Quality of the Fruit.
IT is a waste of time and strength to preserve unripe, over-ripe or inferior fruits. One should select sound, ripe, well flavored fruits for this purpose.
What to do with Fruit Pulp.
When making jellies with crab apples, quinces, peaches, etc., there is always a great deal of pulp left. The thrifty housekeeper does not like to throw this away, although all the fine flavor of the fruit has been extracted with the juice. If fruit be plentiful and cheap, it will be economy to throw this impoverished pulp away; if, on the other hand, fruit be high and scarce, add some fresh fruit, sugar, and water to the cooked pulp, and boil until a smooth marmalade is formed.
Cooked quince may be combined with fresh tart apples, sugar, and a little water. While the mixture is hot, can it, and it will be found good for pies and other uses when the fresh fruit is scarce.
Preserved Peaches.
The peaches should be sound and ripe. Weigh the fruit, and for every nine pounds make a syrup with three pounds of sugar and one pint of water; skimming the syrup as soon as it boils up.
Have ready a kettle of boiling water and a bowl of cold water. Fill a wire basket with peaches and plunge into the boiling water for two minutes. Lift the basket from the water and turn the peaches into a bowl. Pare them, and drop them into the cold water. This is to preserve the color.
Drop the peaches, a few at a time, into the boiling syrup. Cook them until they are heated through, and are tender; then put in a hot jar as many as will go in without crowding, and fill up with syrup. Cover the jar at once.
If many peaches are to be preserved it is best to make the syrup in several lots, as otherwise the long cooking, together with the fruit juice, will make it dark.