Grape Preserve.
This preserve should be made with a tender-skinned grape. The Concord grape is too tough-skinned to make a satisfactory preserve.
Squeeze the pulp out of the skin, and, after putting it in the preserving kettle, set on the fire. Stir frequently, and cook until the pulp will break up readily. This will require only a few minutes’ boiling. Rub the pulp through a sieve, rejecting the seeds. Measure the skins and pulp, and put them in the preserving kettle. For every quart of the fruit add one pint and a half of sugar, and one gill of water. Cook for twenty minutes after the preserve begins to boil; then put in jars and seal. If you choose, use less sugar; or, if you prefer to have the preserve sweeter, allow a pound of sugar for each pound of fruit.
Preserved Quinces.
Have a kettle of boiling water on the fire. Pare the fruit and remove the cores; then weigh it. Drop the pared fruit into the boiling water, and cook gently until so tender that it can be pierced with a straw. Take it from the water and drain it. Make a syrup the same as for peaches, and put the cooked fruit into it. Simmer for about half an hour; then put up in jars. This amount of sugar—one pound to three pounds of fruit—makes a fairly rich preserve. Less may be used if one prefer to have the quinces less rich.
Preserved Pineapple.
Pare the pineapple, remove the eyes, and cut the fruit into thin slices, cutting down the sides until the heart is reached. Weigh the sliced fruit and put it in a bowl, with half a pound of granulated sugar to every pound of fruit. Mix the fruit and sugar well, and put it in a cold place over night. In the morning put the fruit and sugar in the preserving kettle, and place on the range. When the syrup begins to boil, skim carefully; then fill the hot jars with the preserve and seal them.
The pineapple may be shredded with a silver fork, instead of being sliced. Be careful to keep out all the woody fibres of the heart of the fruit.
Preserved Uncooked Pineapple.
Pare the pineapple and take out all the eyes. With a sharp knife, cut the fruit in thin slices, cutting down the sides until the heart is reached (this is to be discarded). Weigh the sliced pineapple and put it in an earthen dish. Add to it as many pounds of granulated sugar as there are pounds of fruit. Stir this gently; then pack the fruit and sugar in pint jars, leaving space for two tablespoonfuls of Jamaica rum in each jar. Add the liquor; then put on the covers and tighten them. Set away in a cool, dark place.