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Peaches, Pickled

Take a dozen sound peaches which have been gathered before they are fully ripe. Rub them well with a soft cloth, and put them into a pan. Make a brine by boiling a pound of salt in three quarts of water for one minute. Skim the liquid carefully, pour it, when cold, over the peaches, put a thin board on the top to keep them under the water, and let them remain for three days. At the end of that time lift them out carefully, put them into a large earthenware jar, and pour over them a pickle prepared as follows. Boil half a gallon of vinegar with a quarter of a pound of bruised ginger, a dessert-spoonful of salt, three large blades of mace, one pound of mustard, a quarter of a pound of whole pepper, and a tea-spoonful of cayenne tied in muslin. Skim the liquid carefully, and pour it, when boiling, upon the peaches. Cover the jar with a bladder, and store in a cool dry place. The pickled peaches will be ready for use in nine or ten weeks. If it is wished to pickle the peaches as an imitation of pickled mangoes, take each peach singly, after it has been drained from the brine, and cut out of the stalk end a round piece, an inch in diameter, draw out the stone, and put in its place a little fresh mustard-seed which has been washed in vinegar and flavoured with a finely-minced shallot and a pinch of cayenne. Put the piece back again, and secure it in its place with strong thread; then proceed according to the directions given above. Time, ten minutes to boil the vinegar with the spices. Probable cost of peaches, 2d. to 6d. each.