Peaches

PEACH SALAD.

Peel four or five ripe, juicy peaches, and slice them neatly, and have each slice as much alike as possible in shape and thickness; lay them in a glass dish, and cover them with loaf-sugar, pour over them a spoonful of brandy or wine; turn them off the top to the bottom, so they may all be seasoned alike.
The most of fruits may be prepared in the same way; but never mix fruits.

TO PRESERVE PEACHES WHOLE.

Take the cling-stone peaches before entirely ripe, wash them and put them in a jar; put a tablespoonful of pearlash to some soft water, and pour it over them boiling hot; cover them, and let them stand all night, then put them into cold water, wash and wipe them well; and to every pound of peaches, have a pound of loaf-sugar. Make a syrup of the sugar, and put the peaches in it while hot; simmer them slowly till they are done, take the peaches out, and boil the syrup down till it is quite thick. Put the peaches in jars, pour the syrup over them, and when cold cover them with paper dipped in brandy.

TO PRESERVE PEACHES.

Select good plum-peaches, pare, and cut them from the stone. Take equal weights of fruit and crushed sugar, lay them in an earthen vessel, and let them remain all night. In the morning, drain the fruit from the syrup, place it in dishes, and set it in the sun. Put the syrup into a preserving pan, and boil it three hours, skimming it well; then put the fruit into jars, and pour syrup over every two or three layers of fruit until the jar is filled; observe that the fruit must be entirely covered with syrup. Cover them tightly with brandied paper, and set them in a dry place.

BRANDY PEACHES.

Take the best cling-stone peaches, wash and wipe them, to get the furze off, prick them with a needle, and scald till you can pierce the skin with a straw. Make a syrup with loaf-sugar, taking three-quarters of a pound of sugar to every pound of peaches. Let the syrup boil till it is quite thick, then let it cool, and when it is milk-warm, put an equal quantity of good brandy with it, and pour it over the fruit.

PEACH PIE.

Slice some nice, ripe peaches, very thinly, put them in a dish, and sprinkle them with sugar; let them stand an hour; have ready some rich puff-paste, line your plates neatly, and fill them full; add some more sugar, and bake them in half an hour.

PUFF-PASTE.

To a pound and a quarter of sifted flour, rub gently in with the hand, half a pound of fresh butter; mix it up with half a pound of fresh butter; mix it up with half a pint of spring-water. Knead it well, and set it by for a quarter of an hour; then roll it out thin, lay on it, in small pieces, three-quarters of a pound more of butter, throw on it a little flour, double it up in folds, and roll it out thin three times, and set it by an hour in a cold place.

PEACH-WATER ICE.

Take one pound of the pulp of ripe peaches, half a pint of syrup, half a pint of water, the juice of two lemons, and mix them well. If the fruit is not ripe enough to pulp, open them and take out the stones, put them in a stewpan with the syrup and water, boil until tender, and pass them through a sieve; mix in the pounded kernels; when cold, freeze.

From The Great Western Cookbook 1857