Preserved Fruits and Sweetmeats

PRESERVED FRUITS AND SWEETMEATS.

CANNING FRUIT.

This new method recommends itself, not only on account of its health, but its economy, especially since the price of sugar has become so enormous as to be almost prohibitory. Properly put up in the right kind of cans, there are many fruits which require no sugar, and even the most acid only a very little, say, one fourth of the weight; it should, however, be of the finest quality.

BLACKBERRIES.

Use the zinc-covered, self-sealing jars, as the covers of these can be screwed down without difficulty, while the jars are in the water, and we have never known fruit to spoil in them.

Fill the jars with fruit and sugar in the proportion of one pound of crushed sugar to four pounds of fruit. Set them in cold water (a wash boiler is as good as any thing for the purpose), which heat to boiling. The jars, by the way, should not be filled to within an inch of the top, and when the boiling process, by expelling the air, has forced the fruit up to the top of the jar, it is exactly the time to put on the cover, and with a small holder in the left hand, to keep the fingers from being burnt, screw it tight down, before taking the jar from the water.

Cherries, raspberries and plums, may be preserved in precisely the same way; peaches and pears also, omitting the sugar, which they do not require, as they keep just as well without.

STRAWBERRY JAM.

Separate the hulls from the berries, for each pound of berries weigh out three quarters of a pound of pounded sugar; put the

berries in a deep dish sprinkling the sugar among it, and let them remain ten or twelve hours, then boil them together half an hour very slowly.

RASPBERRY JAM.

This should be made in the same manner as strawberry jam. Let it boil, after it commences to do so, fifteen or twenty minutes; another way is to bruise together a quart of raspberries, and a pint of currant jelly; boil them slowly six or seven minutes, stirring them; then put into close pots. This will keep two years.

STRAWBERRIES IN CANS.

Half a pound of sugar to every pound of berries; scald them together, fill the cans while hot, and seal at once.

DRIED STRAWBERRIES

Put ten pounds of strawberries into a jar, and sprinkle among them four pounds of white sugar. Let them stand until the next day, then scald them and put them back into the jar. On the third day, put another pound of sugar over them and scald them again, pour out on plates, or dishes, and dry them in a cool oven, or the back part of the range. They must be kept in tin canisters, and will make a very good dessert dish in winter.

STRAWBERRY JAM.

Boil the strawberries gently until thick, and very much reduced; add loaf sugar, three quarters of a pound to a pound of fruit, and stir constantly, until it is reduced to a paste. Put in small jars, and cover with egg paper--that is paper covered on the under side with white of egg,--and tie down a second paper over them.

PRESERVED RASPBERRIES.

Take five or six pounds of red, but not too ripe raspberries; pick and put them into a preserving pan, with an equal weight of clarified sugar; when they have boiled up about a dozen times, skim and pour the whole into a pan, till the next day; then drain the fruit and put it into jars; put to the syrup about two glasses of cherry juice, previously strained; boil the sugar again, and pour it

over the raspberries; add afterwards about a spoonful of currant juice to each pot, and when cold, lay on brandy paper, and tie them down.

CURRANT AND RASPBERRIES SWEETMEAT.

Take equal weight of red currants and raspberries, and of sugar, three quarters of a pound of best loaf, to each pound of fruit. Cover the fruit with the sugar over night, and the next day boil all together slowly for an hour, skimming if necessary. Put in small jars, and fasten down while hot, with egg, or brandy paper. It will keep well, and makes a delicious sweetmeat.

CHERRY JAM.

Stone four pounds of Kentish cherries, add to them half a pint red currant juice and a pound of fine sugar, and boil all together briskly till the mixture becomes stiff.

GREEN GRAPE JAM.

Put the grapes in a jar, and let them cook in a kettle of boiling water, until they are soft, and can be separated from the seeds. Strain through a fine colander, and to every pound of grape, put a pound of crushed sugar. Boil all together very gently, until a thick jam is formed, and then put in small moulds, or glasses, and cover with egg paper.

PLUM JAM.

Prepare the plums by skinning and stoning them, allow three quarters of a pound of finely pounded loaf sugar to one pound of fruit; lay them in a deep dish over night with the sugar sprinkled among them, and in the morning let them boil twenty minutes, after they have become sufficiently hot to bubble over their whole surface.

PINEAPPLE JAM.

Cut the pineapple into small slices and then into square pieces, removing all the skin and eyes. Allow three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar to a pound of pineapple, and boil them very slowly twenty-five or thirty minutes.

BLACK CURRANT JAM.

Boil together for quarter of an hour after it commences to bubble, stirring well a mixture composed of a pint of juice of red currants, and a pound and a quarter of pounded loaf sugar, to each pound of currants.

PRESERVED CHERRIES.

Stone the fruit, weigh it, and for every pound, take three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar. First dissolve the sugar in water, in the proportion of a pint of water to a pound and a half of sugar. Then add the fruit, and let it boil as fast as possible for half an hour, till it begins to jelly, as it soon thickens by keeping. Put it in pots, cover with brandy paper next the fruit, and then closely from the air.

PICKLED CHERRIES.

Procure white "ox-heart" cherries, leave the stems on, and prepare for eight pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, two quarts very best vinegar, a little cloves and double the bulk in cinnamon, mace and ginger root. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices, skimming thoroughly. Put the fruit in bottles, strain the syrup over it, screw them down, and put them in a kettle of boiling water for ten minutes. When they look like cracking they are done.

PINE APPLE MARMALADE.

Boil together for each pound of grated pineapple a pound of double refined loaf sugar. When it is boiled thick, which will be in about fifteen minutes, if the quantity is small, or more if large, put it in tumblers, and paste over them papers wet with the beaten whites of eggs. Keep it in a dry, cool place.

PRESERVED QUINCES.

Peel and core them, put in the kettle, and cover them with the parings, cores, and considerable water. Cover close and boil till tender; then take out the quinces, strain off the liquor, and to every pint add one pound of loaf-sugar. Boil it a few minutes, skim, put in the quinces, and boil slowly twenty minutes, or until they are clear.

CRAB APPLES PRESERVED.

Weigh the apples, and with an equal weight of sugar make a syrup with apple jelly, and after this is well boiled, prick the crab-apples and put them into it. When they have boiled a few minutes, take them out, and let them drain on a sieve. Put them again into the syrup, when they are nearly cold, and after boiling a few minutes more, drain them as before. Repeat this process a third time, and afterwards place them in glasses or jars, pouring the boiling jelly over them.

BRANDY GAGES.

Take green gages, wash and wipe them dry, prick them on opposite sides and pack them in bottles or jars, with mouths large enough to let the fruit in without pressing. Prepare a very rich syrup, let it cool to blood heat, mix in the proportion of one third syrup to two of brandy, mix thoroughly, fill the bottles, cork, and seal perfectly air tight. If syrup is left, bottle it for future use. If the skins are tough remove them.

PRESERVED PINEAPPLES.

Peel the pineapples, cut out the eyes, slice them and cut out the hard centre. Then boil them till tender; skim the liquid and add to it three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of pine apple. Boil it, skim it again and put in the fruit, and boil it till clear of soft, or put in lemons and one pound of sugar.

GREEN FIGS PRESERVED.

Take half ripe figs, and prick them near the stalk, scald them and when half cold throw them into cold water and let them drain. Boil clarified sugar in a covered preserving pan, put in the figs,let them boil three or four times; then take them from the fire, skim them well and put them in a warm place over night. In the morning drain off the syrup, boil it up a dozen times, and when lukewarm pour it on the figs. Let it stand till the next day, drain it off and boil it up again, then add the figs to it, boil them together once in the covered preserving pan, skim again, and put in jars for use.

TO PRESERVE PLUMS OR DAMSONS WHOLE.

Weigh your fruit, and to every pound allow three quarters of crushed sugar. Put into stone jars alternate layers of fruit and sugar, tie down with cloth, and let them stand in an oven after bread has been baked in it, until it is cold. The next day strain off the syrup, boil and clarify it, and pour over the fruit, which in the mean time has been carefully removed to glass jars or china pots. Place over them egg tissue-paper, and over that thick white paper pasted, or bladder tied strongly down.

Another method is to put the plums into water over a slow fire until they begin to peel, keeping them under the water, then take the skins off carefully and put them into a jar with enough thin syrup to cover them completely. Boil the syrup next day, put the plums in, boil gently, allow them to stand till cold; repeat the process, turning them in the syrup till nearly cold. Take the plums out, strain the syrup, add more sugar, skim it, put the plums in again and boil them till they become quite clear, then put them in jars and tie them down with paper.

CURRANTS PRESERVED.

Scald a few of the currants at a time until all are done, put sugar into the juice in the proportion of a pound of sugar to a pound of currants, and boil a few minutes; then put the currants back into the syrup, and boil them up once.

RHUBARB PRESERVED.

Pare half a dozen oranges, remove the seeds and white rind, slice the pulp into a stew pan with the peel cut very small. Then add a quart of rhubarb cut fine, and a pound and a half of loaf sugar; boil the whole down as for other preserves. This is almost equal to Scotch marmalade.

ORANGES PRESERVED.

To preserve oranges whole, grate the rinds slightly, and score them round with a knife, or cut the rinds into scollops or any other pattern, not cutting deep; then put them into cold water for three days, changing the water two or three times a day; afterwards tie

them up in a bag, and boil them in water until a pin's head will penetrate their skins easily. Take a pound and a half of white sugar to every pound of oranges, and while they are boiling, put the sugar on the fire with rather more than half a pint of water to each pound. Let it boil a minute or two, and then strain it through muslin. Then put the oranges into the syrup, and boil until the syrup will jelly and is of a nice yellow color; it cannot be too stiff. The syrup need not cover the oranges, but they must be turned so that each part gets thoroughly done.

PICKLING PEARS AND PEACHES.

This is a very nice way of preserving these fruits, particularly for those who like such a relish with cold meats. Select smooth freestone peaches, and medium sized juicy pears, and stick them full of cloves, that is to say, like pins upon a pincushion, heads up; and perhaps half an inch apart. Boil together, either the syrup left from dried fruit, and vinegar, in the proportions mentioned in the receipt for drying plums and small fruit, or seven pounds of good Orleans sugar to one gallon of good vinegar, an ounce of mace, and an ounce of allspice. When it boils, put in the fruit, and let it all boil gently together, until a pin will slip in and out easily. Then take the fruit out in jars, boil the spiced and sweetened vinegar for a few minutes longer, and then pour over fruit and set it away to cool. When cold, fasten thick paper over the lids with paste or mucilage.

DAMSON PLUMS, <emph rend="italic">(To pickle.)</emph>

To two pounds of plums, take one pound of brown sugar, and one pint of vinegar, tea-spoonful of mace, one of cinnamon; boil them well, and pour it on the fruit hot; when cold, drain it off, boil it and pour it on again, repeating it six times.

PEACHES DRIED WITH SUGAR.

Peel yellow peaches, cut them from the stone in one piece, allow two pounds of sugar for six pounds of the fruit, make a syrup of three quarters pound of sugar and a little water, put in the peaches and let them stay till they are quite clear, take them up carefully on a dish and set them in the sun to dry. Strew powdered sugar

over them on all sides, a little at a time, and if any syrup is left remove them to fresh dishes. When they are quite dry lay them lightly in a jar with a little sugar between each layer.

TO DRY PLUMS AND SMALL FRUITS.

A very good method is to pit them, and put in jars, a layer of fruit to a layer of sugar, in the proportion of half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Let them stand twenty-four hours, and then boil them, taking the scum off, as it rises to the surface. When they have boiled ten minutes, take them out of the syrup, drain them, and spread them thin on dishes, or hair sieves, to dry in the sun; they will need turning every few hours, until dry.

The syrup that is left can be used, in the proportion of a large pint to a small quart of good vinegar, for pickling pears or peaches,--the method for doing which is explained in the receipt under that head.

Another method for drying plums, peaches and apples, is to prepare them nicely, by pitting or peeling and cutting, dry them partly, and then lay them in jars, stewing sugar between each layer. Tie them down, and they will keep well, and be delicious for pies, or stewing.

Some people are troubled with insects among fruit, when it is kept a long time. A handful of sassafras bark thrown among it will keep it free from worms.

PRESERVED CITRON.

Pare ripe citron melons, and cut them into half-moon shaped pieces, about half an inch in thickness. Boil in soda water until tender, when a straw will pass through them; skim them out and lay them in weak alum water; let them remain three hours; then put them in cold water for another hour. Then take one quart of water, four pounds of sugar, and the same weight of citron; boil this syrup and remove the scum; when clear put in the citron, let it remain till the sugar has penetrated it thoroughly; then pack it in jars. Boil the syrup until it is ropy, and pour it in the jars. Flavor with extract of ginger. Add to each quart jar a tablespoonful of extract of lemon peel, and seal them as soon as filled, with paper wet in egg.

APPLE SWEETMEATS.

Procure fresh gathered ripe apples, of a fine sort; peel them, take out the cores, and cut them in quarters; place them in a preserving pan with a glass of water, a little lemon or orange peel, and a pound of sugar to a pound and a half of fruit. Let it boil thoroughly, and then put it into preserve pots.