Pears should be well ripened and of fine flavor. A taste-
less, insipid pear is only suitable for sweet pickle.
Tomatoes should be peeled and cooked till well scalded,
then salted and sealed at once.
Always fill to overflowing, using boiling water when
there is not enough S3aaip. Run the handle of a silver
tablespoon down the inside of the jar, that the S3'rup may
completel}^ surround the fruit. Fasten the covers on se-
curel}', and give the screw an extra turn every half-hour
until the fruit is cold. If the jars be kept bottom up and
in a dark place, there is hardh- a chance of failure. The
best quality of thick tin-foil may be used as a cover for
an}" large-mouthed bottle or jar minus a cover. Fill the
jar with the fruit and syrup, cover with a large piece of
tin-foil, work it down over the rim until perfectly smooth
and tight. If air-tight, there will be a depression in the
cover as soon as the fruit is cold. Fruit thus covered
should be kept away from mice, as they will eat the tin-
foil.
Canned fruit should be opened some time before using,
that it may be aerated and the flavor improved. There
has been a strong feeling against the use of fruit prepared
in tin cans. Chemists have examined canned fruit as soon
as opened, and found it harmless ; but if the fruit be left
The Boston Cook Booh
403
in the tin can, the action of the air causes the acid in the
fruit to act upon the metal and form a poisonous compound.
Care should be taken to remove the fruit from the can as
soon as opened.
Sweet Pickles.
Eight pounds of fruit, four pounds of best hrovm sugar^
one quart of vinegar^ and one cup of mixed whole spices^
— stick cinnamon^ cassia huds^ allspice^ and cloves ; less
of the latter than of the former. Tie the spices in a bag✪ Sweet Pickles,
and boil with the vinegar and sugar. Skim well ; then add
the fruit. Cook ten minutes, or till scalded and tender.
Skim out the fruit, and put into stone jars. Boil the syrup
five minutes longer, and pour over the fruit. The next
day pour off the syrup and boil down again, and do
this for three mornings. Keep the bag of spices in the
syrup.
Tomatoes, — Scald, remove the skins, and cook without
breaking if possible.
Peaches, — Scald or wipe off the ''wool," and leave
them whole. Do not stick them with cloves. If very
ripe, merely pour the hot syrup over them on three suc-
cessive mornings.
Pears. — Select sound fruit, not too ripe. Pare, and
leave them whole with the stems on. Cook till tender.
Pipe Cucumber or Watermelon Pind, — Cut the pared
rind into thick slices. Boil one ounce of alum in one gal-
lon of water ^ pour it on the rinds, and let them stand in it
several hours on the back of the stove. Take out into
cold water, and when cold boil them half an hour in the
sweet pickle.
Pipe Muskmelon or Canteloupe. Pare, and cut into
thick slices. Pour the boiling syrup over them. The
next morning pour off the s^Tup, boil five minutes, and
pour it boiling hot over the melon. Repeat this on three
mornings.
Pineapple. — Slice it, or with a fork pick it off from
the centre, in small pieces, and prepare as for melon.
404 The Boston Cook Book.
Tomato Catchup. (Mrs. Campbell.)
✪ Tomato Catchup
Page 236 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Pears should be well ripened and of fine flavor. A tasteless, insipid pear is only suitable for sweet pickle.
Tomatoes should be peeled and cooked till well scalded, then salted and sealed at once.
Always fill to overflowing, using boiling water when there is not enough syrup. Run the handle of a silver tablespoon down the inside of the jar, that the syrup may completely surround the fruit. Fasten the covers on securely, and give the screw an extra turn every half-hour until the fruit is cold. If the jars be kept bottom up and in a dark place, there is hardly a chance of failure. The best quality of thick tin-foil may be used as a cover for any large-mouthed bottle or jar minus a cover. Fill the jar with the fruit and syrup, cover with a large piece of tin-foil, work it down over the rim until perfectly smooth and tight. If air-tight, there will be a depression in the cover as soon as the fruit is cold. Fruit thus covered should be kept away from mice, as they will eat the tinfoil.
Canned fruit should be opened some time before using, that it may be aerated and the flavor improved. There has been a strong feeling against the use of fruit prepared in tin cans. Chemists have examined canned fruit as soon as opened, and found it harmless ; but if the fruit be left
The Boston Cook Booh
in the tin can, the action of the air causes the acid in the fruit to act upon the metal and form a poisonous compound. Care should be taken to remove the fruit from the can as soon as opened.
Sweet Pickles.
Eight pounds of fruit, four pounds of best brown sugar^ one quart of vinegar^ and one cup of mixed whole spices^ — stick cinnamon^ cassia huds^ allspice^ and cloves ; less of the latter than of the former. Tie the spices in a bag, and boil with the vinegar and sugar. Skim well ; then add the fruit. Cook ten minutes, or till scalded and tender. Skim out the fruit, and put into stone jars. Boil the syrup five minutes longer, and pour over the fruit. The next day pour off the syrup and boil down again, and do this for three mornings. Keep the bag of spices in the syrup.
Tomatoes, — Scald, remove the skins, and cook without breaking if possible.
Peaches, — Scald or wipe off the "wool," and leave them whole. Do not stick them with cloves. If very ripe, merely pour the hot syrup over them on three successive mornings.
Pears. — Select sound fruit, not too ripe. Pare, and leave them whole with the stems on. Cook till tender.
Ripe Cucumber or Watermelon Rind, — Cut the pared rind into thick slices. Boil one ounce of alum in one gallon of water, pour it on the rinds, and let them stand in it several hours on the back of the stove. Take out into cold water, and when cold boil them half an hour in the sweet pickle.
Ripe Muskmelon or Canteloupe. Pare, and cut into thick slices. Pour the boiling syrup over them. The next morning pour off the syrup, boil five minutes, and pour it boiling hot over the melon. Repeat this on three mornings.
Pineapple. — Slice it, or with a fork pick it off from the centre, in small pieces, and prepare as for melon.
404 The Boston Cook Book.
Tomato Catchup. (Mrs. Campbell.)
Records on this page
Sweet PicklesTomato Catchup