Jessie May was very much interested in the little box, and eagerly looked over the neat little cards which the box contained, and on which the precious directions were to be found.
Jessie May wanted to see the one for orange marmalade, "Because," as she said, "it was really the first recipe you ever tried, Adelaide." Suddenly she exclaimed, "My goodness! did you only use two oranges and one lemon and a grapefruit? I shouldn't think they would make very much."
"Well, they did," replied Adelaide, "they made several small tumblers full, and, besides, you will notice that all my recipes are for small quantities, because mother did not want me to grow tired of my work but enjoy each new recipe as it came along, and I most certainly did," she ended.
Then the two little girls went into the kitchen, and Adelaide showed Jessie May the different things she used while preserving. There were not very many, and they were all easy to take care of. There was the aluminum kettle, just deep enough to hold a pint jar overflowing with water (the pint jar was the largest sized jar which Adelaide used) for sterilizing; a pair of scales; a jelly bag attached to a wire frame (which was very inexpensive), and could be slipped on to a bowl or saucepan so that the juice could drip slowly; a long wooden spoon; a silver tablespoon for skimming; a silver knife to insert in the jars to let the air bubbles rise to the top when filled with fruit; two half-pint glass measuring cups; a large aluminum funnel; a small round wire rack to put in the bottom of the saucepan to prevent the jars from touching bottom and to allow the water to flow under as well as over the top; a strawberry huller; a small sharp knife; a wire strainer; a colander; and a quart pitcher.
Adelaide told Jessie May that if she had forgotten anything she would be sure to find what was needed by referring to the proper card alphabetically arranged under "Utensils" in the precious little box.
When Adelaide commenced her lessons in preserving mother said that she would find many general rules to remember, which, if carefully followed, saved time and expense, and brought successful results.
Adelaide had sampled mother's preserves for some few years now, even though she was not so very old, and she knew the difference between jams, jellies, preserves, marmalades, conserves, etc., as far as taste was concerned, but the process of making was the pleasure she was eagerly anticipating. She began to feel "quite grown up" when mother told her to write down the following:
The preserve closet, where the fruit is to be stored, should be dark, dry and cool.
The jars and tumblers used should be properly sterilized. Then mother explained that to sterilize, you washed your jars and tumblers perfectly clean, placed them in a large pan (a dishpan would do) of clean cold water over the fire, and let boil gently for ten minutes. The jars would be less likely to crack if a wire or wooden rack was at the bottom of the pan for the jars to rest on. Also, the jars must have no nicks around the top, the covers must fit perfectly, and they should be left in the boiled water until ready to use.
After filling the jar to overflowing, insert a silver knife between the sides and fruit, to let the air bubbles rise to the top before sealing. Always use new rubbers every year, and dip them in boiling water before putting them smoothly on the jar.