CHAPTER XXVI.

POSSETS, GRUELS, &c.

Sack Possets.

BEAT up the yolks and whites of fifteen eggs, and then strain them; then put three quarters of a pound of white sugar into a pint of canary, and mix it with your eggs in a basin; set it over a chafing-dish of coals, and keep continually stirring it till it is scalding hot. In the mean time grate some nutmeg in a quart of milk, and boil it, and then pour it into your eggs, and wine while they are scalding hot. As you pour it hold your hand very high, and let another person keep stirring it all the time. Then take it off, set it before the fire half an hour, and serve it up.

Another method of making sack-posset is this: take four Naples biscuits, and crumble them into a quart of new milk when it boils. Just give it a boil, take it off, grate in some nutmegs, and sweeten it to your palate. Then pour in half a pint of sack, keep stirring it all the time, put it into your basin, and send it to table.

Wine Posset.

BOIL the crumb of a penny loaf in a quart of milk till it is soft, then take it off the fire, and grate in half a nutmeg. Put in sugar to your taste, then pour it into a china bowl, and put in by degrees a pint of Lisbon wine. Serve it up with toasted bread upon a plate.

Ale Posset.

TAKE a small piece of white bread, put it into a pint of milk, and set it over the fire. Then put some nutmeg and sugar into a pint of ale, warm it, and when your milk boils, pour it upon the ale. Let it stand a few minutes to clear, and it will be fit for use.

Orange Posset.

TAKE the crumb of a penny loaf grated fine, and put it into a pint of water, with half the peel of a Seville orange grated, or sugar rubbed upon it to take out the essence. Boil all together till it looks thick and clear. Then take a pint of mountain wine, the juice of half a Seville orange, three ounces of sweet almonds, and one of bitter, beat fine, with a little French brandy, and sugar to your taste. Mix all well together, put it into your posset, and serve it up. Lemon posset must be made in the same manner.

White Caudle.

TAKE two quarts of water, and mix it with four spoonsful of oatmeal, a blade or two of mace, and a piece of lemon-peel. Let-it boil, and keep stirring it often. Let it boil a quarter of an hour, and be careful not to let it boil over, then strain it through a coarse sieve. When you use it sweeten it to your taste, grate in a little nutmeg, and what wine you think proper; and if it is not for a sick person, squeeze in the juice of a lemon.

Brown Caudle.

MIX your gruel as for the white caudle, and when you have strained it, add a quart of ale that is not bitter. Boil it, then sweeten it to your palate, and add half a pint of white wine or brandy. When you do not put in white wine or brandy, let it be half ale.

White Wine Whey.

PUT in a large basin half a pint of skimmed milk and half a pint of wine. When it has stood a few minutes, pour in a pint of boiling water. Let it stand a little, and the curd will gather in a lump, and settle at the bottom. Then pour your whey into a china bowl, and put in a lump of sugar, a sprig of balm, or a slice of lemon.

Water Gruel.

PUT a large spoonful of oatmeal into a pint of water, and stir it well together, and let it boil three or four times, stirring it often; but be careful it does not boil over. Then strain it through a sieve, salt it to your palate, and put in a good piece of butter. Stir it about with a spoon till the butter is all melted, and it will be fine and smooth.

Barley Gruel.

PUT a quarter of a pound of pearl-barley, and a stick of cinnamon, into two quarts of water, and let it boil till it is reduced to one quart. Then strain it through a sieve, add a pint of red wine, and sweeten it to your taste.

Orgeat Paste.

TAKE three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, and a quarter of a pound of bitter almonds, blanch and pound them in your mortar, wetting them from time to time with orange-flower water that they may not oil. When they are pounded very fine, add three quarters of a pound of fine pounded sugar to it, and mix: the whole into a stiff paste, and then put it into your pots for use. This paste will keep six months. When you wish to use it, you may take a piece about the size of an egg and mix it with half a pint of water, and squeeze it through a fine napkin.