The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

in the brewing of porter. They must invariably be used by those who wish to continue the taste, the flavour and appearance, to which they have been accustomed.--Omitting however those ingredients which are deemed pernicious, it will be seen by the following estimate how much more advantageous it is to provide even a small quantity of home-brewed porter, where this kind of liquor is preferred. Ingredients necessary for brewing five gallons of porter. _s._ _d._ One peck of malt 2 6 Quarter of a pound of liquorice bruised 0 3 Spanish liquorice 0 6 Essentia 0 2 Colour 0 2 Treacle 0 2 Hops 0 6 Capsicum and ginger 0 1 Coals 0 10 ------- Total expense 4 8 ------- This will produce five gallons of good porter, which if bought of the brewer would cost 8 4 But being brewed at home, for 4 8 ------- Leaves a clear gain of 3 8 This saving is quite enough to pay for time and trouble, besides the advantage of having a wholesome liquor, free from all poisonous ingredients. Porter thus brewed will be fit for use in a week, and may be drunk with pleasure. To do ample justice to the subject however, it may be proper briefly to notice the specific properties of the various ingredients which enter into the composition of London porter. It is evident that some porter is more heady than others, and this arises from the greater or less quantity of stupefying ingredients intermixed with it. Malt itself, to produce intoxication, must be used in such large quantities as would very much diminish the brewer's profit. Of the wholesomeness of malt there can be no doubt; pale malt especially is highly nutritive, containing more balsamic qualities than the brown malt, which being subject to a greater degree of fire in the kiln, is sometimes so crusted and burnt, that the mealy part loses some of its best qualities. Amber malt is that which is dried in a middling degree, between pale and brown, and is now much in use, being the most pleasant, and free