The new practical housekeeping

Prunes, — Look over and wash nice French prunes; simmer gently in plenty of water, with a small stick cinnamon and a tablespoon strong vinegar to a pound of fruit, for at least six hours, and when thus thoroughly done, add just enough brown sugar to slightly sweeten them and thicken juice with a very little corn starch wet up in cold water ; or in place of vinegar use a quarter teaspoon cream tartar mixed with corn starch, let prunes just boil and remove from stove. This makes a most delicious sauce and when nearly done a few kernels extracted from the prune stones, dropped in the juice, give a delicate flavor. Browned Prunes. — Soak prunes overnight in cold water, boil until tender, not allowing them to break, and take out the pits. Grate some chocolate, mix it with three ounces powdered sugar and beaten whites of three eggs. Dip the prunes one by one in the mixture, and put them, without allowing them to touch, on a buttered tin. Bake fifteen minutes and serve hot. Fruit Pastes. — These are really candied fruits in another form. Care must be taken in cooking not to scorch them. For an Apple Paste, peel and core sound, ripe apples and put in water until quite soft ; then rub through a puree sieve with a wooden spoon, weigh the pulp and put in a preserving kettle with same weight of sugar and oil twenty minutes ; pour out thin on plates or in molds and dry on a cool stove or in a cool oven. Or, put an equal weight of apples and stoned plums into a preserving pan. Boil without adding any water. When the fruit begins to get soft add a pound sugar to each pound pulp. Boil slowly for an hour, and pour into shallow molds ; place these in a slow oven, when the preserve will dry until it resembles a Fruit Cheese. To make an Apricot Paste, take ripe apricots, and put them in a preserving-pan with a little sugar, place on the side of the fire to reduce to paste, then rub through a hair sieve, allowing a half pound Sifted sugar to every pound pulp. Put it on the fire and boil ten minutes. Spread on tins to dry. Make Peach Paste the same, cooking ten minutes longer. For Currant Paste, take either red or white currants, rub through a sieve, after having picked them over thoroughly ; put the mashed fruit in a pan over the fire, stirring until it forms a paste ; remove it, and to every pound pulp put one and quarter pounds fine sugar. Mix together, and boil twenty minutes ; spread out on tin plates, cut into shapes and dry. For Orange Paste, press out the juice of five Seville oranges, boiling the rinds until they are very soft. With a thin wooden or bone spoon scoop out the pulp ; pound the rinds in a mortar, as fine as possible, with half the juice of the oranges. Rub all through a hair sieve, and keep on the fire until it becomes like marmalade. Empty it out and weigh, allowing two pounds fine granulated sugar to each pound pulp. Boil it ten minutes, spread out thin on tin plates or tins, and cut it to any shape ; dry it and keep in tin boxes. Make Lemon Paste in same manner, but do not use any juice. To make either Cherry or Plum Paste stone the fruit, boil to a jam, put through a sieve and finish as in first recipe for Apple Paste. These pastes maybe cut into rings or any fancy shapes, and colored with a few drops of the usual coloring. 818 gaMe.