n the middle of the
pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at
the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table
encircled in flame.

_Time_.--5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is
to be served.

_Average cost_, 4s.

_Sufficient_ for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions
till March.

_Note_.--Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as
they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests
arrive, will be found an acceptable, and, as it only requires warming
through, a quickly-prepared dish. Moulds of every shape and size are
manufactured for these puddings, and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J.
Slack, 336, Strand.

BRANDY is the alcoholic or spirituous portion of wine, separated
from the aqueous part, the colouring matter, &c., by
distillation. The word is of German origin, and in its German
form, _brantuein_, signifies burnt wine, or wine that has
undergone the action of fire; brandies, so called, however, have
been made from potatoes, carrots, beetroot, pears, and other
vegetable substances; but they are all inferior to true brandy.
Brandy is prepared in most wine countries, but that of France is
the most esteemed. It is procured not only by distilling the
wine itself, but also by fermenting and distilling the _marc_,
or residue of the pressings of the grape. It is procured
indifferently from red or white wine, and different wines yield
very different proportions of it, the strongest, of course,
giving the largest quantity. Brandy obtained from marc has a
more acrid taste than that from wine. The celebrated brandy of
Cognac, a town in the department of Charente, and that brought
from Andraye, seem to owe their excellence from being made from
white wine. Like other spirit, brandy is colourless when
recently distilled; by mere keeping, however, owing, probably,
to some change in the soluble matter contained in it, it
acquires a slight colour, which is much increased by keeping in
casks, and is made of the required intensity by the addition of
burnt sugar or other colouring matter. What is called _British
brandy_ is not, in fact, brandy, which is the name, as we have
said, of a spirit distilled from _wine;_ but is a spirit made
chi