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

Let it come slowly to boiling point; skim and boil for five minutes, then strain through a fine sieve or sheer cloth over the pulp. Let the pulp boil up in the syrup once, then can it immediately, as longer boiling darkens the fruit. If you wish use the whites of two eggs beaten up to clarify the syrup. The Queen Cook Book Serving Pineapple. A nice dessert for dinner or a tea dish, is to slice it the same as the above, cover with sugar in layers, let stand for two hours. Then tear the fruit from the core with a silver fork. Preserved pineapple is especially fine served with whipped cream. A pineapple Bavarian cream is one of the best desserts we have, and there is no better water ice or sherbet. But do not buy the coarse-grained, flavorless early fruit. Canning Tomatoes. Scald, peel and slice the tomatoes as for cooking for table, rejecting the cores and every one that is imperfect. One teaspoon salt to every peck; put over to cook one-half hour or more stirring very often, till it is fine, then can hot and seal tight. Preserved Citron Melon. Pare, core and cut the melons into slices; cut up the slices an inch and a half long. Weigh them, and to every six pounds of fruit put six pounds of granulated sugar, the juice and yellow rind — pared off thin — of four lemons; also half a pound of race ginger; put the slices into a granite kettle, cover with water and a layer on all of peach leaves; boil about half an hour, or until clear, and a broom-corn will easily pierce them; drain them, spread them in a pan of cold water, and let them stand all night; next morning tie the ginger in a thin muslin cloth and boil it in three pints of water until the water is highly flavored; take out the ginger; dissolve the sugar in the ginger- Water, put in the lemon peel and boil and skim it till The Queen Cook Book 221 no more scum rises; take out the lemon peel, put in the citron slices and juice of lemon, and boil in the syrup till the slices are transparent and a straw will go through them; put the slices, while warm, in jars, and pour the syrup on slowly; seal in air tight cans. Home Messenger, Cranberry Sauce, Jam and Jelly. Pick out all the soft berries and stems, wash and put over to stew with water epough to come to the top. To every quart of berries put one pint of sugar, stew till tender and thoroughly cooked, either to a jell or with a syrup, as you like. The jell is made the same as currant jell, and the jam or marmalade the same as plum marmalade. Prunes (Stewed). Wash thoroughly in two waters, put in stew kettle with water enough to cover, to one quart of prunes put two tablespoons of sugar, be very careful not to get them too sweet, as the flavor of good ones depends upon the proportion of sugar and fruit. Let steep on back of stove till tender, perhaps two hours or more. Do not buy cheap ones, they are insipid. Apple Sauce. This is a favorite dish to be eaten with fresh pork, roast pig, goose and duck. Use Rhode Island greenings or any sour, juicy apple; wash and wipe clean. Pare, quarter and core, put in granite kettle, with water to cover well, cook till nearly tender then add sugar according to the acidity of apple. If you wish marmalade add a little more sugar and rub through a sieve. Some like a teaspoon of butter stirred in. The Queen Cook Book JELLIES. Jelly making requires skill and care; only the best quality of fruit and best coffee sugar should be used. It must not be cooked too long as it makes it ropy, strong and dark-colored. The same rules must be observed for all jellies. I will give a perfect one for currant jelly and all others are made the same way, such as strawberries and grapes. Try to obtain the fruits when they are just ripe — not too ripe, for then they are liable to be watery and the jelly qualities destroyed to a greater or less extent. Currant Jelly.