Baked in a Jar. Any fruit such as apples, peaches, etc., are nice baked in an earthen jar with a cover on, and kept in a slow oven three or four hours. The flavor differs essentially from that of ordinary baked fruit, as also the color. Apples and pears should not be soft, and may be cooked whole without paring. Core the apples. Remove skins and pits from peaches. Pare, core and quarter quinces, and use two parts sweet fruits to one of quince. Cranberries. Pick over and wash a quart of the berries, put them in the sauce pan with about a pint of water, simmer until done, put them through a wire strainer to remove the skins, and sweeten with a small cup of sugar. Cranberries may be sweetened with raisins or dates. They may be kept fresh in stone or glass jars with cold water to cover them, and set in a cool place, protected from the air and dust. Stewed Rhubarb. Wash the stalks, cut into inch pieces, without peeling. To remove a portion of the acid cover with boiling water and stand on the stove until it changes its color. Drain and put in a sauce pan without J FRUITS. 109 water, with one cup of sugar to one quart of rhubarb. Cook slowly until soft, but do not destroy its form. When done turn out in a fruit dish and serve cold. Cooked raisins, figs or dates, in about equal parts, will sweeten rhubarb without sugar, and so prepared, gives variety. Have sufficient juice in the sweet fruits to make the proper amount, and arrange in a fruit dish in alternate layers. Rhubarb may also be baked in a pudding dish with alter- nate layers of figs, dates or raisins. Barely cover with cold water, and bake slowly one hour. Baked Bananas. Split the fruit lengthwise with a pointed knife, lift the halves out of the skins and strip off the pith-like coating, restore the skins, sprinkle with a trifle of sugar, and bake in a moderate oven twenty min- utes. Serve with the following sauce. Orange Sauce. Mix a teaspoonful of corn starch with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Press the juice from three good sized oranges and heat. When hot add corn starch and sugar, and cook till clear. This sauce can be made while the fruit is baking. Appetizing and artistic dishes may be easily prepared with sweet and sour fruits in alternate layers, or chopped fine, and carefully blended before serving. The ingenious cook who has numerous calls for frequent modifications in simple desserts, will be able to make them of rice, sago, tapioca and cereals, granula, or bread crumbs steeped a few moments in hot water, may also be used. Sago, Rice and Tapioca, should be well washed, and steamed or cooked in a double boiler until tender and clear, in the proportion of one cup of either to about three to five cups of cold water. They may then be combined no THE FAT OF THE LAND. with various kinds of fruit, fresh or dried ; arranged in layers in a mold or cups, after cooking, and served warm or cold, with fruit juice or crushed fruit. Cover all soft cooked foods to prevent escape of the aroma and absorbtion of impurities. Do not spice or salt fruits, nor deteriorate their quality with commercial flavoring extracts ; but if desired, flavor one kind with some other. All ripe fruit is best eaten uncooked. Steaming fruits is preferable to any other method of cooking, being more economical, less work, and the flavors and juices are retained. CANNED FRUITS. Select good fruit, and not over ripe for canning, and wash or rinse it in clean water. See that cans, rubbers and covers are clean and perfect. Cracked, stiff rubbers, and bent, unclean covers are often the cause of spoiled fruit. Do not sweeten before canning as it retains color and flavor better without, and keeps just as well.

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Baked in a Jar. Any fruit such as apples, peaches, etc., are nice baked in an earthen jar with a cover on, and kept in a slow oven three or four hours. The flavor differs essentially from that of ordinary baked fruit, as also the color. Apples and pears should not be soft, and may be cooked whole without paring. Core the apples. Remove skins and pits from peaches. Pare, core and quarter quinces, and use two parts sweet fruits to one of quince. Cranberries. Pick over and wash a quart of the berries, put them in the sauce pan with about a pint of water, simmer until done, put them through a wire strainer to remove the skins, and sweeten with a small cup of sugar. Cranberries may be sweetened with raisins or dates. They may be kept fresh in stone or glass jars with cold water to cover them, and set in a cool place, protected from the air and dust. Stewed Rhubarb. Wash the stalks, cut into inch pieces, without peeling. To remove a portion of the acid cover with boiling water and stand on the stove until it changes its color. Drain and put in a sauce pan without water, with one cup of sugar to one quart of rhubarb. Cook slowly until soft, but do not destroy its form. When done turn out in a fruit dish and serve cold. Cooked raisins, figs or dates, in about equal parts, will sweeten rhubarb without sugar, and so prepared, gives variety. Have sufficient juice in the sweet fruits to make the proper amount, and arrange in a fruit dish in alternate layers. Rhubarb may also be baked in a pudding dish with alternate layers of figs, dates or raisins. Barely cover with cold water, and bake slowly one hour. Baked Bananas. Split the fruit lengthwise with a pointed knife, lift the halves out of the skins and strip off the pith-like coating, restore the skins, sprinkle with a trifle of sugar, and bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes. Serve with the following sauce. Orange Sauce. Mix a teaspoonful of corn starch with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Press the juice from three good sized oranges and heat. When hot add corn starch and sugar, and cook till clear. This sauce can be made while the fruit is baking. Appetizing and artistic dishes may be easily prepared with sweet and sour fruits in alternate layers, or chopped fine, and carefully blended before serving. The ingenious cook who has numerous calls for frequent modifications in simple desserts, will be able to make them of rice, sago, tapioca and cereals, granula, or bread crumbs steeped a few moments in hot water, may also be used. Sago, Rice and Tapioca, should be well washed, and steamed or cooked in a double boiler until tender and clear, in the proportion of one cup of either to about three to five cups of cold water. They may then be combined with various kinds of fruit, fresh or dried ; arranged in layers in a mold or cups, after cooking, and served warm or cold, with fruit juice or crushed fruit. Cover all soft cooked foods to prevent escape of the aroma and absorbtion of impurities. Do not spice or salt fruits, nor deteriorate their quality with commercial flavoring extracts ; but if desired, flavor one kind with some other. All ripe fruit is best eaten uncooked. Steaming fruits is preferable to any other method of cooking, being more economical, less work, and the flavors and juices are retained. CANNED FRUITS. Select good fruit, and not over ripe for canning, and wash or rinse it in clean water. See that cans, rubbers and covers are clean and perfect. Cracked, stiff rubbers, and bent, unclean covers are often the cause of spoiled fruit. Do not sweeten before canning as it retains color and flavor better without, and keeps just as well.

A practical cook and text book for general use