughly dissolved; then add three
cents' worth of paregoric, and a like quantity of antimonial wine.
Let it cool, and sip whenever the cough is troublesome.
It is pleasant, infallible, cheap and good.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, January 21, 1862, p. 2, c. 7
From
the Fayetteville Observer.
Smoke House Salt—Home-Made Salt.
Messrs. Editors:--As salt is exceedingly scarce and high you will please
permit me through the medium of your paper to give a few directions respecting
home-manufacture of salt. Dig up
the dirt in your smoke houses as low down as is very salt.
Throw a few bushels of this dust into a hhd., bbl., vat or
something of the kind. Apply
water and stir it up well and allow it to settle. Then have you a stand prepared with clean sand as though you
were going to drip them as you do ashes. Then
dip the water gently out of your hhd., bbl., or whatever it is, and pour it up
in this sand to drip. When you dip
all out add more water and stir up again as before.
Do this until you get all the strength out of the dirt, then add more and
proceed as before. Dripping it through the sand will, I think, cause it to get
clear. It is an idea of my own, but
I think it will answer the purpose well.—You can at the same time carry on
your boiling and as you drip down through the sand keep adding the water to your
boiler, and once a day boil down. I
think there can be plenty of salt thus made to answer the demands of the people
at present or until there can be a supply obtained elsewhere.
It does not do well to drip the dirt at the start as you would ashes,
because the water will not run through readily.
And to make it without dripping the water through; the salt is muddy;
therefore, dripping it through the sand is suggested.
MOORE.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 31, 1862, p. 2, c. 2
Practical
Directions for Making Bread.
To the Editor of the
Charleston Mercury:
As most of the ingredients for raising bread, as yeast powders, &c.,
are becoming scarce, I think a good receipt given to housekeepers not out of the
way: Take about eight or ten
middling sized Irish potatoes, pare and cut them very fine; then set them on to
cook, with about three times as much water as will cover them.
When done, mash them fine in the same water, then add flour enough to
make a thick batter. Remember the
flour must be put in while the water is boiling hot; let it then cool off until
about lukewarm, and then add a little piece of sour dough, say a teaspoonful to
start with. Of course, after the
housekeeper has once made this yeast, she can always keep a little of the old to
add to the new. If kept in a warm
place it will be fit for use in about six hours.
Add plenty of this to your flour, and you will have the lightest and best
tasted [sic] bread that you would wish for.
F. W. Claussen.
Claussen Mills, January 30.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, February 18, 1862, p. 1, c. 2
A Substitute for Milk and Cream.—Beat up the whole of a fresh egg, in a
basin, and then pour boiling tea over it gradually, to prevent its curdling.
It is difficult from the taste to distinguish the composition from the
richest cream.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], March 1, 1862, p. 2,
c. 3
To
Destroy Lice.
Messrs. Editors:
The following simple method for destroying lice, those troublesome little
insects of the genus pediculus, has been frequently used by my mother with
success: Roast an egg done, mix
only the yelk [sic?] with just enough lard to produce a salve.
Grease the head thoroughly, and in twenty-four hours, or less time, not a
live louse or nit can be found.
If you
think this recipe will be beneficial to our soldiers, you may and should publish
it in your paper.
Very
respectfully,
ALABAMA.
Feb. 27, 1862.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, March 4, 1862, p. 1, c. 5
Malone's Mixture for a Cough or Cold.—Take one tea cup of flax seed,
soak it all night; in the morning
put in a kettle two quarts of water; a handful, split up, of liquorice root; one
quarter of a pound of raisins, broke in half.
Let them broil till the strength is thoroughly extracted, then add that
flax seed which has been previously soaked.
Let all boil half an hour more, watching and stirring, that the mixture
may not burn. Then strain, and add
lemon juice and sugar to the taste. Take
any quantity of it cold through the day, and half a tumblerful of the above
mixture warm at night. The recipe
is excellent.
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
[ATLANTA, GA], March 25, 1862, p. 3,
c. 2
Corn
Beer.
Take
one pint of corn and boil it until it is soft, add to it a pint of molasses and
one gallon of water; shake them well together and set it by the fire, and in
twenty-four hours the beer will be excellent.
When all the beer in the jug is used add more molasses and water.
The
same corn will answer for six months, and the beer will be fit for use in twelve
hours by keeping the jug where it is warm. In this way the ingredients used in making a gallon of beer
will not cost six cents, and it is better and more wholesome than cider.
A little yeast greatly forwards the "working" of the
beer.--Augusta (Ga.) Cultivator.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 12, 1862, p. 1, c. 2
Sore Throats--Salt as a Remedy.--In these days, when diseases of the
throat are so prevalent and in many cases so fatal, the use of common salt is
recommended as an effectual remedy. We commenced by using it three times a day--morning, noon,
and night. We dissolved a large
tablespoonful of pure table salt in about half a tumbler full of cold water.
With this we gargled the throat most thoroughly before meal time.
The result has been that during the entire winter we were not only free
from the usual coughs and colds to which, so far as my memory extends, we have
always been subject, but the dry, hacking cough has entirely disappeared.
We attribute this satisfactory result entirely to the salt gargle.
DUBUQUE HERALD,
April 13, 1862, p. 2, c. 3
Rules
for Health (a la Dr. Hall)--Imprimis.--Never go to bed with your feet sticking
out of the window, particularly when it is raining and freezing.
More
than three pigs feet and half a mince pie eaten at midnight will not generally
cause the consumer to dream of houris, paradises, accommodating bankers, and
other good things. At least, they
are not apt to do so.
Never
stand in the rain barrel all night. It
checks perspiration, and spoils rain water for washing purposes.
Never
spank your children with the hand saw, or box their ears with the sharp edge of
a hatchet. It is apt to effect the
brain.
Never
stand in the hall with the door open, with nothing but your he-mise or your
che-mise on, talking to a friend more than half an hour at a time.
To
enlarge the muscles of the arms and legs, climbing up and down the chimney
(especially if the house is a four storied one) three or four times before
breakfast, is a cheap exercise and gives voracious appetite.
Ear-ache in children is a common and vexatious complaint. To cure it at once, bore a hole in the tympanum with a
gimlet, and pour in oil and things. If
the child keeps on crying, bore it all the way through to the other ear.
Corns
may easily be cured. The most
torturing corn can at once be extirpated as follows:
Take a sharp knife; find the joint of the toe whereon the corn resides;
insert the knife in the articulation; pry off the toe, and throw it away.
It will never return again, unless your dog brings it back to you in its
mouth.--(Patent applied for.)
Never
allow your masculine children to ride a saw horse, as it tends to knock-knees
and bowleggedness.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 15, 1862, p. 2, c. 3
Rice Cakes.—As rice is the cheapest kind of food we have, as well as
the most nutricious [sic], the following from a correspondent of the Field
Notes, will be read by every good house-keeper with interest.
While visiting the West India Islands, I became very fond of rice, cooked
after this fashion: they boil the
rice in the usual manner and let it cool, then add a little water or milk to it,
making it about the consistency of common buckwheat cakes.
Add to this a little salt and a handful of flour, and bake on a griddle
as you would batter cakes and buckwheat. An
egg will help some by making them bake quicker.
Try it, housekeepers; I thin you will find it an excellent dish.
Any dyspeptic can eat these rice cakes.
SAVANNAH [GA]
REPUBLICAN, April 15, 1862, p. 1, c. 3
Castor Oil.—The New Orleans Crescent has been furnished with the
following recipes for preparing castor oil from the castor bean:
Strip the seeds of their husks or pods; then bruise them in mortars.
Afterwards they are to be tied in linen bags, and boiled in water until
the oil which they contain rises to the surface. This is carefully skimmed off, strained, to free it from any
accidental impurities, and bottled for use.
Pressed castor oil is obtained like almond oil, by bruising the seeds
into paste with water, and distilling the mixture, when the oil passes over.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 15, 1862, p. 2, c. 6
Cut
off the Back Legs of Your Chairs.
I will tell you a secret worth knowing.
A thousand things not worth half so much have been patented, and elevated
into a business. It is this:
If you cut off the back legs of your chairs, so that the back part of the
seat shall be two inches lower than the front part, it will greatly relieve the
fatigue of sitting, and keep your spine in much better shape.
The principal fatigue in sitting comes from your sliding forward and thus
straining the ligaments and muscles in the small of the back. The expedient I have advised will obviate this tendency, and,
as I have suggested, add greatly to the comfort and healthfulness of the sitting
position. The front edge of a chair
should not be more than fifteen inches high, for the average man, nor more than
fourteen for the average woman. The
average chair is now seventeen inches high for all, which no amount of slanting
in the seat can make comfortable—Lewis' Gymnasium.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 22, 1862, p. 2, c. 1
Make
Your Own Salt.
Editor Enquirer: Having seen
in your paper, a month or two ago, a statement that Salt in considerable
quantities could be made from the dirt in old smokehouses, I have given it a
trial, with entire success. Being
satisfied that n o one having a smoke-house that has been used for several
years, need be personally uneasy about the price of salt for a year or two to
come, I give you my experience as a guide for others.
I dug up earth, which I found by taste to be strongly impregnated with
salt to the depth of two or three inches, and filled a flour barrel with it,
first putting in the bottom a layer of straw and about six inches of clean sand.
Through this salty earth water was dripped, just as ley is made, and the
brine was quite strong and of a
color much resembling pale ley. This
I boiled down until the salt solidified, and sunk to the bottom of the vessel,
leaving but little brine, and that of a dark color.
The salt thus obtained is coarse-grained, and but little darker than that
ordinarily used to cure meat; and I am satisfied that if the brine, before
boiling, were dripped through a barrel of clean sand, the salt would be as white
and clean-looking as the imported article.
My experience indicates that about a pint and a half of salt can be made
from a gallon of strong brine, and I believe that at least ten or twelve
gallons of such brine may be dripped through each barrel of earth from the
smoke-house.
M.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 22, 1862, p. 2, c. 8
Castor Oil.—The New Orleans Crescent furnishes the following directions
for the preparation of this delicious beverage:
Strip the seeds of their husks or pods; then bruise them in mortars.
Afterwards they are to be tied in linen bags, and boiled in water until
the oil which they contain rises to the surface. This is carefully skimmed off, strained to free it from any
accidental impurities, and bottled for use.
Pressed castor oil is obtained like almond oil, by bruising the seeds
into paste with water and distilling the mixture, when the oil passes over.
SOUTHERN WATCHMAN
[ATHENS, GA], April 23, 1862, p. 2,
c. 1
Salt.
Our fellow-citizen J. D. Matthews, Esq., exhibited to us a few days
since, a specimen of salt manufactured from the dirt in his smoke-house.
It was apparently as strong as any salt, though not so white. He
informs us that the process is simple. The
dirt is thrown into a box or barrel, and water poured over it, as in making ley.
The drippings are boiled down, and a good article of salt is the result.
He made, he informed us, half a gallon from two bushels of dirt.
Dr. Anthony, of Oglethorpe, also informed us the other day that he had
tried the experiment successfully.
DALLAS HERALD, April 26, 1862, p. 2, c. 5
Substitutes for Soda.—A lady of Fluvanna county sends the following,
which we publish for the information of housekeepers.—True Democrat.
To the ashes of corn cobs, add a little boiling water. After allowing it to stand for a few minutes, pour off the
lye, which can be used at once with an acid (sour milk or vinegar).
It makes the bread as light almost as soda.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 29, 1862, p. 1, c. 8
Substitute for Soda.—A lady in Fluvanna county sends us the following,
which we publish for the information of housekeepers:
To the ashes of corn cobs, add a little boiling water.
After allowing it to stand for a few minutes, pour off the lye, which can
be used at once with an acid, (sour milk or vinegar.)
It makes the bread as light almost as soda.—Exchange.
COLUMBUS [GA]
ENQUIRER, April 29, 1862, p. 2, c. 3
Bran
Beer.
Editor Enquirer: Severe imitations
of coffee and tea have been proposed, and they make a beverage pleasant to the
taste and in this respect much resembling our common table drinks before the
war. But it is not pretended that
they have the invigorating properties of real tea and coffee.
It is my purpose to suggest not an imitation, but a substitute for
tea and coffee, which, if once fairly tried, I think will be adhered to by those
giving it a trial. It has the
stimulating effect of coffee, and is exceedingly palatable and wholesome in its
effect. The article to which I allude is bran beer, which can
be made quite strong and very cheaply, thus:
Take three quarts of wheat bran (costing three cents), pour on cold or
hot water enough to soak it thoroughly, let it stand until the bran sours and
rises (which will be about twenty-four hours), then pour on one gallon of
boiling water and let it steep in a covered vessel until cold enough to strain
through a cloth; strain it through a thin cloth, and let it stand in a pan or
pail until the fine flour in the bran settles to the bottom; pour off gently,
and to a gallon of water thus expressed add half a pint of molasses, bottle, and
set it away until it ferments. It
will have all the life and pungency of ginger pop, and is the most palatable
beer I have ever drunk.
It will take two or three days to prepare beer in this way; but by
starting the process daily a daily supply can be kept up.
It will not cost more than six cents a gallon when molasses costs fifty
cents.
The fine flour settling at the bottom of the vessel after the water is
strained from the bran can be mixed with flour in making bread; and the beer
made as above will make bread rise fully as well and as light as soda or yeast.
The sour bran will be greedily eaten by pigs.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 30, 1862, p. 1, c. 6
A Most Pleasant Summer Drink.--To the many thirsty souls in this city,
and elsewhere, who suffer inconvenience from martial law, we recommend the
following drink, which has not been inaptly called "Cream Nectar," as
a thirst assuager, and at the same time a most refreshing and delightful
beverage. It is better than the
best "snow drop julep" that was ever manufactured, and Sherry Cobblers
cannot begin to compare with it in quality:
Take 3 lbs. white sugar, 3 ounces tartaric acid, and 1 quart cold water,
put them into a brass or copper kettle, and when warm, add the white of 3 eggs;
beat up with 3 teasponsfuls of flour; stir till it boils 3 minutes; when cold,
add 1 gill of essence, and bottle up.
Directions for use.--Two dessert spoonfuls of the Nectar to each glass;
then fill them two-thirds full of ice water, if it can be had, and add a little
Carbonate of Soda.
AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE,
May 3, 1862, p. 4, c. 1
The sun flower is highly beneficial in a garden or plantation in another
respect--it absorbs the poisonous miasmata which fill the air and cause fevers,
and thus--as has been proved by numerous trials--is a preventative of disease in
situations where such preventive is peculiarly requisite.
Every farmer and gardener should therefore make it a point to plant sun
flower seed in great abundance about their premises, both from sanitary
considerations and by reason of the value of the plant and its seeds to horses,
cattle, and fowls.
Nothing that is valuable should, in this crisis, be overlooked by our
agriculturists.--Ex.
SUBSTITUTE FOR SODA.--A lady of Fluvanna county sends us the following,
which we publish for the information of housekeepers:
To the ashes of corn cobs, add a little boiling water. After allowing it to stand for a few minutes, pour off the
lye, which can be used at once with an acid, (sour milk or vinegar.)
It makes the bread as light almost as soda.--Ex.
WORTH KNOWING.--If those who have smoke houses, that have been used for
some time, will take the earth floor, put it in barrels and leech it as they do
ashes, then boil down the lixivated [?] water, they will obtain more than enough
salt to pay for the trouble. The
writer knows of two instances in which the yield of one was ten sacks, and the
other enough to supply a large family for a year.--Columbus Sun.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
6, 1862, p. 2, c. 1
Home Made Soap and Starch.-- A lady sends us the following simple and
useful recipe for making soap and starch: .
. . All of my starch is soft hominy
or gruel strained. If you have not
come to it yet, try it. How much
this war will teach us!
AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE,
May 10, 1862, p. 5, c. 2
Substitute for Quinine--The extremely high price of quinine renders it
very difficult for persons of moderate means to purchase it, and yet it has been
considered almost indispensable for the cure of our summer and autumnal fevers.
The best substitute for it, (if indeed it be not equal to the quinine
itself) may be obtained with all ease by taking the inside bark of the red
dogwood (thought to be preferable to the white dogwood) cut it up fine and put
it into a kettle covered with pure water; then boil it down to the consistency
of molasses or jelly. During the
process of boiling it should be strained once or twice to free it from all
impurities. After thus being boiled
down it may be put away in bottles. When
wanted for use, it can easily be made into pills by mixing with flour.
The writer of this has known three cases of severe chills and fevers
cured within the last thirty days, by taking a few pills of three or four grams
each, in twenty-four hours, taken every hour.
This information is obtained from an eminent Texas physician and chemist,
who has thoroughly tested the preparation in his last year's practice--B.--Nat.
Union.
AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE,
May 10, 1862, Supplement, p. 1, c. 2
Substitute for Quinine.—The extremely high price of quinine renders it
very difficult for persons in moderate means to purchase it, and yet it has been
considered as almost indispensable for the cure of our summer and autumnal
fevers.
The best substitute for it, (if indeed it be not equal to the quinine
itself) may be obtained with all ease, by taking the inside bark of the red
dogwood (thought to be preferable to the white dogwood) cut it up fine and put
it into a kettle covered with pure water, then boil it down to the consistency
of molasses or jelly. During the
process of boiling, it should be strained once or twice to free it from all
impurities. After thus being boiled
down it may be put away in bottles. When wanted for use, it can easily be made into pills by
mixing with flour.
The writer of this has known three cases of severe chills and fevers
cured within the last thirty days, by taking a few pills of three or four grains
each, in twenty-four hours, taken every hour.
This information is obtained from an imminent Texas physician and chemist, who
has thoroughly tested the preparation in his last year of practice.—B—Nat.
Union.
DAILY CHRONICLE &
SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], May 12, 1862,
p. 2, c. 1
Smoke
House Salt
A
correspondent from Newton county gives us his experience in salt making as
follows:
I put up a flour barrel full of dirt from the floor of my smokehouse
which we have used for thirty-six years, dripped water through it, as we
generally do with ashes, and when we got a pot full we commenced boiling, and
repeated dripping and boiling, unt