Fruit recipes

For this use tart but juicy plums and cook in their own juice until soft. Remove stones and press pulp through sieve; weigh, and replace on stove. Allow and set aside half this weight in sugar. Cook pulp slowly an hour before adding sugar; let latter dissolve and boil one minute. Pour the mass into earthen dishes in quarter-inch thickness, and dry slowly in cool oven. Remove and pack away for use in ornamenting puddings or cakes or to dilute and serve as sauce, PLUMS DRIED WITH SUGAR Cut open plums of some sweet variety, but do not remove stones. Place on plates and sprinkle sugar over fruit, setting in a slow oven. The sugar will be absorbed by the plums, when add more sugar and repeat as long as there is juice sufficient to take it up. Pack in layers in jars. TO DRY PLUMS WHOLE (‘American Prunes’’) Take ripe purple plums and spread on earthen dishes. Dry in the sun, putting them out each day to dry eight or ten hours, or use a cool oven, turning the fruit over fre- quently. PLUM LEATHER Remove the pits of thoroughly ripe greengages and mash the fruit, then proceed as with peach leather. Add sugar to the plums. PRESERVED PLUMS With the common wild or blue plums they may be steamed or dropped for a minute or two in boiling water to loosen the skin, which may then easily be removed. After this proceed as with other preserves. With other plums prick the skins in several places with a large needle to keep them from bursting, then place in layers in preserving kettle, allowing same amount of sugar. Let all come to a boil slowly; take out plums with skimmer; drain, and spread on plates in the sun. Cook down the syrup slowly for half an hour, skimming often; place plums in-this for ten minutes (boiling them). Drain and dry as before and when quite cold place in jars, heated pouring the boiling syrup over the fruit and sealing a once. PICKLED PLUMS No. 1 Pour over hard, unripe plums which have been washed, dried, and pricked in a number of places, boiling, spiced vinegar, repeating three times. PICKLED PLUMS No. 2 Plums of any kind may also be pickled like cherries (cold), placed in jars in layers, alternating with layers of sugar; cold vinegar poured over, and sealed. : BRANDIED PLUMS No. 1 to Select greengages which are full-sized but still hard, and place in layers in jars. To each pint of white brandy allow two and one-half ounces granulated sugar; pour over and seal tight. BRANDIED PLUMS No. 2 Make a syrup as for preserves. When thick add twothirds part of brandy and pour over the fruit. PLUM WINE To four gallons of damsons add five and a half gallons of soft water. Simmer till tender, when strain; add fifteen pounds of sugar and six ounces red tartar. Strain and let ferment as with other wines. Or a syrup may be made of the sugar and water and cooked with the plums two hours. One-fourth pint of yeast may be added to this and let ferment ten days covered. With either formula the bruised kernels of half the plums should be added to the mixture and let stand till after fermentation. PLUM BRANDY Simmer two gallons of greengages (in barely enough water to cover) till soft. Add two pounds sugar and a gallon of brandy and let stand corked three months, when filter. Or cover two gallons uncooked mashed plums with one gallon of brandy, adding the cracked stones and kernels, letting stand as above. PLUM VINEGAR For two quarts of plums allow a gallon of water and let stand twenty-four hours. Add one-half pint sugar for each gallon of liquid; place in barrel in warm place (where it should be shaken each day while fermenting.) PLUM TRIFLE