| Blackberries, | 1 quart |
| Sugar |
After picking over the blackberries Adelaide placed them in the colander and dipped it up and down in a pan of clear cold water several times to remove all dust and dirt. After weighing the berries she poured them into a saucepan and sprinkled over them an equal weight of sugar. These stood for an hour before Adelaide put the saucepan over the fire and let the berries and sugar come slowly to the boiling point. Adelaide stirred them gently with a wooden spoon, being careful not to break the fruit.
When they boiled up she skimmed out the blackberries into a dish and the syrup cooked for five minutes.
Returning the blackberries to the syrup she put the saucepan at the back of the range and let the fruit slowly heat without stirring. After they had stood fifteen minutes she poured the berries at once into the sterilized pint jar, filling it to overflowing. With a silver knife, which she inserted between the jar and the fruit, she let all air bubbles rise to the top and break. Placing a new rubber over the top smoothly she sealed quickly and stood the jar upside down out of the way of any draft. In the morning it was ready to be inspected carefully for any leaks, and she wiped off all stickiness with a damp cloth, pasted on the label and stored the fruit away in the preserve closet.
Preserved Cherries
| Cherries, | 1 quart |
| Sugar |
Adelaide washed the cherries in the colander, which she dipped up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water. She took off the stems and removed the stones, weighed the cherries and added a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Then she let them stand over night, and the next morning put them into the saucepan to cook slowly until clear and tender, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon so as not to break the fruit.
When they were done Adelaide picked out the cherries first with the skimmer and dropped them into the sterilized pint jar, then she filled it to overflowing with the syrup, inserted a silver knife between the fruit and the jar to let all air bubbles rise to the top and break, placed on a new rubber smoothly, sealed quickly and stood the jar upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning she inspected the jar carefully to be sure that it did not leak, wiped off all stickiness with a damp cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve closet.
"Mother," said Adelaide one morning, "it is not nearly as discouraging to preserve as it is to just plain cook."