BARBERRY TART.
1245. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of barberries allow 3/4 lb. of lump sugar; paste.
[Illustration: LEAF IN PUFF-PASTE.]
Mode.—Pick the barberries from the stalks, and put the fruit into a stone jar; place this jar in boiling water, and let it simmer very slowly until the fruit is soft; then put it into a preserving-pan with the sugar, and boil gently for 15 minutes; line a tartlet-pan with paste, bake it, and, when the paste is cold, fill with the barberries, and ornament the tart with a few baked leaves of paste, cut out, as shown in the engraving.
Time.—1/4 hour to bake the tart.
Average cost, 4d. per pint.
Seasonable in autumn.
[Illustration: BARBERRY.]
BARBERRIES (Berberris vulgaris.)—A fruit of such great acidity, that even birds refuse to eat it. In this respect, it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with sugar, it makes a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the different modes of preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and are used for various culinary purposes. They are well calculated to allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with fevers. The berries, arranged on bunches of nice curled parsley, make an exceedingly pretty garnish for supper-dishes, particularly for white meats, like boiled fowl à la Béchamel, the three colours, scarlet, green, and white, contrasting so well, and producing a very good effect.