Peel and quarter a dozen large pears and remove the cores, laying the quartered fruit in cold water as you do so. Put them over the fire with a pint of boiling water and stew until tender. Remove the fruit and add to the liquor a cupful of sugar, a stick of cinnamon, one of mace, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Boil until thick, strain the syrup and pour it over the pears. Cover closely until they are cold. Seckel pears, peeled and stewed whole according to this recipe, are delicious.
Stewed peaches
Peel and stone three dozen peaches. Put them over the fire with enough boiling water to cover them and put into the water six peach-pits (crushed) and two slices of pineapple cut into dice. Stew slowly, and when the peaches are tender transfer them to a bowl while you boil the liquor hard for five minutes, then strain it and add three cupfuls of granulated sugar. Boil to a thick syrup and pour over the peaches. Cover while cooking.
Stewed plums
Wipe each plum carefully with a soft damp cloth, and prick it with a fork to prevent bursting. Have the water in the preserving kettle a little more than lukewarm and lay the fruit in it. Bring to a gentle boil, cook just long enough for the plums to become tender, but not long enough for the skins to crack. They must be watched carefully. Remove to a deep dish, add a cupful of granulated sugar to every quart of liquor, boil to a syrup and pour over the plums.
Apple sauce
Wash two dozen firm, juicy apples and cut them—without peeling—into pieces. Put them into a porcelain-lined saucepan with a cupful of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook steadily, stirring frequently, until the fruit is soft and broken into bits. Remove from the fire and run through a colander to free the sauce from all bits of skin. Sweeten the apples to taste, and stir over the fire until the sugar is melted, but do not allow the mixture to boil. Add a teaspoonful of lemon juice and set aside until cold. Apple sauce made in this way is better in flavor and color than that made from the peeled fruit. The best part of the apple is that lying close to the skin, and it consequently loses much of its flavor in the peeling.
If sealed up while hot this will keep through the winter and supply fresh apple sauce when the raw fruit is scarce and expensive.
Stewed evaporated peaches
Wash the sliced peaches carefully and soak for six hours in cold water. Turn the fruit with the water in which it was soaked into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Add a little sugar and stew until the peaches are tender. With a split spoon remove the slices of fruit, add a cupful of granulated sugar to the liquor, and boil quickly to thick syrup. Pour this over the peaches.