220 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



PEACH BUTTER 



This is one of the good old-fashioned farm prod- 

 ucts. As made at the factories it is usually called 

 peach marmalade, and that is also what the modern 

 college-educated housewife usually calls hers. Gen- 

 uine peach butter, however, is something which 

 ought not to be allowed to go out of remembrance, 

 and so we would better include a good working 

 recipe recently given by Mrs. Fred Telford in the 

 ^'Country Gentleman," as follows: 



Peach butter can be made from peaches that are overripe ; 

 that is, from peaches that are not decayed, but that are too 

 ripe to put upon the market. First-class peach butter usually 

 retails at about 75 cents a gallon, and since but little sugar 

 need be added in its manufacture there is a very good profit 

 in it for the producer when peaches are cheap. It also makes 

 an excellent spread for children's school lunches as well as 

 a good dish for the table. 



Wash the peaches thoroughly, cut out all decayed spots, 

 peel and remove the stones. Place them in a preserving ket- 

 tle and add enough water to prevent them from burning. 

 Boil the peaches slowly, stirring them constantly, until they 

 are well cooked down and smooth. Then add a little cinna- 

 mon and about a cupful of sugar for each quart of butter. 

 The taste of people varies, so that a little more or less sugar 

 may be required. Continue the slow cooking and constant 

 stirring until the entire mass is free from lumps and as 

 smooth as it can be made by stirring. While the butter is 

 still boiling hot, put it in glass cans and seal it immediately, 

 using new rubbers and perfect covers. 



It is true that butters of this sort keep if placed in unsealed 

 jars, but they are almost sure to mold. The mold does not 

 entirely spoil the butter for use as food, but it makes any 

 sort of food unattractive, and in addition lessens the food 

 value. These mold filaments soon penetrate the entire con- 

 tents of a quart can ; and while they are usually invisible, 

 unless a microscope is used to detect them, they soon pro- 

 duce flavors noticeable to the discriminating taste. If the 

 butter is kept in an unsealed jar, melted paraffin should be 

 poured over the top. 



The labor of constant stirring may be partly eliminated in 

 the following manner : Stew the prepared peaches until they 

 become soft and then run them through a colander. Add the 

 same proportion of sugar as for the stirring method, and 



