The Kentish cherry is excellent for preserving in
this way. Pick the cherries off their stalks, and pack
in the bottles. The fruit should be firm but nearly
ripe. When packing, shake the bottle gently up
and down, so that the fruit may fit in closely. If
the fruit is pricked at one end with a needle it
prevents bursting. Fill up the bottles with syrup
or water✪ Cherries. Proceed as indicated in the foregoing
recipe, and sterilise at 150°. Another method is
to split the cherries in half with a sharp knife, take
out the stones, crack some, and return the kernels.
476
COOKERY FOR EVERY HOUSEHOLD
to the bottles when packing. This latter method
keeps the fruit a beautiful colour, but it would be
well to use syrup instead of water, because, pre-
served in this way, they are richer in flavour and
appearance.
2171. Raspberries and Red Currants
Raspberries and currants together make one of
the very best fruits for winter use. They are
always liked, and as they keep their colour well
when bottled they look appetising. Discrimina-
tion should be used in the weather for bottling,
and a specially dry day should be chosen for doing
soft fruits, for if saturated with rain they lose their
flavour, and do not keep as well as when picked on
a warm dry day. The currants should be carefully
picked off their stalks✪ Raspberries and Red Currants, and also the raspberries.
Place a layer of raspberries about 1 inch thick first
in the bottle, and shake gently down ; then place
a layer of red currants. Proceed in this manner
till the bottles are filled to within an inch of the top.
Fill up and proceed as in the foregoing recipes.
Sterilise at 155°.
2172. Strawberries
Of all the soft fruits strawberries are the only
ones that are really difficult✪ Strawberries. To the uninitiated
strawberries are always a disappointment. When
the bottles are taken out of the steriliser they pre-
sent the appearance of a quarter of a bottle of
strawberries floating on the top of a sea of juice.
The only way to overcome this is to empty the
contents of one bottle into another after sterilising.
When one bottle is full, fill with syrup and sterilise
again. This fruit loses its colour very much during
the process, takes a lot of trouble to do, and is rather
insipid when done.
2173. Plums
Plums should be quite freshly gathered for
bottling, and only those of a fairly good size should
be used. The smaller plums can always be turned
into jam. The fruit should be quite firm and not
quite ripe. For all the stone fruits it is better to
use the larger bottles, as with the smaller bottles
the mouths are not large enough to allow the in-
sertion of any very fine fruit. The packing of
plums in the bottles is an important item, because,
if the fruit is not properly packed, the bottles
present a very ugly appearance when finished.
To pack properly the fruit must be graded, and
plums chosen as near of a size as^ possible. It is
always best to make a good beginning by getting
three even fruits if possible into the bottom of a
bottle. When the lowest round is started properly
the rest of the packing is fairly simple. The bottles
should be gently shaken from side to side, and a
round piece of wood with a blunt end should be
used to help to slide the fruit gently into place.
Great care must be taken not on any account to
break the skin.✪ Bottling Plums
Page 767 · 5 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1914. 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
The Kentish cherry is excellent for preserving in this way. Pick the cherries off their stalks, and pack in the bottles. The fruit should be firm but nearly ripe. When packing, shake the bottle gently up and down, so that the fruit may fit in closely. If the fruit is pricked at one end with a needle it prevents bursting. Fill up the bottles with syrup or water. Proceed as indicated in the foregoing recipe, and sterilise at 150°. Another method is to split the cherries in half with a sharp knife, take out the stones, crack some, and return the kernels.
to the bottles when packing. This latter method keeps the fruit a beautiful colour, but it would be well to use syrup instead of water, because, preserved in this way, they are richer in flavour and appearance.
2171. Raspberries and Red Currants
Raspberries and currants together make one of the very best fruits for winter use. They are always liked, and as they keep their colour well when bottled they look appetising. Discrimination should be used in the weather for bottling, and a specially dry day should be chosen for doing soft fruits, for if saturated with rain they lose their flavour, and do not keep as well as when picked on a warm dry day. The currants should be carefully picked off their stalks, and also the raspberries. Place a layer of raspberries about 1 inch thick first in the bottle, and shake gently down ; then place a layer of red currants. Proceed in this manner till the bottles are filled to within an inch of the top. Fill up and proceed as in the foregoing recipes. Sterilise at 155°.
2172. Strawberries
Of all the soft fruits strawberries are the only ones that are really difficult. To the uninitiated strawberries are always a disappointment. When the bottles are taken out of the steriliser they present the appearance of a quarter of a bottle of strawberries floating on the top of a sea of juice. The only way to overcome this is to empty the contents of one bottle into another after sterilising. When one bottle is full, fill with syrup and sterilise again. This fruit loses its colour very much during the process, takes a lot of trouble to do, and is rather insipid when done.
2173. Plums
Plums should be quite freshly gathered for bottling, and only those of a fairly good size should be used. The smaller plums can always be turned into jam. The fruit should be quite firm and not quite ripe. For all the stone fruits it is better to use the larger bottles, as with the smaller bottles the mouths are not large enough to allow the insertion of any very fine fruit. The packing of plums in the bottles is an important item, because, if the fruit is not properly packed, the bottles present a very ugly appearance when finished. To pack properly the fruit must be graded, and plums chosen as near of a size as possible. It is always best to make a good beginning by getting three even fruits if possible into the bottom of a bottle. When the lowest round is started properly the rest of the packing is fairly simple. The bottles should be gently shaken from side to side, and a round piece of wood with a blunt end should be used to help to slide the fruit gently into place. Great care must be taken not on any account to break the skin.
Records on this page
PlumsCherriesRaspberries and Red CurrantsStrawberriesBottling Plums