Stewed dried pears
Wash and soak the evaporated fruit as directed in the preceding recipe, and put over the fire in the water in which it was soaked. The slices should be just covered by the water. Stew until very tender, then remove the fruit and set aside while you measure the juice. To a half-pint of the liquor add a half-pint of molasses and simmer for twenty-five minutes. Skim the syrup, return the pears to it, add a pinch of powdered ginger, boil up once, and remove from the fire.
Gingered pears
Peel and core and cut in very thin slices. For eight pounds of sliced fruit put into a kettle the juice from five lemons, one cupful of water, seven pounds of sugar and half a pound of ginger-root scraped and cut into thin slices.
Let the sugar dissolve before adding the fruit. Cut the peel of a lemon into long, thin slices and add to the fruit. Let it cook slowly for an hour, uncovered, and can while hot.
Stewed rhubarb
Carefully scrape—not peel—the stalks, cut into inch-lengths, and lay them in cold water for half an hour. Weigh the rhubarb, and to each pound of the fruit allow a half-pound of granulated sugar. Put the rhubarb, still wet, into an agate-lined saucepan, mix the sugar with it, and set it at one side of the range until the sugar melts. Bring slowly to a boil, and stew until the rhubarb is very tender. Eat cold, accompanied by plain cake, or thin bread and butter.
You may seal up while hot in glass jars, wrap in paper to exclude the light, and keep all the year round.
Apple butter
Boil cider down to two-thirds of its original quantity. Into this turn as many peeled and sliced apples as the liquid will cover and simmer, stirring often, until very tender. When the first supply of apples is tender, strain them out, add more and cook in the same fashion until all the cider is absorbed. Take from the fire, put all into a stone crock and set aside for twelve hours, then return to the fire and boil until you have a soft brown mass. Remove and pack in stone jars.