The home science cook book

Some housekeepers find it easier to stock their shelves with rows of well-filled jars of fruit little by little rather than by wholesale canning. Thus it is easy to keep the table supplied with fresh-stewed fruit and at the same time fill a jar or two. The necessary directions for stewing fruits and canning and preserving are nearly identical. Prepare the fruit carefully, cook it slowly, but at sufficiently high temperature to destroy germs of decay - - then keep them out by keeping the air out. Often several varieties of fruit may be combined, as raspberries with currants, apples with pineapple, quince, or barberries. Fruits may be combined in salads without number, which serve equally well for the first course at luncheon or the last at dinner ; and their juices, sweetened and chilled, or frozen, make an unlimited variety of refreshing desserts and beverages. Some of them are more satisfying when cooked with rice or cereal ; but the rich combinations with eggs, or fat in pastry, are no improvement on the simpler ways, and take time and heat for their preparation. Fruit. 7 Dried Fruits. Dried fruits having parted with their natural juices in the drying process need to have this moisture restored before they are cooked. The most effectual way to do this is to let them soak in cold water, first, of course, picking them over carefully and washing them in lukewarm water to dislodge dirt and other foreign substances. The time for soaking will depend upon the dryness of the fruit, but sufficient water should be absorbed to fill out the skins to the natural outlines. Such fruits should be cooked very slowly, and should be watched carefully and removed as soon as tender. The time will vary with the ripeness of the fruit before drying, and with its natural texture, and no positive rule can be given. Fruits that are very ripe before they are dried, or that have naturally a very soft texture, are much more difficult to keep in shape than those with a firm flesh, and sometimes need little or no cooking. Baked Apples. Wipe, put in a granite pan, and bake in moderate heat until tender. The time will vary with different varieties of apples. Or core and pare, fill the center with sugar, and put a little water in the dish. Dip up the sirup and pour over the apples while baking. Stuffed Apples. Pare and push out the core of six fine apples, put them in a baking pan, cover, and cook in the oven till tender, yet in perfect form ; place each apple on a hot buttered slice of toast or shredded wheat biscuit, fill 8 Home Science Cook Book. cavity of apples with good mincemeat, cover the top with meringue made from one egg white and one tablespoon of powdered sugar; brown lightly in the oven and serve. Apples Baked with Butter. Cover the bottom of a granite pie plate with butter, and melt it. Lay in apples (which have been quartered, pared, and cored), enough to fill the dish. Sprinkle one-half cup of sugar over them and cook slowly in the oven till tender. Or make a sirup with two ounces of butter, one cup of sugar, and one-half cup of water, and baste whole apples with it as they are baking. Jellied Apples.