Method.—Remove the stalks, put the fruit and sugar into jar, place the jar in a saucepan of boiling water, or in a slow oven and cook until tender. Line 1 large, or 2 medium-sized tart tins with the paste, fillthem with rice or crusts of bread placed in buttered papers, and bake until crisp in a brisk oven. When cold, fill them with the prepared cold fruit and syrup and serve.
Time.—About 3 hours. Average Cost, 8d. or 10d. Sufficient for 1 large or 2 medium-sized tarts.
Barberries (Berberris Vulgaris).—A fruit of such great acidity that even birds refuse to eat it. In this respect, it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with sugar, it makes a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the different modes of preparation. Barberries are also used as a dry sweetmeat, and in sugar-plums or comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and are utilized for various culinary purposes. They are well calculated to allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with fevers. The berries arranged on bunches of curled parsley make an exceedingly pretty garnish for supper dishes, particularly for white meats, like boiled fowl à la Béchamel, the three colours—scarlet, green and white contrasting well and producing a very good effect.
1687.—BLACK-CURRANT TARTLETS. (Fr.—Tartelettes de Cassis.)
Ingredients.—Short crust (No. 1667. or 1668), 1 lb. of black-currants, 2 tablespoonfuls of moist sugar. ¼ of a pint of cream, castor sugar.
Method.—Cook the black-currants with the sugar, and 2 tablespoonfuls of water, in a jar, on the stove or in a slow oven. Line 12 patty-pans with the paste, fill them with rice placed in buttered papers, and bake until crisp in a brisk oven. When cold, fill them with the prepared cold fruit and syrup, cover with stiffly-whipped, sweetened cream, and serve cold.
Time.—About 1 hour. Average Cost, 10d., exclusive of the paste. Sufficient for 12 tartlets.
Currants.—The utility of currants, red, black or white, has long been established in domestic economy. The juice of the red species, if boiled with an equal weight of loaf sugar, forms an agreeable preserve called currant jelly, much employed in sauces, and very valuable in the cure of sore throats and colds. The French mix it with sugar and water, and thus form an agreeable beverage. The juice of currants is a valuable remedy for constipation; and, in febrile complaints, it is useful on account of its readily quenching thirst, and for its cooling effect on the stomach. White and flesh-coloured currants have, with the exception of the fulness of flavour, in every respect the same qualities as the red species. Both white and red currants are pleasant additions to dessert, but the black variety is more generally used for culinary and medicinal purposes, especially in the form of jelly for quinsy. Black currants have a much richer and less acid flavour than red currants, and are better adapted for tarts. The leaves of the black currant make a pleasant kind of tea.
1688.—CHERRY TARTLETS. (Fr.—Tartelettes de Cerises.)
Ingredients.—½ a lb. of short paste (No. 1667), 1 lb. of cooking cherries, 2 tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, 2 large or 3 small eggs, castor sugar.
Method.—Remove the stalks from the cherries, put them into a small stewjar, with the moist sugar, stand the jar in a saucepan, surround it with boiling water, and cook until the cherries are tender. Meanwhile line 10 or 12 deep patty-pans with the paste, fill them with rice, placing a buttered paper between it and the paste, and bake in a quick oven. When the cherries are sufficiently cooked, strain off the syrup into a
