The Institute cook book

Select pie cherries, preferably the morello cherries; stone them or not as desired and follow the directions for Stewed Blackberries. STEWED CRANBERRIES See chapter on "Sauces." DRIED FRUITS To cook dried fruits thoroughly they should after careful washing be soaked over night. Next morning put them over the fire in the water in which they have been soaked; bring to a boil; then simmer slowly until the fruit is thoroughly cooked but not broken. Sweeten to taste. Very much less sugar will be needed than for fresh fruit. 17DTTTT Planned for a JKUll Family of Four If desired cook a little stick cinnamon or other spice with the fruit. Pears, which are apt to be insipid, are especially improved by this addition. LEMON BUTTER No. 1 V2 cup sugar 1 lemon 1 ounce butter 1 egg Beat the butter and sugar to a cream and add the beaten egg; then add the lemon, juice and rind, and stir over hot water until the mixture thickens. Remove from fire and stir until cool. LEMON BUTTER No. 2 14 cup sugar 1 teaspoon butter V2 tablespoon cornstarch Vz cup water 1 lemon 1 egg Mix the sugar and cornstarch; add the juice and rind of the lemon and the butter; then add the water and cook over hot water until the cornstarch clarifies. Pour the mixture on the beaten egg; return to the fire and stir until it thickens. [illustration: Planned for a] Family of Four f jvwxa 3&i [illustration: Planned for a] r K U 1 1 Family of Four CANNING AND PRESERVING CANNING AND PRESERVING FRESH fruit is usually more palatable and refreshing than cooked fruit, but it is on the whole less digestible and, of course, not always obtainable. The importance of canning and preserving is therefore obvious. Canned goods of all sorts can be purchased, but they are usually inferior to the home-prepared foods and the price of the better ones is so high as to be almost prohibitive. Many housewives refuse to can and preserve because they always have "bad luck"; but "bad luck" in most cases means only bad management. If proper care is taken no harm can possibly befall the foods. In canning fruits there are several points to remember. First, the preserving kettle should be porcelain-lined, and no iron or tin utensils should be used, as the fruit acids attack these metals and so give a bad color and metallic taste to the food. Second, all fruits should, if possible, be freshly picked, and it is better to have them under-ripe than over-ripe, as the fermentative stage follows closely upon the perfectly ripe stage. Third, in canning fruits the product is more satisfactory if heated gradually to the boiling point and then cooked the given time. Scrupulous cleanliness and eternal vigilance are the price of success. The kitchen should be freshly swept and dusted so that there may be as few mold spores as possible floating in the air; the fruit should be carefully gone over and bruised or gnarled portions removed; and all jars and utensils should be thoroughly sterilized. Saucepans, spoons, jars, covers, straining bag, etc., should be put on the fire in cold water, heated gradually and boiled for ten or fifteen minutes. The jars must be taken one 24 365 CANNING AND PRESERVING FamuTofFJu? at a time from the boiling water, and not until the moment each is to be filled.