Any one should be able to obtain any quantity of currants desired in their season, and make extra money by spicing them as this Iowa lady did, as follows:
Three pounds of white sugar, five pounds of ripe currants, one tablespoonful each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Boil currants one hour, then add sugar, spices and one-half pint of vinegar and boil one-half hour longer.
This was one of the best sellers she put up.
PLAN No. 135. TOMATO PRESERVES
With tomatoes as plentiful and cheap as they are almost every year, and with so many people who like them, it is a wonder that thousands of women do not make a living by preserving, according to the following recipe, which this lady used:
Peel the tomatoes, and to each pound add a pound of sugar and let stand over night. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar, and boil the syrup, removing the scum. Put in the tomatoes and boil gently twenty minutes. Remove the fruit again, and boil until the syrup thickens. On cooling, put the fruit into jars and pour the syrup over. The round, yellow variety of tomatoes should be used, and as soon as ripe.
It is hard to imagine a more delicious preserve, or one that will bring a better price.
PLAN No. 136. CRAB APPLE JELLY
While thousands of bushels of crab apples are allowed to go to waste every year, and cost nothing but the picking, hundreds of women could be earning considerable money by gathering them, as they make the best jelly in the world, and it can be sold at almost any price one may ask. This Iowa lady used her surplus stock of crab apples as follows:
Wash the fruit clean, put in a kettle, cover with water, and boil until thoroughly cooked. Then pour into a sieve and let it drain. Do not press it through. For each pint of this liquor, allow one pound of sugar. Boil from twenty minutes to half an hour. Jellies can also be made from quinces, peaches and Porter apples in the same way.