1. Rhubarb Preserve.--1/4 lb. almond or walnut meats, chopped, 3 lbs.
rhubarb, 3 lbs. sugar, rind and juice of 2 lemons, boil until thick. Serve
with meats.
2. Preserved Pears.--Pare the fruit and drop into a bowl of cold water to
preserve the color. When all are pared, put into a pan of clear, cold
water, and boil until almost tender. Make a syrup of the water in which
the pears were boiled, allowing one pound of sugar to each half pint of
water. Drop the pears into the syrup and cook them slowly until they can
be pierced with a silver fork. Put the fruit into hot jars and cover with
boiling syrup. Seal.
3. Fig and Rhubarb Preserve.--Wash dry and cut up three pounds of figs and
seven pounds of rhubarb, put them into a basin, add six pounds of sugar,
one cupful of water, two heaping teaspoonfuls of ground ginger and the
juice of two large lemons. Cover and leave for twelve hours. Boil for half
an hour. Divide into jars and cover. This is an excellent preserve and
keeps well.
4. Preserved Cherries.--Select large, rich, red cherries; stone and weigh
them, adding three-fourths of a pound of sugar for each pound of fruit.
After the stones have been taken out, allow them to stand in a stone jar
over night; in the morning put them in a preserving kettle and cook until
clear. Put in glass tumblers and cover the tops when cool with melted
paraffin, before putting on covers.
5. Strawberry Preserves.--The fruit for this must be solid, and must be
used as soon as they are gotten ready, and not sugared down. To one pound
of sugar add one pound of fruit. Use just enough water to keep them from
sticking, and put fruit, sugar and water all on at the same time, and let
them cook twenty minutes. Then spread on flat dishes and set in sun for
three or four days, and then put in glass jars. They will need no more
heating or cooking. These are considered fine.
6. Lemon Butter.--Take two nice large lemons, grate the rind and use the
juice, two eggs, two cups of sugar, small lump of butter. Boil ten minutes
in double boiler.
[842 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
7. Apple Preserves.--Make a syrup of three-fourths pound of sugar to each
pound of apples. Add a little lemon juice or sliced lemon; keep skimming
this as it boils, and put in only a few apples at a time into the syrup,
and boil until they are transparent; skim out and put in a jar. When the
apples are done, boil the syrup down thick, then pour boiling hot over the
apples and cover closely. Well flavored fruit, not easily broken, should
be selected.
8. Apricot Preserves.--Pare the fruit very thin and stone it. Place the
fruit in a porcelain or granite kettle, first a layer of fruit, then a
layer of sugar, using pound for pound of sugar. Let this stand in the
kettle for a day. The next day boil very gently until they are clear. Then
place the fruit in a large pan or bowl and pour the liquor over them. The
following day pour the liquor into a quart of codlin liquor, this being
made by boiling and straining a pound of fine sugar with just enough water
to make a syrup. Let the whole boil quickly until it will jelly. Put the
fruit into it and bring to a boil, being careful to remove all the scum.
Then put up in small jars.
9. Citron Preserves.--Select sound fruit, pare it and divide into
quarters, (carefully take out the seeds) and cut in very small pieces, any
shape you desire, and weigh it. To every pound of fruit allow a half pound
of loaf sugar; put the citron on to cook until it is quite clear, then
remove it from the kettle where it can drain, and pour out the water it
was cooked in. Then put on the sugar you have weighed, with water enough
to wet it through; let it boil until very clear, and before putting in the
citron again add to the syrup two large lemons sliced, and a small piece
of ginger root, to give it a fine flavor; then add the citron and let all
cook together about fifteen minutes; fill the jars with citron and pour
over the hot syrup, then seal up.
10. Citron and Quince Preserves.--Pare and cut the citron into inch
pieces; boil hard in a medium strong alum water thirty minutes; drain and
boil in fresh water till the color is changed and they are tender; wash
the quinces carefully, pare, quarter, core and halve the quarters; boil
the cores and parings in water to cover them, an hour and a half; remove
them and add the prepared juice to the liquid; boil, and when they begin
to be tender, add the citron and three-fourths of a pound of white sugar
to every pound of the fruit. These are delicious.
11. Preserved Pears.--Have a pan of cold water ready to drop pears into
after they are pared, halved and the cores removed. This will prevent them
from turning black. Select smooth, sweet pears of a kind which will not
break when cooked. Put a little over one quart of granulated sugar into
your preserving kettle; add just water enough to moisten the sugar; when
warm put into this two quarts of pears; let them cook very slowly several
hours; when the syrup is thick put your fruit in jars.
12. Pineapple Preserves.--Pare and slice the pineapple. Then weigh the
fruit and allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit; then put a layer of
the slices in a jar and cover them with a layer of sugar; do this until
the apples and sugar are used up; let them stand over night. The next
morning take the apples out of the syrup, cook the syrup until it
thickens, replace the apples and boil fifteen minutes; remove the
pineapple from the syrup and let them cool, then put in jars and pour the
syrup over them. A few pieces of ginger root boiled in the syrup will
improve it.
[CANNING, PICKLING AND PRESERVING 843]
13. Tomato Preserves.--Select small, pear-shaped tomatoes, not too ripe.
Prick with a needle to prevent bursting, and put their weight in sugar
over them. Let this stand over night, then pour off the juice into a
preserving kettle and boil until it is a thick syrup, clarifying it with
the white of an egg; add the tomatoes and boil until they look
transparent. One lemon to a pound of fruit, sliced thin and cooked with
the fruit, together with a piece of ginger root, will improve it.
14. Preserved Strawberries. No. 1.--Take a couple of quarts of berries at
a time, remove the stems, and place in a colander. Pour water over them to
cleanse them. Make a syrup of two pounds of white sugar and a half cup of
water. Drop the berries into this and allow them to boil rapidly for
twenty minutes, removing all scum that rises, but do not stir the fruit.
Pour into tumblers, and when you are done cook your syrup and juice to a
jelly and fill up your jelly glasses. Keep in a dry place.
15. Preserved Strawberries. No. 2.--To one pound of berries use
three-fourths of a pound of sugar,--in layers (no water). Place in a
kettle on the back of the stove until the sugar is dissolved into syrup;
then let it come to a boil, stirring from the bottom. Spread on platters,
not too thickly and set out in the hot sun till the syrup thickens--it may
take two or three days. Keep in tumblers or bowls like jelly. Strawberries
done in this way retain their color and flavor.
16. Spiced Currants.--Three pounds white sugar, five pounds ripe currants,
one tablespoonful each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Boil
currants one hour, then add sugar, spices and a half pint vinegar, boil a
half hour longer.
17. Spiced Gooseberries.--Six quarts gooseberries, nine pounds sugar, cook
one and a half hours, then add one pint vinegar, one tablespoonful each
cloves, cinnamon and allspice. Boil a few minutes. When cold they should
be like jam. Boil longer if not thick enough.
18. Tomato Preserves.--Peel the tomatoes and to each pound add a pound of
sugar and let stand over night. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar and
boil the syrup, removing the scum. Put the tomatoes in and boil gently
twenty minutes; remove fruit again and boil until the syrup thickens. On
cooling put the fruit into jars and pour the syrup over. The round yellow
variety of tomato should be used and as soon as ripe.
[844 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
19. Preserved Pears.--Peel the fruit which should not be overripe, cut
into halves, extract cores and throw at once into a dish of cold water.
From the water put into jars, arranging the pieces as compactly as
possible, cover with cold water and then drain off. Make a syrup of sugar
and water, allowing a teacupful of sugar to a jar and fill the jars to the
brim; put on the covers, without rubbers and place in a kettle of cold
water over the fire. The water in the kettle should come to the neck of
the jars. Note carefully when the water comes to a boil, and let it boil
twenty minutes or more, according to ripeness of the fruit. Take the jars
from the water, adjust the rubbers and screw on the tops tighter and
tighter as the jars cool. A plated knife should be used in peeling the
fruit as a steel one discolors the fruit.
20. Preserved Peaches.--Plunge the fruit into boiling water to make the
skins come off easily, then throw into cold water. For three pounds of
fruit use one pound of sugar and half a teacup of water. When the syrup
boils put in the peaches, a few at a time, and cook until tender. Fill
jars as for pears. The stones will add to the flavor.
21. Brandied Peaches.--Put the peaches in boiling water for a few minutes,
when the skin will peel off easily. Make a syrup of half a pound of sugar
and half a teacupful of water for each pound of peaches. Skim as the scum
rises in boiling, then put in the peaches and boil them gently until
tender, no longer. Take them out carefully and fill your cans or jars.
Remove the syrup from the fire, and add to it half a pint of best brandy
to every pound of peaches.
22. Preserved Quinces.--Pare and quarter, taking out cores and all hard
parts. Boil in clear water until tender; spread out to dry. Allow a half
pound of sugar and one-third cup water to a pound of fruit. When the syrup
boils, put in the fruit, set back on stove and cook very slowly for an
hour or more if not too tender, as the longer it cooks the brighter will
be the color. Put in jars, the same as other fruit.
23. Preserved Grapes.--A delicious preserve can be made of California
grapes. Cut each grape with a knife and extract the seeds; add sugar to
the fruit, pound for pound; cook slowly for half an hour or longer until
the syrup and pulp of the grape are perfectly clear and transparent.
24. Purple Plums Preserved.--A very fine preserve can be made from these
plums, if you take equal weight of fruit and sugar. Take a clear stone jar
and fill it with the fruit and sugar. First a layer of fine granulated
sugar, then the plums and so on until the jar is filled. Cover them and
set the jar in a kettle of water over the fire. Let them stand in the
boiling water all day, filling up the kettle as the water boils away. If
at any time they seem likely to ferment, repeat this process. Any
housewife trying this recipe will be greatly pleased with the results.
25. Spiced Grapes.--Select five pounds of nice grapes, pulp them, and boil
until tender. After the pulps are thoroughly cooked, strain through a
sieve, then add to it three pounds of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon
and allspice, and half teaspoonful of cloves. Add enough vinegar and
spices to suit the taste. Boil thoroughly and cool. This is very nice.
[CANNING, PICKLING AND PRESERVING 845]
26. Spiced Peaches.--Take five pounds of peaches, wipe them thoroughly and
boil until tender in one quart of vinegar and two pounds of brown sugar.
When done remove them from the liquid, and add one ounce each of cinnamon,
cloves and mace. Boil the liquid for some time after the spices have been
added, then place the fruit in jars and pour this over them.
27. Pear Chips.--Ten pounds of pears sliced thin, seven pounds of sugar,
four lemons boiled soft; press out the juice and pulp; chop the peel very
fine. Boil the fruit and sugar together until soft, then add the lemon, a
half pound green ginger root scraped and cut into small pieces. Let the
above mixture boil until quite thick. This can be placed in jelly glasses,
and will keep nicely. This is an excellent recipe.