The Rural cook book

Plum Conserve. — Five pounds plums, peeped and pitted; five pounds sugar ; cook plums 20 minutes before adding sugar. Put in sugar and boil a little, then add two pounds seeded raisins (cut into small pieces), grated rind of four oranges and the pulp chipped (easier to cut with scissors). Cook to a thick conserve (15 to 20 minutes), and put in jelly glasses. Cherries (sour) are good used instead of ptums; pit them. Currants may also be used instead of plums. Pineapple and Flum Jam. — Twelve pounds of large plums, five Urge pineapples, one quart of water and sugar in the proportion of threequarters of a pound to every pound of fruit, and one pound to every pint of water. Peel and pit the plums, add the water, bring to the boiling point, add the pineapple cut in dice and boil until soft and thick, then add the. sugar and cook three-quarters of an hour longer. Spiced Plums. — Spiced plums are the best of relishes with game, poul try, and mutton. Wash, drain, pick and weigh the plums, prick the skins lightly, then pack them down in earthen jars with one-half their own weight of sugar. Strew through the fruit while packing plenty of whole cloves, whole allspice, mace, ginger slightly bruised and stick cinnamon. Put in also a few whole black peppercorns, and to each jar allot a single pod of the small red pepper. Take half a pint of cider vinegar for each pound of fruit, add to it as much sugar as the fruit was packed in, bring to a boil, skim well and pour over it scalding hot. Let stand 84 hours, then drain off the syrup, boil up, skim and return to the fruit. Do this three times, then put fruit and syrup together in the kettle, let them boil five minutes, skimming well, fill jars and cover. Canned Pumpkin. — This will supply pie material when stored pumpkins are gone. Cook the pumpkin and strain it, just as you do for pies, being careful not to have much water in it. Fill the can full. Shake down so as to have them solid. Put on the tops, screw down just a little, so you can lift by them, place in boiler, with something between the cans and boiler on the bottom, fill to the neck of cans with water and boil one good hour. Take out and wipe the necks of the cans, and THE /iURAL COOK BOOK. 13T if the pumpkin has shrunk away, (ill cans up with boiling water, put on rings and screw down the tops tight, and the pumpkin will keep six months in n good, cool place. Quince Butter. — Use half a gallon of quinces pared and cored, half a gallon of tart apples pared and cored, two quarts of sweet cider, one pint of cold water. Cover the crock and stew gently until the fruit is very soft ; then pass through a sieve. Add five cupfuls of sugar and cook until soft. Canned Quinces. — Prepare the quinces by paring, coring and quartering. Use a silver knife. Keep the prepared quinces in cold water to prevent them from discolorifig until sufficient have been prepared. Cook the quinces in boiling water slowly till tender. Have ready a syrup of one-half pound of sugar and a pint of water to each pound of fruit. Put the cooked quinces in the syrup, allowing them to remain five minutes. Then can and seal while -hot. Quince Honey. — One medium quince and one cupful of granulated sugar will make one jelly glass of honey. Pare and grate the quinces, then stir this grated pulp into a boiling syrup made of the sugar and enough water to dissolve it. Stir slowly and quite often until the pulp will remain suspended through the syrup. One should not get it too stiff. Put into jelly glasses, and when cool cover in the same way you do preserves and jellies, and keep in the preserve closet. Quince Jam.— Take one pint of quince juice left from preserves, add one pound of sliced apples, three-q.-jarters of a pound of sugar; boil two hours, stirring well; pour into g'.asses while hot and seal.