PANTRY STORES. 433 



PANTRY STORES. 



MRS. J. \V. KENNEDY, LAKE CITY. 



You have called upon me for a report on cooking and pantry- 

 stores. It seems to me that this is a very wide subject to 

 think or talk about. I think I can cook a dinner much better 

 than to tell some one else how; but if the pantry is full of canned 

 fruit and jellies we certainly have a good storehouse to draw from — 

 and, as to canning fruit and making jellies, I can only give you 

 some of my ow^n experiences. 



I always try to can fruit when I can get the first that is perfectly 

 ripe, as I think it keeps better,and the first that ripens is always the 

 most perfect. I never have tried canning pie plant, but some think 

 it very fine. Next comes strawberries, which are good, whatever 

 way we get them. I never can succeed in having them hold their 

 color, but they taste good anyway. 



I always like the raspberries best, both the black and the red. 

 The best way I have ever found for canning them is to fill Mason 

 jars before cooking, shaking them until you can get about three 

 pints of berries in a quart jar. I then put on a wash boiler, filling 

 it with just'enough water to come up to about two-thirds the height 

 of the jar, with a layer of broken berry boxes in the bottom of the 

 boiler to keep the jars from coming in contact with the bottom of it. 

 I place in this boiler as many jars as will stand and fill each of the 

 jars about two-thirds full of syrup, having enough syrup in a 

 porcelain kettle to fill up the remainder of the jars after taking 

 them out. I place the tops on, not screwing them, as the water 

 around the jars being two-thirds up there is danger of its boiling 

 over into the jars if not covered. I let them remain in the boiler 

 for about two hours, then take them out and cover with the remain- 

 der of the syrup, screw the tops on and set aside to cool. I think 

 this holds good for all berries, as their shape is retained much 

 better. 



And now as to jellies. As I am a Pennsylvania woman, and they 

 are noted for putting up fruit, I have for our family of six made 

 from one hundred and twentj-five to one hundred and fifty glasses 

 of jelly, I begin with pie plant and keep on till the end of the 

 season. I have a great hobby of putting apples in with a great 

 many of my jellies, as I find so many kinds of fruit are hard to jelly, 

 especially pie plant, elderberry and grape; and even plum jelly is 

 much better to my taste with apple. As a general thing, I put 

 about one-third apple juice to two-thirds of what other I wish. 

 I prefer the Siberian crab to any other I have tried. Even in mak- 

 ing preserves, you will find that a little apple juice improves, as so 

 many fruits in preserves are too sweet, and the apple juice helps to 

 make the juice thicker and keep better. 



Tomatoes are always good when they keep, and I never have any 

 trouble; I aim to can when I can gather a bushel at one picking from 

 my vines, and as early as possible. I cook them quite a while, skim - 

 ruing them well, as I think the scum helps to sour them. I always 

 use Mason jars, but I want good tops and new rubbers, as I think 



