The Ideal cook book

Pare very carefully with a silver or plated knife, as steel injures all fruit. With the sharp point of the knife dig out as near and with as little waste as possible, all the “ eves” and black specks, then cut out each of the sections in which the [illustration: page 236] _ “eyes” were, in solid pieces clear down to the core. By doing this all the real fruit is saved, leaving the core a hard, round woody substance, but it contains considerable juice. ‘Take this core and wring it with the hands as one wrings a cloth, til! all the juice is extracted, then throw it away. Put the juice thus saved into the syrup, let it boil up for five minutes, skim till clear, then add the fruit. Boil as short a time as possible, and have the flesh tender. The pineapple loses flavor by overcooking more readily than any other fruit. Fill into wellheated jars, add all the syrup the jar will hold, cover and screw down as soon as possible. $35. Plums. Plums should be wiped with a soft cloth or dusted, never washed. Have the syrup all ready, prick each plum with a silver fork to prevent the skin from bursting, and put them into the syrup. Boil from eight to ten minutes, judging by the size of the fruit. Dip carefully into the hot jars, fill full, and screw on the cover immediately. Cherries may be put up in the same way. —LBeecher. 836. Pears (Canned)—Ingredients—Bartlett pears, 1 qt. of fruit, 1 pt. of water, 4 lb. of white sugar. Make the syrup and set on the stove to boil, peel the pears and plunge into cold water as soon as pared, when the syrup boils put the pears in, and boil until you can pierce them easily with a piece of broom straw, dip the cans in hot water, put in the fruit, pour boiling syrup over and seal. 837. Plums (Canned)—Ingredients—Syrup, 2 wineglasses of water and ¥ |b. of sugar to each 3 qts. of fruit. When the sugar is melted and the water luke-warm put the plums in. Let it come slowly to the boil. Let them boil gently for five minutes. Put the plums into bottles, fill them with the boiling syrup (take care that there is as much syrup in the bottles as they will hold). Screw up immediately and set in a dark dry place. 838. Strawberries (Canned)—Ingredients—Allow to each 1 Ib. of fruit 34 lb. of sugar. Put berries and sugar into a large flat dish and allow te — stand about four hours, then draw off the juice and put inte preserving pan and allow to come to a boil, removing thescum | CANNED Fruits, Erc. 237 as it rises, then put in the berries and let them come to a boil. Put into warm bottles and seal quickly. 839. Cherries (Canned)—Ingredients—To every 1 lb. of fruit 14 Ib: . of sugar, 3 gills of water. Put the sugar and water on the fire to heat, and as soon as it comes to a boil put in the cherries and only allow them to scald for a quarter of an hour, put into bottles boiling hot and seal. A few of the kernels put in. to scald with the fruit imparts a fine flavor. Note—Be sure to skim well. 840. To Bottle Fruit—Ingredients—Any fresh fruit, large-mouthed bottles, new corks, Secure the fruit not very ripe and picked on a fine day ; have the bottles clean and dry, put in the fruit, cover with pieces of bladder tied securely, stand them in a boiler with cold water to the necks, put the boiler on the fire and allow to boil ; as soon as the bladders begin to swell, pierce them with a large pin. Now let the fire out and allow the bottles to stand until cold. The following day remove the bladders and fill up the bottles with sugar. Be careful to have the corks close at hand, and just before corking hold a couple of lighted matches in the mouth of the bottle, and before the gas has had time to escape, cork and cover with resin. 841. Green Gooseberries (to bottle).