The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

GREENGAGE JAM. — Greengage jam is one of the most useful of all jams made. There are a variety of jams that are red, or plum-colour, and so also are there a variety of yellow jams, but greengage jam is the only jam made of a green colour — that colour which is so useful in making all kinds of sweets. In making ornamental open tarts, greengage jam will always enable the cook to vary the colour, so that in making a dish of tartlets, when a variety of colours are desirable, greengage jam enables the cook to make the dish look pretty. This jam can of course be used for all the purposes in which jam of any description is required ; but owing to its beautiful emerald-green colour, it is chiefly used to contrast with other jams. It can also be eaten by itself, spread on bread. An open tart made with greengage jam is always very pretty. It is of good consistency, and in making tartlets can be piled up high, like gooseberry jam and damson jam. Indeed, a set of tartlets filled with these three jams, owing to the way in which the jam can be piled up into a dome, form a very pretty dish, especially if the cook is sufficiently skilled in making pastry to ornament the jam by placing little threads of pastry over it, like trellis-work, not thicker than pieces of vermicelli. GREENGAGES IN NOYEAU AND BRANDY. — Greengages are preserved in noyeau and brandy, and thus preserved they form a most delicious sweet for dessert. I think housekeepers will find that, as a rule, a dish of this description is very popular. True hospitality consists in giving our guests what will be eaten, and not simply in providing a table with some ornamental sweets that we know perfectly well beforehand will not be eaten. I would recommend housekeepers, should they supply for dessert a dish of greengages preserved in noyeau or brandy, to have another dish in reserve. They will probably find that the fruit will rapidly disappear, till but one greengage is left, not because it is not liked, but from feelings of delicacy and politeness. If they doubt this, let them bring out another dish, which will probably share a similar fate to the first one. It is of course possible to use greengages preserved in noyeau or brandy in making high-class pudding, such as cabinet pudding, but they are so exceedingly delicious in themselves that it is a pity to use them for purposes of cooking. Those who have never tried this delicious sweet would do well to make the experiment. GREENGAGES IN SYRUP. — Greengages preserved in syrup form a very useful dish, as they can be served at once just as they are. One very nice way of serving greengages preserved in syrup, is simply to turn the greengages and syrup into a glass dish ; then cover the dish with some whipped cream, which can be ornamented with a little pink sugar, or a few hundreds and thousands sprinkled over the top. In making pink sugar, which is so very useful for ornamental purposes, cooks