A practical cook and text book for general use

When ready to can fruit, put the covers in a basin of boiling water to sterilize them. Fill the cans a third full of water warm enough to thoroughly heat them, ten minutes before filling with hot fruit. To Can Strawberries. Wash carefully, a few at a time, before hulling them. Allow three quarts of berries for two one quart cans. Put them in a porcelain or granite ware kettle, with about a pint of cold water. Bring them to a boil, move them carefully with a wooden spoon, that all may be heated through, and cook them but slightly. Empty the warm water from the cans, adjust the rubber and fruit funnel, and carefully fill the cans ; when FRUITS. Ill half full shake the fruit down, then fill to the top ; remove the funnel, insert the handle of a silver spoon down the side of the can to assist the air bubbles in escaping ; add a little more juice if necessary, or boiling water ; stroke the air bubbles from the top, and screw on the cover. Invert the cans and if they do not ]eak, wipe with a damp towel, and set them away inverted to cool. When cool, screw the top down tightly, and set in a cool, dark place. Watch them a few days ; open and use any that show signs of fermentation. Raspberries are canned in the same way, although some varieties require a little more water. Blackberries should be cooked about five minutes. Blue and Huckleberries require ten minutes cooking, and more water than the juicy berries. Cherries should slowly cook twenty minutes, and may be stoned or not as one prefers. The tougher varieties require more cooking. Peaches. Wash them, drop into a kettle of boiling water a moment to loosen the skins; take them out with a skimmer unless you have a wire basket, which is more convenient. Cut in halves, remove the pits and skins ; if very large, cut them in quarters. Slowly cook . them in a little water until soft and can boiling hot. Pears. Wash, pare and halve, or quarter them, if very large. Cook until tender and can as above. Small pears may be cooked whole and unpared, to a rich color and then canned. The Seckel pear is the richest and best of all varieties for canning. Tomatoes. Select ripe, solid varieties for canning. Drop them in boiling water for a moment, or until the skin begins to crack ; remove from the water, peel, and cut out the hard portions about the stem. Slice them into a fruit kettle and stew fifteen minutes or more, and can boiling hot, the same as other fruit, and unless one is very careless in sealing, not a can will be lost by fermentation. All other fruit may be canned in the same manner. Be sure and set all canned fruits bottom upwards until cold, then screw the tops tightly and store them in a cool, dark place. Pineapple. Select thoroughly ripe " pines," and with a sharp knife slice off the outside, retaining the leaves as a handle to hold the fruit. Then with your strawberry huller take out the eyes, and holding the fruit by the leaves in one hand, with the other shred off the pulp with a silver fork. Turn the pine so the fork will strike it in every direction, andthepulp will fall in flakes into the dish, a plentiful supply of juice following. By this method the hard core of the pine is left in your hand, and only the pulp is used as food. By cooking till it is thoroughly sterilized this will keep without sugar or water. Cook fifteen minutes. If cans do not readily open when needed, invert them in a basin of very warm water for a little while.