METHODS OF PRESERVING FRUITS &c.
_To preserve Oranges or Lemons whole._
HAVING selected the largest and best coloured oranges, carve them, cut a
round hole in each, where the stalk grew; put them into a pan of cold
water, set them over the fire, and boil them till they become so soft
that you may thrust a straw through them, shifting the water twice
during the time of this boiling; then take them out, put them into cold
water, and let them remain till they become cold; after which scoop out
the cores with a spoon, put them again into cold water, and let them
there remain forty-eight hours, shifting the water during that space
four times: drain them when taken out, put them into the preserving pan,
cover them with clarified sugar, and then let them simmer over a fire
for about two hours: proceed in this manner for seven or eight days;
then drain them from the sugar, and having prepared a fresh quantity
boiled to the degree called _pearled_, put in the oranges, and having
boiled them for the space of an hour, set them by for use in an earthen
pan, or put them into glasses, and cover them with clarified sugar.
_To preserve Cherries without Stones._
FOR a pound of cherries prepare a pound of sugar boiled to the degree
called _blown_, into which put the cherries stoned, and having boiled
them well, set them by till the next day. Having then strained the
syrup, add some sugar and about three pints of currant juice to it, let
it boil about half an hour, put in the cherries, boil all together, skim
well, and afterwards set by for use.
_To preserve Cherries with Stones._
HAVING selected the finest morello fruit, and pricked each cherry with a
needle; put them into a thin clarified sugar, and let them simmer an
hour, or more, cautiously avoiding their coming to a boil. Proceed thus
for two or three days; then strain the sugar from them, and having added
more sugar with some currant juice, after a gentle boil and being well
skimmed, set them by for use.
_To preserve White Pea Plums._
SELECT your plums before they are too ripe, slit each of them in the
seam, scald them in clear water till they become tender, then put them
into cold water, in which having remained a whole night, drain, put them
into sugar boiled to the degree called _pearled_, and having simmered
therein twice or thrice a day for two days, drain the syrup and boil it
for an hour, adding to it about a quart of white currant juice. Then put
in your plums, let all boil together, and when cold they will be fit for
use.
_To preserve yellow Plums commonly called yellow Margates._
HAVING made choice of your plums just before they become ripe, and
prepared as much sugar to the degree called _blown_, as will handsomely
cover them, put them in, and giving them a gentle boil, set them by till
next day and give them another boil. The day following drain them, and
having boiled the syrup to the degree called _pearled_, put in the
plums, and let all boil together, when they will be fit for drying, or
putting into pots.
N.B. You may scald and take the skins off the plums before you preserve
them.
_To preserve Damascenes._
HAVING pricked the intended quantity, put them into a preserving pan
with as much sugar as will cover them; give them one good boil, take
them off and let them stand a day; on the morrow, simmer them four or
five times, and thus let them remain three or four days; then drain the
syrup, and adding more sugar, boil it well, put in the damascenes, give
all a good boil, skim well and set by for use.
_To preserve Mogul, or large Egg Plums._
HAVING pricked your plums, put them into cold water with three or four
handfulls of salt in it, and there letting them remain four days, scald
them in clear water till they become tender; put them into a thin sugar,
and give them a gentle boil. This done, put them by, and the next day
let them simmer, and so proceed for five or six days, till you perceive
the syrup becomes thick, when it will be proper to drain and add more
sugar; boil till it is ropy, then you may put in your plums; give them a
gentle boil and set by for use.
N.B. You must keep the plums under the syrup in your preserving pan by
putting a piece of board over them.
_To preserve whole Strawberries._
PREPARE as much sugar as will cover the intended quantity to the degree
called _blown_, into which put the strawberries; gently boil and set
them by; the next day drain them and boil the syrup till it becomes ropy
or _pearled_, then put in the strawberries, give them a gentle boil,
skim them well, and put them into pots.
N.B. Rasberries are preserved in the same manner; but it is recommended
to put some jelly drawn from gooseberries, or white currants, into the
syrup.
_To preserve Barberries in Bunches._
HAVING prepared a sufficient quantity of sugar to the degree called
_blown_, put in the barberries tied in small bunches, let them boil
well, then skim, and set them by for use.
_To preserve Red Currants in Bunches._
PREPARE as much sugar to the degree called _pearled_, as will cover
them, into which put them, and give them a gentle boil: then next drain
them, and adding a little more sugar, and some juice extracted from red
currants, give the whole a good boil; skim them well, and they will be
fit for use.
N.B. White currants are preserved in the same manner, adding only white
currant juice to the syrup.
_To preserve Green Gage Plums._
FIRST prick your plums well with a needle, and having laid them in salt
and water, for eight and forty hours, scald them in pump water till they
become tender, after which put them in cold water, and there let them
remain till they are cool; then drain and pack them in single layers in
your preserving pan; and give them a gentle heat once a day, for three
days; this done, drain them, add some more sugar boiled to the degree of
what is called _pearled_; then put them in and give them a heat, but not
so far as to boil: proceed in this manner for two or three days, till
you perceive the syrup becomes thick, then drain them, strain the syrup,
boil it to a good height, put in your plums, give the whole a gentle
boil, set them by in pans, and they are ready for drying out or putting
into jelly.
_To preserve Green Orange Plums._
THE manner is the same as that prescribed with respect to the green
gages: but care must be taken to cover these plums with a paper every
time they are heated, as an effectual means of keeping in the steam and
preserving the green hue: the same method should be observed as to green
fruit in general.
_To preserve Apricots._
HAVING taken the stones out, and cut your fruit in halves, scald them
till they are tender, and put them into cold water: then drain, put them
into a thin sugar, give them a gentle heat and set them by: the next
day, drain the syrup from them, let it boil well and afterwards put in
the fruit: let the whole simmer well together; and thus proceed from day
to day, till the apricots are duly prepared, which may be known from the
consistence of the syrup.
N.B. The Roman apricot is the best to preserve, and the orange apricot
the best for jam.
_To preserve Green Apricots._
TAKE the fruit when you can thrust a pin through the stone: prick them,
and scald them till they are tender; then having drained, and put them
into a thin syrup, let them simmer for half an hour every day, for a
week: this done, drain them, boil some sugar to the degree called
_blown_, to which add the syrup, and boiling it well, put in the fruit;
let all boil together and set by. The next day, drain it, boil the syrup
higher, put in the fruit, and boil till you perceive the syrup hang like
a thread from the skimmer: the fruit are then fit for drying, or putting
in jelly.
N.B. Green almonds are preserved in the same manner; but they should be
scalded in soft water to take the down off.
_To preserve Green Gooseberries._
LET the gooseberries be gathered before they are ripe, and scalded till
they become yellow: then put them into cold water, and having remained
twelve hours, put them into a very thin sugar, and heat them gently over
the fire, till you perceive they begin to be green; after which drain
the syrup from them, and boil it to the degree called _pearled_: put in
your fruit, and having boiled all together, set by. Proceed in this
manner for two, or three days, and the gooseberries will be fit for use.
_To preserve Angelica._
TAKE the angelica when young, split it into thin strips, and having
scalded it till it becomes very tender, string it, put it into the
preserving pan and cover it with sugar; in this state give it a gentle
heat once a day, for four or five days, and when you perceive it become
quite green, drain it and add some more sugar: having boiled it till it
becomes ropy, put in your angelica and boil it up well; then put it by,
and when it has lain in the syrup about five weeks, it will be fit to
cand.
_To preserve Apricot, or Peach Chips._
PARE the rind of the fruit into chips of the size of a shilling: to
every pound of chips, allow a pound and a half of sugar, in which boil
the chips; and having set them by for two days, drain them from the
syrup, and boil it to the degree called _blown_; then put in the chips,
let them boil well, and having set them by for a week, drain and wash
them in cold water, and put them in sieves into the store, first sifting
some sugar on them, and dry them well.
_To preserve Figs._
HAVING pricked your figs through and through, put them into the
preserving pan, cover them with sugar, give them a gentle boil, and set
them by. The next day drain them, and having boiled the syrup, put in
the figs and set them by for two days: then drain them, add more sugar
to the syrup, and having boiled it to a high degree, put in the figs,
and let the whole boil up well together; proceed in this manner every
other day for a week, by which time the sugar will have penetrated into
the fruit: then drain them, and boil the syrup till it ropes, or hangs
in strings from the skimmer: put in the figs, boil well up, skim and set
them by for use.
_To preserve dried Cherries._
STONE the Kentish cherries, and put as much sugar into the preserving
pan, as will cover them: having boiled the sugar till it cracks, put in
the cherries, give them a good boil, skim, and set them by in an earthen
pan till next day: then drain, and put them on sieves in a hot stove,
and turn them; they will take three days drying, and when dry, will keep
two or three years.
_To preserve Peaches whole._
TAKE the Newington peaches before they are ripe, scald them till they
are tender, put them into as much sugar as will cover them, give them a
gentle boil, and set them by till the next day: then drain them from the
syrup, which having boiled with an additional quantity of sugar to the
degree called _blown_, put in the peaches, and after simmering set them
by for a week; then drain the syrup from them, and boiling it higher
than before, put in the peaches, and let all boil gently together for an
hour, by which time, if you find the sugar has penetrated the fruit, you
may skim and set them by for use.
_To preserve Pine Apple Chips._
HAVING taken off the outside of the pine apple; cut it cross-ways into
thin slices, which put in layers into an earthen pan, sifting sugar over
each layer, let all stand for about ten days, in which time, if melted,
put it together into a preserving pan, and boil it up twice a day for
three days, and set them by for drying.
_To preserve Pine Apples whole._
TAKE the pine apple just before it becomes ripe, let the top remain on
it. Having perforated it with a penknife, scald it till it becomes so
tender, that a straw may be thrust through it. Let it then remain in
cold water two hours, and in that state be put into a jar, with sugar
strewed over it, boiled to the degree called _smooth_, and covered close
down: the next day drain the syrup and boil it up, and in this manner
proceed every day, till the water is extracted from the pine. As the
syrup by that means will be rendered thin, you will add more sugar and
boil it up to a high degree, and set the pine by for a fortnight, when
if you perceive the syrup is thick, you may depend upon it the pine is
properly preserved, and therefore may take it out of that syrup and put
it into a clarified syrup in a glass, in which it will keep good seven
years, if unaffected by damp or wet.
_To preserve Medlars._
HAVING scalded the fruit till the skins are easily taken off; stone them
at the head, cover them with sugar, give them a gentle boil, and let
them stand for two days: then drain them, and boiling the syrup till it
becomes ropy, put in the medlars, let all boil up gently, and set by for
use.
_To preserve Pears._
Prick the pears through in six places, scald them till they are tender,
cut the rind smoothly off, put them into cold water with some allum in
it to keep them white, and having remained in that state three hours,
shift them into a thin sugar, and give them a gentle heat every day for
three or four days; then drain them; and having added some sugar to the
syrup, and boiled it to the degree called _pearled_, put in the pears,
and boil all up together: proceed in this manner, till the syrup becomes
thick, then colour some of the pears red, and set them by.
_To preserve Green Leaves._
TAKE grape leaves, strawberry leaves, or any other leaves: let them
remain four hours in cold spring water, then take them out and put them
into some sugar, give them a gentle boil, take them off, and set them by
for use.
N.B. They are convenient for putting under fruit in plates.
_To preserve Green Grapes._
HAVING selected the largest and best grapes before ripe, cut a small
slit in each, and scald them; after remaining two days in the water they
are scalded in, drain, put them into a thin sugar; give them a heat over
a slow fire, and thus proceed for three days: then drain them, and
adding to the syrup some sugar, boiled to the highest degree of what is
called _blown_, put in the grapes, and let all boil up together; skim
well, and set them by for use.
_To preserve Wine Sour Plums._
THESE plums are the best species for preserving, on account of their
tartness, and should be treated in the same manner as damascenes, only
they will require from their size a longer time in preparation.
_To preserve Green Limes._
HAVING scalded the limes till they are tender, and taken out the cores,
put them into a thin sugar, and give them a gentle boil: then set them
by and give them a gentle heat three times for three days, by which time
they will become as green as grass: having boiled the syrup till it
become ropy, put in the limes, boil up all together, and the fruit will
be fit for use.
N.B. Green walnuts, or jerkins, may be treated in the same manner as
limes; and quinces in halves and quarters, in the same manner as pears;
as there are several species of plums, and pears, that will not
preserve, we recommend the following experiments: put a few plums into a
little clarified sugar, and give them a heat over a gentle fire: if they
seem to melt in the sugar they will not preserve, if they remain firm
they certainly will, provided you adhere to the rules laid down.
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