La cuisine creole

by Lafcadio Hearn

PRESERVES, SYRUPS AND FRUIT JELLIES

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HINTS ON PRESERVING

Preserving kettles should be broad and shallow, with a handle on each side. If you wish to preserve in small quantities, use a small kettle. A charcoal furnace is most desirable in warm weather, as you can put it where you like, and thus avoid the heat of the kitchen. Slow, gentle boiling is absolutely necessary in preserving and pickling.

Crushed or loaf sugar should be used for preserves, as it is less liable to ferment during the long hot summer.

Jelly bags may be made of cotton, linen, or flannel, and can be made like an old-fashioned reticule, with a string through the top, to close and suspend it while dripping.

It is a mistake to think dark fruits, like raspberries, strawberries, etc., can be preserved equally well with brown sugar, for the color of this sugar makes the preserves dark, or rather dingy, which is the proper word.

Glass is best for keeping preserves in, as they may be examined without opening the jars. When first put up they should be corked tightly, and dipped into coarse melted sealing-wax.

TO MAKE PRESERVES

Most fruits are much easier preserved than jellied. Weigh the fruit, and to each pound of fruit the usual rule is a pound of sugar; make a syrup of the sugar with a half pint of water to each pound of fruit. Boil it clear, then put in the fruit and cook it well, and boil gently till the fruit is clear.

TO GREEN FRUIT FOR PICKLING OR PRESERVING

Put vine leaves under, between, and over the fruit in a brass kettle, and over the leaves sprinkle a teaspoonful of beaten or ground alum; cover the fruit to be greened, with water, and boil it gently with the leaves and alum; if not a fine green, take more leaves and dust a little saleratus over them. Spread them out to cool when green, and proceed to preserve or pickle them as desired.

TO PRESERVE PEACHES

Select white clings if you desire to preserve them whole. Yellow peaches make the most transparent preserve, but cannot always be procured. If white clings are convenient, peel and weigh them, and to each pound of fruit put one pound of sugar and half a pint of water. Put the syrup to boil, clarify it with an egg, and as it boils remove the scum. Keep the peaches in cold water all the time the syrup is boiling, as water keeps the fruit in good color, while leaving it exposed darkens it. When the syrup has boiled clear, put in the peaches; let them boil gently for half an hour, then take them out on a dish for two hours; put them back in the syrup and boil again until they are clear; they are then done, and you can put them in jars and pour the syrup over them, and cork and seal up for future use.

ANOTHER WAY TO PRESERVE PEACHES

Peel, cut and weigh six pounds of peaches; take six pounds of fine white sugar, throw the sugar on the peaches until they are well covered, and let them stay all night. Early in the morning add three pints of water, and boil all together for one hour. Skim carefully, and then take the peaches out on a large dish, still keeping the syrup gently boiling, and skimming it as it boils. Lay the peaches in the sun on dishes for at least two hours, to harden. Taking the fruit out of the syrup a few times improves it, giving it firmness and transparency. Now replace the peaches in the syrup, and boil gently until they are clear. Cut peaches are much more easily kept than peaches preserved whole, but they are not so highly flavored. Cut fruit does not require so much boiling as whole fruit; this should be remembered in preserving.

PRESERVED CITRON

Pare off the green skin and all the soft part of the rind, then cut the firm part in strips, or any shape you fancy. Allow a pound and a quarter of sugar to each pound of rind; line your porcelain kettle with grapevine leaves and fill with the rind, scattering a little pulverized alum over each layer. Cover with vine-leaves three thick, pour on water enough to reach and wet these and cover with a close lid. Let them heat together for three hours, but the water must not actually boil. Take out the rind, which will be well greened by this process, and throw at once into very cold water. Let it soak for four hours, changing the water for fresh every hour. Then make a syrup, allowing two cups of water to every pound and a quarter of syrup. Boil and skim until no more scum comes up; put in the rind and simmer gently nearly an hour. Take it out and spread on dishes in the sun until firm and almost cool. Simmer in the syrup for half an hour; spread out again, and when firm put into a large bowl and pour over it the scalding syrup. Next day put the syrup again over the fire, add the juice of a lemon and a tiny bit of ginger-root for every pound of rind. Boil down until thick, pack the rind in jars and pour over it the syrup. Tie up when cool.

TO PRESERVE PEARS

Take small rich pears, and boil them gently in water until they will yield to the pressure of the finger. They must not be soft, or they will not preserve well. Take them out when a little boiled; let them cool, and pare them neatly, leaving a little of the stem on, as well as the blossom end. Make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and when it is boiling hot, pour it on the pears; next day boil them in the syrup till clear, and bottle them for use.

PINEAPPLE PRESERVES

Take fine pineapples, cut off all the rough parts, and each apple in quarters, shaping each piece alike. Boil the pineapples in just enough water to cover them, and put to this water all the cuttings, so as to make the syrup as rich in flavor as possible. When the pieces are tender, take them out, weigh them, and make a syrup of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit, allowing a cup of the water the pineapples were boiled in, to each pound of fruit. Strain the water over the sugar, mix it, and let it boil fifteen minutes, by itself; skim it, and put in the pineapples, letting them boil until they are clear and perfectly tender. Pears done in this way make a delicious preserve. The usual way of putting them in the syrup without previous boiling, makes them little better than sweetened leather, as it makes them tough and stringy.

TO PRESERVE CRAB APPLES, GREEN

Wash the apples and boil them in a very little water, cover them with vine leaves, while on the fire simmering, and they will then be very yellow. Take them out and spread them on a large dish to cool. Pare and core them, put them back in the kettle, with fresh leaves to cover them. Hang them over the fire, or on the stove in a preserving kettle until they are green; then take them out of the pot, let them cool, weigh them, and allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Put only water sufficient to dissolve the sugar, as the fruit, having been already boiled, will require very little water—a small cupful to each pound being quite enough. Boil this syrup, skim it, and put in your green apples, and boil them until they are clear and tender. Put the apples in jars, turn the juice on to them, and when cold tie them up, or rather seal them in this Southern climate.

PEACH OR APPLE COMPOTE, FOR DESSERT

Dissolve and boil a pound of loaf sugar in a pint of water; skim it, pare six or eight apples, or a dozen peaches, throw them into the boiling syrup, and cook until tender and transparent. Lemon improves the apples, but peaches are better without it.

PRESERVED HUCKLEBERRIES

Take them just as they begin to ripen, pick and weigh them, allow a pound of fruit to a pound of sugar, then stew them until quite clear, and the syrup becomes thick. These make nice tarts when fruit is scarce.

PLUM PRESERVES

Get plums before they are dead ripe; allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, dissolve and boil the sugar and water (allowing half a pint of water to a pound). Boil the syrup until it is thick, then put in the plums and boil them until they are transparent; then put them in sealed jars.

FIG PRESERVES

Boil the sugar and water syrup as directed in previous recipe. Let the figs be firm, not dead ripe or they will boil to a mass. They should be laid in alum the day before they are to be preserved, then taken out, washed, and put into the boiling syrup. Boil for three hours, or until transparent; then bottle as usual and seal up with wax.

MYRTLE ORANGE PRESERVE, OR HOME-MADE LIMES

Pluck the oranges before they turn yellow; they should be a rich dark green; cut a hole in the stem end and take out all the white pulp and seeds; scrape them carefully, grate the rind so as to break the oil cells, and allow the strong oil to escape. Wash them and throw them into strong salt and water; let them stay in it for three days, then soak them in fresh water three days. When you wish to preserve them you must boil them in clear water, slowly, in a brass kettle; cover them with a few orange leaves while boiling, which will green them, and boil until they are tender, then set them up to cool. Weigh as much sugar as you have oranges, and allow pound for pound; boil the syrup clear and then put in the oranges; boil gently for half an hour, or until green and yellow. Use only a silver spoon in making this preserve.

TO MAKE WATERMELON PRESERVES

Take the firm outside rind of the watermelon; scrape off the green and cut out the soft inside; cut the rind into any shapes you choose, stars, crescents, diamonds, etc. After they have been boiled in alum and leaves to green and harden, weigh them and make a syrup of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, with a cup of water to each pound. Boil the syrup clear, and put in the cut rinds, and boil them until transparent. Flavor with ginger for green color, and lemons for the yellow. If the rind is wanted yellow you must boil it with fresh lemon skins and a little saffron before preserving it.

ANOTHER WATERMELON RIND PRESERVE

In a bucket of cold water, put a handful of lime, stir it in, and when it settles clear, pour it over the watermelon rind you intend preserving; let it stay in the weak lime-water one day. Soak it a few hours, and get the taste of the lime from the rind, then put it in alum water and scald for ten minutes. Put grape-leaves in with the alum water while scalding; they will make the rind green. Take the rind from the alum, and put it in cold water for a few hours, and when cold, boil it in strong ginger tea until it is soft, and tastes of the ginger. Make the syrup of one and a half pounds of sugar to each pound of rind, and a half pint of water to each pound of sugar. Let it cook slowly, skim it, and when it looks clear, put in the rind, and let it cook slowly until clear and transparent. The rind should be cut into beautiful shapes, and preserved with care. This is a little trouble; but the housekeeper is amply repaid by the beauty of the preserve.

TO MAKE ANY KIND OF FRUIT JELLY

Wash and drain the fruit, put it in a stone jar, and put the jar into a kettle of water over the fire; let it boil, but see that none of the water gets into the fruit. When the fruit is tender, it will begin to break; pour it now into a flannel bag, but do not squeeze it—that will make the jelly cloudy. To each pint of juice strained, add one pound, or one pound and a quarter of white sugar, and the half of the beaten white of an egg. Boil this rapidly, skim, but do not stir the syrup, as stirring breaks its continuity and prevents its jellying. Boil it twenty minutes, and try a little in some cold water, to find out if it jellies; if it does not, boil it a little longer. Too much boiling, or too slow boiling, injures jelly and makes it ropy. Too much sugar will cause jelly to grain; the quantity used must be in accordance with the requirements of the fruit, acid fruit requiring more sugar and dead ripe fruit less. Red currants take more sugar than black currants; they also take more time to boil to a jelly. A little practice and a few mistakes will make anyone who takes pleasure in cooking a good jelly-maker and preserver.

CRAB APPLE JELLY

This is the best of all apple jellies. Wash the apples, cut them up, remove all defects, remove the seeds and the blossom end; but do not pare them. Lay them in your preserving-kettle, and cover them with water; then boil them until they are soft, but do not let them mash up from too much boiling. Drain off all the water, and mash the apples with the back of a silver spoon. Put this in a jelly bag, and place a deep dish under it to collect the juice. To every pint of the juice allow a pint of loaf sugar; boil it and skim it. It will be ready to dip out into tumblers in half an hour, if you have complied with these directions. Always dip jelly out with a silver spoon, as any other kind darkens fruit. I have seen preserves rendered very dark by putting in them a new-tinned dipper. You must be careful of these things if you desire your confections to be elegant.

LEMON JELLY. A BEAUTIFUL DISH

Set an ounce of isinglass in a pint of water on the stove in a stew-pan; stir the isinglass until it dissolves. Let it boil a few minutes, then add a pint of lemon juice sweetened with a pound and a half of sugar, or a little more, if it is wished very sweet. Stir this in with the rinds of six lemons, and boil all together. After boiling for about five minutes, put a teaspoonful of saffron in to color it yellow, and strain through a flannel bag. Fill your jelly-glasses with it; when cool, it is a most beautiful dish for a collation.

BLACKBERRY JELLY

Cook the fruit till tender in a little water; throw off the water, bruise and strain the fruit, and to each pint of the juice add one pound of white sugar. Put it now in a preserving-pan, and boil it rapidly, but do not stir it while boiling, as that breaks the jelly; skim it carefully, and when it jellies, pour it into tumblers or small jars. I have made two pecks of berries into jelly in two hours. This is said for the benefit of young housekeepers who often boil their jelly too slowly and too long, which makes it ropy.

APPLE JELLY, WITHOUT WATER

Pare and core the fruit, which should be juicy and tart. Lay the apples in a vessel to cook without putting in any water; cover them closely, and cook until properly soft; strain the juice, and add three-fourths of a pound of sugar to a pint of apple juice. Beat in the white of an egg to clarify the jelly, and skim it as it boils; try it and, as soon as it jellies, take it from the fire and put it in glasses.

JAM

This can be made from almost any kind of ripe fruit. Blackberries, strawberries or raspberries are especially suited for this form of preserve. You must weigh your fruit (say blackberries), and allow three quarters of a pound of good sugar to each pound of fruit. Crush the fruit and sugar, with a biscuit beater, until they are well mashed; add a gill of water to each pound of fruit; boil gently (not rapidly like jelly) until it becomes a jelly-like mass, and when done, put it into glasses, or small earthenware pots and when cold, cover up like jelly. This is an excellent medicine in summer for dysentery; but if intended for invalids, you must spice it, and add a gill of brandy—fourth proof—to each pound of jam.

TOMATO JAM

Take nice ripe tomatoes, skin them, take out all their seeds, but save the juice to put with the sugar. Weigh the fruit, and to each pound, add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; boil some lemons soft, take one for each pound of tomatoes, mash them fine, take out the pips, and put the lemons to the sugar and tomatoes; boil slowly and mash the jam smooth with a silver spoon. When smooth and jelly-like, it is done. Put it away in glasses carefully.

ORANGE MARMALADE. DELICIOUS

Quarter the oranges and take out the seeds and white strings. To every pound of pulp, add a cup of cold water, and let it stand thus for twenty-four hours. Boil some of the peel in several waters until quite tender; then to each pound of pulp, add one-quarter of a pound of boiled peel, and one and a quarter pounds of white sugar. Boil this slowly until it jellies, and the bits of peel are quite transparent.

ORANGE MARMALADE MADE WITH HONEY

Quarter a dozen large ripe oranges; remove the rind, seeds and filaments, but save all the juice. Put the juice and pulp into a porcelain kettle, with an equal quantity of strained honey, adding one-third as much sugar as honey. Boil until very thick, sweet and clear. When cold, put it in small jars.

MARMALADE

This jam can be made of any ripe fruit, boiled to a pulp with a little water; the best are peaches, quinces, apples, oranges and cranberries. It is usual to crush the fruit. Put in three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, add a little water (half a cup to a pound), and boil until it is a jellied mass. When done, put it in glass or white earthenware.

TO CANDY FRUIT

After peaches, quinces, plums, or citron, have been preserved, take them from the syrup, and drain them on a sieve. To a pound of loaf sugar, put a small cup of water, and when it is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire, and let it boil; when it boils, put in the fruit to be candied, and stir continually until the sugar granulates over the fruit; then take it up, and dry it in a warm oven. If not sufficiently candied, repeat the operation.

CANDIED PUMPKIN

Peel a piece of pumpkin, and cut it in thin slices. Make a nice, thick syrup of brown sugar and water, and put the pumpkin into it, with a little of the juice of the lemon. Boil this until the pumpkin is nicely candied. Mace, or other spices, may be used for flavoring instead of lemon, if preferred. It may be eaten hot with meats at dinner, and is equally nice, when cold, for supper or lunch.

ORGEAT SYRUP WITHOUT ORANGE FLOWERS

Make a syrup of a pound of sugar to every pint of water; boil this a few minutes, skim it clear, and when cold, to every four pounds of sugar used, allow a gill of orange water, or rose water, and two tablespoonfuls of pure essence of bitter almonds. Serve it in iced water.

ORANGE SYRUP

This syrup is so easily made, and oranges are so abundant here, that it is advantageous to make this syrup in the season of orange harvest, in Louisiana. To make it, you must select ripe and thin-skinned fruit; squeeze the juice, and to every pint, add a pound and a quarter of white sugar; boil it slowly, and skim as long as any scum rises; you may then take it off, let it grow cold, and bottle it. Be sure to secure the corks well. This is nice for a summer drink for delicate persons; it is also very convenient for pudding sauces, as half a cup of this syrup, mixed with melted butter, is admirable, where wine is not used. The flavor is so fine, it requires very little spicing to make it agreeable.