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Cranberry Water
1242. Bruise a cupful of cranberries, mixed with a cupful of cold water. Boil two quarts of water with a table-spoonful of oatmeal and the rind of a lemon; then stir in the cranberries, and add two ounces of Lisbon sugar and a quarter of a pint of white wine; simmer for a quarter of an hour; then strain, and leave to cool.
A sick-room drink in the barley-water tradition: fruit, a cereal thickener and a little wine, strained and served cool. The quantities are Imperial and the wine is optional in a way the sugar is not.
- MeasuresTwo quarts Imperial is about 2.3 litres, or roughly 9 1/2 US cups. A quarter of a pint is a gill, 5 fl oz Imperial, roughly 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
- Lisbon sugarA soft, pale brown cane sugar named for the port it was shipped through. Light brown sugar is the closest thing on a modern shelf; two ounces is about 1/4 cup packed.
- The oatmealUse pinhead or medium oatmeal, not rolled oats, which disintegrate and cloud the drink. Its job is to give the water a faint body, the same principle as barley water; a tablespoon in two quarts is deliberately slight.
- Lemon rindPare it thin with a peeler so no white pith goes in. Pith held in simmering liquid for fifteen minutes turns the drink bitter.
- CranberriesA cupful of fresh or frozen berries is about 3 1/2 oz. Frozen work without thawing, though they bruise more easily once softened. Crush them well: whole skins give up little colour or acid.
- Order of workThe berries go in only after the water, oatmeal and rind have come to the boil, and simmer a quarter of an hour at most. Longer and the fruit flavour flattens into something stewed.
- The wineA dry white; some of the alcohol cooks off in fifteen minutes of simmering, but a good deal remains. Leave it out entirely if the drink is for a child or an invalid, and add a squeeze of lemon juice instead.
- Sweetness and yieldTwo ounces of sugar to two quarts is barely sweet by current taste, and cranberries are sharp. Taste while the liquid is still hot and add more if wanted. Makes about two quarts, or eight generous glasses; strain through a fine sieve or muslin and chill.