Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

Pare a sound pumpkin, first cutting it in pieces about an inch wide and two inches long; scrape out the seeds, and DESSERT. then boil the pumpkin until it is tender enough to pierce easily with a straw ; then drain the pumpkin, and weigh it ; allow a pound of sugar to a pound of pumpkin, and a lemon to each four pounds ; slice the lemon, put it with the sugar, add a gill of water to each pound of sugar, and let it boil until a clear sirup is formed, removing all scum as it rises ; then put in the pumpkin, and boil it gently until it is clear ; cool the preserve, and then put it up as directed for other preserves. PRESERVED GRAPE-FRUIT. Peel off the rind of several large grape-fruit, putting them into plenty of salted cold water as fast as they are peeled ; when all are ready, put them into the preserving-kettle, cover them with warm water, and let them boil slowly; change the water every ten minutes, always replacing that poured away with more warm water, and boil the grape-fruit until they can easily be pierced with a broom-straw ; then put them on a sieve to drain. In the preserving-kettle, put one and a half pounds of loaf-sugar and half a cupful of cold water for each pound of fruit, and boil and skim this sirup ; while it is being boiled, cut into the stem-ends of the grape-fruit with a sharp small knife, and remove the stringy pith in the middle of the fruit ; when the sirup has been skimmed clear, put the grape-fruit into it, and boil it until it is transparent. Put the grape-fruit into wide-mouthed jars, and continue to boil the sirup ; when a litde of the sirup cooled on a saucer jellies slightly, pour it over the grapefruit, and let the fruit cool in the sirup. When both fruit and sirup are cold, lay a piece of paper wet in brandy in each jar, and seal them air-tight. TUTTI FRUTTI PRESERVE. A good preserve can easily be made from fresh fruit as it ripens by following these directions : Put into a two-gallon wide-mouthed earthen or glass jar a quart of the best white French brandy \ use any fruit, beginning with strawberries, and every day thoroughly stir the preserve with a wooden spoon J for every poiSnd of fruit, add three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar; put the fruit into the jar fresh; the berries are put in whole ; cherries, apricots, peaches, and plums are stoned, the three last also being peeled and quartered ; grapes are seeded, the skins being removed at pleasure. After the last fruit is added, leave the preserve for a week before using it ; keep the jar covered all the time, except when adding the fruit and stirring it. - BAKED APPLES. Choose firm tart apples ; peel them, cut them in eighths, core them, and put them into a two-quart earthen dish ; to this quantity add one cupful each of light-brown sugar and water ; cover the dish, place it in a moderate oven, and bake the apples for three hours, or until they are red ; serve them hot in the same dish, with cream, after dinner ; or remove them to a glass or china dish, let them cool, and then dust them with powdered sugar, and serve them for supper, either with or without cream. Fresh cream sweetened, and whipped to a froth, and then placed on the baked apples, makes a very nice dessert. STEWED GOOSEBERRIES.