it heat very, very slowly. When the fruit is hot and broken, remove
from the fire and squeeze it through a jelly-bag. Measure the juice and
allow a pound of granulated sugar to each pint of the liquid. Return
the juice to the fire and set the sugar in shallow pans in the oven to
heat. When the juice has boiled twenty minutes skim it; add the heated
sugar, stir until this has dissolved, bring to the boiling point, and
take from the fire. Fill your jelly-glasses while they stand in a pan
of hot water.
Peach jelly
Peel, stone and quarter a peck of peaches and put over the fire with
a cupful of water. A dozen cracked peach pits added to the fruit will
improve the flavor of the jelly. Cook steadily until the peaches are
broken and soft; strain and return the juice to the fire, with the
strained juice of a lemon for every three pounds of fruit. Let it boil
for twenty minutes, and add a pound of heated sugar for every pint of
the juice. When it boils up once more, remove from the fire and fill
the glasses.
Crabapple jelly
Cut juicy crabapples into quarters and put over the fire in a
preserving kettle. Cover; bring slowly to a boil and stew for several
hours, or until broken all to pieces. Strain and press without
squeezing, through a jelly-bag, and proceed as with peach jelly. The
juice procured by squeezing what is left in the bag will make a good
second-best jelly, well flavored but not clear.
Cranberry jelly
Wash a quart of cranberries, drain them and put them into a double
boiler with the moisture still clinging to them. Cover and cook until
broken to pieces. Turn the fruit into a jelly-bag and squeeze hard to
extract all the juice. Measure this, and to a quart of it add four cups
of granulated sugar. Return to the fire, boil up once, and turn into a
mold wet with cold water. It should form into a firm jelly.
Rhubarb jelly
Cut the rhubarb into inch lengths, and to two quarts of this add a
scant cup of water. Put into a porcelain-lined kettle, cover closely
and simmer until very soft. Put a small quantity at a time into a
jelly-bag and squeeze out all the juice. Measure this and return to
the kettle and fire. Allow a pound of granulated sugar for each pint
of juice. Heat the sugar in pans in the oven, taking care that it
does not scorch or melt. Boil the juice for ten minutes, adding, as
it cooks, a little lemon juice. At the end of twenty minutes add the
hot sugar slowly, that it may not lump, and as soon as it is dissolved
pour the jelly into glasses that have been dipped into hot water. When
firm and cool, cover, first with tissue paper that has been dipped in
brandy, then with tin covers, or with stiff paper securely fastened
down.
Apple jelly
Quarter without peeling or coring them, tart, juicy apples. Drop
the apples, as you cut them, into cold water. When all are done put
the fruit, with the moisture upon it, in the preserving kettle, and
simmer very gently until the juice flows freely. Boil slowly until the
apples are tender and broken. Turn, a little at a time, into a flannel
jelly-bag, and allow the juice to drip through. If the bag is squeezed
the jelly will be cloudy. Measure the juice and to each pint of it
allow a pound of granulated sugar. Put the sugar in pans in the oven to
heat. Return the juice to the fire and boil for twenty minutes; skim
it, pour into it the sugar and stir until this is dissolved, bring
again to the boil, and remove the kettle from the fire. Set jelly
glasses on a wet cloth to prevent their cracking, and fill at once.
* * * * *
NOTE.—I am often asked by those who wish to make genuine Dundee orange
marmalade where the bitter Seville oranges may be procured that impart
the distinctive flavor to the Scotch marmalade. In answer I will
suggest the use of grape fruit—one large “shaddock” to a dozen oranges
substituted for the Seville oranges. The flavor is delicious.
PICKLES
In the warm days when the thought of “sweets” brings no desire, but
rather an aversion for them, it requires courage to put up preserves,
and a certain amount of faith is necessary to make the housewife feel
that she will ever want to eat the rich and cloying dainties. But with
pickles it is another story. During the dog-days the thought of the
biting acid is pleasing, and the recollection of pungent spices tempts
the appetite. So the housewife enters into the preparation of her
pickles with zest that makes the task a pleasure.
To be on the safe side one should, in making pickles, always use a
porcelain or agate-lined preserving kettle, as the action of sharp acid
upon a copper vessel may, unless great care be practiced, produce a
corroding poison.
Wax for sealing jars and bottles
Make a mixture of one-third resin and two-thirds beeswax. Heat
together, mix well and put away until needed. When it is to be used lay
a lump of it on top of the jar or bottle to be sealed, and press it
down with a hot shovel. This will melt it, and thus seal the cork.
Cucumber pickles
Choose only small cucumbers, as they make pretty, as well as tender,
pickles. Lay one hundred and fifty small cucumbers in cold water for an
hour. Remove and drain, then turn into a perfectly clean stone crock,
and pour over them cold brine, so strong that an egg will float on
the surface. After standing in this for three days the pickles may be
removed, drained and dried on a clean towel. Wash the stone crock and
return the cucumbers to it. Cover with pure water until the next day.
Have ready on the range hot vinegar in which you have boiled two minced
onions, twenty cloves, an ounce, each, of mustard and celery seed and
a few blades of mace. Fill the jar with this boiling mixture, and add
a cupful of sugar, stirring the cucumbers up from the bottom. Cover
tightly. In a week scald the vinegar again, and return to the jar. Let
the pickles stand for six weeks before using. Six months is even better.
Sliced cucumber pickles
Slice three dozen large yellow cucumbers and boil them for half an
hour in enough vinegar to cover them. Meanwhile, into a gallon of cold
vinegar stir a tablespoonful, each, of onion juice, ground horseradish,
cinnamon, black pepper, ginger, a half-teaspoonful of paprika, a
tablespoonful of celery seed and a half-pound of sugar. Drain the
boiled cucumbers, turn them into the spiced vinegar, put all into a
kettle and simmer for two hours before putting into glass jars.
Pickled onions
Select the small white “button onions” for pickling. Lay them in a
strong brine for four or five days. Drain and put into a fresh supply
of brine boiling hot. Cook five minutes. Drain and lay in clear, cold
water for a day. Drain once more, turn the onions into pint jars and
pour scalding spiced vinegar upon them. Allow them to become tender
before using.
Pickled butternuts
These should be picked when tender enough to be pierced with a needle.
Cover with very strong brine and keep the nuts in this for three
days; drain and recover with brine. At the end of three days drain
again and leave in fresh cold water for six hours. Bring to a boil a
gallon of vinegar in which you have stirred a cupful of sugar, two
tablespoonfuls, each, of whole cloves and peppercorns, a tablespoonful
of allspice and eight blades of mace. Boil for ten minutes, pack the
nuts in a crock and pour the scalding vinegar over them. At the end of
three days drain off the vinegar, bring it to the boil, and pour it
again over the nuts. Cover and set aside for six weeks before eating.
Peter Piper’s pickled peppers
Cut a slit in the sides of large green peppers and extract the
seeds. Lay in strong brine for three days and in cold water for one.
Make a stuffing of eight tablespoonfuls of chopped cabbage, four
tablespoonfuls of English mustard seed, a teaspoonful of celery seed,
two teaspoonfuls of chopped onion, a teaspoonful, each, of grated
horseradish, whole peppercorns and ground mace, a half-teaspoonful of
ground mustard and a heaping tablespoonful of brown sugar. Moisten to
a paste with salad oil and stuff the peppers with it, closing the slit
afterwards, and wrapping with soft string. Pack in a stone crock and
fill the crock with scalding vinegar to which has been added a half-cup
of brown sugar. Scald the vinegar a week later and return to the crock.
Cover and let it stand six months before using.
Stuffed mangoes or peppers
Cut the tops from green peppers, and with a sharp knife remove the
seeds. Fill the peppers with salt and cover with cold water. Let them
stand thus for two days, then drain; leave in cold water for a day and
fill with a stuffing made of two tablespoonfuls of minced cabbage,
two tablespoonfuls of horseradish, grated, a teaspoonful of minced
onion, a half-teaspoonful, each, of powdered mace, nutmeg and ginger,
a teaspoonful, each, of celery seed, peppercorns and ground mustard, a
teaspoonful of sugar and a tablespoonful of salad oil. When the peppers
are stuffed tie on the tops with soft twine, pack in a crock and fill
the crock with boiling vinegar. Repeat the scalding a week later.
Cover, and let them stand for several months before using.
Pickled pepper hash
Wash and dry five large green peppers and one red one, cut them open
and remove all the seed, then chop the shells quite fine. Next, take
a good-sized head of cabbage, remove all imperfect leaves, cut it
up and chop fine. Place both cabbage and peppers in a bowl and mix
well together; add two tablespoonfuls of brown mustard seed, three
tablespoonfuls of salt, one of sugar and enough good cider vinegar to
cover the whole; stir all well together and put into pickle bottles.
This will be ready for use in two days, or it will keep for winter use.
Pickled cherries
Bring to the boiling point a pint and a half of vinegar, into which you
have stirred half a cupful of brown sugar, a tablespoonful of whole
cloves and a dozen blades of mace. Boil all together for five minutes,
and set aside to cool.
Have ready three quarts of firm, tart cherries (leaving the stones in
them) and put them into glass jars. Strain the spices from the cold
vinegar, and pour the vinegar over the fruit, filling the jars to the
brim. Seal at once.
Martinia pickles
Gather when a needle will pierce the vegetables; wash and pack down in
a stone jar, then cover with cold brine strong enough to bear up an
egg. Let the pickles stand in this for three days, stirring them up
each day from the bottom. Drain and pour cold water over them, letting
them stand for twenty-four hours in it. Drain this off, and pack the
pickles in quart jars. Have ready scalding vinegar in which you have
boiled for ten minutes a dozen whole cloves and peppercorns, four
blades of mace and two teaspoonfuls of mustard seed. Fill the jars with
the boiling vinegar, add a tablespoonful of sugar for each quart of
vinegar, and screw on the covers. Let the pickles stand for six weeks
before using.
Pickled string beans
Remove the strings and boil the beans until tender in slightly salted
boiling water; put into glass jars, pour heated spiced vinegar over
them and seal up tightly, as you would canned beans.
Green tomato pickle
Slice a gallon of unpeeled green tomatoes and six large onions and mix
them together. Stir into these a quart of vinegar, one cupful of brown
sugar, a tablespoonful, each, of salt, pepper and mustard seed, and a
half-tablespoonful, each, of ground allspice and cloves. Stew all until
the tomatoes are very tender, then put into glass jars and seal.
India relish (No. 1)
One pint of young string beans, cut into inch lengths; one pint of
very small cucumbers (an inch long), each cut into three pieces; three
sliced cucumbers, one pint of button onions (peeled), four long red
peppers, cut small; one cup of green nasturtium seed, one medium-sized
cauliflower, cut into _small_ clusters.
Put all these ingredients into a stone crock in layers thickly strewn
with salt, the uppermost layer being of salt. Cover with cold water,
put a plate on top, weighted with a stone to keep the vegetables from
floating, and leave in the cellar for three days.
Drain off the brine, rinse with cold water by putting the vegetables in
a colander and holding it under the faucet; return to the crock, cover
with cold fresh water and leave for twenty-four hours.
Have ready three quarts of vinegar, one teaspoonful of Hungarian
sweet pepper (paprika), one teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of
celery seed, two tablespoonfuls of curry powder, one teaspoonful of
ground mustard, one teaspoonful of mace, one teaspoonful of grated
horseradish, one and a half cupfuls of brown sugar. Let this mixture
come to a boil, put in the drained vegetables, and simmer ten minutes
after it begins to boil. Turn into a stone crock; cover closely and
let all stand forty-eight hours.
Drain off the vinegar and bring it to a boil; pour over the pickles and
leave them for a day longer. Fill small glass jars with the relish,
cork and seal. Keep in a dark closet. It will not be ready for use
under three weeks. Six weeks are better.
India relish (No. 2)
Two pounds of citron melon or watermelon rind, two heads of cabbage,
white and firm; six white onions, one large cupful of sugar, one
heaping teaspoonful, each, of ground cinnamon, mace, paprika (Hungarian
sweet pepper), mustard and powdered alum, one tablespoonful of curry
powder, one quart of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of celery seed, one
tablespoonful of salt.
Prepare the melon by cutting off the green rind and scraping away
the softer inner coating, leaving less than an inch, firm and
white, to be treated. Cut into thin strips, put into an agate-iron
or porcelain-lined kettle, cover with cold water and sprinkle a
tablespoonful of powdered alum over it. Cover closely and cook
gently—never fast—for three hours. Drain well and cover with ice-water.
Change the water twice in four hours, and then wipe the melon dry.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, cook in boiling water slightly salted
for fifteen minutes. Let it get perfectly cold. Parboil the onions and
allow them also to get cold and stiff.
Now chop cabbage, melons and onions separately, and very fine. Mix all
together in a large crock, and pour over them the scalding hot vinegar,
in which have been boiled for one minute the spices, sugar and celery
seed.
Leave the crock covered twenty-four hours, strain off the vinegar,
bring it to a boil and pour again over the mixture in the crock. Repeat
this for three days in succession, after which pack in small jars,
cover closely and set away to ripen. It will be ready for use in six
weeks, but improves by keeping. The result will repay the housewife for
the trouble of making.
Pickled watermelon rind
Allow three pounds of brown sugar to each quart of vinegar. Bruise four
ounces of stick cinnamon and two ounces of cloves; tie in a mustard bag
and boil five minutes with the vinegar. Pour this over the pared and
sliced rind and let it remain twenty-four hours. Drain off the liquid,
reheat and pour over the rind again, and let it stand for twenty-four
hours. Then boil all together for a short time, and put into jars.
Pickled nutmeg melons
Young musk or nutmeg melons, four tablespoonfuls of English mustard
seed mixed with two tablespoonfuls of scraped horseradish, one
teaspoonful of ground mace and nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of chopped
garlic, a little ginger, one dozen whole peppercorns; one-half
tablespoonful of ground mustard to a pint of the mixture—allowing one
tablespoonful of sugar to the same amount; one tablespoonful best salad
oil to each pint of the mixture; one teaspoonful of celery seed. Cut
a slit in the side of the melon and extract the seeds. If you can not
get them out in this way cut a slender slit out, saving it to replace.
Lay the melons in strong brine for three days. Drain off the brine
and freshen in pure water for twenty-four hours. “Green” as you would
cucumbers—that is, have a kettle lined with green vine leaves, and
lay the melons evenly within it, scattering powdered alum over the
layers. A piece of alum as large as a pigeon’s egg will be enough for
a two-gallon kettleful. Fill with cold water; cover with vine leaves,
three deep; put a close lid or inverted pan over all, and steam over a
slow fire five or six hours, not allowing the water to boil. When the
melons are a fine green remove the leaves and lay the melons in cold
water until cold and firm. Fill with the stuffing; sew up the slit,
or tie with pack thread. Pack in a deep stone jar and pour scalding
vinegar over them. Repeat this process three times more at intervals of
two days; then cover and set away in a cool, dry place. They will not
be “ripe” under four months, but are very fine when they are. They will
keep several years.
Pickled gherkins
Put the “prickly cucumbers” by the layer in a stone crock, strewing
each layer thickly with salt; then pour in enough cold water to cover
them. Lay a heavy plate on the top of all to keep them from floating.
Leave the pickles in brine for a fortnight, frequently stirring them up
from the bottom. Pick all over, rejecting such as are soft, and lay the
firm ones in a kettle lined with grape leaves, sprinkling a generous
pinch of alum over each layer of gherkins. Cover with cold water and
three thicknesses of grape leaves over the surface of the water; put on
a closely-fitting top and steam over a low fire for half a day. Drain
the pickles and throw into cold water. Have ready a gallon of vinegar
to which have been added eighteen allspice, three dozen cloves, three
dozen black peppercorns, a dozen blades of mace, and a cup of sugar.
Boil this vinegar for five minutes, then pack the cold gherkins in jars
and fill the jars with the scalding vinegar.
Ripe cucumber pickle
Select rather small ripe cucumbers of uniform size. Steam them for
three hours in a closely-covered preserving kettle, lining this and
covering the cucumbers with vine leaves if you can procure these.
To a kettleful of material allow two teaspoonfuls of powdered alum,
scattering it over each layer of the cucumbers. Of water there should
be only just enough to cover the vegetables. When the period of
steaming is at an end drain off the water and throw the cucumbers into
very cold water. Change this four times in four hours.
Weigh the cucumbers and allow for every pound of these a pound of sugar
and a half-cupful of cold water. Heat these two together gradually, and
when they are hot lay in the cucumbers. Let them simmer very slowly
until tender; take them out and spread upon dishes while you add to the
syrup on the stove a pint of vinegar for every pound of the rind, and
to every eight pounds of it a tablespoonful, each, of ground cloves,
cinnamon and mace.
Chow-chow
Prepare a mixture of string beans, tiny cucumbers, small onions
(peeled), a cauliflower (cut into clusters) and green tomatoes
(sliced). Add to these four small, long, red peppers, and arrange the
vegetables in a wide-mouthed jar, alternating each layer of these with
one of salt. When all are in cover with cold water, laying a board with
a weight upon it on top of the contents of the jar to keep them from
floating. Leave them thus for three days, drain the pickles, wash them
with fresh water and let them lie in unsalted water for a day. Make a
pickle vinegar by cooking together a gallon of vinegar, a teaspoonful,
each, of celery seed, white mustard seed, whole cloves, whole mace and
whole black peppers, and one of ground horseradish, two teaspoonfuls
of turmeric, three tablespoonfuls of ground mustard, and a cupful and
a half of brown sugar. Put over the fire in a preserving kettle, and,
when it reaches a boil, drop in the pickles. Be careful that there are
no decayed ones among them. After they have simmered five minutes take
them out with a skimmer and put into a stone jar. Pour the vinegar over
them, and let them stand for two days. Drain the vinegar off; put it
back on the fire, add to it a tablespoonful of curry powder, and, when
the vinegar is boiling, pour it over the pickles in the crock. When
cold, put the pickles into small jars and seal. Ready for use in two or
three weeks.
Red cabbage pickle
Quarter the cabbage and lay in a jar. Cover with salt and let it stand
for twenty-four hours. Drain off the brine; wipe dry and cover with
cold water for twelve hours. Bring two quarts of vinegar to the boil,
spicing it, as you do so, with equal quantities of whole cloves, white
peppers and blades of mace broken into tiny bits, a half cupful of
sugar and two tablespoonfuls of celery seed. Pack the cabbage into a
crock, and, after the vinegar and spices have boiled together for ten
minutes, cover the cabbage with the scalding vinegar. Cover, and keep
in a cool place. It must not be used under six weeks or two months.
SWEET PICKLES
In putting up sweet pickles bear in mind that the fruit of which they
are made must be very thoroughly cooked. If this precaution is not
taken fermentation may possibly set in and the contents of your jars
will be spoiled. Under the head of sweet pickles may be included such
relishes as spiced grapes and currants, as well as the larger fruits.
Pickled peaches
Choose firm, freestone peaches for pickling. Morris whites are good for
this purpose. Peel the peaches, dropping them into cold water as you
do so, to preserve the color. Drain and weigh the fruit, allowing to
every three pounds of it a pound and a half of sugar (granulated) and
a cupful of vinegar. Stick a whole clove into each peach and put the
fruit and sugar in layers in a porcelain-lined preserving kettle. Put
the vinegar on to boil in a separate saucepan with a cheese-cloth bag
containing a tablespoonful, each, of mace, cinnamon and cloves. Boil
this for five minutes, then remove the spice bag. Cook the sugar and
peaches together for five minutes more, and add the vinegar. Boil until
the fruit looks clear, and is tender, but not broken. Remove the fruit
carefully with a skimmer and spread upon platters to cool while you
boil the syrup for fifteen minutes longer, or until it is very thick.
Pack the peaches in jars set in a pan of hot water; fill with boiling
syrup, and seal.
Unpeeled pickled peaches
Rub the down from peaches of uniform size, using a coarse towel to
do this. Prick each peach with a fork, weigh them, and put them into
a preserving kettle with barely enough water to cover them. When the
water is just short of the boil remove the peaches, and to the water
in the kettle add sugar in the proportion of three pounds to every
seven pounds of the fruit. Boil for fifteen minutes, skimming two or
three times. For every seven pounds of the fruit put in three pints
of vinegar, one tablespoonful, each, of ground cinnamon, mace and
allspice, and one teaspoonful, each, of cloves and celery seed, all
well mixed and tied up in tiny bags made of thin muslin. Let all cook
together for ten minutes after they have come to a boil; put in the
fruit and let it stew slowly until tender. Remove it from the syrup
with a skimmer, spread it on plates to cool, and let the syrup boil
until thick. Put the peaches into glass jars, pour in the syrup and
seal.
Sweet cucumber pickles
Lay small cucumbers in brine for three days, then drain and lay in
fresh water for a day. Line a kettle with grape leaves and arrange the
cucumbers in it in layers, scattering a pinch of alum over each layer.
Cover with cold water and three layers of leaves; fit a lid on the
kettle and steam the pickles (without letting them boil) over a slow
fire for six hours. Drain the cucumbers, throw into cold water, and
when they are firm pack in jars. Fill the jars with boiling vinegar
that has been seasoned with a cupful of sugar to each quart, eight
whole cloves, eight black peppers, six allspice and six blades of mace.
Seal the jars at once. They will be fit for use in three months.
Pickled plums
Wipe firm plums with a damp cloth and prick each in several places to
prevent bursting. Allow the same quantity of sugar, vinegar and spices
to each pound of fruit as in recipe for pickled peaches. Put each kind
of spice in a cheese-cloth bag by itself and the sugar, vinegar and
spices all on the fire to boil at the same time. When the syrup is hot
add the plums and stew until tender. Remove the plums to the heated
jars, take the spice bags from the syrup, and pour this into the jars.
Pickled crabapples (No. 1)