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The Queen Cook Book: A Careful Compilation of Recipes and Practical ...

1895

Page 84 · 3 recipe records on this page

Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Quinces should be thoroughly ripe and one meets with the best success when they are of a bright golden yellow. There are two or three kinds of quinces, some cook to pieces in the syrup, not bearing much boiling; other kinds require cooking soft in water first. I use what is called the lemon quince and I find it cooks tender in the syrup. If it turns red you have cooked it too long. Can them as soon as tender. Wash the fruit and rub with a dry cloth, pare and cut in eight pieces, and cut out all the white core, as it will turn dark. Keep covered while paring and wash, to take off all specks. In making the syrup allow one- half pound of sugar to one of fruit and hardly water enough to cover, when cold put in the fruit, cook slowly till tender (not red) and can. A tea saucer is the best to dip all fruit into the funnel. For preserves use three-fourths of a pound of sugar, to a pound of fruit and can air tight. il8 The Queen Cook Book Strawberries. Take fresh picked berries, wash quickly in very cold water, hull and pick over carefully; one coffee cup of sugar to one quart of berries or richer if you like. There are two ways of canning them, one is, put one- half a cup of water into a porcelain kettle, put in the sugar then the berries on top and stand on back of stove. Let stand till the juice moistens the sugar; put it over a slow fire till all the sugar is melted, then gradually increase the heat till the berries are heated through, say to the boiling point, and can. Do not be too long about it, or let them be on the fire too long, as they will loose their beautiful color and turn white. Another way which I have never tried, but is recommended by good authority is, to fill the can with the fruit, fill, up with the syrup, put on cover without rubber, set the cans in an old boiler with rack under them, have the cold water not reach the top of can by two inches, then let come to a boil, fifteen minutes boiling is usually enough; the berries must be boiling hot through, then fill full, put on rubbers and screw on covers. This is the most difficult fruit to keep, as it is very acid and comes in the hottest weather. Strawberry Preserves. Prepare them in the same way, taking a pound of sugar for a pound of fruit, only as soon as the fruit is boiling hot through skim it out into can (the propor- tion), and boil the syrup with cover off twenty or thirty minutes; then make the cans air tight. Raspberries: These are canned and preserved the same way af strawberries. The Omen Cook Book 219 Pineapples. The sugarloaf is one of the sweetest and best pine- apples for preserving. The season for this is at its height about the last of June or 4th of July, when these delicious fruits may, when plenty, often be pur- chased for $1 a dozen. The best come from Havana. In June the choice Ripley and the Queen Anne are choice varieties and come from Jamaica. They are ex- ceedingly rich in flavor and sweet. These fancy pines are quite small, selling on an average at 30 cents apiece. These are considered superior to any other variety for table use because of their rich flavor. The most delicious way of preserving a pineapple is in its own juice without using one drop ci water. Peel the pineapples carefully after, cutting them in slices one-half an inch thick cut out all the eyes and allow three-fourths of a pound of sugar to every pound of pineapple. Put a small layer of sugar in the bottom of a stone crock, then a layer of pineap- ple and a layer of sugar and one of fruit, and so on till all is used; cover them tight after putting a press- ure on them and let stand twenty-four hours. A clear juice will nearly cover them then. Now take each slice and tear the pulp in pieces off the core, using a silver fork. Drain off all the juice from the pulp and also the juice and sugar out of the dish; put this juice and sugar in granite kettle.Pineapple Preserves