Journeying West Before 1840

An Excellent Method of making Punch

Take two large fresh lemons with rough skins, quite ripe, and some large lumps of double-refined sugar. Rub the sugar over the lemons until it has abosorbed all the yellow part of the skins. Then put into the bowl these lumps, and as much more as the juice of the lemons may be supposed to require; for no certain weight can be mentioned, as the acidity of a lemon cannot be known till tried, and therefore must be determined by the taste. Then squeeze the lemon-juice upon the sugar; and with a bruiser press the sugar and the juice particularly well together, for a great deal of the richness and fine flavour of the punch depends on this rubbing and mixing process being thoroughly performed. Then mix this up very well with boiling water (soft water is best) till the whole is rather cool. When this mixture, (which is now called the sherbet) is to your taste, take brandy and rum in equal quantities and put them to it, mixing the whole well together again. The quanity of liquor must be according to your taste: two good lemons are generally enough to make four quarts of punch, including a quart of liquor, with half a pound of sugar; but this depends much on taste, and on the strength of the spirit.


As the pulp is disagreeable to some persons, the sherbet may be strained before the liquor is put in. Some strain the lemon before they put it into the sugar, which is improper; as, when the pulp and sugar are well mixed together, it adds much to the richness of the punch.


When only rum is used, about half a pint of porter will soften the punch; and even when both rum and brandy are used, the porter gives a richness, and to some a very pleasant flavor.



From the New System of Domestic Cookery, 1807, pg. 257