AUNT DAISY'S MAIL-BAG

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 35, 10 February 1939, Page 20

AUNT DAISY'S MAIL-BAG

HE first dip into Aunt Daisy’s mailbag this week brings to light a wealth of useful information on the subject of making chutney :- Types Of Chutney Dear Aunt Daisy,-I have been an old reader of your page, and take much interest in it. You had a recipe for mint chutney last week. A few of my friends and I were going to make it, but you didn’t say whether the mint should be boiled with the other ingredients, so I’m going to wait to make sure, Would you also give us a recipe for apple chutney, and tomato? I hope I am not asking too much.-"Mrs. W.W.," Gisborne. Well, no, the recipe evidently means you simply to boil the vinegar, adding the sugar, salt and the mustard, and boiling it again for five minutes; then, after cooling it, add it to the minced ingredients, mixing all well: and leaving it to stand until the next day. It does seem strange that the chutney is thus not cooked at all; but in looking up other recipes of mint chutney, they all seem to have the same peculiarity. Here is a recipe for "Old English Mint Chutney": One pound of firm ripe tomatoes, one pound of sour peeled apples, eight medium-sized onions, half a breakfast cup of mint leaves, well pressed down; two and a half cups of vinegar, three cups of sugar, one cup of raisins; two dessertspoons of dry mustard, two teaspoons of salt, and four chillies. Put all the fruit and mint leaves through the mincer (medium cut). Bring the vinegar to the boil, add the mustard previously mixed with a little water. Add salt and sugar. Bring to the boil before taking it off the fire. Pour it over the minced pulp and mix it well. When it is quite cold, bottle it and cork the bottles |well, or cover with paper. Store them in a cool place, and leave them for about ten days before you use them. Here is a simpler one, and as it contains no onions, it may be more welcome to some people. It is delicious and keeps well, but it needs putting in screw-top jars. Two cups of mint, two packets of seeded or seedless raisins, and one pint of vinegar. Mince the raisins and the mint together, bring the vinegar to the boil, and pour it over the mixture. Then all you have to do is to mix it well, and leave it to cool. Then here is the recipe referred to in your letter-there may be some who did not see it before: Two pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of sour apples, two pounds of onions, two cups of mint leaves, two cups of sugar, four cups of vinegar, two tablespoons of mustard, two teaspoons of salt, two chillies and two cups of raisins. Put these all through the mincer, with a basin underneath to eatch any liquid. Bring the vinegar to the boil, add the sugar, salt and mustard-the mustard having been previously mixed with a little vinegar. Boil this for five minutes; and when it has cooled, add the minced ingredients, and mix it thoroughly. Let it stand till the next day, when it is ready to bottle. Let it stand for a fortnight before using it.-‘‘Maud of Kilbirnie," Apple Chutney This is a recipe for which "Biddy of Auckland" received a first prize: Eight pounds of apples, five pounds of brown sugar, four large onions, one and a half pints of vinegar, one pound of raisins, half a pound of currants, half an ounce of crushed ginger, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, three tablespoons of salt, and half an ounce of allspice. Peel and core the apples and_ the onions, and put them through the mincer; put the ginger and the allspice in a muslin bag, and

boil it all slowly for about two hours. Then put it in airtight jars. This will keep for about twelve months. Now I may as well give you a different apple chutney:Pare, core and slice any number of green apples {any cooking apples will do), put them in a bowl and sprinkle them with salt, to prevent them from becoming diseolotired, and let it stand for 24 hours. Then drain it, and to every three pounds of apples, add the following: One pound of sultanas, one pound and a half of sugar, three cups of vinegar, two ounces of ginger, one ounce of chopped garlic, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and quarter of a small cup of curry powder. Boil all this together until the apples are soft-which will be about an hour, Cover the jars when they are cold. And now for the tomato chutney asked for:GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY. You will need about 20 pounds of green tomatoes, one pound and a half of onions, three green apples, three large peaches, six chillies, half a teaspoon of cayenne, half an ounce of cloves, two tablespoons of salt, one pound of treacle, one pound of dark sugar, two quarts of vinegar. three or four pieces of green ginger, and four tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Just cut all these up small, and boil all together till it is of the consistency of jam. And now a recipe for red tomatn chutney. The ingredients are: Three onions, two dozen large ripe tomatoes, six good-sized tart apples, three large lemons, one ounce of garlic, 14 ounces of light brown sugar, two ounces of ginger, six ounces of raisins cut fine, three ounces of salt and two pints and a half of vinegar. Slice the tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, and leave them all night to drain. Add the apples, onions, and the rind of one lemon, and the vinegar. Boil this till it is tender, and put it through the colander. When you have added the remaining ingredients, boil it all for three or four hours. Just as I was sending in this mailbag to the "Radio Record" a further letter about mint chutney came in, so I will add it:Boil le After All Dear Aunt Daisy,-I listened to your session yesterday, and heard some controversy about mint chutney. Well, I have a recipe exactly like the one you gave of "Maud of Kilbirnie’s," but mine says boil for five minutes after all the ingre dients have been added; so I hope you will pass this on to your listeners. A friend of mine made some and it is beautiful-Mrs. E.A.K., Wellihgton. Plum Wine Dear Aunt Daisy,-I am "airmailing’ this letter to you, in the hope that your answer will save us the loss of some dozen pounds ‘of lovely red juicy plums. About 20 years ago, somebody threw a plum stone out of the kitchen win. dow. After a few years, we noticed a small, straggsly tree growing up beside the house. Well, we moved it to a more favourable spot, in the middle of the lawn, and ever since it has done remarkably well. This year, we have more fruit than we Know what to do with. We have given away sackfuls, bucketfuls and basketiuls, and still there are dozens left. We have made sauce, and also jam, and now, as a last resort, we are going to make plum wine. But-we haven’t a_ recipe! Now, Aunt Daisy, that is where your help will come in! If you would kindly give us a recipe for plum wine we shall be very. grateful.--"Plum ) Tree; " Grey Lynn. ; i

Of course, I gave out one or two plum wine recipes the very day after L received that letter; but there must be lots of people who have had their plums blown off the trees, and bruised and damaged with the recent gales and storms, so now you will not need to waste them.. All fruit that is too ripe for jam is excellent for wine making. Most people do not use enough fruit to the gallon of water-in fact, one recipe has no water at all! Ane other thing to remember about winemaking is not to bottle it until it has completely finished working. It is best to leave it in the keg for as long as possible, as although the bung may be in tight, the wine will go on workeing through the wood. Here is a good recipe for plum wine:First, weigh the fruit, and mash thoroughly. Put them into a barrel with water in the proportion of eight to twelve pounds of plums to one gallon of water. They will begin fermenting at once. Stir several times daily for the first few days, while fermentation is active. It may be anything from six to eight days before this ceases. Then strain through a muslin bag, taking only a small quantity at a time so as to get the liquid out. Where big quantities are made, 2 press is used. Now measure the quantity of the liquid. Add the sugar, allowing about three pounds and a half to each gallon of the

juice and water. Let it work for three weeks, stirring several times daily for the first week, and at the end of the third week strain it carefully, not disturbing the sediment at the bottom. Let it stand again for three or four days. At this stage, a day or two longer makes no difference. Strain it again as before. Now taste it, and if the wine is not sweet enough, dissolve some sugar in a little boiling water and make it to the required sweetness before putting it in the keg. The keg can now be bunged, and put away for approximately seven months, and the wine will mature through the wood. Another recipe for plum wine, but only for those who can wait patiently till it matures, is this:Into a fairly large cask put @ bag of sugar, then fill the cask to the top with ripe plums. Satsuma rlums are best for this. Leave the bung out for about two months, or until it stops fermenting. Then bung it up well, and leave it undisturbed for TWO YEARS. At the end of this time it will he equal to anything! Grease On Frock — Dear Aunt Daisy,-I have had the misfortune to upset some grease on the front of my black marocain frock. Can you suggest something that will remove it?"Interested Listener"? (Lower Hutt). Yes, I think we can do something about that. Is there much grease on the frock? ff so, you should place some powdered magnesia, or fuller’s earth, on both sides of the mark, and then lay blotting paper on both sides -it is like making a double sandwich, with the frock in the middle, a layer of magnesia instead of butter, and blotting paper instead of bread. Then gently press this with a warm iron, and most of the grease will come through on to the magnesia and blotting paper. If there is still 2 good deal left, repeat that. Then to take out the final little mark, rub it with carbon-tetra-chloride. This will remove most grease marks, and does not leave a ring. It is also not inflammable, and is even sometimes used as a spray to put out fires, for when it is warmed it forms a heavy vapour which excludes the air from 4he. fire.