The "Queen" cookery books: Pickles and Preserves

spray of mint, rinse, and dry well. Then put them into the bottles with the mint, shaking them to make them settle in nicely, pour salted boiling water over them, and after covering down, let them cook as before in a large kettle of water (remember that in every case the outside water should not reach above an inch from the rim of the bottle mouth) for one and a-half hours, and finish off as before. II. Shell, parboil, and drain the peas as before ; pound the pods (they should be young, though full formed) in some of the water in which the peas were boiled, and strain off the coloured liquid thus produced. Season to taste with salt, adding as much more water as will suffice to cover the peas, and boil it all together for ten or twelve minutes. Now put the peas into the bottles, cover them with the green water, and cook as before ; then fasten the tops down to make it all air-tight, and when cold store in a dry place. III. Gather and pick over the peas as before, and drop them carefully into the wide-mouthed preserving bottles so as to bruise them as little as possible, shake them gently to pack them close, and put on the cap of the bottle without the rubber ring ; put the bottles swathed in hay into a kettle full of boiling water, again bring it gently to the boil, and keep this outer water simmering, quietly but steadily, till the peas look tender ; then at once pour into the bottles boiling salted water (allow a teaspoonful of salt to each half gallon of water), and fasten down securely. Be careful to stand these bottles, when you take them out of the water, on a cloth wrung out of hot water, and keep them in a place where no current of air can touch them, or they may burst. Myself, I prefer pouring a spoonful of oil in after the boiling water, to keep them air-tight, and leave them in the hot water till it has become stone cold (as this greatly diminishes the risk), and then make them air-tight. IV. An old-fashioned way, still trusted to in the countiy, is to gather and shell the peas as before, wipe them very gently on a clean soft cloth till dry, then pack them as closely as possible in dry bottles, close them down securely either with Rylands’ air-tight tops, or with bladder, and then dip them in bottling wax ; after which they are buried in a cool dry corner of the garden. I have never tried this method myself, but as a child have often eaten peas preserved in this way. These peas require a little longer boiling than usual when to be served, and should have a small piece of butter put with them. Tomatoes, to Bottle. — Choose ripe, richly-coloured tomatoes, as much of a size as possible (do not choose abnormally large ones), and dip each for a minute in boiling water to allow of peeling off the skin easily ; then drain them well, allowing as much as possible of their own water to escape with the scalding water, but do not press them at all. Now put them in an enamel pan, bring them steadily to the boil, stirring them gently with a wooden spoon (be careful not to break or mash them), and allow them to boil steadily and untouched for about twelve minutes ; then pour them boiling into the widemouthed patent bottles (which should have been oreviously scalded in boiling water and then