Spiced Peaches
- 4 pounds peaches
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon clove
3 pounds brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Boil sugar and vinegar. Scald peaches, remove skins, and cook in sirup. Tie spices in bag and cook with peaches. When peaches are tender, pour into stone jars, reheat sirup every day for a week, pouring when boiling over peaches.
All kinds of small fruits may be spiced in this manner.
Sweet Tomato Pickle
- 4 quarts green tomatoes
4 sliced onions
½ cup salt
1 tablespoon each of clove, mustard and cinnamon
4 cups water
2 pounds brown sugar
2 cups vinegar
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Slice tomatoes, add onions and salt, and let stand twelve hours. Drain, add water and two cups vinegar, and boil one half hour. Drain; to tomatoes add remaining ingredients, and cook one half hour. Keep in stone jar in cool, dry place.
PICKLES
Sweet pickles are prepared from every fruit that can be preserved. Spices are generally tied in a muslin bag and kept in the pickle jar, and the sirup is rich in order to preserve the pickle. Sour pickles should always be cooked in granite or agate-ware kettles, and if desired green, put on to cook in cold vinegar and brought gradually to the boiling point. Alum added to the pickles keeps them crisp.