Stone the largest white Newington Peaches, and pare them, and have ready a Pan over the Fire with boiling Water; put in the Peaches, and let them boil ’till they are tender; then lay them on a Sieve to drain out all the Water; weigh them, and lay them in the Pan you boil them in, and cover them with their Weight in Sugar; let them lye two or three Hours; then boil them ’till they are clear, and the Syrup pretty thick; set them by cover’d, with a Paper close to them; the next Day scald them very well, setting them off the Fire and on again, ’till the Peaches are thorough hot; repeat this for three Days; then lay them on Plates to dry, and turn them every Day ’till dry.
[ To make Peach-Chips.]
Pare the Peaches, and cut them in thin Chips; to four Pound of Chips put three Pound and a Half of fine beaten Sugar; let the Sugar and Chips lye a little while, ’till the Sugar is well melted, then boil them fast ’till they are clear; about half an Hour will do them enough; set them by ’till the next Day, then scald them very well two Days, and lay them on earthen Plates in a Stove; sift on them fine Sugar, through a Lawn Sieve; turn them every Day, sifting them ’till almost dry; then lay them on a Sieve a Day or two more in the Stove: Lay them in a Box close together, and when they have lain so a Week, pick them asunder, that they may not be in Lumps.
[ To preserve or dry Nutmeg-Peaches.]
Peel the Peaches, and put them in boiling Water; let them boil a Quarter of an Hour; lay them to drain, weigh them, and to a Pound of Peaches put a Pound of fine Sugar beaten very small; when the Sugar is pretty well melted, boil them very fast ’till they are clear; set them by ’till they are cold; then scald them very well; take to every Pint of Peach a Pint of Codling-Jelly and a Pound of Sugar; boil it ’till it jellies very well, then put in the Peaches and half the Syrup; let them boil fast; then put them in Pots or Glasses: If you wou’d dry them, scald them three or four Days, and dry them out of their Syrup.
[ To preserve Cucumbers.]
Take Cucumbers of the same Bigness that you wou’d to pickle; pick them fresh, green, and free from Spots; boil them in Water ’till they are tender; then run a Knitting-needle through them the long Way, and scrape off all Roughness; then green them, which is done thus: Let your Water be ready to boil, take it off, and put in a good Piece of Roach-Allum; set it on the Fire, and put in the Cucumbers; cover them close ’till you see they look green; weigh them, and take their Weight in single-refin’d Sugar clarify’d; to a Pound of Sugar put a Pint of Water; put your Cucumbers in; boil them a little close-cover’d; set them by, and boil them a little every Day for four Days; then take them out of your Syrup, and make a Syrup of double-refin’d Sugar, a Pound of Sugar and half a Pint of Water to every Pound of Cucumbers; put in your Cucumbers, and boil them ’till they are clear; then put in the Juice of two or three Lemmons, and a little Orange-flower-water, and give them a Boil altogether: You may either lay them out to dry, or keep them in Syrup; but every Time you take any out, make the other scalding hot, and they will keep two or three Years.
[ To dry Green Figs.]
Take the white Figs at the full Bigness, before they turn Colour; slit them at the Bottom; put your Figs in scalding Water; keep them in a Scald, but not boil them ’till they are turn’d yellow; then let them stand ’till they are cold; they must be close cover’d, and something on them to keep them under Water; set them on the Fire again, and when they are ready to boil, put to them a little Verdigrease and Vinegar, and keep them in a Scald ’till they are green; then put them in boiling Water; let them boil ’till they are very tender; drain them well from the Water, and to every Pound clarify a Pound and Half of single-refin’d Sugar, and when the Sugar is cold put in the Figs; let them lye all Night in the cold Syrup; the next Day boil them ’till they are very clear, and the Syrup thick, and scald them every Day for a Week; then lay them to dry in a Stove, turning them every Day; weigh your Figs when they are raw; and when you clarify your Sugar, put half a Pint of Water to a Pound of Sugar: If your Figs grow too dry, you may put them in their Syrup again; they will look new to the End of the Year.