The Syrians remove
the pips in clumps, cut away the bitter cores and stew with sugar,
flavoring with rosewater at the finish.
Quinces. To be worth buying, quinces must be firm, but not
hard; and yellowish, but not green. Otherwise they're too puckery
for eating. The immature kind aren't even fit for canning, and
bruised or wormy ones aren't worth carrying home.
Strawberries. Wild strawberries are most flavorsome, but they
seldom come to market; so, among the tame varieties, pick fresh,
bright-colored ones, not for bigness, but for soundness of meat,
because big ones can be almost as pithy as overripe radishes. Un-
like other berries, it's safest to buy strawberries with their caps on;
capless ones are likely to be mushy and worthless. Again, the ojily
sure test is to taste one and, of course, the box should be dumped out
into the dealer's palms to see just what you're getting at the bottom.
Watermelons. Don't buy a watermelon without having it
plugged. If the melon is big, the rind thin and the flesh deep red
and juicy you'll find it good fruit value for the money. The bigger
the melon the bigger its heart. And since watermelons that get to
the city are high in price from their first appearance on Fourth of
July all the way to Labor Day, don't waste the rind; preserve or
crystallize it. The seeds when dried make good eating, too; so no
part of a watermelon need be wasted. Not even its pig-tail stem
which, if properly curled, can be worn as a ring at any watermelon-
eating festival.
XXIV. Fruity Desserts
The best thing about an Italian mid-day meal is that instead of
a fancy dessert a bowl of fruit is put in the middle of the table. And
likewise, there's always a compote of stewed fruit to end the eve-
ning meal. Nothing could be better to counteract the over-starchi-
ness of a spaghetti diet — or a potato and bread diet like ours. So
here are suggestions for serving fruit in season which needn't cost
as much as the average dessert and should satisfy any healthful
appetite:
One peeled pear with a piece of very tasty hard cheese such as
Parmesan to nibble with it. The cheese needn't be bigger than a
twenty-five cent piece and the pear should be pared the last minute
before serving, so it'll be fresh and juicy and won't have time to get
discolored.
When peaches are in season it's worth while to splurge on peaches
and cream, since no other combination is quite so yummy. Half a
pint of cream should do for six sliced portions; so the cost of this
unbeatable dessert needn't be over a nickel per person, cream and
all.
For fruit cocktails, salads, cups and compotes buy a "bailer" at
the 5 & lo. With this handy cutting cup you can turn contrasting
balls out of melons and fruits and pile up luscious mouthfuls. One
advantage of a ** bailer" is that you can salvage the sound parts of
i8o
FRUITY DESSERTS l8l
I
bruised fruits which are too far gone to be served whole, and it
makes any fruit go farther. It*s fun to experiment with tutti frutti
combinations in this way, and please remember that the juice of
unripe grapes or lemon juice snaps up any fruit cup or salad, while
vinegar may spoil its flavor, except maybe wine vinegar.
Page 101
Presented as published in 1938. 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
The Syrians remove the pips in clumps, cut away the bitter cores and stew with sugar, flavoring with rosewater at the finish.
Quinces. To be worth buying, quinces must be firm, but not hard; and yellowish, but not green. Otherwise they're too puckery for eating. The immature kind aren't even fit for canning, and bruised or wormy ones aren't worth carrying home.
Strawberries. Wild strawberries are most flavorsome, but they seldom come to market; so, among the tame varieties, pick fresh, bright-colored ones, not for bigness, but for soundness of meat, because big ones can be almost as pithy as overripe radishes. Unlike other berries, it's safest to buy strawberries with their caps on; capless ones are likely to be mushy and worthless. Again, the only sure test is to taste one and, of course, the box should be dumped out into the dealer's palms to see just what you're getting at the bottom.
Watermelons. Don't buy a watermelon without having it plugged. If the melon is big, the rind thin and the flesh deep red and juicy you'll find it good fruit value for the money. The bigger the melon the bigger its heart. And since watermelons that get to the city are high in price from their first appearance on Fourth of July all the way to Labor Day, don't waste the rind; preserve or crystallize it. The seeds when dried make good eating, too; so no part of a watermelon need be wasted. Not even its pig-tail stem which, if properly curled, can be worn as a ring at any watermeloneating festival.
XXIV. Fruity Desserts
The best thing about an Italian mid-day meal is that instead of a fancy dessert a bowl of fruit is put in the middle of the table. And likewise, there's always a compote of stewed fruit to end the evening meal. Nothing could be better to counteract the over-starchiness of a spaghetti diet — or a potato and bread diet like ours. So here are suggestions for serving fruit in season which needn't cost as much as the average dessert and should satisfy any healthful appetite:
One peeled pear with a piece of very tasty hard cheese such as Parmesan to nibble with it. The cheese needn't be bigger than a twenty-five cent piece and the pear should be pared the last minute before serving, so it'll be fresh and juicy and won't have time to get discolored.
When peaches are in season it's worth while to splurge on peaches and cream, since no other combination is quite so yummy. Half a pint of cream should do for six sliced portions; so the cost of this unbeatable dessert needn't be over a nickel per person, cream and all.
For fruit cocktails, salads, cups and compotes buy a "bailer" at the 5 & lo. With this handy cutting cup you can turn contrasting balls out of melons and fruits and pile up luscious mouthfuls. One advantage of a ** bailer" is that you can salvage the sound parts of
i8o
FRUITY DESSERTS l8l
bruised fruits which are too far gone to be served whole, and it makes any fruit go farther. It*s fun to experiment with tutti frutti combinations in this way, and please remember that the juice of unripe grapes or lemon juice snaps up any fruit cup or salad, while vinegar may spoil its flavor, except maybe wine vinegar.