Peach butter
Peel and slice enough peaches to thicken three quarts of cider and boil steadily until the fruit is reduced to a pulp. While cooking, stir frequently. Remove from the fire, let it get cold, return to the fire and stew for an hour longer, or until brown and thick. Pack down in a stone crock.
Plum butter
To every pound of plums allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Wash the plums and put them into a preserving kettle, with the moisture still clinging to them. Cover, bring slowly to a boil, and cook until the fruit is broken to pieces and is very soft. Rub through a colander to remove stones and skins; return the juice and pulp to the fire, add the sugar and boil until the mixture is very thick. Put up in jars.
Peach jam
After you have peeled and stoned the fruit, weigh it, and to every pound of fruit allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Put the peaches in the kettle at the side of the range and bring very slowly to a boil in the juice that flows from them. Stir often; at the end of three-quarters of an hour drain off superfluous juice and add the sugar. Boil for fifteen minutes, skimming often, then add the juice of a lemon, cook for a minute more, and turn into glasses or small jars. The surplus of liquor will make good jelly.
Berry jam
Pick over and wash the berries, and allow equal weight of fruit and sugar. Put the berries into a preserving kettle, mash them as they heat, and when considerable juice has been drawn out, add the sugar gradually. Let them boil up all over, and then either skim out the fruit, or turn all into a strainer. Set the juice on to boil again, and cook until it is thick or will “jelly;” put the fruit back and let it boil once, and seal up in small jars.
If the fruit be very juicy, drain off half the syrup, strain out the seeds and cook until it jellies. Then, put up in glasses. Do this before adding the fruit for the last boil. A still better plan is to dip out superfluous juice before the sugar goes in. Add pound for pint and make jelly of it.