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418 REFRESHING DRINKS.
Orange Wine.—This delightful beverage is prepared in the following manner: Take 12 oranges and pare them very thin; strain the juice so that none of the seeds go in with it, then take 6 pounds of loaf sugar and the whites of 2 eggs well beaten, put these into 3 gallons of clear water and let it boil gently for 1-2 hour; as the scum rises take it off, then add the orange juice and rind; add 3 or 4 spoonfuls of good yeast and let it stand for 3 or 4 days, then draw it o£F and add 1 quart of rectified spirits and bottle. The corks should be secured by wire or twine in the bottle.
Peach Liqueur or Wine.—Take of the best kind of ripe, juicy free-stone peaches (8 pounds), mash them and put them into 2 gallons of soft, clear water; add 5 pounds of broken loaf sugar. Crack the stones and take the kernels, crack and lay them at at the bottom of the vessel, which should be clean and dry. With the dissolved sugar put the peaches into a preserving kettle, boil and skim until the scum ceases to rise, then strain through a large sieve into the tub that has the kernels in the bottom; mix well and cover closely till cool. Then add a piece of toasted bread and cover the whole with good, fresh yeast. Let it work, and when it ceases hissing strain through a linen bag into a keg. Then add a bottle of sweet Malaga wine. At the end of 6 months draw off a little to see if it is clear; if not, take out a pint of the wine, mix with an ounce of powdered gum arabic, let it dissolve gently over a slow fire and add to it 1 ounce of pounded chalk. When dissolved, put the pint of wine back in the keg; stir it in lightly with a clean stick ; take care not to let the stick touch the bottom, as that would stir up the sediment. Let it stand for 3 days, then pour off and bottle tightly. In 6 months it will be fit for use.
Balm Wine.—Boil gently for 2 hours 40 pounds of white sugar in 9 gallons of water; stir it well and pour it in a vessel to cool; take 2 1-2 pounds of balm leaves, wash them well, then bruise them and put them in a barrel; stirring it well together, and let it stand for. 24 hours, stirring it often, then close it up and let it stand for 6 weeks, then rack it off into bottles, putting a lump of loaf sugar into each bottle and cork closely. It will be better to keep it a year or longer.
Cow-slip Wine.—To every gallon of water allow 3 lbs. of lump sugar, the rind of 1 California lemon and the juice of 2, the rind and juice of 1 large California orange, 1 gallon of cow-slip pips. To every 4 1-2 gallons of wine allow 1 bottle of brandy; boil the water and sugar together for 1-2 hour, carefully removing the scum as it rises; pour this boiling liquor on the orange and lemon rinds and the juice, which should be strained when lukewarm: add the cow-slip pips or flowers picked from the stalks and seeds, and to 9 |
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