SPICED FRUITS
"WHEN you were a tiny little baby," said mother, "I had a young girl
living with me who taught me how to put up Spiced Currants. She had
lived in the country, and her favorite aunt was renowned for her
tempting preserves."
"Oh, mother," interrupted Adelaide, "do you think I could ever become
renowned, or whatever you called it?"
"I think there is no reason why you shouldn't, if you continue to do
as good work in the future as you have thus far. Every year you will
become more expert, and find out many new combinations that especially
suit your taste and appeal to others," answered mother. "All spiced
fruits," she continued, "are particularly tasty when served with cold
meats."
Spiced Currants
Currants, 1 quart
Sugar, 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1/2 cup
Cloves (ground), 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon (ground), 1 teaspoon
Adelaide picked over the currants and removed the stems. Putting the
currants into the colander, she dipped it up and down several times
in a pan of clear cold water, then set it aside to drain. Into the
saucepan she poured the currants, added one pound of sugar, a half a
cup of vinegar, and a teaspoon each of cloves and cinnamon.
Placing the saucepan over the fire, she let the currants heat through
gradually, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, and when
thoroughly scalded she lifted out the currants with a skimmer.
Adelaide boiled the juice until it thickened, then added the currants
again and let them just boil up. They were then ready to put into the
sterilized pint jar, so Adelaide filled it to overflowing. Next she
inserted a silver knife between the jar and the fruit, to let all air
bubbles rise to the top and break, placed a new rubber on the jar
smoothly, sealed quickly and stood upside down out of the way of any
draft.
In the morning the jar was examined carefully to be sure it did not
leak, all stickiness was wiped off with a damp cloth from the outside,
then the label was pasted on and Adelaide stored the jar away in the
preserve closet.
Spiced Cherries
Cherries, 2 lbs.
Sugar, 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1/2 cup
Stick cinnamon, 1/3 ounce
Whole cloves, 1/3 ounce
Adelaide stemmed the cherries and washed them in the colander by
dipping it up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water,
after which she stoned them. Into a saucepan she measured one-half a
cup of vinegar. To this she added a third of an ounce each of whole
cloves and cinnamon tied up in a muslin bag. The vinegar and spices
Adelaide let boil gently for fifteen minutes, then she added one
pound of sugar and boiled the mixture ten minutes longer, stirring
constantly with the wooden spoon and skimming well. At the end of the
ten minutes Adelaide dropped in the cherries and cooked the fruit
gently for one-half hour. Lifting out the cherries with a skimmer, she
put them into the sterilized pint jar, added the juice to overflowing,
and inserted a silver knife between the jar and the fruit to let all
air bubbles rise to the top and break. Then she placed on a new rubber
and sealed quickly, standing the jar upside down out of the way of any
draft.
The next morning, after carefully inspecting the jar for any possible
leaks, Adelaide wiped off all stickiness from the outside with a damp
cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve
closet.
Spiced Gooseberries
Gooseberries, 1-3/4 lbs.
Sugar, 1-1/4 lbs.
Vinegar, 1/2 cup
Green ginger root, a small piece
Whole cloves, Six
Whole allspice, Three
One bay leaf
One blade of mace
Stick cinnamon, one small piece
From the gooseberries Adelaide removed the tops, then washed them in
the colander, which she placed in a pan of clear cold water and dipped
up and down several times. While these drained, Adelaide measured the
half cup of vinegar and one and one-fourth pounds of sugar into the
saucepan. Placing the saucepan on the fire she brought the sugar and
vinegar to the boiling point, added the gooseberries, then removed the
saucepan from the fire.
The small piece of green ginger root she cut into small pieces, the
six whole cloves, the three whole allspice, the bay leaf, the blade
of mace, and the piece of stick cinnamon were tied in a small piece
of muslin and added to the contents of the saucepan. Covering the
saucepan, it was placed aside over night.
The next day Adelaide brought the fruit quickly to the boiling point
and cooked the gooseberries gently until they were tender but not
broken. When they were done, she carefully skimmed out the gooseberries
and placed them into the sterilized pint jar, then filled it to
overflowing with the syrup. Between the jar and the fruit Adelaide
inserted a silver knife, to allow all air bubbles to rise to the top
and break. The new rubber was placed on smoothly, and she sealed the
jar quickly, standing it upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning the jar was carefully wiped with a damp cloth to remove
all stickiness and examined for any possible leaks. Next Adelaide
pasted on the label and stored the spiced gooseberries away in the
preserve closet.
Spiced Pears
Pears (medium), Eight
Sugar, 1 cup
Vinegar, 1/2 cup
Water, 1/2 cup
Cinnamon (stick), small piece
Cloves (whole), 1 teaspoon
Mixed spices (ground), 1 teaspoon
Mother said she found that when she put up "spiced pears" the year
before that it took fifteen pears of medium size to fill a quart jar,
so she told Adelaide to prepare eight pears. Adelaide washed, wiped,
pared, quartered and removed the core from each pear.
The cup of sugar, half cup each of water and vinegar, cinnamon stick
and whole cloves were put into the saucepan and placed over the fire,
then the teaspoon of mixed ground spices was also added; the latter
were tied in a small piece of muslin.
These Adelaide let boil for five minutes, after which she skimmed the
syrup and added the pears. It was necessary to boil the pears very
gently for thirty-five minutes, stirring them frequently with the
wooden spoon, but carefully so as not to break the fruit. When they
were done Adelaide lifted the pears out carefully with a silver fork
into the sterilized pint jar, and poured in the syrup to overflowing.
With a silver knife, which she inserted between the fruit and jar, she
let all air bubbles rise to the top and break, then fitted on a new
rubber smoothly, sealed the jar quickly and stood it upside down out of
the way of any draft. In the morning, after examining the jar carefully
to see that it did not leak, Adelaide wiped off all stickiness with a
damp cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve
closet.
Spiced Peaches
Peaches (medium), 1 dozen
Sugar (brown), 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1 cup
Cloves (whole)
Cloves (ground), 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon (ground), 1 teaspoon
Allspice (ground), 1/2 teaspoon
Adelaide put the pound of brown sugar and the cup of vinegar into the
saucepan and added the ground spices (clove, cinnamon, and allspice)
tied up in a small piece of muslin. The saucepan she placed over the
fire and let the contents boil gently for ten minutes.
While the syrup was boiling, Adelaide poured boiling water over the
peaches, and after they had stood a minute she peeled them with a
silver knife. Adelaide left the peaches whole, and stuck four or five
cloves in each peach.
As soon as the syrup had cooked sufficiently she dropped the peaches
in it and cooked them until they could be pierced easily with a silver
fork.
The twelve peaches were enough to fill two pint jars. Adelaide lifted
the peaches out carefully with the silver fork and placed them in the
sterilized jars. Then she filled the jars to overflowing with the
syrup. With a silver knife, which she inserted between the fruit and
the jar, Adelaide let all air bubbles rise to the top and break. Next,
new rubbers were fitted on smoothly and the jars sealed quickly, after
which she stood them upside down out of the way of any draft. In the
morning the stickiness was wiped from each jar with a damp cloth, they
were carefully inspected to be sure there were no leaks, then Adelaide
pasted on the labels and stored the jars away in the preserve closet.
Spiced Watermelon Rind
Watermelon rind, 2-1/3 lbs.
Sugar (brown), 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1 cup
Cinnamon (ground), 1/2 teaspoon
Cloves (ground), 1/3 teaspoon
Allspice (ground), 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger root, small piece
Whole mace, 1 teaspoon
Bay leaves, Two
One day when watermelons were in their prime Adelaide's mother bought
a part of one for dessert. She told Adelaide to save all the rind and
the next day she would show her how to make another tasty relish to be
eaten with cold meats.
In the morning Adelaide pared the rind neatly and cut it into many
attractive shapes. The saucepan had been previously placed over the
fire, containing the pound of sugar, the cup of vinegar, the piece of
ginger root, the whole mace and the bay leaves. The ground spices,
one-half teaspoon each of cinnamon and allspice, and the one-third
teaspoon of cloves, were tied in a small piece of muslin and added to
the syrup. When the syrup reached the boiling point Adelaide dropped
in the watermelon rind, and it was cooked slowly until perfectly
tender. Then Adelaide lifted out the rind very carefully with a silver
fork into a dish, covered, and stood it away over night. The saucepan
was removed from the fire and placed aside to cool. Next morning,
Adelaide let the syrup again come to the boiling point, and added the
rind. She watched carefully, and when it came to the boiling point a
second time she lifted the rind carefully with a silver fork into the
sterilized jar. The syrup she poured in until it overflowed.
Inserting a silver knife between the jar and the rind Adelaide let all
air bubbles rise to the top and break, then fitted the new rubber on
smoothly, sealed quickly and stood the jar upside down out of the way
of any draft.
In the morning Adelaide wiped off all stickiness from the outside of
the jar, examined it carefully to be sure it did not leak, pasted on
the label and stored it away in the preserve closet.
Spiced Grapes
Grapes, 1-3/4 lbs.
Sugar, 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1/4 cup
Cinnamon (ground), 1 teaspoon
Cloves (ground), 1 teaspoon
Adelaide picked over and washed the grapes by placing them in the
colander and dipping it up and down several times in a pan of clear
cold water. After draining thoroughly she removed the skins and placed
them in a dish which she stood aside. The pulps were put into the
saucepan and cooked slowly until the seeds could be removed by pressing
the grapes through a strainer.
The strained pulp, the skins, the pound of sugar, the fourth of a cup
of vinegar, and the teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and cloves (the
spices were tied in a piece of muslin) were all put in the saucepan
together and cooked until thick. Adelaide then filled the sterilized
jar with the fruit, inserted a silver knife between the grapes and the
jar to let the air bubbles rise to the top and break, fitted on a new
rubber smoothly, sealed the jar quickly and stood it upside down out of
the way of any draft. In the morning she inspected the jar carefully
to be sure that it did not leak, wiped off all stickiness with a damp
cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve
closet.
Spiced Blackberries
Blackberries, 2-1/2 lbs.
Sugar, 1 lb.
Vinegar, 1/2 cup
Cinnamon (ground), 1 teaspoon
Cloves (ground), 1 teaspoon
Adelaide put the pound of sugar, the half cup of vinegar, and the
teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and cloves (the spices she tied in a
piece of muslin) into the saucepan over the fire.
While the syrup was coming slowly to the boiling point Adelaide picked
over and washed the blackberries by placing them in the colander, which
she dipped up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water.
After the blackberries had drained well and the syrup had come to the
boiling point Adelaide added the blackberries. These she let boil
gently for fifteen minutes, when she skimmed out the blackberries and
dropped them carefully into the sterilized pint jar. Next she filled
the jar to overflowing with the syrup, inserted a silver knife between
the fruit and the jar to let all air bubbles rise to the top and break,
fitted on a new rubber smoothly, sealed the jar quickly, and stood it
upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning Adelaide inspected the jar carefully to see that it did
not leak, wiped off all stickiness from the outside with a damp cloth,
pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve closet.
"Perhaps," said mother, "you may like to try other fruits another year,
preserved in vinegar and sugar with spices, but I think for the present
the ones I have given you will do."
"Yes, I think so too," replied Adelaide.