Strawberries Preserved Whole.—Take equal weights largest strawberries procurable and fine loaf sugar, lay the fruit in deep dishes, and sprinkle half the sugar over them in fine powder; give the dish a gentle shake that the sugar may touch the under part of the fruit. The next day make a syrup with the remainder of the sugar and the juice drawn from the strawberries, and boil it until it jellies; then carefully put in the strawberries, and let them simmer nearly an hour; then put them with care into jars or bottles, and fill up with the syrup, of which there will be more than required; but the next day the jars will hold nearly or quite the whole. Cover the jars or bottles with brandy papers. (E. A. G.)
Tomato Preserve.—(a) Take those tomatoes not entirely ripe (the very green ones late in the autumn are nice) and remove the stems; allow ½ lb. white sugar to 1 lb. fruit; put into the preserving kettle, and add water enough to make sufficient syrup. Do not put too much water in at first, as you can add to it if there is not enough. Lemons should be sliced and put into it in the proportion of 1 lemon to every 2 lb. fruit. Cook until done through and the syrup looks thick. They make an excellent preserve and taste almost like figs.
(b) Take the sound fruit as soon as ripe, scald, and peel them. To 7 lb. tomatoes add 7 lb. white sugar, and let them stand overnight. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar and boil the syrup, removing the scum; put in the tomatoes and boil gently 15-20 minutes. Remove the fruit again and boil until the syrup thickens; on cooling put the fruit into jars, and pour the syrup over it; add a few slices of lemon to each jar.
Vegetable Marrow Preserve.—Take a ripe marrow about 9 lb. weight, with the same amount of sugar, pare the marrow and remove the seeds and any soft parts; cut in pieces 1 in. thick and 2 in. length; put them in a basin with layers of sugar all night, with 1 tablespoonful capsicums tied up in muslin, and double the quantity of rough ginger well bruised and tied in muslin. In the morning pour the liquid over the remainder of the sugar, which boil and skim; then add the fruit, also the juice and rind of a lemon to each lb. of fruit, and 1 teaspoonful cochineal for colouring; boil till the fluid is clear; before taking off 2 glasses of brandy may be added.
Walnuts, Preserved.—Gather the walnuts when they are full grown, but not hard. They should be in that state that a pin will penetrate them. Prick each walnut over with a large pin, put them in cold water, and leave them for 2 hours; then pour that water away, and fill the pan with fresh. Let the walnuts remain thus for 4 days, changing the water every 24 hours, to take out all the bitterness. At the end of the time change the water, and set them on the fire. As soon as they are soft take them out carefully with a skimmer, put them again into cold water, and leave them 4-5 days, changing the water as before every 24 hours. Then place the walnuts in a large glazed pan; then take common brown sugar, boil this with some water, and run the syrup through a jelly bag. Boil it again until it becomes thick, let it stand, and when about half cold pour it over the walnuts, and leave them. Next day drain off the syrup, boil it again, and when half cold pour it on the fruit. Repeat this every 24 hours, increasing the thickness of the syrup each time of boiling. A small quantity of coarse sugar should be added at every boiling, as the fruit ought to be covered with the syrup. On the ninth day put a few cloves and some cinnamon in a glass of water for 24 hours, then cut each clove into 4 pieces lengthwise; cut the cinnamon also into bits about the same size. Take the walnuts out of the syrup, and stick 4 pieces of clove and as many of cinnamon into each walnut. In the meanwhile boil the syrup up again, and when half cold pour it over the fruit and leave it. In 24 hours drain off the syrup, and set it on the fire for the last time. As soon as it begins to boil put in the fruit; let them boil up together about 12 times, and then take them from the fire. Make the bottles quite hot, put in the walnuts one by one with a skimmer, pour the syrup on (they should be well covered with it), and, when cold, cork them tight and tie a parchment over every one. You must not try to hurry the preserving, or you will get a bitter jam. These walnuts may be eaten immediately, or they will keep for 10 years; but, as in course of time the fruit sucks up the syrup, they should be filled up with fresh. You might use loaf sugar in preference to brown.
[THE DAIRY.]
The dairy should either be an isolated building or attached to the farm-house. It must be built with a view to keeping it dry, airy, light, cool, and above everything clean. Nothing absorbs the taint of bad odours more quickly than milk. The best aspect for a dairy is the north, and while the windows admit plenty of light (which develops colour in the cream) they should be shaded with evergreens to exclude sunshine and heat. The temperature should range between 60° and 65° F., never exceeding 65° nor descending below 55°. In a temperature of 40° F., milk keeps fresh for a very long time, but the cream becomes bitter before it can be skimmed. In a temperature of 70° to 72° F., the milk sours readily and yields less cream, which latter will make a soft butter very prone to rancidity.
Where the dairy is isolated, provision must be made in the building for washing the utensils. This will need much care to avoid conflicting with the conditions just mentioned. The dairy site must be well drained. The walls may be of brick, built double with an air space between, on concrete footings 12 in. thick, with a damp-course as described on p. [5]. The best material for flooring is well-laid Portland cement concrete; the floor should incline gently to one corner, where an outlet can be fitted so that the floor can be thoroughly flushed at intervals. All sharp corners, and edges, and mouldings must be avoided, as they form nests for the collection of dirt. The walls may be plastered throughout with material that will make a smooth surface capable of being washed, or they may be covered with glazed tiles. Shelves for holding the milk dishes should be about 5 ft. from the floor and preferably of enamelled iron or thin slate or stone slabs. Perforated shelves afford better circulation of air. The shelves should in any case be quite independent of the walls of the room.