apples and other fruits are reduced to a paste by jamming, which is
then pressed into cakes and gently dried. When required for use it is
only necessary to pour four times their weight of boiling water over
them and allow them to soak for twenty minutes and then add sugar to
suit the taste. The fine flavor of the fruit is said to be retained to
perfection. The cost of the prepared product is scarcely greater than
that of the original fruit, differing with the supply and price of the
latter; the keeping qualities are excellent, so that it may be had at
any time of the year and bears long sea-voyages with out detriment. No
peeling or coring is required, so there is no waste.
FRUIT JELLIES.
Take a stone jar and put in the fruit, place this in a kettle of tepid
water and set on the fire; let it boil, closely covered, until the
fruit is broken to pieces; strain, pressing the bag, a stout, coarse
one, hard, putting in a few handfuls each time, and between each
squeezing turning it inside out to scald off the pulp and skins; to
each pint of juice allow a pound of loaf sugar; set the juice on alone
to boil, and, while it is boiling, put the sugar into shallow dishes
or pans, and heat it in the oven, watching and stirring it to prevent
burning; boil the juice just twenty minutes from the time it begins
fairly to boil; by this time the sugar should be _very_ hot; throw it
into the boiling juice, stirring rapidly all the time; withdraw the
spoon when all is thoroughly dissolved; let the jelly come to a boil
to make all certain; withdraw the kettle instantly from the fire; roll
your glasses and cups in hot water, and fill with the scalding liquid;
the jelly will form within an hour; when cold, close and tie up as you
do preserves.
CURRANT JELLY.
Currants for jelly should be perfectly ripe and gathered the _first_
week of the season; they lose their jelly property if they hang on the
bushes too long, and become too juicy--the juice will not be apt to
congeal. Strip them from the stalks, put them into a stone jar, and
set in a vessel of hot water over the fire; keep the water around it
boiling until the currants are all broken, stirring them up
occasionally. Then squeeze them through a coarse cloth or towel. To
each pint of juice allow a pound and a quarter of refined sugar. Put
the sugar into a porcelain kettle, pour the juice over it, stirring
frequently. Skim it before it boils; boil about twenty minutes, or
until it congeals in the spoon when held in the air. Pour it into hot
jelly glasses and seal when cool.
Wild frost grape jelly is nice made after this recipe.
CURRANT JELLY. (New Method.)
This recipe for making superior jelly without heat is given in a
Parisian journal of chemistry, which may be worth trying by some of
our readers. The currants are to be washed and squeezed in the usual
way, and the juice placed in a stone or earthen vessel, and set away
in a cool place in the cellar. In about twenty-four hours a
considerable amount of froth will cover the surface, produced by
fermentation, and this must be removed and the whole strained again
through the jelly bag, then weighed, and an equal weight of powdered
white sugar is to be added. This is to be stirred constantly until
entirely dissolved, and then put into jars, tied up tightly and set
away. At the end of another twenty-four hours a perfectly transparent
jelly of the most satisfactory flavor will be formed, which will keep
as long as if it had been cooked.
QUINCE JELLY.
Quinces for jelly should not be quite ripe, they should be a fine
yellow; rub off the down from them, core and cut them small; put them
in a preserving kettle with a teacupful of water for each pound; let
them stew gently until soft, without mashing; put them in a thin
muslin bag with the liquor; press them very lightly; to each pint of
the liquor put a pound of sugar; stir it until it is all dissolved,
then set it over the fire and let it boil gently, until by cooling
some on a plate you find it a good jelly; then turn it into pots or
tumblers and, when cold, secure as directed for jellies.
RASPBERRY JELLY.
To each pint of juice allow one pound of sugar. Let the raspberries be
freshly gathered, quite ripe, pick from the stalks; put them into a
large jar after breaking the fruit a little with a wooden spoon, and
place this jar, covered, in a saucepan of boiling water. When the
juice is well drawn, which will be in from three-quarters to one hour,
strain the fruit through a fine hair-sieve or cloth; measure the
juice, and to every pint allow the above proportion of white sugar.
Put the juice and sugar into a preserving pan, place it over the fire,
and boil gently until the jelly thickens, when a little is poured on
a plate; carefully remove all the scum as it rises, pour the jelly
into small pots, cover down, and keep in a dry place. This jelly
answers for making raspberry cream and for flavoring various sweet
dishes, when, in winter, the fresh fruit is not obtainable.
APPLE JELLY.
Select apples that are rather tart and highly flavored; slice them
without paring; place in a porcelain preserving kettle, cover with
water, and let them cook slowly until the apples look red. Pour into a
colander, drain off the juice, and let this run through a jelly-bag;
return to the kettle, which must be carefully washed, and boil half an
hour; measure it and allow to every pint of juice a pound of sugar and
half the juice of a lemon; boil quickly for ten minutes.
The juice of apples boiled in shallow vessels, without a particle of
sugar, makes the most sparkling, delicious jelly imaginable. Red
apples will give jelly the color and clearness of claret, while that
from light fruit is like amber. Take the cider just as it is made, not
allowing it to ferment at all, and, if possible, boil it in a pan,
flat, very large and shallow.
GRAPE JELLY.
Mash well the berries so as to remove the skins; pour all into a
preserving kettle and cook slowly for a few minutes to extract the
juice; strain through a colander, and then through a flannel
jelly-bag, keeping as hot as possible, for if not allowed to cool
before putting again on the stove the jelly conies much stiffer; a few
quince seeds boiled with the berries the first time tend to stiffen
it; measure the juice, allowing a pound of sugar to every pint of
juice, and boil fast for at least half an hour. Try a little, and if
it seems done, remove and put into glasses.
FLORIDA ORANGE JELLY.
Grate the yellow rind of two Florida oranges and two lemons, and
squeeze the juice into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, adding the
juice of two more oranges, and removing all the seeds; put in the
grated rind a quarter of a pound of sugar, or more if the fruit is
sour, and a gill of water, and boil these ingredients together until a
rich syrup is formed; meantime, dissolve two ounces of gelatine in a
quart of warm water, stirring it over the fire until it is entirely
dissolved, then add the syrup, strain the jelly, and cool it in molds
wet in cold water.
CRAB-APPLE JELLY.
The apples should be juicy and ripe. The fruit is then quartered, the
black spots in the cores removed, afterward put into a preserving
kettle over the fire, with a teacupful of water in the bottom to
prevent burning; more water is added as it evaporates while cooking.
When boiled to a pulp, strain the apples through a coarse flannel,
then proceed as for currant jelly.
PEACH JELLY.
Pare the peaches, take out the stones, then slice them; add to them
about a quarter of the kernels. Place them in a kettle with enough
water to cover them. Stir them often until the fruit is well cooked,
then strain, and to every pint of the juice add the juice of a lemon;
measure again, allowing a pound of sugar to each pint of juice; heat
the sugar very hot, and add when the juice has boiled twenty minutes;
let it come to a boil and take instantly from the fire.
ORANGE SYRUP.
Pare the oranges, squeeze and strain the juice from the pulp. To one
pint of juice allow one pound and three-quarters of loaf sugar. Put
the juice and sugar together, boil and skim it until it is cream; then
strain it through a flannel bag and let it stand until it becomes
cool, then put in bottles and cork tight.
Lemon syrup is made in the same way, except that you scald the lemons
and squeeze out the juice, allowing rather more sugar.
ORANGE MARMALADE.
Allow pound for pound. Pare half the oranges and cut the rind into
shreds. Boil in three waters until tender and set aside. Grate the
rind of the remaining oranges; take off, and throw away every bit of
the thick white inner skin; quarter all the oranges and take out the
seeds. Chop or cut them into small pieces; drain all the juice that
will come away without pressing them over the sugar; heat this,
stirring until the sugar is dissolved, adding a _very_ little water,
unless the oranges are very juicy. Boil and skim five or six minutes;
put in the boiled shreds and cook ten minutes; then the chopped fruit
and grated peel, and boil twenty minutes longer. When cold, put into
small jars, tied up with bladder or paper next the fruit, cloths
dipped in wax over all. A nicer way still is to put away in tumblers
with self-adjusting metal tops. Press brandied tissue paper down
closely to the fruit.
LEMON MARMALADE
Is made as you would prepare orange--allowing a pound and a quarter of
sugar to a pound of the fruit, and using but half the grated peel.
RAISINS. (A French Marmalade.)
This recipe is particularly valuable at seasons when fruit is scarce.
Take six fine large cooking apples, peel them, put them over a slow
fire, together with a wine-glass of Medeira wine and half a pound of
sugar. When well stewed, split and stone two and a half pounds of
raisins, and put them to stew with the apples and enough water to
prevent their burning. When all appears well dissolved, beat it
through a strainer bowl, and lastly through a sieve. Mold, if you
like, or put away in small preserve jars, to cut in thin slices for
the ornamentation of pastry, or to dish up for eating with cream.
STRAWBERRY JAM.
To each pound of fine and not too ripe berries, allow three-quarters
of a pound of sugar. Put them into a preserving pan and stir gently,
not to break up the fruit; simmer for one-half hour and put into pots
air-tight. An excellent way to seal jellies and jams is as the German
women do: cut round covers from writing paper a half-inch too large
for the tops, smear the inside with the unbeaten white of an egg, tie
over with a cord, and it will dry quickly and be absolutely
preservative. A circular paper dipped in brandy and laid over the
toothsome contents before covering, will prevent any dampness from
affecting the flavor. I have removed covers heavy with mold to find
the preserve intact.
GOOSEBERRY JAM.
Pick the gooseberries just as they begin to turn. Stem, wash and
weigh. To four pounds of fruit add half a teacupful of water; boil
until soft and add four pounds of sugar and boil until clear. If
picked at the right stage the jam will be amber colored and firm, and
very much nicer than if the fruit is preserved when ripe.
BRANDIED PEACHES OR PEARS.
Four pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of best white
brandy. Make a syrup of the sugar and enough water to dissolve it. Let
this come to a boil; put the fruit in and boil five minutes. Having
removed the fruit carefully, let the syrup boil fifteen minutes
longer, or until it thickens well; add the brandy and take the kettle
at once from the fire; pour the hot syrup over the fruit and seal. If,
after the fruit is taken from the fire, a reddish liquor oozes from
it, drain this off before adding the clear syrup. Put up in glass
jars. Peaches and pears should be peeled for brandying. Plums should
be pricked and watched carefully for fear of bursting.
RASPBERRY JAM.
To five or six pounds of fine red raspberries (not too ripe) add an
equal quantity of the finest quality of white sugar. Mash the whole
well in a preserving kettle; add about one quart of currant juice (a
little less will do) and boil gently till it jellies upon a cold
plate; then put into small jars; cover with brandied paper and tie a
thick white paper over them. Keep in a dark, dry and cool place.
Blackberry or strawberry jam is made the same way, leaving out the
currant juice.
A NEW WAY OF KEEPING FRUIT.
It is stated that experiments have been made in keeping fruit in jars
covered only with cotton batting, and at the end of two years the
fruit was sound. The following directions are given for the process:
Use crocks, stone butter-jars or any other convenient dishes. Prepare
and cook the fruit precisely as for canning in glass jars; fill your
dishes with fruit while hot and immediately cover with cotton batting,
securely tied on. Remember that all putrefaction is caused by the
invisible creatures in the air. Cooking the fruit expels all these,
and they cannot pass through the cotton batting. The fruit thus
protected will keep an indefinite period. It will be remembered that
Tyndall has proved that the atmospheric germs cannot pass through a
layer of cotton.
MACEDOINES.
Suspend in the centre of the jelly mold a bunch of grapes, cherries,
berries, or currants on their stems, sections of oranges, pineapples,
or brandied fruits, and pour in a little jelly when quite cold, but
not set. It makes a very agreeable effect. By a little ingenuity you
can imbed first one fruit and then another, arranging in circles, and
pour a little jelly successively over each. Do not re-heat the jelly,
but keep it in a warm place, while the mold is on ice and the first
layers are hardening.
[Illustration]
CANNED FRUITS
Berries and all ripe, mellow fruit require but little cooking, only
long enough for the sugar to penetrate. Strew sugar over them, allow
them to stand a few hours, then merely scald with the sugar; half to
three-quarters of a pound is considered sufficient. Harder fruits like
pears, quinces, etc., require longer boiling. The great secret of
canning is to make the fruit or vegetable perfectly air-tight. It must
be put up boiling hot and the vessel filled to the brim.
Have your jars conveniently placed near your boiling fruit, in a tin
pan of hot water on the stove, roll them in the hot water, then fill
immediately with the hot, scalding fruit, fill to the top, and seal
quickly with the tops, which should also be heated; occasionally screw
down the tops tighter, as the fruit shrinks as it cools, and the glass
contracts and allows the air to enter the cans. They must be perfectly
air-tight. The jars to be kept in a dark, cool, dry place.
Use glass jars for fruit always, and the fruit should be cooked in a
porcelain or granite-iron kettle. If you are obliged to use common
large-mouthed bottles with corks, steam the corks and pare them to a
close fit, driving them in with a mallet. Use the following wax for
sealing: One pound of resin, three ounces of beeswax, one and one-half
ounces of tallow. Use a brush in covering the corks and as they cool,
dip the mouth into the melted wax. Place in a basin of cold water.
Pack in a cool, dark and dry cellar. After one week, examine for
flaws, cracks or signs of ferment.
The rubber rings used to assist in keeping the air from the fruit cans
sometimes become so dry and brittle as to be almost useless. They can
be restored to normal condition usually by letting them lie in water
in which you have put a little ammonia. Mix in this proportion: One
part of ammonia and two parts water. Sometimes they do not need to lie
in this more than five minutes, but frequently a half hour is needed
to restore their elasticity.
CANNED PEACHES.
To one pound of peaches allow half a pound of sugar; to six pounds of
sugar add half a tumbler of water; put in the kettle a layer of sugar
and one of peaches until the whole of both are in. Wash about eight
peach leaves, tie them up and put into the kettle, remembering to take
them out when you begin to fill up the jars. Let the sugared fruit
remain on the range, but away from the fire, until upon tipping the
vessel to one side you can see some liquid; then fill the jars, taking
them out of hot water into which they were put when cold, remaining
until it was made to boil around them. In this way you will find out
if the glass has been properly annealed; for we consider glass jars
with stoppers screwing down upon India-rubber rings as the best for
canning fruit in families. They should be kept in a dark closet; and
although somewhat more expensive than tin in the first instance, are
much nicer and keep for years with careful usage.
Fruit must be of fine flavor and _ripe_, though not _soft_, to make
nice canned fruit.
Peaches should be thrown into cold water as they are peeled, to
prevent a yellowish crust.
CANNED GRAPES.
There is no fruit so difficult to can nicely as the grape; by
observing the following instructions you will find the grapes rich and
tender a year from putting up. Squeeze the pulp from the skin, as the
seeds are objectionable; boil the pulp, until the seeds begin to
loosen, in one kettle, having the skins boiling, in a little water,
hard in another kettle, as they are tough. When the pulp seems tender,
put it through the sieve; then add the skins, if tender, with the
water they boil in, if not too much. We use a large coffeecupful of
sugar for a quart can; boil until thick and can in the usual way.
CANNED STRAWBERRIES.
After the berries are picked over, let as many as can be put carefully
in the preserve kettle at once be placed on a platter. To each pound
of fruit add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; let them stand two or
three hours, till the juice is drawn from them; pour it into the
kettle and let it come to a boil and remove the scum which rises; then
put in the berries very carefully. As soon as they come thoroughly to
a boil put them in warm jars and seal while boiling hot.
TO CAN QUINCES.
Cut the quinces into thin slices like apples for pies. To one quart
jarful of quince, take a coffeesaucer and a half of sugar and a
coffeecupful of water; put the sugar and water on the fire, and when
boiling put in the quinces; have ready the jars with their fastenings,
stand the jars in a pan of boiling water on the stove, and when the
quince is clear and tender put rapidly into the jars, fruit and syrup
together. The jars must be filled so that the syrup overflows, and
fastened up tight as quickly as possible.
CANNED PINEAPPLE.
For six pounds of fruit, when cut and ready to can, make syrup with
two and a half pounds of sugar and nearly three pints of water; boil
syrup five minutes and skim or strain if necessary; then add the fruit
and let it boil up; have cans hot, fill and shut up as soon as
possible. Use the best white sugar. As the cans cool, keep tightening
them up. Cut the fruit half an inch thick.
CANNED FRUIT JUICES.
Canned fruit juices are an excellent substitute for brandy or wine in
all puddings and sauces, etc.
It is a good plan to can the pure juices of fruit in the summer time,
putting it by for this purpose.
Select clean ripe fruit, press out the juice and strain it through a
flannel cloth. To each pint of juice add one cupful of white
granulated sugar. Put it in a porcelain kettle, bring it to the
boiling point, and bottle while hot in small bottles. It must be
sealed very tight while it is _hot_. Will keep a long time, the same
as canned fruit.
CANNED TOMATOES.
Canning tomatoes is quite a simple process. A large or small quantity
may be done at a time, and they should be put in glass jars in
preference to those of tin, which are apt to injure the flavor. Very
ripe tomatoes are the best for the purpose. They are first put into a
large pan and covered with boiling water. This loosens the skin, which
is easily removed, and the tomatoes are then put into the preserving
kettle, set over a moderate fire without the addition of water or any
seasoning, and brought to a boil. After boiling slowly one-half hour,
they are put into the jars while boiling hot and sealed tightly. They
will keep two or three years in this way. The jars should be filled to
the brim to prevent air from getting in, and set in a cool, dark
closet.
TO CAN CORN.
Split the kernels lengthwise with a knife, then scrape with the back
of the knife, thus leaving the hulls upon the cob. Fill cans full of
cut corn, pressing it in very hard. To press the corn in the can, use
the small end of a potato masher, as this will enter the can easily.
It will take from ten to a dozen large ears of corn to fill a
one-quart can. When the cans are full, screw cover on with thumb and
first finger; this will be tight enough, then place a cloth in the
bottom of a wash boiler to prevent breakage. On this put a layer of
cans in any position you prefer, over the cans put a layer of cloth,
then a layer of cans. Fill the boiler in this manner, then cover the
cans well with cold water, place the boiler on the fire and _boil_
three hours without ceasing. On steady boiling depends much of your
success. After boiling three hours, lift the boiler from the fire, let
the water cool, then take the cans from the boiler and tighten, let
them remain until cold, then tighten again. Wrap each can in brown
paper to exclude the light and keep in a cool, dry cellar and be very
sure the rubber rings are not hardened by use. The rings should be
renewed every two years. I would advise the beginner to use new rings
entirely, for poor rings cause the loss of canned fruit and vegetables
in many cases. You will observe that in canning corn the cans are not
wrapped in a cloth nor heated; merely filled with the cut corn. The
corn in the can will shrink considerable in boiling, but on no account
open them after canning.
TO CAN PEAS.
Fill the can full of peas, shake the can so they can be filled well.
You cannot press the peas in the can as you did the corn, but by
shaking the cans they may be filled quite full. Pour into the cans
enough cold water to fill to overflowing, then screw the cover tight
as you can with your thumb and first finger and proceed exactly as in
canning corn.
String beans are cut as for cooking and canned in the same manner. No
seasoning of salt, pepper or sugar should be added.
_Mary Currier Parsons._
CANNED PLUMS.
To every pound of plums allow a quarter of a pound of sugar. Put the
sugar and plums alternately into the preserving kettle, first pricking
the plums to prevent their breaking. Let them stand on the back of the
stove for an hour or two, then put them over a moderate fire and allow
to come to a boil; skim and pour at once into jars, running a silver
spoon handle around the inside of the jar to break the air-bubbles;
cover and screw down the tops.
CANNED MINCE MEAT.
Mince meat for pies can be preserved for years if canned the same as
fruit while _hot_, and put into glass jars and sealed perfectly tight,
and set in a cool, dark place. One glass quart jar will hold enough to
make two ordinary-sized pies, and in this way "mince pies" can be had
in the middle of summer as well as in winter, and if the cans are
sealed properly, the meat will be just as fine when opened as when
first canned.
CANNED BOILED CIDER.
Boiled cider, in our grandmothers' time, was indispensable to the
making of a good "mince pie," adding the proper flavor and richness,
which cannot be substituted by any other ingredient, and a gill of
which being added to a rule of "fruit cake" makes it more moist, keeps
longer, and is far superior to fruit cake made without it. Boiled
cider is an article rarely found in the market, nowadays, but can be
made by any one, with but little trouble and expense, using _sweet_
cider, shortly after it is made, and before fermentation takes place.
Place five quarts of _sweet_ cider in a porcelain-lined kettle over
the fire, boil it slowly until reduced to one quart, carefully
watching it that it does not burn; turn into glass jars while hot and
seal tightly, the same as canned fruit. It is then ready to use any
time of the year.
CANNED PUMPKIN.
Pumpkins or squash canned are far more convenient for ready use than
those dried in the old-fashioned way.
Cut up pumpkin or squash into small pieces, first cutting off the
peel; stew them until tender, add no seasoning; then mash them very
fine with a potato masher. Have ready your cans, made hot, and then
fill them with the hot pumpkin or squash, seal tight; place in a
dark, cool closet.
PEACH BUTTER.
Pare ripe peaches and put them in a preserving kettle, with sufficient
water to boil them soft; then sift through a colander, removing the
stones. To each quart of peaches put one and one-half pounds of sugar,
and boil very slowly one hour. Stir often and do not let them burn.
Put in stone or glass jars, and keep in a cool place.
PEACHES DRIED WITH SUGAR.