Spiced Currants
| Currants, | 1 quart |
| Sugar, | 1 lb. |
| Vinegar, | ½ cup |
| Cloves (ground), | 1 teaspoon |
| Cinnamon (ground), | 1 teaspoon |
Adelaide picked over the currants and removed the stems. Putting the currants into the colander, she dipped it up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water, then set it aside to drain. Into the saucepan she poured the currants, added one pound of sugar, a half a cup of vinegar, and a teaspoon each of cloves and cinnamon.
Placing the saucepan over the fire, she let the currants heat through gradually, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, and when thoroughly scalded she lifted out the currants with a skimmer.
Adelaide boiled the juice until it thickened, then added the currants again and let them just boil up. They were then ready to put into the sterilized pint jar, so Adelaide filled it to overflowing. Next she inserted a silver knife between the jar and the fruit, to let all air bubbles rise to the top and break, placed a new rubber on the jar smoothly, sealed quickly and stood upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning the jar was examined carefully to be sure it did not leak, all stickiness was wiped off with a damp cloth from the outside, then the label was pasted on and Adelaide stored the jar away in the preserve closet.
Spiced Cherries
| Cherries, | 2 lbs. |
| Sugar, | 1 lb. |
| Vinegar, | ½ cup |
| Stick cinnamon, | 1/3 ounce |
| Whole cloves, | 1/3 ounce |
Adelaide stemmed the cherries and washed them in the colander by dipping it up and down several times in a pan of clear cold water, after which she stoned them. Into a saucepan she measured one-half a cup of vinegar. To this she added a third of an ounce each of whole cloves and cinnamon tied up in a muslin bag. The vinegar and spices Adelaide let boil gently for fifteen minutes, then she added one pound of sugar and boiled the mixture ten minutes longer, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and skimming well. At the end of the ten minutes Adelaide dropped in the cherries and cooked the fruit gently for one-half hour. Lifting out the cherries with a skimmer, she put them into the sterilized pint jar, added the juice to overflowing, and inserted a silver knife between the jar and the fruit to let all air bubbles rise to the top and break. Then she placed on a new rubber and sealed quickly, standing the jar upside down out of the way of any draft.
The next morning, after carefully inspecting the jar for any possible leaks, Adelaide wiped off all stickiness from the outside with a damp cloth, pasted on the label and stored the jar away in the preserve closet.