Science in the Kitchen / A Scientific Treatise On Food Substances and Their Dietetic Properties, Together with a Practical Explanation of the Principles of Healthful Cookery, and a Large Number of Original, Palatable, and Wholesome Recipes

by E. E. Kellogg

If after the cans are cold, the fruit rises to the top, as it frequently does, take the cans and gently shake until the fruit is well saturated with the juice and falls by its own weight to the bottom, or low enough to be entirely covered with the liquid.

To Can Raspberries, Blackberries, and Other Small Fruits.—Select none but good, sound berries; those freshly picked are best; reject any green, over-ripe, mashed, or worm-eaten fruit. If necessary to wash the berries, do so by putting a quart at a time in a colander, and dipping the dish carefully into a pan of clean water, letting it stand for a moment. If the water is very dirty, repeat the process in a second water. Drain thoroughly, and if to be cooked previous to putting in the cans, put into a porcelain kettle with a very small quantity of water, and heat slowly to boiling. If sugar is to be used, have it hot, but do not add it until the fruit is boiling; and before doing so, if there is much juice, dip out the surplus, and leave the berries with only a small quantity, as the sugar will have a tendency to draw out more juice, thus furnishing plenty for syrup.

Raspberries are so juicy that they need scarcely more than a pint of water to two quarts of fruit.

The fruit may be steamed in the cans if preferred. When thoroughly scalded, if sugar is to be used, fill the can with a boiling syrup made by dissolving the requisite amount of sugar in water; if to be canned without sugar, fill up the can with boiling water or juice.

Seal the fruit according to directions previously given.

To Can Gooseberries.—Select such as are smooth and turning red, but not fully ripe; wash and remove the stems and blossom ends. For three quarts of fruit allow one quart of water. Heat slowly to boiling; cook fifteen minutes, add a cupful of sugar which has been heated dry in the oven: boil two or three minutes longer, and can.

To Can Peaches.—Select fruit which is perfectly ripe and sound, but not much softened. Free-stone peaches are the best. Put a few at a time in a wire basket, and dip into boiling water for a moment, and then into cold water, to cool fruit sufficiently to handle with comfort. The skins may then be rubbed or peeled off easily, if done quickly, and the fruit divided into halves; or wipe with a clean cloth to remove all dirt and the wool, and with a silver knife cut in halves, remove the stone, and then pare each piece, dropping into cold water at once to prevent discoloration. Peaches cut before being pared are less likely to break in pieces while removing the stones. When ready, pour a cupful of water in the bottom of the kettle, and fill with peaches, scattering sugar among the layers in the proportion of a heaping tablespoonful to a quart of fruit. Heat slowly, boil fifteen minutes or longer till a silver fork can be easily passed through the pieces; can in the usual way and seal; or, fill the cans with the halved peaches, and place them in a boiler of warm water with something underneath to avoid breaking; cook until perfectly tender. Have ready a boiling syrup prepared with one half cup of sugar and two cups of water, and pour into each can all that it will hold, remove air bubbles, cover and seal. A few of the pits may be cooked in the syrup, and removed before adding to the fruit, when their special flavor is desired.

ANOTHER METHOD.—After paring and halving the fruit, lay a clean napkin in the bottom of a steamer; fill with fruit. Steam until a fork will easily penetrate the pieces. Have ready a boiling syrup prepared as directed above, put a few spoonfuls in the bottom of the hot cans, and dip each piece of fruit gently in the hot syrup; then as carefully place it in the jars. Fill with the syrup, and finish in the usual way.

Peaches canned without sugar, retain more nearly their natural flavor. To prepare in this way, allow one half pint of water to each pound of fruit. Cook slowly until tender, and can in the usual manner. When wanted for the table, open an hour before needed, and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

To Can Pears.—The pears should be perfectly ripened, but not soft. Pare with a silver knife, halve or quarter, remove the seeds and drop into a pan of cold water to prevent discoloration. Prepare a syrup, allowing a cup of sugar and a quart of water to each two quarts of fruit. When the syrup boils, put the pears into it very carefully, so as not to bruise or break them, and cook until they look clear and can be easily pierced with a fork. Have the cans heated, and put in first a little of the syrup, then pack in the pears very carefully; fill to overflowing with the scalding syrup, and finish as previously directed. The tougher and harder varieties of pears must be cooked till nearly tender in hot water, or steamed over a kettle of boiling water, before adding to the syrup, and may then be finished as above. If it is desirable to keep the pears whole, cook only those of a uniform size together; or if of assorted sizes, put the larger ones into the syrup a few minutes before the smaller ones. Some prefer boiling the kins of the pears in the water of which the syrup is to be made, and skimming them out before putting in the sugar. This is thought to impart a finer flavor. Pears which are very sweet, or nearly tasteless, may be improved by using the juice of a large lemon for each quart of syrup. Pears may be cooked in the cans, if preferred.