If the peaches are to be canned in sirup, put them at once into the sterilized jars. They may be canned whole or in halves. If in halves, remove nearly all the stones or pits. For the sake of the flavor, a few stones should be put in each jar.
When preparing cherries, plums, or crab apples for canning or preserving, the stem or a part of it may be left on the fruit.
When preparing to make jelly have ready the cheese-cloth strainer, enameled colander, wooden spoons, vegetable masher, measures, tumblers, preserving kettles, and sugar.
If currant jelly is to be made, free the fruit from leaves and large stems. If the jelly is to be made from any of the other small fruits, the stems and hulls must be removed.
When the jelly is to be made from any of the large fruits the important part of the preparation is to have the fruit washed clean, then to remove the stem and the blossom end. Nearly all the large fruits are better for having the skin left on. Apples and pears need not be cored. There is so much gummy substance in the cores of quinces that it is best not to use this portion in making fine jelly.
MAKING SIRUP FOR USE IN CANNING AND PRESERVING.
Such sirups as are used in canning and preserving are made with varying proportions of water and sugar. When the proportion of sugar is large and that of the water small the sirup is said to be heavy. When the water predominates the sirup is light.
There are several methods of measuring the proportion of sugar in a sirup. The most scientific and accurate is with the sirup gauge. Careful measurement or weighing is, however, quite satisfactory for all ordinary work if the sirup need not be boiled a long time. In boiling the water evaporates and the sirup grows thicker and richer. The amount of evaporation depends upon the surface exposed and the pressure of the atmosphere. For example, if a large quantity of sirup is boiled in a deep kettle the evaporation will not be rapid. If the same quantity of sirup were boiled the same length of time in a broad, shallow kettle the water would evaporate more rapidly and the sirup would be thicker and heavier. If a given quantity of sirup were boiled the same length of time in a high altitude, Colorado for example, and at the sea level, it would be found that the sirup boiled at the sea level would be thicker and less in volume than that boiled in Colorado. From this it will be seen that it is difficult to say what proportion of sugar a sirup will contain after it has been boiling ten or more minutes. Of course by the use of the sirup gauge the proportion of sugar in a sirup may be ascertained at any stage of the boiling. After all, however, it is possible to measure sugar and water so that you can know the percentage of sugar when the sirup begins to boil. The following statement gives the percentage of sugar at the time when the sirup has been boiling one minute and also what kind of sirup is suitable for the various kinds of fruit:
One pint sugar and 1 gill of water gives sirup of 40° density: Use for preserved strawberries and cherries.