The easiest way in housekeeping and cooking

Wash the fruit in tepid water thoroughly, and scrub the skins with a soft brush to get rid of the possible microbes that it is said may lurk on the skins of fruit. Dry the fruit ; take a very sharp knife, and on a hard-wood board slice it very thin. Throw away the thick pieces that come off from the ends. Save all the seeds, and put them in one bowl ; the sliced fruit in another. Pour half a gallon of water over the contents of each bowl, and soak for thirty-six hours. Then put the fruit in your preserving-kettle, with the water that has been standing on it, and strain in (through a colander) the water put on the lemon-seeds. Cook gently two hours ; then add the sugar, and cook another hour, or until the mixture jellies. Test by trying a little in a saucer. Put away in glasses or cans, as other jelly." Fruit Jellies. Crab-apple, quince, grapes, &c., are all made in the same way. Allow a teacup of water to a pound of fruit ; boil till very tender ; then strain through a cloth, and treat as currant jelly. Cherries will not jelly without gelatine, and grapes are sometimes troublesome. Where gelatine is needed, allow a package to two quarts of juice. Candied Fruits. Make a sirup as for preserves, and boil any fruit, prepared as directed, until tender. Let them stand two days in the sirup. Take out ; drain carefully ; lay them on plates ; sift sugar over them, and dry either in the sun or in a moderately warm oven. PICKLES AND CATCHUPS. 257 PICKLES AND CATCHUPS. Sour pickles are first prepared by soaking in a brine made of one pint of coarse salt to six quarts of water. Boil this, and pour it scalding hot over the pickle, cucumbers, green tomatoes, &c. Cucumbers may lie in this a week, or a month even, but must be soaked in cold water two days before using them. Other pickles lie only a month. Sweet pickles are made from any fruit used in preserving, allowing three, or sometimes four, pounds of sugar to a quart of best cider vinegar, and boiling both together. Cucumber Pickles. Half a bushel of cucumbers, small, and as nearly as possible the same size. Make a brine as directed, and pour over them. Next morning prepare a pickle as follows : Two gallons of cider vinegar ; one quart of brown sugar. Boil, and skim carefully, and add to it half a pint of white mustard seed ; one ounce of stick-cinnamon broken fine ; one ounce of alum ; half an ounce each of whole cloves and black pepper-corns. Boil five minutes, and pour over the cucumbers. They can be used in a week. In a month scald the vinegar once more, and pour over them. Tomato Chutney. One peck of green tomatoes ; six large green peppers ; six onions ; one cup of salt. Chop onions and peppers fine, slice the tomatoes about quarter of an inch thick, 258 PICKLES AND CATCHUPS. and sprinkle the salt over all. In the morning drain off all the salt and water, and put the tomatoes in a porcelainlined kettle. Mix together thoroughly two pounds of brown sugar ; quarter of a pound of mustard- seed ; one ounce each of powdered cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper ; half an ounce of allspice ; quarter of an ounce each of cayenne pepper and ground mustard. Stir all into the tomatoes ; cover with cider vinegar, — about two quarts, —and boil slowly for two hours. Very nice, but very hot. If wanted less so, omit the cayenne and ground mustard.