In the meantime the remaining third of the syrup, which you kept separate, is boiling in another saucepan, and as soon as you have filled each jar with apricots, leaving enough space above the top apricot for syrup to cover it, you fill up with the pure boiling syrup from this reserved saucepan. This is done for plums as well, because the skins of both apricots and plums are very acid, and if you used the syrup you had boiled them in to fill up the jars, it would not keep so well. Some people find apricots disagree with them when they first arrive in the Colony, so it is best for new-comers to be careful. Secret of Successful Preserving. — The secret of successful preserving is putting both the fruit and afterwards the syrup i7ito the jars at boiling heat^ and filling the jars to overflowing and screwing up tightly and immediately. January 8. — Preserving Strawberries. — I find that the strawberries 1 preserved last year did very well. I filled up the jars with ripe fruit and poured boiling syrup over them. The jars when filled were set in a saucepan which had a little water in it — and I let the syrup boil in the 41 /a?i. PRESERVING- GRAPES AND PEARS Jars and kept filling up with fruit, as the strawberries being soft go down — then they were corked quickly, the jars wiped and put away ; they were looked over next morning, screwed up tightly, and labelled with name of fruit and date. The strawberries must be selected ones of even size, sound, and without stalks. Preserving Grapes. — One can preserve grapes — “Hanepots” are the best kind for it — in the same way, but you must prick each grape with a new steel pin before putting them into the jar ; fill up with boiling syrup✪ Preserving Grapes and let it boil in the jars for a few minutes. Preserving Pears. — The early Saffron pear, very plentiful in both the Cape Colony and Orange River Colony, is most delicious for preserving, and retains its flavour very well. They should be peeled and cored, and, if too large to put in whole, may be cut into four. They should have a thinner syrup than strawberries, as they are very sweet in themselves, and also, being put into the boiling syrup and allowed to boil up once or twice, they absorb more sweetness than the strawberries (which are only popped into the jar of boiling syrup once for all) ; the pears must boil for about 8 or lo minutes✪ Preserving Pears till they begin to look clear ; fill the jars, as with other fruit, to overflowing, and cork quickly. Snake-bites. — A friend writes to ask whether people suffer from snake-bites as they do in India At the Cape snake- bites are very seldom heard of, and poisonous snakes are not common in the Western Province. I only once saw a “ puff adder ” while living on the farm at Groote Poste, and once a “ night snake ’’ (yellow and brown streaked) — these night adders are very poisonous. I remember an European doctor telling us to give the patient sulphuric acid, about 42 SNAKE-DOCTOR. KITCHBN-G-ARDEN Jan.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

In the meantime the remaining third of the syrup, which you kept separate, is boiling in another saucepan, and as soon as you have filled each jar with apricots, leaving enough space above the top apricot for syrup to cover it, you fill up with the pure boiling syrup from this reserved saucepan. This is done for plums as well, because the skins of both apricots and plums are very acid, and if you used the syrup you had boiled them in to fill up the jars, it would not keep so well. Some people find apricots disagree with them when they first arrive in the Colony, so it is best for new-comers to be careful. Secret of Successful Preserving. — The secret of successful preserving is putting both the fruit and afterwards the syrup i7ito the jars at boiling heat^ and filling the jars to overflowing and screwing up tightly and immediately. January 8. — Preserving Strawberries. — I find that the strawberries 1 preserved last year did very well. I filled up the jars with ripe fruit and poured boiling syrup over them. The jars when filled were set in a saucepan which had a little water in it — and I let the syrup boil in the /a?i. PRESERVING- GRAPES AND PEARS Jars and kept filling up with fruit, as the strawberries being soft go down — then they were corked quickly, the jars wiped and put away ; they were looked over next morning, screwed up tightly, and labelled with name of fruit and date. The strawberries must be selected ones of even size, sound, and without stalks. Preserving Grapes. — One can preserve grapes — “Hanepots” are the best kind for it — in the same way, but you must prick each grape with a new steel pin before putting them into the jar ; fill up with boiling syrup and let it boil in the jars for a few minutes. Preserving Pears. — The early Saffron pear, very plentiful in both the Cape Colony and Orange River Colony, is most delicious for preserving, and retains its flavour very well. They should be peeled and cored, and, if too large to put in whole, may be cut into four. They should have a thinner syrup than strawberries, as they are very sweet in themselves, and also, being put into the boiling syrup and allowed to boil up once or twice, they absorb more sweetness than the strawberries (which are only popped into the jar of boiling syrup once for all) ; the pears must boil for about 8 or lo minutes till they begin to look clear ; fill the jars, as with other fruit, to overflowing, and cork quickly. Snake-bites. — A friend writes to ask whether people suffer from snake-bites as they do in India At the Cape snakebites are very seldom heard of, and poisonous snakes are not common in the Western Province. I only once saw a “ puff adder ” while living on the farm at Groote Poste, and once a “ night snake ’’ (yellow and brown streaked) — these night adders are very poisonous. I remember an European doctor telling us to give the patient sulphuric acid, about SNAKE-DOCTOR. KITCHBN-G-ARDEN Jan.

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Preserving GrapesPreserving Pears

Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper