Fruit recipes

till it is clear. Take out the melon; place in jars; boil down the syrup till thick; pour over the rinds and seal. : WATERMELON HONEY Use the red portion only. Crush and strain it or cook down (with seeds) till very soft and then strain, cooking again till thick. (Three quarts of red pulp will make but about one-fifth pint of ‘‘honey.’’) This requires time and patience. Cool the honey, then proceed as with grape juice in bottling. It is best without sugar but a little sugar and lemon juice may be added, the “honey”’ alone not keeping so well. WATERMELON CATSUP Use the red and a little of the white portions, cooking down pulp and seeds till soft, when press through a colander and add spice, etc., as for grape catsup. CITRON OR PIE-MELON SAUCE Cut and pare the melon; place in double boiler with no water or barely sufficient to wet the bottom layer of pieces, and cook till soft. Add sugar and lemon juice or other flavouring. This approaches apple sauce in flavour and consistency. To vary the flavour add, instead of lemon, or with it, barberry, cranberry, currant, or rasp- berry syrup, when the melon begins to soften. PIE-MELON TART Make as for apple tarts, using the sauce made as above. MELONS AS VEGETABLES The half ripe melons of the canteloupe group may be used as are cucumbers and egg-plant for frying in egg and crumbs or in batter, or for scalloping, stuffing, and baking. MELONS 135 MELONS CURRIED Use for curries, also, the half ripe melons. Peel and cut in small cubes or slices nearly an inch thick and fry carefully in a little butter. Prepare the curry in another saucepan, frying an onion (sliced) in a tablespoon of butter until a golden brown. Add to this the fried melon; sprinkle over it a teaspoonful of curry powder (or quantity preferred) and let cook up, covered. A little water or milk may be added if necessary. MELONS FOR SALADS The fully ripe fruit is delicious for salads, cut in cubes and served alone or with other fruits, as tomatoes or peaches or bananas. Serve with mayonnaise plain or flavoured with some liqueur or French dressing to which has been added a suspicion of Maraschino, or serve with whipped cream. (See Salads in Introductory Recipes.) CITRON MELON IN JELLY There is an unusual quantity of pectin in the citron melon which makes it of practical value in jelly making. Where fruit does not readily jell the addition of citron melon (proportion varying with fruit used, half and half; one- third, etc.), will make this end far more quickly at- tainable. GENERAL DIRECTIONS The melons of the nutmeg group stand half way between the vegetable marrow so valued by Europeans, (near which must be placed the squash and pumpkin), and the luscious sweetened melons which are classed with fruits, so that they may be used far more generally than usually supposed in sweetened croquettes, as for apples, and with cheese or nuts or eggs, as with vegetables, all of these, of course, giving meat value. CHAPTER XIII A CLUSTER OF BERRIES HE little fruits classed scientifically or popularly as “berries” form a most exquisite group, beautiful in variety of form and colouring, delightful in rich fragrance or bouquet and in delicacy of flavour, appealing to and stimulating the appetite through every esthetic sense; cooling, in refreshing the whole system; subtly satisfying the intellectual and physical natures alike. The chief members of the group, whether wild or cultivated, are the strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry (with subdivisions) ; the huckle- or blue- or whortleberry; the mulberry, cranberry, gooseberry, and currant; the elderberry and barberry. THE STRAWBERRY