XIV. PRESERVING FRUITS.
The preserving of fruits has always been considered a principal branch of confectionery, and one which requires no small degree of attention and diligence. As you are instructed in the boiling of sugars in its several degrees, named in each recipe, should it be boiled lower the fruit will lose its colour, turn windy, and spoil; if it is boiled higher it will rock and cannot be got out of the jars. Another important point is to preserve such fruit only as is quite fresh picked, the flavour, which is a very essential consideration, being lost if the fruit be stale. Cleanliness in this branch, as in every other, must not be neglected. Preserving pans, &c., must resemble a looking-glass as much as possible. Fruits well preserved will keep in almost any place. It is better, however, to keep them neither in too dry nor in too damp a place. The jars must be well protected from air by covering each with writing-paper dipped in brandy, covered and tied over with wet bladder.
Note.—A wood skimmer must be made of ash or elm about 4 inches long, 3 inches broad, and 1 inch thick. There is a handle fixed on one side, which take hold of and lay the wood gently on the fruit where the scum is, then take it off and scrape off the scum, and so on until all is taken off.