Bohemian-American Cook Book/Pickles

Use ripe, hard, clingstone peaches. Rub off the down with a dry cloth. To eight pounds of fruit use four pounds of sugar, two ounces of whole cinnamon and a quart of vinegar. Boil this five minutes. Then stick two whole cloves into each peach, place them in the boiling syrup, and when tender (try them with a fork) take them out, put them in jars, boil the syrup down, pour over the fruit and then finish in the boiler, as directed in General Directions, page 292.

Wash and stem sound, hard grapes. Place them in a stone jar. Boil together vinegar, whole pepper, allspice, cinnamon and sugar to taste. When this has been boiling half an hour, pour it over the grapes, When ​cool, tie a cloth over the jar and put it in a cool place. The grapes must be covered with the vinegar and weighted down. Put a plate in the jar and a stone on top of it.

Boil together ten minutes one gallon of green tomatoes sliced, two quarts of vinegar, one quart of sugar, a fourth of a cup of mustard seed, two teaspoons of whole allspice, one teaspoon of ground pepper, one tablespoon of salt, twelve sliced onions. Then put this in a stone jar and cover.

Wash and dry medium-sized tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and let them stand thus four hours. Then boil a sufficient quantity of good vinegar and when cool, pour over the tomatoes. The next day drain off the vinegar, boil, cool and pour on the tomatoes again. The third day boil a fresh quantity of vinegar and when cool pour it on the tomatoes, in glass jars, filling them up to two inches from the top. Place these in a boiler with cold water and boil five minutes after the water has begun to boil. Then take out the jars, put a rubber band on each, tighten the covers, place the jars back in the boiler and let them stand in it until the water cools. Tomatoes pickled thus keep very well.

Wash and dry tomatoes that are not too ripe. Have ready a three-gallon stone jar and put the tomatoes in it. Boil a sufficient quantity of vinegar and pour hot on the tomatoes. Cover with a plate, so they cool slowly. Tie a cloth over the jar and put it in a cool place. They keep well.

Select ripe, firm tomatoes, wash and dry and place in glass or stone jars. Boil vinegar with salt, whole pepper, allspice and cloves to taste and when cool, pour over the tomatoes, which must be covered with it. Now cover the top with melted butter or suet. You may use equal parts of water and vinegar, using more salt in this case. Cover and put in a cool place.

Pare the green rind away and cut off all the meat, leaving only the white firm rind. Cut into small pieces, place in a stone jar, cover with vinegar and water to taste, and let it stand over night. In the morning put it on to boil, adding three pounds of sugar to four pounds of melon, half a lemon, several pieces of whole cinnamon and about eight cloves. Simmer slowly until it becomes a reddish color and the juice is a thick syrup. Stir occasionally. When cool, put in stone jars, cover these and put them in a cool place.

Wash the cucumbers and put them in a stone jar. Boil water with a generous quantity of salt and pour hot on the cucumbers to cover them. You may add dill seed or the plant itself, if you wish. Cover with a plate and stone. In three or four days fill glass jars with the pickles, cover with boiled vinegar and put away.

Place the cucumbers in cold water in the evening. While they are soaking prepare a salt brine strong enough to float an egg. Then wash the cucumbers well and put them in the brine. In the morning wipe ​them dry and put them in a five gallon keg, putting a layer of dill over each layer of cucumbers. Fasten the cover on tight. Boil water and vinegar, one part vinegar to three of water, with whole pepper and allspice. Cool and pour on the cucumbers through the bunghole in the top of the keg. Cork tight. Two pails of cucumbers will be enough for a five gallon keg. These will last a long time, if not exposed to the air.

Use medium-sized cucumbers. Line the bottom of a stone jar with green dill and grapevine leaves, or cherry leaves. Now put in a layer of cucumbers, then a layer of dill and leaves and so proceed. Boil water with a generous quantity of salt and a small amount of sugar (a tablespoonful to four gallons). When cool, pour over the cucumbers. Place two or three crusts of rye bread in the vinegar, put a plate and stone on top, to keep the pickles submerged, and put away in a cool place. They can be eaten in a week and taste best when two weeks old, after that they get too sour.

Use the smallest kind of cucumbers. Pour boiling water over them and let them stand four hours. Boil vinegar with sugar and spices, using a cup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar, a cup of salt, a teaspoon of pulverized alum, an ounce of cinnamon stick, a tablespoon of whole cloves. Simmer all about fifteen minutes. Put the cucumbers in glass jars, pour the hot vinegar over them and fasten the tops tightly.

Peel and halve large, ripe, yellow cucumbers, take out the seeds, cut into pieces and soak about an hour in salted water. Then pour boiling water over them ​and let them stand over night. In the morning drain and simmer in the following: a pint of vinegar, a pint of hot water, two heaping cups of sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of cloves, a teaspoon of black pepper, a teaspoon of mace or nutmeg, a handful of raisins. When tender add a pint of fresh vinegar and put in jars.

Peel small white onions and boil ten minutes in half milk and half water, adding a dash of salt. Then drain, put in glass jars and cover with hot spiced vinegar. Do not use any allspice, as it would darken the onions. Seal hot.

Select young and crisp cauliflower, clean it and cut into small pieces, about one and a half inches long, sprinkle with salt and let it stand thus sixteen hours. Then drain, pour on fresh water and drain and so continue until the salty flavor has been washed away, draining t horoughly at last. In the meantime boil the vinegar, adding to each cupful of same a cup of sugar and spices to taste (a tablespoon of each to four cups of vinegar). When it comes to a boil, pour over the cauliflower and boil fifteen minutes. Seal hot.

Prepare as directed in the preceding recipe, using less sugar. When it has been boiling about ten minutes, add the following: to one head of cauliflower mix smooth two cups of vinegar, a cup of sugar, a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of dry mustard, and seal.

Wash, cut off the stems and put the mushrooms in cold water. Boil together vinegar, sliced onion, whole pepper, allspice and salt, and when it begins to boil, add the mushrooms and let them simmer five minutes. Then drain, put them in glass jars, pour over them the cooled vinegar with which you have boiled a few cloves and whole peppers and seal.

Wash the fresh dill leaves, put in a kettle, cover with wine vinegar, a few whole peppers and cloves and simmer a few minutes. Take off the stove, cool, put into jars and cover tight. The dill must be submerged in the vinegar and if this dries out, add more.

Chop half a peck of green tomatoes, one large head of cabbage, a dozen ripe and a dozen green peppers and a dozen onions, each separately, then mix, salt, put in a sack and let the contents drain over night. In the morning squeeze dry, put in a kettle, cover with cold vinegar, let it stand six hours and then squeeze dry again. Then add a cup of whole and a cup of ground cinnamon, three tablespoons of celery seed, a tablespoon of ground mace, three tablespoons of allspice and a quart of grated horseradish. Mix well, place in glass or stone jars and cover with hot vinegar boiled with a pound of sugar. The chowchow must be covered with the vinegar. When cool put into jars and cover these.

Take off the outer leaves, quarter the heads of cabbage, and cut out the stalks. Slice fine, using a ​sourkraut cutter. The cutter is placed over a tub and the kraut sliced into same. When the desired quantity has been sliced, work in salt, using a pound and a half to five dozen large heads, two tablespoons of caraway seed and the same amount of dill seed. Mix well with the kraut. Line the bottom of a firm oak barrel, or keg, or large stone jar with nice whole cabbage leaves. Put in a layer of kraut, pound thoroughly with a heavy wooden masher, put in another layer and pound, and so proceed until the keg is full. Do not put in too large a layer, as the kraut must be pounded until it exudes moisture. Cover with whole cabbage leaves, then with a clean white wet cloth, put on a lid that fits inside of the barrel and place on the top of this a heavy weight. Place the barrel in a warm spot and let it stand there eight days until the kraut ferments, then put it in a cool spot, where it will not freeze. Every time you take any kraut, level the top and put a clean white wet cloth on it, washing the cloth each time. If you make a large quantity that lasts quite a while, you must wash the board and stone occasionally. If the kraut dries, you must add water. Some housewives add fennel seed, mustard, pepper or juniper berries. Peeled and grated apples, added to each layer, give a good flavor. If you put the kraut in a barrel that contained white wine, the flavor will be better. Do not use too much salt, in that case the kraut will not ferment. It is better to use several smaller kegs than one large barrel. You may put the kraut in large stone jars, if you wish.

Select large fine mangoes or green peppers, slit each in the side and take out the seeds. Cover with salted water and let them soak six days, renewing the water a few times. Chop fine onion, cabbage, tomatoes, ​carrots, kernels of corn, and small onions, grate a piece of horseradish, mix well, add mustard, celery seed and curry powder to taste. Drain the mangoes, dust inside with pepper, cinnamon and allspice, fill with the mixture and sew up the slits. Arrange in a stone jar, cover with boiled and cooled spiced vinegar, cover and put away in a cool place.