The Raleigh cook book

hot syrup. For three days boil the syrup and pour over apples. The last time the syrup is boiled drop in the apples and let boil a minute or two. Put while hot in jars and seal. When the fruit can. be easily pierced to the center with a silver fork, it is sufficiently cooked. Fig Preserves.—Choose firm, ripe figs, peel, leaving on a little stem. Allow half pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Put on sugar with enough water to make a thick syrup; when boiling, drop in figs and cook until clear. Add a little ginger root to the syrup. Put in glass jars while hot and seal. Watermelon Rind Citron.—Pare off carefully the green part of the rind, trim off red core. Cut in strips or squares. Soak in weak brine 12 hours, and then in fresh water 12 hours, changing water two or three times. Drop in cold water each time in changing, as that helps to make it brittle. Boil in very weak alum water half an hour, then in clear water half an hour, or until rind is tender. To 1 pound of rind add 2 pounds sugar, cover with water and boil until white spots come in the rind. For 2 gallons of rind, use 2 ounces of ginger-root tied up in a muslin bag, and the juice of one lemon. A can of sliced pineapple may be added just before taking from the fire. Peach Marmalade.—Pare and remove the stones. Put eight pounds of pulp into a preserving kettle, bruise and stir over the fire with a wooden spoon until soft. Add six pounds of white sugar and stir a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. When it is sticky, it is sufficiently cooked and ready when cool to put into preserving tumblers. Cut thin pieces of paper the size of the glasses, dip these in brandy and place over the top, cover again with tinfoil or a layer of paper with the edge wet with mucilage. Keep in a cool, dry closet. BEVERAGES. 73 BEVERAGES. Beverages.—Coffee and tea should always be made from fresh boiling water; this is a most important point, as after it boils a few minutes it becomes flat and hard. Allow 1 tablespoon ground coffee to a cup; 1 teaspoon tea to a cup. Chocolate.—3 cups water; 3 cups milk; 6 tablespoons Baker's chocolate; 6 tablespoons sugar, or more; 1 teaspoon cornstarch or flour. Put water, milk, chocolate and sugar in saucepan; set on stove and stir until dissolved; let boil several minutes. Add cornstarch, dissolved in a little milk, to chocolate, and let boil again. Serve with whipped cream. This will fill eight teacups. If cornstarch is not desired, beat the chocolate with an egg whip while cooking. This makes the chocolate light and creamy. The secret of good, rich chocolate is to allow it to cock until well done. Fruit Punch. gallon tea; 9 lemons; 1 dozen oranges; 4 cans grated pineapple; ™% gallon maraschino cherries; 1 pound Malaga grapes; sugar to taste (not too sweet). Slice six lemons and six oranges and pour the boiling tea over them, pressing to extract the juice. When cold, strain and add juice of three lemons and six oranges, the pineapple, maraschino cherries and juice, Malaga grapes cut in half and seeded, and sugar. Place block of ice in punch bowl, pour in mixture and just before serving add apolonaris water. This drink may also be served with crushed ice in cold tea glasses, having a sprig of mint in each glass. The above amount will serve one hundred people if punch glasses are used. Fairy Punch.—1 pineapple; 3 oranges, juice; 1 cup cold tea; 1 quart mineral water; 1 quart unfermented grape juice; 1 lemon, sliced; 2 small cups sugar. Take the pulp of pineapple, finely chopped, add juice of oranges, tea, grape juice, sugar and sliced lemon. Place a block of ice in the punch bowl and pour the punch slowly in; when ready to serve, add quart of mineral water. Lemon Syrup.—18 lemons; 2 quarts water; 6 pounds best white sugar, loaf preferred.