which it is cooked. As it is served, in nine cases out of ten, it has
a medicated “tang” that is far from agreeable—produced by the cooking
of the sugar with the fruit. She who is familiar with this form of
the sweetmeat alone has no conception of how palatable a dessert it
makes if properly prepared. Served with plain or sponge cake it is a
convenient dessert for Sunday night’s supper, or for the dainty family
luncheon. But the housekeeper who would have her stewed fruit really
good must be willing to be a little careful—perhaps fussy—in the
preparation thereof. Apples that are a little tough, pears that are
rather tasteless when raw, green or hard peaches and sour plums may,
with the help of the stewing kettle and the housewife’s ingenuity, be
converted into tender, toothsome morsels. Use always an agate-iron or
porcelain-lined preserving kettle, as the action of the acid upon tin
or iron darkens the fruit.
Nearly all fruits prepared according to recipes given herewith may
be kept for months if sealed hot in glass cans, as one would can
vegetables or unsweetened fruits. They are more wholesome than the
pound-for-pound preserves.
Stewed apples
Peel and core firm apples, dropping them into cold water as you do
so, that the color may be preserved. Put them over the fire with
enough boiling water to cover them, and let them simmer gently until
very tender, but not broken. With a perforated skimmer remove them
carefully from the water and arrange them in a deep dish. Strain the
liquor and return it to the fire, putting into it a large cupful of
granulated sugar for every dozen apples you have cooked. Boil to a
syrup, add the juice of one lemon and pour over the apples. Cover
closely and set in a cold place until wanted. These apples will keep in
the ice-box for several days.
Steamed apples
From a dozen medium-sized apples remove the peeling with a sharp
knife, taking care to have the parings as thin as possible. Take out
the cores; put the apples, side by side, in a deep pudding-dish, and
pour over them enough water almost to cover them. Invert a plate, or
pan, over the pudding-dish, set it in the oven and steam the contents
until each apple can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove from the
oven and lay the apples carefully in a deep dish. Set the pudding-dish
containing the liquor from the apples on top of the range, add to it
a cupful of granulated sugar, and bring to a boil. Simmer for twenty
minutes, then add a dash of grated nutmeg and a pinch, each, of mace
and ground cloves. Boil to a syrup and pour over the apples. Eat cold.
Stewed pears
Peel and quarter a dozen large pears and remove the cores, laying the
quartered fruit in cold water as you do so. Put them over the fire with
a pint of boiling water and stew until tender. Remove the fruit and
add to the liquor a cupful of sugar, a stick of cinnamon, one of mace,
and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Boil until thick, strain the syrup
and pour it over the pears. Cover closely until they are cold. Seckel
pears, peeled and stewed whole according to this recipe, are delicious.
Stewed peaches
Peel and stone three dozen peaches. Put them over the fire with enough
boiling water to cover them and put into the water six peach-pits
(crushed) and two slices of pineapple cut into dice. Stew slowly, and
when the peaches are tender transfer them to a bowl while you boil the
liquor hard for five minutes, then strain it and add three cupfuls of
granulated sugar. Boil to a thick syrup and pour over the peaches.
Cover while cooking.
Stewed plums
Wipe each plum carefully with a soft damp cloth, and prick it with a
fork to prevent bursting. Have the water in the preserving kettle a
little more than lukewarm and lay the fruit in it. Bring to a gentle
boil, cook just long enough for the plums to become tender, but not
long enough for the skins to crack. They must be watched carefully.
Remove to a deep dish, add a cupful of granulated sugar to every quart
of liquor, boil to a syrup and pour over the plums.
Apple sauce
Wash two dozen firm, juicy apples and cut them—without peeling—into
pieces. Put them into a porcelain-lined saucepan with a cupful of cold
water and bring to a boil. Cook steadily, stirring frequently, until
the fruit is soft and broken into bits. Remove from the fire and run
through a colander to free the sauce from all bits of skin. Sweeten the
apples to taste, and stir over the fire until the sugar is melted, but
do not allow the mixture to boil. Add a teaspoonful of lemon juice and
set aside until cold. Apple sauce made in this way is better in flavor
and color than that made from the peeled fruit. The best part of the
apple is that lying close to the skin, and it consequently loses much
of its flavor in the peeling.
If sealed up while hot this will keep through the winter and supply
fresh apple sauce when the raw fruit is scarce and expensive.
Stewed evaporated peaches
Wash the sliced peaches carefully and soak for six hours in cold water.
Turn the fruit with the water in which it was soaked into a saucepan
and bring to a gentle boil. Add a little sugar and stew until the
peaches are tender. With a split spoon remove the slices of fruit, add
a cupful of granulated sugar to the liquor, and boil quickly to thick
syrup. Pour this over the peaches.
Stewed dried pears
Wash and soak the evaporated fruit as directed in the preceding
recipe, and put over the fire in the water in which it was soaked. The
slices should be just covered by the water. Stew until very tender,
then remove the fruit and set aside while you measure the juice. To
a half-pint of the liquor add a half-pint of molasses and simmer for
twenty-five minutes. Skim the syrup, return the pears to it, add a
pinch of powdered ginger, boil up once, and remove from the fire.
Gingered pears
Peel and core and cut in very thin slices. For eight pounds of sliced
fruit put into a kettle the juice from five lemons, one cupful of
water, seven pounds of sugar and half a pound of ginger-root scraped
and cut into thin slices.
Let the sugar dissolve before adding the fruit. Cut the peel of a lemon
into long, thin slices and add to the fruit. Let it cook slowly for an
hour, uncovered, and can while hot.
Stewed rhubarb
Carefully scrape—not peel—the stalks, cut into inch-lengths, and lay
them in cold water for half an hour. Weigh the rhubarb, and to each
pound of the fruit allow a half-pound of granulated sugar. Put the
rhubarb, still wet, into an agate-lined saucepan, mix the sugar with
it, and set it at one side of the range until the sugar melts. Bring
slowly to a boil, and stew until the rhubarb is very tender. Eat cold,
accompanied by plain cake, or thin bread and butter.
You may seal up while hot in glass jars, wrap in paper to exclude the
light, and keep all the year round.
Apple butter
Boil cider down to two-thirds of its original quantity. Into this turn
as many peeled and sliced apples as the liquid will cover and simmer,
stirring often, until very tender. When the first supply of apples is
tender, strain them out, add more and cook in the same fashion until
all the cider is absorbed. Take from the fire, put all into a stone
crock and set aside for twelve hours, then return to the fire and boil
until you have a soft brown mass. Remove and pack in stone jars.
Peach butter
Peel and slice enough peaches to thicken three quarts of cider and boil
steadily until the fruit is reduced to a pulp. While cooking, stir
frequently. Remove from the fire, let it get cold, return to the fire
and stew for an hour longer, or until brown and thick. Pack down in a
stone crock.
Plum butter
To every pound of plums allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Wash
the plums and put them into a preserving kettle, with the moisture
still clinging to them. Cover, bring slowly to a boil, and cook until
the fruit is broken to pieces and is very soft. Rub through a colander
to remove stones and skins; return the juice and pulp to the fire, add
the sugar and boil until the mixture is very thick. Put up in jars.
Peach jam
After you have peeled and stoned the fruit, weigh it, and to every
pound of fruit allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Put the
peaches in the kettle at the side of the range and bring very slowly
to a boil in the juice that flows from them. Stir often; at the end
of three-quarters of an hour drain off superfluous juice and add the
sugar. Boil for fifteen minutes, skimming often, then add the juice of
a lemon, cook for a minute more, and turn into glasses or small jars.
The surplus of liquor will make good jelly.
Berry jam
Pick over and wash the berries, and allow equal weight of fruit and
sugar. Put the berries into a preserving kettle, mash them as they
heat, and when considerable juice has been drawn out, add the sugar
gradually. Let them boil up all over, and then either skim out the
fruit, or turn all into a strainer. Set the juice on to boil again, and
cook until it is thick or will “jelly;” put the fruit back and let it
boil once, and seal up in small jars.
If the fruit be very juicy, drain off half the syrup, strain out the
seeds and cook until it jellies. Then, put up in glasses. Do this
before adding the fruit for the last boil. A still better plan is to
dip out superfluous juice before the sugar goes in. Add pound for pint
and make jelly of it.
Orange marmalade
Slice two dozen unpeeled oranges, and remove the seeds. Mix with them
two lemons. These, as well as the oranges, must be shredded very thin.
Measure the juice and add enough water to make three quarts of liquid.
Put all into a stone crock, cover, and set in a cool place all night.
Turn into a preserving kettle and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer
until the peel is very tender. Now stir in a pound of sugar for every
pint of juice, and boil until the skin is clear in appearance. Remove
from the fire, and when cool turn into jelly glasses.
Grape marmalade
Stem the grapes and measure them, allowing a cupful of sugar for each
half-pint of fruit. Pulp the grapes, keeping the skins for further use.
Extract the seeds by boiling the pulp until tender, then rubbing it
through a fine colander. Put the pulp, juice and skins over the fire in
a preserving kettle and add the sugar. Boil until very thick, pour into
jars and seal.
Peach marmalade
Peel, stone and weigh the peaches, and allow three-quarters of a pound
of sugar for every pound of fruit. Put the fruit into a preserving
kettle and bring gradually to a boil. Stew until tender and broken;
drain off superfluous liquid, add the sugar and boil for ten minutes
longer. Just before taking from the fire stir in one tablespoonful of
lemon juice for every pound of peaches used. Remove at once from the
fire, can and seal.
Tutti-frutti
Select your fruits—strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries,
pineapple—and shred them with a fork; also, bits of orange or mandarino
from which the white skin has been removed; put into wide-mouthed,
self-sealing jars. To each jar allow four tablespoonfuls of white sugar
and sprinkle with this each layer of fruit. When the jar is filled,
pour in slowly white preserving brandy, letting it filter in slowly
until every crevice is filled and there is room for not a drop more.
Screw down the tops and set the jars in a dark cool place. The fruit
should season some weeks before it is used.
Red raspberry jam
Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Put the
berries on alone and boil for half an hour, stirring hard and often.
Dip out the superfluous juice, add the sugar and cook twenty minutes
more. Put up in jars or glasses.
Lemon marmalade
Weigh the lemons, and to every pound of them allow a pound and
one-quarter of sugar. Grate the rind from half of the lemons, and peel
the others. Chop the fruit, removing the seeds as you do so. Press all
the juice that you can upon the sugar, add a little water to this, and
put it over the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then boil for
five minutes, skimming off the scum. Stir in the chopped lemons and
the grated rind, and boil for half an hour. Put up in jelly glasses.
Preserved peaches
Peel, stone and weigh firm white peaches, allowing to each pound of
fruit a pound of white sugar. Arrange fruit and sugar in alternate
layers in a broad preserving kettle, and set the kettle at the side
of the stove where the contents will heat slowly. Stew for about half
an hour after the preserves come to a boil, or until the peaches are
tender when pierced by a fork. With a perforated skimmer take the
peaches from the syrup, and spread them on a platter while you boil
the syrup until clear and thick, skimming often. Pack the fruit in
jars, fill these to overflowing with the boiling liquid, and seal
immediately. Stand the jars in a pan of hot water while filling them.
Preserved citron rind
Peel and cut the rind into pieces of uniform size, rejecting all the
seeds. Lay the rind in salted water for two hours, then drain and lay
in cold fresh water for six or seven hours, changing the water three
times during that period. Drain, put the citron on to boil in a gallon
of water, to which you have added two teaspoonfuls of alum. Stew until
tender, drain, and lay in cold water.
Make a thick syrup of sugar and water, and when it boils cook the rind
in it for fifteen minutes. Remove the rind, pack in jars, add to the
syrup in the kettle enough lemon juice and ginger root to flavor it.
When very thick, fill the jars with the boiling syrup, and seal.
Preserved chestnuts
Shell and blanch three dozen large chestnuts, stew slowly until tender,
and drain. Make a syrup of a cupful, each, of sugar and of water, and
boil until thick. Drop in the nuts, bring to a boil, add a few drops of
lemon juice and vanilla, and remove from the fire.
Strawberries, preserved whole (No. 1)
Cap the berries, preserving all the juice that flows from them. Weigh
the fruit and allow to every pound of it one pound of granulated
sugar. Put the sugar and juice into the preserving kettle and cook
slowly until the sugar is entirely dissolved, then carefully lay
in the berries. Simmer for seven minutes; turn all into shallow
porcelain-lined pans or stoneware dishes, and set in the hot sun,
covering each dish with a pane of glass, or with mosquito netting.
Leave in the hot sunshine every day until the syrup is thick. Put into
preserve jars and keep in a dark, cool, dry place.
Strawberries, preserved whole (No. 2)
Sort the berries, reserving those of uniform size and perfect shape,
and use the remainder for the juice. Mash them thoroughly and let them
drip through a flannel bag. Measure the strained juice and allow one
pound of sugar to one pound of juice, put over the fire in a preserving
kettle and let them boil twenty minutes or until the syrup begins to
jelly.
Weigh the reserved whole berries and allow an equal amount of sugar.
Add both to the hot syrup in the kettle and let them simmer carefully.
If it soon becomes firm, the mixture is cooked sufficiently. The
berries should be cooked through, yet not long enough to shrivel. Fill
jelly glasses with it while hot, and seal.
Ripe tomato preserves
Peel the tomatoes, and to every pound of them allow a pound of
granulated sugar. Cover the tomatoes with the sugar and set aside
over night. In the morning drain off the syrup and boil it, skimming
frequently. Lay in the tomatoes and simmer for twenty minutes, then
remove them and spread on platters in the sunshine while the syrup
boils until thick. Add the juice of three lemons to seven pounds of
sugar just before taking from the fire. Pack the tomatoes in jars, and
fill these to overflowing with the boiling syrup. Seal immediately.
Preserved rhubarb
Cut the rhubarb into inch-lengths, wash and cook according to the
recipe for preserved tomatoes, adding a very little water to the fruit
and sugar. When thick, pour into jars and seal.
Imitation East India sweetmeats
Pare and slice two dozen Bartlett pears when ripe, but not mellow. Cut
into thin strips, about two inches long, and half an inch wide. Weigh
the pears, and for four pounds of fruit allow three pounds of sugar,
three lemons, two ounces of green ginger, and one-half cupful of water.
The green ginger must be scraped thoroughly and cut into shreds. If
this can not be procured, use the candied ginger root, also shredded.
Cut the yellow part of the lemon rind into short shavings, boil until
tender, strain, and cover with the lemon juice.
Put the water into the preserving kettle, then a layer of pears, sugar,
lemon and ginger, and repeat until all are used. Cover and set on the
back of the stove until the sugar melts, and a syrup has formed, then
boil gently until the pears are tender and clear. When tender, take up
with a skimmer, pack into hot jars and boil the syrup down a little,
then fill and seal as usual.
Watermelon rind preserves
Remove the outside rind of the melon and scrape out the soft inside.
Cut the rind into strips. Line a kettle with vine-leaves, lay in the
rind in alternate layers with more grape-leaves, sprinkle each layer
lightly with powdered alum, pour in a very little cold water, cover the
kettle closely, and steam the contents for three hours. Do not let the
rind boil during this time. Drain the rind, and throw into cold water.
Soak for four hours, draining and adding fresh, cold water every hour.
Put into the preserving kettle two and a half pounds of granulated
sugar and a quart of water, and bring to a boil, skimming off the
scum as it rises to the surface. When the scum no longer rises drain
the rind and drop it into the boiling syrup. When the rind is clear
and very tender, but not broken, remove, and lay upon platters, while
you add to the syrup a sliced lemon and a little sliced ginger root.
Boil for ten minutes. Pack the rind carefully in jars; fill these to
overflowing with the boiling syrup and seal.
Preserved pears
Peel the pears, but do not remove the stems. Allow a pound of sugar
to each pound of fruit, and put in alternate layers in the preserving
kettle. Set at the side of the range where the contents will heat so
slowly that the sugar will not scorch. Gently stew the pears until
they are clear and tender, then lay them carefully on platters in the
sun while you boil the syrup until thick and clear, skimming off any
scum that arises. Put the pears into jars, fill these with the boiling
syrup, and seal.
Preserved plums
Wipe the plums carefully, and prick each one with a fork to prevent
bursting. Weigh the fruit, and to every pound of it allow a pound of
sugar and a pint of water. Cook the sugar and water to a clear syrup,
then lay in the plums and boil very gently for twenty minutes. Remove
the fruit carefully, not to break it, and lay on dishes to cool.
Boil the syrup until thick, pack the plums in glass jars, fill to
overflowing with the scalding syrup, and seal immediately.
Preserved ginger root
Peel the green ginger roots and lay in cold water for fifteen minutes,
then boil, changing the water twice, until very tender. Drain the
ginger and weigh it before laying it in iced water. Allow a pound and a
quarter of sugar to each pound of ginger. Wet each pound of sugar with
a cup of water and put the sugar and water into the preserving kettle.
Boil and skim until the scum ceases to rise, then remove the syrup from
the fire and set aside until cold. Wipe each piece of ginger and lay it
in the cold syrup. Stand for twenty-four hours, drain the ginger and
reheat the syrup. Take from the fire again, and when blood-warm put
in the ginger. Leave it for two days. Then take out the ginger and put
the syrup over the fire. Boil up and remove and add the roots at once.
Now set aside for a week before draining the ginger once more, boiling
the syrup, dropping in the ginger and putting in jars. Do not use for a
month.
Preserved crabapples
Select firm, sound crabapples, wash them and examine them for any sign
of decay or spot. Weigh them, and to each pound of fruit allow a pound
of sugar. Arrange fruit and sugar in a preserving kettle in alternate
layers, beginning with the sugar. Let the contents of the kettle heat
slowly at the side of the stove. When the fruit is tender—it should not
require over an hour after the fruit has boiled to accomplish this—take
out the apples with a perforated skimmer, and spread them on flat
dishes, laying them so that they will not touch each other. Leave the
syrup over the fire in a place where it will boil rapidly, skimming it
frequently. At the end of fifteen minutes it should be thick and clear.
Pack the fruit into wide-mouthed, self-sealing jars and pour the syrup
over the apples. Close the jars while the contents are still hot.
Preserved green grapes
Cut each grape in half, remove the seeds and weigh the fruit. Allow a
pound of granulated sugar to every pound of the fruit. Put all into a
preserving kettle and bring very slowly to a boil. Cook until thick,
then pour, boiling hot, into jars and seal.
Preserved cherries
Stone and stem tart cherries, saving all the juice. To every pound of
fruit allow a pound of sugar. Put the sugar and juice in the preserving
kettle over the fire, and when the sugar is entirely dissolved, add the
cherries. Cook until the syrup is very thick; put into glass jars and
seal.
[Illustration: STRAWBERRY PUNCH
BRANDIED PEACHES GARNISHED WITH LEAVES
MOULD OF JELLY GARNISHED WITH ROSES]
Preserved pineapple
After you have peeled the fruit and removed the “eyes,” weigh it and
allow a pound of sugar to every pound of the fruit. Slice the pineapple
and put it and the sugar in the kettle in alternate layers. Pour in a
cup of water to prevent burning, and bring slowly to a boil. Remove the
pineapple, spread on platters to cool, and boil the syrup for fifteen
minutes more. Pack the fruit in jars and fill these with the boiling
liquid. Seal immediately.
Brandied peaches
Choose firm, white fruit for this purpose. Peel and weigh the peaches.
To every four pounds of fruit allow three of sugar, a pint of brandy
and a half-pint of water. Put the sugar and water in the preserving
kettle, and, when they begin to boil, drop in the peaches. Let these
boil gently for twenty minutes, then remove the fruit with a perforated
spoon and pack in glass jars. Let the syrup cook ten minutes longer,
add the brandy, and, just as the boiling point is reached, remove the
kettle and fill the jars with the scalding liquid. Seal at once.
Candied peaches
Slice them thin and boil until clear in a syrup made with half their
weight in sugar; lay them on dishes in the sun and turn them until dry.
Pack them in jars with powdered sugar over each layer. They are very
nice if made with pure honey instead of sugar.
Fox grape jelly
Stem and wash the grapes, and put them into the preserving kettle, with
the water still clinging to them. When the grapes are broken to pieces
strain through a jelly-bag, measure the juice, and to each pound of
this allow a pound and a half of sugar. Bring the juice to a boil, cook
for fifteen minutes, add the sugar, which should be heated dry in the
oven, and when this is dissolved fill glasses with the jelly.
Quince jelly
Wash the quinces, but do not peel them. Cut in quarters and remove the
cores. Put over the fire in porcelain kettle; add a very little water;
cover closely and stew until the fruit is tender and broken. Strain and
press through a jelly-bag, but do not squeeze the pulp. The juice must
be allowed to drip through. Allow a pound of sugar to each pint of the
juice. Return the juice to the fire and, as soon as it boils, pour in
the sugar. Boil all hard until the juice begins to “jelly,” skimming
off the scum as it rises to the surface. Test the juice occasionally
by pouring a spoonful upon a chilled plate. As soon as this quantity
begins to jelly about the edge the kettle may be removed from the fire.
Put at once into jelly-glasses.
Grape jelly
Put your grapes over the fire in a large double boiler, without water.
Cover closely and cook until the fruit is broken to pieces. Rub through
a colander, then squeeze through a flannel bag. Measure the juice, and
to each pint allow a pound of sugar. Put the sugar in pans and set in
the oven to heat, but not to melt. Stir it from time to time to prevent
scorching. Return the juice to the fire in a porcelain-lined kettle,
and bring to a boil. Cook for twenty minutes, add the heated sugar,
boil up just once and pour the jelly into glasses set in a pan of hot
water.
Currant jelly