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.
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
Wash the fruit, put it over the fire in an agate-lined kettle, and let 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.