How we cook in Tennessee ..

Strawberry Preserves. — Select large fine berries; allow two pounds sugar to one pound fruit. Put berries in kettle ; pour sugar over them. Allow the berries to cook from the bottom before stirring the sugar all through them. Let them come to a boil, then set aside till they cease to bubble ; put them back, and let come to a good boil, then set aside, and the third time just let them begin to boil, and put them in heated jars. This makes delicious preserves, giving a good deal of syrup; but it is a thick syrup and the preserves retain flavor of fruit. — Mrs. Reese Lillard. Strawberry Preserves. — Two pounds fruit, two pounds sugar in a vessel on the back of the range until sugar dissolves; boil fast twenty minutes; let cool and seal. Never make much at a time. A very fine recipe. — Mrs. R. D. Rodgers. Strawberry Jam. — To each pound of ripe berries allow three quarters pound sugar. Put in kettle and stir gently not to break the fruit; cook half hour, and put in jars air-tight. Plum Preserves. — Have plums nearly ripe, one pound of sugar to one pound fruit. Put plums in a kettle of cold water, and let heat gradually until it boils; pour off this water and do not use it, as it will impair the flavor of preserves. Make a syrup of the sugar and enough water to cook them in; let the syrup boil a few minutes and put in the fruit and let boil till done. Jams and Butters. — Jams and butters may be made from the inferior pieces of fruits. Peach butter is better made from peaches not pared. Wipe them, remove the stones and put them into a porcelain-lined kettle. To each peck add a quart of water, cover the kettle and put it on the very back part of the stove to cook slowly for one hour. Stir every ten minutes. Butters and jams scorch easily and hence require constant attention. At the end of the hour add five pounds of sugar, remove the lid from the kettle, cook slowly and stir for thirty minutes. The mass should be smooth and about the consistency of mush. Have your jars, lids and rubbers in boiling water. Lift a jar, adjust the rubber, fill with jam, screw down the lid. Continue thus until all are filled. — Mrs. S. T. Rorer. Blackberry Jam. — Weigh the fruit, and mash it well. To every pound of berries add a little more than half a pound of sugar. Boil slowly until as thick as desired, stirring constantly. Raspberry Jam. — To every pound of red raspberries allow one pound of white sugar. Put the raspberries in a large bowl, crush them well, and set them aside. To every three pounds of sugar add one small cupful of water, let it boil until almost ready to turn back to sugar, then stir in the raspberries, and boil together for ten minutes. The jam is perfect in color, flavor and firmness. Grape Jam. — Hull the grapes, boil the pulps till soft, seed them by use of colander or thin cloth; then add hulls and pound for pound of sugar, cooking until it is the consistency of any jam.