DRIED PLUMS.— These need not be pared; rub the skin thor- oughly with a piece of flannel, and dry in the sun or an oven, like apples. DRIED WATERMELON RINDS— These can be dried in the sun after being preserved, and they can be used instead of the imported citron for cakes and puddings, answering very well. The melon belongs to the gourd tribe. It has never been found in a wild state, but is supposed to be a native of the sub=tropical parts of Asia; it is properly the fruit of a hot climate. It was originally named the niusk^melon. The water- melon although less sweet than the muskmelon is more juicy. There are many var- ieties, but all are wholesome. In their season melons are beneficial because of their action on the kidneys, but they should not be eaten unless of good quality and fully ripe. The composition of watermelon is 92% water; Q% carbohydrates; 1% albnmeQ- oids; 0.7^ fat, and 0.3% mineral matters. COOKED FRUITS 477 COOKED FRUITS. Baking, stewing and frying are the simplest and easiest ways of CGoking fruit. Do not pare the fruit long before cooking it, or it will discolor by exposure to the air, and its delicate flavor will be im-* paired. Cook it in aluminum, earthen or porcelain kettles, and use earthen dishes, silver or aluminum knives and wooden spoons, as iron or pewter spoons may cause discoloration. It is better not to prepare a great deal of stewed fruit at once, as it does not keep long. Only a little sugar is needed. Using Sugar. — Many cooks do not understand the use of sugar in cooKing fruit. The sugar in ordinary use is cane sugar, and is 2^ times as sweet as grape sugar, but is closely allied to it, as we have explained elsewhere. Cane sugar can be changed to grape sugar by cooking it with acids and thus its sweetening power will be reduced k) that of grape sugar Some cooks put their sugar in with a mass of acid fruit to be cooked, and keep cooking and adding sugar as the mass gets sweeter until at last they use 2-| times as much sugar as they need to do, because the cane sugar becomes changed to grape sugar. If the sugar had been added after the fruit was cooked, much less would have been required, and the result would have been far more satisfac- tory. By bearing this in mind a large saving can be made in the use of sugar. Many people misapprehend the effect of sugar on the acids of fruits. Enough sugar can be added to disguise the taste of the acid, but it does not neutralize it as an alkali would do, nor does it effect any chemical change in the acid whatever. APPLE BUTTER. — Boil new cider down |; then add an equal quantity of apples which have been pared, quartered and cored; boil until the apples are tender, and then sweeten with light brown sugar, and boil, with constant stirring, until it is reduced to a smooth buttery mass; spice to taste✪ Apple Butter and jout away in stone jars. If cooked properly, the spices can be omitted if desired, as the true apple flavor is preserved better without them. It is better if lef^ slightly tart.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

DRIED PLUMS.— These need not be pared; rub the skin thoroughly with a piece of flannel, and dry in the sun or an oven, like apples. DRIED WATERMELON RINDS— These can be dried in the sun after being preserved, and they can be used instead of the imported citron for cakes and puddings, answering very well. The melon belongs to the gourd tribe. It has never been found in a wild state, but is supposed to be a native of the sub-tropical parts of Asia; it is properly the fruit of a hot climate. It was originally named the muskmelon. The watermelon although less sweet than the muskmelon is more juicy. There are many varieties, but all are wholesome. In their season melons are beneficial because of their action on the kidneys, but they should not be eaten unless of good quality and fully ripe. The composition of watermelon is 92% water; Q% carbohydrates; 1% albuminoids; 0.7^ fat, and 0.3% mineral matters. Baking, stewing and frying are the simplest and easiest ways of cooking fruit. Do not pare the fruit long before cooking it, or it will discolor by exposure to the air, and its delicate flavor will be impaired. Cook it in aluminum, earthen or porcelain kettles, and use earthen dishes, silver or aluminum knives and wooden spoons, as iron or pewter spoons may cause discoloration. It is better not to prepare a great deal of stewed fruit at once, as it does not keep long. Only a little sugar is needed. Using Sugar. — Many cooks do not understand the use of sugar in cooking fruit. The sugar in ordinary use is cane sugar, and is 2^ times as sweet as grape sugar, but is closely allied to it, as we have explained elsewhere. Cane sugar can be changed to grape sugar by cooking it with acids and thus its sweetening power will be reduced k) that of grape sugar Some cooks put their sugar in with a mass of acid fruit to be cooked, and keep cooking and adding sugar as the mass gets sweeter until at last they use 2-| times as much sugar as they need to do, because the cane sugar becomes changed to grape sugar. If the sugar had been added after the fruit was cooked, much less would have been required, and the result would have been far more satisfactory. By bearing this in mind a large saving can be made in the use of sugar. Many people misapprehend the effect of sugar on the acids of fruits. Enough sugar can be added to disguise the taste of the acid, but it does not neutralize it as an alkali would do, nor does it effect any chemical change in the acid whatever. APPLE BUTTER. — Boil new cider down |; then add an equal quantity of apples which have been pared, quartered and cored; boil until the apples are tender, and then sweeten with light brown sugar, and boil, with constant stirring, until it is reduced to a smooth buttery mass; spice to taste and put away in stone jars. If cooked properly, the spices can be omitted if desired, as the true apple flavor is preserved better without them. It is better if left slightly tart.

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Apple Butter

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