Recipes and remedies

Due to the rather inclement weather I spent this afternoon pickling eggs and making chutney. One of the recipes was from an old hand written book we found amongst my mother in laws belongings. It makes fascinating reading, everything from jams and chutneys, cakes and pastries, wines and preserves for meat to tips on household chores and natural remedies for common ailments.

Here a just a few that caught my eye......

Under the title of handy hints:

A lighted candle keeps the air clear when many people are smoking.

After baking a cake and taking it out of the oven place the tin on top of a cold wet cloth. Leave it for a few minutes, then turn the cake tin upside down and out pops the cake.

Ants:

Remove the top of a tin of condensed milk, pour out nearly all of the milk and leave in the pantry. In a few hours, every ant will be trapped and dead.

Natural remedies: ( Not recommended !! )

Throat trouble:
Mix 1 teaspoon of powdered borax and 2 tablespoons of honey and warm the mixture in the oven in a cup. Stir it until quite smooth. When it is cool apply repeatedly with a camel hair brush to the throat and roof of the mouth.

Whooping cough mixture:
Equal quantities of Castor oil and Syrup of rhubarb. ( as my husband said you wouldn't dare cough after taking that ! )

Embrocation:
Beat thoroughly 2 eggs, then work in a wine glass of turpentine, a wine glass of vinegar and a wine glass of linseed oil. Work these together until they are the consistency of cream.