Or place these spices in a glass bottle or stone jar, cover with a quart of green vinegar, seal and let stand in a warm place three or four days, shaking frequently. Pour over the pickles either hot or cold.
Or to 1 gallon of vinegar add 6 ounces of salt, 1 ounce of spice, 1 ounce of mustard, ounce of mace, ounce of cloves, ounce of nutmeg, 2 ounces of sliced horse-radigh. Bruise these spices in water, mix, cover vvith cold water and boil not over five min utes. Pour over the pickles hot or cold, and if desired, after letting them stand twenty-four hours, place the whole in a porcelain saucepan and simmer until the color is satisfactory. Bottle and seal.
Or to every 2 quarts of vinegar add 1 teaspoonful of black pepper, I tea spoonful of mace, cupful of sugar. Let the mixture boil up not to exceed five minutes. They may be bottled hot or cold and will be at once ready for use.
Or heat the vinegar and pour it boiling hot over the pickles.
Or place in a porcelain kettle 100 small cucumbers previously soaked in brine and freshened, cover with vine gar, add a handful of pepper corns, a handful of horse-radish, I ounce of cloves, I ounce of white mustard seed, a small quantity of Cayenne or pa prika, and let tbe whole boil not to exceed five minute,s.
Or heat the vinegar and spice and pour it hot over the pickles. The addition of horse-radish helps to keep the pickles sweet and sound. Old time housewives used often to add to the pickles a little dill from the herb bed.
Or to each gallon of vinegar add I pound of good quality brown su gar, I tablespoonful of olive oil, I tablespoonful of mustard seed, I ta blespoonful of green pepper pods, 2 ounces of horse-radish, ounce of cloves, ounce of mace, I ounce of ginger, I ounce of allspice.
To Pickle Large encumbers.—Pare 7 pounds of large cucumbers, remove the seeds and cut into inch pieces. Cover with vinegar and water, half and half, and add a large pinch of salt. Boil until clear but not over done. Drain in a colander.
To one pint of good vinegar add 3i pounds of brown sugar; as soon as it comes to the boiling point put the cu cumbers back into the kettle and let the whole boil up. Again drain through the colander, and when cold put them in layers in a jar, sprinkle between the layers stick cinnamon, cloves, allspice, a few kernels of black pepper, a little mace, and a handful of raisins. Cover with the pickling
liquid and seal.
Or cut a piece from tbe large end of each cucumber, leaving it attached by a piece of the skin. Scoop out the seeds and steep in strong brine for a week until entirely yellow. Stuff with equal parts mustard seed, ground ginger, and pepper, with the addition of small onions, shallots, or garlic if desired. Sew on the tops and cover with pickling liquid as for gherkins.
To Pickle Melons and Mangoes.— Prepare as for large cucumbers, cut ting off the top and stuffing the in side with the same mixture. Or pickle as for gherkins. First steep in strong brine for a week or more, then freshen in clear water and pickle in pure vinegar or spiced pickling liquid, as preferred.
Sweet Pickles — encumbers and Melons.—Prepare as for gherkins by steeping in strong brine for a week or more. Quarter them, take out the seed and pulp, freshen in clear water for three or four days, and cover with d, sirup prepared of sugar, ginger, and lemon as follows: Dip 1 pound of loaf sugar lump by lump in clear, soft water and place dripping wet in a porcelain saucepan. Stir in ounce of bruised ginger and bon to the thread, stirring in the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Pour over the melons coId.
To Green Pickles.—If fresh grape vine leaves are obtainable, line a ket tle with these and pack into it the cucumbers, etc., in alternate layers with vine leaves, and put a thick layer of vine Ieaves on top. In addi tion, sprinkle powdered alum, if de sired, among the layers and over the top. Fill up the kettle with cold water and cook or steam the contents over a slow fire for two hours, or until the color is satisfactory. Drain off the hot water through a colander, im merse the vegetables immediately in iced water, and let stand for an hour or more to harden. Then pack in a suitable vessel and pour scalding hot pickling liquid over them.
Or the vine leaves may be used without the alum and will assist in giving a, fine green color to the pickles.