PLAN No. 129. PICKLED APPLES
Apples, especially those of the choicest varieties, are very good without pickling, but a great deal more so when they are pickled the way the farmer’s wife prepared them, as follows:
Take ripe, hard, sweet apples. Peel evenly, and if the apples are perfect, leave them whole, otherwise cut in quarters. To a peck of apples, take about two quarts of vinegar and four pounds of sugar, half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, and the same amount of allspice, all unground; one teaspoonful of mustard seed, a few pepper grains and a little salt. Heat the vinegar and sugar together to the boiling point, skim well, put the spices in a thin muslin bag and add the vinegar, then put in the apples. Place over the fire, and stew slowly until the apples are soft. Then take out the apples, let the vinegar boil down, and pour in over the fruit. Cover and put away.
Of course, in making large quantities, she increased the amount of the ingredients accordingly, yet maintained the proportions named.
PLAN No. 130. PICKLED CHERRIES
The cherry trees were full that year, and she made good use of cherries by using this recipe:
To every quart of cherries, allow a cupful of vinegar, one-half cupful of sugar, one dozen whole cloves, half a dozen blades of mace. Put the vinegar and sugar on to heat, with the spices, boil five minutes, turn out into a covered stoneware vessel and let it get perfectly cool. Strain out the spices, fill small jar three-fourths full of cherries, then fill up with cold vinegar. Cork or seal tightly. Leave the stems on the cherries.
Besides filling several shelves in her own cellar with these, she sold large quantities to her city customers at “top” prices.
PLAN No. 131. PICKLED PLUMS
It would hardly seem possible to make a plum any better than it is when ripe and right off the tree, but this Iowa woman did so as follows: