How to Make Gruels.
The following receipts for making various kinds of gruels, furnished by Mrs. Mattie M. Jones, will interest many young housewives and nurses who may be called on to care for the sick.
wheat-meal gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. wheat-meal
1 gill cold water
sugar optional
Instructions:
Mix two tablespoonfulls of wheat-meal smoothly with a gill of cold water; boil about 15 minutes, taking of whatever scum forms on the top. A little sugar may be added if desired.
indian-meal gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
1 quart water
2 tbsp. Indian-meal
sugar optional
Instructions:
Stir in gradually into a quart of boiling water two tablespoonfulls of Indian-meal; boil it slowly twenty minutes. This is often prepared for the sick, under the name "water gruel". In the current cook books, salt, sugar, and nutmeg are added. Nothing of the sort should be used, except sugar.
oatmeal gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. oatmeal
1 quart water
Instructions:
Mix a tablespoonful of oatmeal with a little cold water; pour on the mixture a quart of boiling water, stirring it well; let it settle two or three minutes; then pour it into a pan carefully, leaving the courser part of the meal at the bottom of the vessel; set it on the fire and stir it till it boils; then let it boil about five minutes, and skim.
farina gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. farina
1 gill water
1 quart boiling water
Instructions:
Mix two tablespoonfuls of farina in a gill of water; pour very gradually on the mixture a quart of boiling water; stirring thoroughly, and boil ten minutes.
tapioca gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. tapioca
1-1/2 pints water
sweetener
Instructions:
Wash a tablespoonfull of tapioca, and soak it in a pint and a half of water twenty minutes; then boil gently, stirring frequently, till the tapioca is sufficiently cooked, and sweeten.
sago gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. sago
1/2 pints water
1-1/2 pints boiling water
sugar or molasses
Instructions:
Wash two tablespoonfulls of sago, and soak it a few minutes in half a pint of cold water; then boil a pint and a half of water, and while boiling, stir in the farina; boil slowly till well done, and sweeten with sugar or molasses.
currant gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. currants
1 quart wheat-meal, or oat-meal ground
water
sugar
Instructions:
Add two tablespoonfulls of currants to a quart of wheat-meal or oat-meal ground, and after boiling a few minutes, add a little sugar.
groat gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
groats
water
sugar optional
currants optional
Instructions:
Steep clean groats in water for several hours; boil them in pure soft water till quite tender and thick; then add boiling water sufficient to reduce to the consistency of gruel. Currants and sugar may also be added.
arrow-root gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
1 oz. arrow-root
1 pint boiling water
sugar
lemon juice
Instructions:
Mix an ounce of arrow-root smoohly with a little cold water; then pour on the mixture a pint of boiling water, stirring constantly; return it to the pan, and let it boil five minutes. Season with sugar and lemon juice.
rice gruel
(from the Sunbury American newspaper, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 oz. good clean rice
1 quart water
2 tbsp. sugar
currants optional
Instructions:
Boil two ounces of good clean rice in a quart of water until the grains are quite soft; then add two tablespoons of sugar and boil two or three minutes. Currants make a good addition to this gruel.
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