Preserved Cherries
| Cherries, | 1 quart |
| Sugar |
Adelaide washed the cherries in the colander, which she dipped up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water. She took off the stems and removed the stones, weighed the cherries and added a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Then she let them stand over night, and the next morning put them into the saucepan to cook slowly until clear and tender, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon so as not to break the fruit.
When they were done Adelaide picked out the cherries first with the skimmer and dropped them into the sterilized pint jar, then she filled it to overflowing with the syrup, inserted a silver knife between the fruit and the jar to let all air bubbles rise to the top and break, placed on a new rubber smoothly, sealed quickly and stood the jar upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning she inspected the jar carefully to be sure that it did not leak, wiped off all stickiness with a damp cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve closet.
"Mother," said Adelaide one morning, "it is not nearly as discouraging to preserve as it is to just plain cook."
"Why, what do you mean, dear?" answered mother.
"Well, I've been thinking how quickly we eat up things you cook for us every day, while my jams and jellies are still in the preserve closet," mused Adelaide.
"Just wait until next winter, young lady, then you'll see how quickly they will disappear," laughed mother.
CHAPTER V
CONSERVES
When Adelaide came to "conserves," mother told her she had only a very few recipes, but that what they lacked in numbers they made up for in quality.
"Have you the recipe for 'Peach conserve'?" asked Adelaide anxiously.
"Oh, yes, dear, that is our favorite, and I don't know how many people have asked me how to make it. I couldn't possibly keep house without it," answered mother.
Conserves, mother explained to Adelaide, were very similar to jams, with the addition of lemon or orange juice, raisins and nuts.