Make a syrup of a pound of sugar and a half gill of water for every two lbs. of fruit. Heat to boiling, stirring to prevent burning, and pour over the berries while warm—not hot. Let them stand together an hour; put all into a preserving-kettle, and heat slowly; boil five minutes, take out the fruit with a perforated skimmer, and boil the syrup twenty minutes. Add a pint of brandy for every five pounds of fruit; pour over the berries hot, and seal.
CANDIES.
Molasses Candy. ✠
- 1 quart good molasses.
- ½ cup vinegar.
- 1 cup sugar.
- Butter the size of an egg.
- 1 teaspoonful saleratus.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar, mix with the molasses, and boil, stirring frequently, until it hardens when dropped from the spoon into cold water; then stir in the butter and soda, the latter dissolved in hot water. Flavor to your taste, give one hard final stir, and pour into buttered dishes. As it cools, cut into squares for “taffy,” or, while soft enough to handle, pull white into sticks, using only the buttered tips of your fingers for that purpose.
Sugar-candy. ✠
- 6 cups of sugar.
- 1 cup of vinegar.
- 1 cup of water.
- Tablespoonful of butter, put in at the last, with
- 1 teaspoonful saleratus dissolved in hot water.
Boil fast without stirring, an hour, or until it crisps in cold water. Pull white with the tips of your fingers.