Chapter XIX: Fruits

Apple Sauce

1¹⁄₂ qts. sour apples
1 pt. water
1 cup sugar

Wash, pare, core, and cut the apples into pieces, add the water and sugar and bring them to a boil. Put them into the cooker for from one to three hours or more, depending upon the ripeness of the apples. If they are not very tart or high-flavoured the juice of half a lemon will improve them. Apple sauce will not be harmed by indefinite cooking in the cooker. Beat it well when cooked, or, if preferred, it may be strained.

Serves six or eight persons.

Stewed Apples in Syrup

1 qt. water
¹⁄₂ lemon
10 cups sugar
18 cloves
10 qts. prepared apples

Pare, core, and cut tart apples in halves, unless they are small. Crab-apples may be used, but should not be pared nor cored. Wash and slice the lemon. Put all the ingredients into a cooker-pail and let them come to a boil. Put them into a cooker for three hours. If the apples are not very ripe they may cook as long as twelve hours without becoming too soft.

Serves twenty-five to thirty persons.

Apple Jelly

6 quarts prepared apples
7 cups water

Wash the apples carefully, cut them into small pieces and remove any decayed parts. Put the apples and water into a cooker-pail and let them come to a boil, then set them in a cooker for four hours or more. When very soft, pour them into a jelly bag and hang this over a large bowl for several hours or over night. Measure the juice, boil it for fifteen minutes, add three quarters as much sugar as the measure of juice, boil the mixture for five minutes more, or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes. Skim the jelly carefully while it is boiling. Fruit that is slightly under-ripe is best for jelly. When cold, seal it in the following manner: For each glass cut a small piece of white paper to fit inside it, lying on the jelly. This is to be dipped into alcohol or brandy and laid in place. Cover the top of the glass with another paper cut three-fourths of an inch larger than the top of the glass, and paste it down on the sides of the glass, using white of egg or any paste without a strong odor. Or seal jelly glasses with melted paraffin poured over the top until the jelly is completely covered. Do not let the paraffin get very hot or it may give a bad flavour to the jelly.

Blackberry and Apple Jelly

5 qts. blackberries
2 cups water
Apple juice

Look over the berries carefully; put them, with the water, into a cooker-pail and let them come to a boil. Put them in a cooker for three hours or more, then pour them into a jelly bag and let them drip for a least six hours. To each cupful of juice add half a cupful of apple juice prepared as for apple jelly. Boil these juices for fifteen minutes, then add five cups of sugar to each six cups of juice and boil it for five minutes longer or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes. Pour it into glasses and seal it when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Stewed Blackberries

Pick over two quarts of berries, put them, with one cupful of sugar, into a cooker-pail and let them slowly come to a boil, stirring them occasionally as they are likely to scorch if cooked over a flame or very hot fire. When boiling, put them into a cooker for two hours or more. If cooked a very long time the juice comes out and leaves the berries rather small and seedy, but otherwise no amount of cooking hurts them.

Serves twelve or fifteen persons.

Currant Jelly

Wash twelve quarts of currants, add one cupful of water and put them on to boil. Stir them occasionally so that they will not scorch. When boiling, put them into a cooker for four hours or more. Pour them into a jelly bag and let them drip for at least six hours. Measure the juice, and when it has boiled fifteen minutes add an equal measure of sugar. Boil the mixture for five minutes, or until a few drops will jelly on a cold plate if allowed to stand a few minutes. Skim the jelly several times during the boiling. When it is done, pour it into glasses, and seal it, when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Cranberry Jelly

1¹⁄₂ qts. berries
1 cup water
Sugar

Wash the berries and remove any soft and decayed ones. Bring them to a boil with the water and put them into a cooker for one or two hours or more. Mash them through a fine strainer or sieve, measure the pulp and add equal parts or three-quarters of the amount in sugar. Boil five minutes, or till a few drops will jelly on a cold plate. Pour it into moulds which have been wet with cold water. When cold, it is ready to serve.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Cranberry Sauce

1¹⁄₂ qts. cranberries
2¹⁄₂ cups sugar
1 cup water

Wash the berries and remove any that are soft and decayed. Put the berries, water, and sugar into a cooker-pail and bring them to a boil, stirring them frequently. When boiling, place the pail in a cooker for two and one-half hours or more. Serve cold.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Dried Fruits

Wash the fruit very thoroughly. If it is first soaked for five minutes and then washed, it will clean more thoroughly. To each cupful of fruit add two cupfuls of water and let it soak for at least six hours. It is better if soaked ten hours. Add the sugar and bring all to a boil. Put it into a cooker for from two to twelve hours, depending upon the fruit. Prunes are improved by long cooking, apples are not injured by it, but peaches or apricots, which are more attractive if they are not broken to pieces, will be better if removed as soon as they are perfectly soft. The amount of sugar varies for different fruits; apricots, prunelles, and such sour fruits requiring about one cupful of sugar for each pint of dried fruit; prunes, peaches, and apples requiring from one-fourth to one-half as much.

Stewed Rhubarb

1¹⁄₂ qts. prepared rhubarb
³⁄₄ cup water
2 cups sugar

Wash the stalks, pare them if old, cut them into one-inch pieces and put them, with the sugar and water, into a two quart cooker-pail. When boiling, set the pail in a cooker for from one to three hours or more, depending upon the character of the rhubarb. Some people prefer to use brown sugar with rhubarb.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Stewed Figs

1 lb. figs
1¹⁄₂ cups sugar
Juice of one lemon
Water to cover figs

Use pulled figs; those which come in boxes crack open when they are pressed and are not so attractive when stewed. The natural form is preserved in pulled figs, and they have, besides, the advantage of being cheaper. Wash the figs and put them, with the other ingredients, into a pan which fits the cooker-pail. Boil them, set the pan in the pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for seven hours or more. When cold, serve the figs with whipped cream.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Sweet Pickles

8 lbs. fruit (prepared)
5 lbs. brown sugar
1 qt. vinegar
³⁄₈ cup stick cinnamon
³⁄₈ cup whole allspice
¹⁄₄ cup cloves

Prepare the fruit as directed below. Tie the spices in several cheese-cloth bags, and bring them to the boiling point in a cooker-pail, with the sugar and vinegar. Add the fruit, let it barely come to a boil, stirring it carefully, so that it will not break to pieces. Set it in a cooker for the time directed below for each particular kind of fruit. When it is sufficiently cooked, remove it from the syrup and put it into cans or crocks. Boil the syrup until it loses its thin, watery consistency, and pour it over the fruit. If this occupies more than one receptacle, put one spice bag in each. Cover or seal the cans while still hot. Sweet pickles should not be eaten until they have stood for several weeks.

_Peaches_:

Select firm, ripe peaches, rub them well with a woolen cloth, but do not pare them. Cook them whole, as directed above, for from one to two hours or more, depending upon the hardness and size of the peaches.

_Pears_:

Wash, pare and, if desired, cut the pears in half, removing the cores. Cook them, as directed above, for from one to two hours or more, depending upon the hardness and size of the pears.

_Crab Apples_:

Wash and dry the apples and cut out the blossom. Drop them into the syrup as soon as the sugar is dissolved. Let them boil and cook them, as directed above, for from two to three hours.

_Watermelon Rind or Citron_:

Pare the rind and cut it into pieces. Put it into a cooker-pail of boiling salt and water, mixed in the proportion of one-half cup of salt to one gallon of water. Slip the pail at once into a cooker for ten hours or over night. When the rind is soft drain it and wash it in cold water. Drain it in a colander and add it to the syrup, prepared as directed above, and cook it, as other sweet pickles, for from four to six hours. The fruit shrinks to about one-half its bulk after cooking in the brine.

_Prunes_:

Soak the prunes for five minutes, wash them well, then soak them for six hours in enough water to cover them. Remove the pits, crack them, and chop the kernels. Cook the prunes and kernels in spiced syrup as directed above for ten hours or over night. Weigh the fruit after it has been soaked in order to estimate the amount of syrup needed.

_Plums_:

Wipe the fruit, prick it and put it into the syrup, bring it slowly to a boil and cook it as directed above, for from one to two hours. If each plum is pricked once with a sharp-pointed fork or nut-pick it will not burst.

_Quinces_:

Wash the fruit and wipe it. Peel, quarter, and core it and bring it to a boil in enough water to half cover it; cook it in a cooker for ten hours or over night or steam it in a wire rack over boiling water for ten minutes and place it in a cooker for three hours; put it over the fire and bring it again to a hard boil and replace it in the cooker for another three hours. The quinces, unless very hard, will then be ready to cook in the syrup as directed above, for ten hours or over night. If they are first cooked in water instead of by steaming, the water may be used for making a syrup to use as a pudding sauce or for other purposes.

Orange Marmalade

1 large grape-fruit
2 large oranges
1 large lemon
Sugar
Water

Wash the fruit with a brush, wipe it dry and cut it, in very thin slices, removing only the seeds. Discard the first and last slices, which consist of nothing but skin. Measure the sliced fruit, and to every quart of fruit add three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and put it into a cooker for ten hours or over night. Bring it again to a boil and cook it again for ten hours. Add the equivalent measure of both fruit and water in sugar, bring it to a boil, and put it again into the cooker for ten hours or more. If it is not sufficiently thick in consistency, boil it slowly until a drop will jelly slightly if put on a cold plate and left a few minutes. As marmalade is not usually sealed with air-tight covers it will evaporate somewhat, and become thicker by long standing, and will therefore not need to be boiled until very stiff. The longer it is boiled the less delicate the flavour becomes. This recipe should make five pints or more of marmalade.

Candied Orange or Grape-Fruit Peel

Peel of 6 oranges or 2 grape-fruit
3 cups sugar
1¹⁄₂ cups water in which peel was cooked

Carefully scrub the fruit till very clean, remove the peel in quarters and soak it in water for a few hours. If it is to be used as candy, scrape away a little of the white part, and cut it into very narrow strips. If to be used for cooking purposes, it need not be scraped or cut small. Put it into a cooker-pail and cover it with boiling water. Let it boil and set it in a cooker for ten hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point and cook it again for ten hours or more. This will be enough for grape-fruit, but orange-peel may require one more such period of cooking. When soft and nearly transparent, drain the peel, saving one and one-half cups of the water. Add to it three cups of sugar, and, when this is dissolved, the peel. Boil it, slowly toward the last, until most of the water has boiled away. Remove the strips and lay them in a bed of granulated sugar, covering them also with sugar. Let them stand until cold, then shake off the loose sugar, which can be used for cooking purposes, and put the candied peel into covered boxes or cans.

Canned Quinces

6 qts. quinces (prepared)
6 qts. water
4¹⁄₂ lbs. sugar

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before measuring them. Bring them to the boiling point with the water in a cooker-pail. When they are boiling hard put them into a cooker for ten hours or more. If they are not then very soft to the centre of the pieces, bring them again to a boil and cook them for from six to ten or more hours, according to their condition. When perfectly tender add the sugar and bring all again to the boiling point. Set them in a cooker for four hours or more. Bring them to a boil and put them at once into clean, sterilized cans. When overflowing full, seal the cans at once.

This recipe makes about eleven quarts.

Preserved Quinces

8 lbs. prepared quinces
8 lbs. sugar
2 qts. water

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before measuring them. Put them into a cooker-pail, add the water, and when they are boiling hard, put them into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not perfectly tender, heat them again to the boiling point and set them in the cooker for as many more hours as they require, depending upon their ripeness. Thoroughly ripe quinces will probably not require this second period of cooking. Add the sugar, bring them to a boil, and set them in the cooker for four hours or more. If they are not rich enough, boil them slowly, uncovered, until they are of the desired consistency. Long, slow boiling is what gives quinces the red colour so much admired.

Citron and Ginger Preserves

6 lbs. fruit (prepared)
4 lemons
¹⁄₄ lb. green ginger
1¹⁄₂ qts. water
6 lbs. sugar

Pare the citron and cut it into thick slices. Remove the seeds, cut the slices across into cubes, strips, or fancy shapes, and weigh them. Wash the lemons, slice them and remove the seeds. Wash and peel the ginger. Put the citron, lemon, ginger, and water into a cooker-pail. Bring them to a boil and put them into a cooker for eight hours or more, depending upon the hardness of the citron. When this is soft and nearly transparent, add the sugar, boil it, and cook again for four hours or more. Remove the fruit, put it into cans or jars, and boil down the syrup until it will just cover the fruit. Pour it at once over the fruit and close the cans when cooled. Cover them with a clean towel while cooling.

Watermelon rind may be preserved in the same manner.

Grape Jam

Remove the grapes from the stems, wash them in a colander, then press the pulp from the skins. Boil the pulp for a few minutes, until it will easily separate from the seeds. Rub it through a sieve, add the skins, and weigh or measure the mixture. Add an equal quantity of sugar, heat it over a moderate fire until it is simmering, stirring it frequently. Do not let it boil hard or the skins will be toughened. Set it in a cooker for three hours or more. Put it into sterilized glasses or jars, cover it with a towel until it is cold, and seal it as directed for apple jelly on page 169.

Grape Juice

Remove ripe Concord grapes from the stems, wash them in a colander, bring them just to the boiling point over a moderate fire, stirring them frequently. Put them into a cooker for five hours or more. Drain them in a jelly bag for at least eight hours. Each quart of loose grapes should yield about one pint of juice. Add one cup of sugar to every quart of juice; bring it just to the boiling point and pour it at once into sterilized bottles, not filling the bottles quite full. Cork them at once. When cold, press the corks down more firmly, cut them off level with the top of the bottle, and dip the inverted bottles, for an instant, into Wax for Sealing. If bubbles appear in the wax around or over the cork, break them and dip the bottle again.

Wax for Sealing Bottles

Melt together equal parts of beeswax and rosin. As soon as it is liquid it should be used or drawn back on the stove where it will not burn. It will keep indefinitely.

Preserved Ginger

Buy fresh, green ginger, of good size and quality. Peel or scrape it and cut it into lengths for serving. Cook it in a cooker for ten hours or more in boiling salted water (one-half cupful of salt to one gallon of water). Drain away the brine and add fresh boiling water to more than cover it. When boiling put it again into the cooker for ten hours or more. Change the water and cook it again, repeating this process until the ginger is very tender. It may take several days. Make a syrup, using two cupfuls of sugar to each cupful of water, bring the ginger to a boil in this syrup, set it in a cooker for five or six hours; remove the ginger, boil the syrup down to a rich consistency, and pour it over the ginger.