no printed directions. Answer these questions before you
begin work. After you have made the sauce, record the
work exactly in your notebook.
If you want the slices of apple to remain whole, will the method
be like i, 2, or 3?
If you wish a smooth sauce, what utensil will you need?
How will you determine the amount of sugar required? If
you are very fond of sugar, your taste may not be the safest guide.
Practical home work, — If you can secure a very slow oven, say a
coal oven at night, or a gas oven with a low flame, make an apple
sauce in an earthenware pot, as heavy as a bean pot, closely covered,
leaving the pot in the oven from six to eight hours. This process is
satisfactory in a fireless cooker where a hot stone or iron is used.
Remember that water keeps down temperature, and also that it
evaporates steadily even in a slow oven. How much water will you
put over the apples when the process begins?
If you have never cooked apples in this way you will be sur-
prised at the color and flavor.
Some other fruits, — Pears and quinces develop pleasing flavors
when baked.
Cook the quinces sliced, as suggested for the apples, in the bean
pot, using a little molasses for sweetening and you will have the
delicious old-time ** molasses quince."
Prunes, — We are dealing now with a dried fruit. If you com-
pare the raisins with the grapes in Fig. 26, you will see how much
water is lost in the drying process. The same difference would be
evident if you had pictures of a fresh plum and a prune, side by side.
This water must be supplied in the process of preparation. The
best way to accompUsh this is by soaking the prunes many hours,
say over night. Pnmes have a most undeserved reputation, because
they are not well cooked, and at some tables are served too often.
With this one new step introduced you may plan the cooking
of the prunes, from what you know of apple sauce. The slower
and longer the -process, the better. The cheaper kinds of prunes
. will be very satisfactory, with the soaking and slow cooking. What
is the sensible thing to do in regard to sugar?
If on some occasion you would like prunes to be unusually nice,
remove the stones carefully, and in their places slip in seeded raisins
which have also been soaked and gently stewed.
96 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT
Other dried fruits may be treated in the same way.
Apricots and peaches yield delightful flavors when* carefully
prepared ; and dried apples are also excellent.
Preservation of Fruit and Other Foods
The preservation of fruit and other foods has been a house-
hold industry for generations, and it is now an important
commercial industry. The old-time farm had its smoke-
house where hams and beef were " cured," the barrel of brine
stood in the cellar for pork and corned beef, apples and
corn were dried for winter use, and rows of preserve jars
stood upon the shelves. Food was preserved by simple
processes long before the reason for the decay and spoiling
of food was fully understood, but with larger knowledge and
better appliances, we now preserve food more effectively and
in quantities larger than were possible in former days.
Page 52
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
no printed directions. Answer these questions before you begin work. After you have made the sauce, record the work exactly in your notebook.
If you want the slices of apple to remain whole, will the method be like i, 2, or 3?
If you wish a smooth sauce, what utensil will you need?
How will you determine the amount of sugar required? If you are very fond of sugar, your taste may not be the safest guide.
Practical home work, — If you can secure a very slow oven, say a coal oven at night, or a gas oven with a low flame, make an apple sauce in an earthenware pot, as heavy as a bean pot, closely covered, leaving the pot in the oven from six to eight hours. This process is satisfactory in a fireless cooker where a hot stone or iron is used. Remember that water keeps down temperature, and also that it evaporates steadily even in a slow oven. How much water will you put over the apples when the process begins?
If you have never cooked apples in this way you will be surprised at the color and flavor.
Some other fruits, — Pears and quinces develop pleasing flavors when baked.
Cook the quinces sliced, as suggested for the apples, in the bean pot, using a little molasses for sweetening and you will have the delicious old-time ** molasses quince."
Prunes, — We are dealing now with a dried fruit. If you compare the raisins with the grapes in Fig. 26, you will see how much water is lost in the drying process. The same difference would be evident if you had pictures of a fresh plum and a prune, side by side. This water must be supplied in the process of preparation. The best way to accompUsh this is by soaking the prunes many hours, say over night. Pnmes have a most undeserved reputation, because they are not well cooked, and at some tables are served too often.
With this one new step introduced you may plan the cooking
of the prunes, from what you know of apple sauce. The slower
and longer the -process, the better. The cheaper kinds of prunes
. will be very satisfactory, with the soaking and slow cooking. What
is the sensible thing to do in regard to sugar?
If on some occasion you would like prunes to be unusually nice, remove the stones carefully, and in their places slip in seeded raisins which have also been soaked and gently stewed.
Other dried fruits may be treated in the same way. Apricots and peaches yield delightful flavors when* carefully prepared ; and dried apples are also excellent.
Preservation of Fruit and Other Foods
The preservation of fruit and other foods has been a household industry for generations, and it is now an important commercial industry. The old-time farm had its smokehouse where hams and beef were " cured," the barrel of brine stood in the cellar for pork and corned beef, apples and corn were dried for winter use, and rows of preserve jars stood upon the shelves. Food was preserved by simple processes long before the reason for the decay and spoiling of food was fully understood, but with larger knowledge and better appliances, we now preserve food more effectively and in quantities larger than were possible in former days.