86 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



PLUMS FOR THE TABLE. 



A FEW STANDARD RECEIPTS. 



Butter. — Select mellow plums: pare and stone; weigh, and to every pound 

 allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Put the plums in a porcelain-lined 

 kettle: heat slowly; mash and stir until perfectly smooth, then press through a 

 fine sieve; add the sugar; boil for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly. Put into 

 jars, and tie up. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 



Canned. — Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to every pound of plums. 

 Put in a porcelain-lined kettle : cook sufficient to fill one jar only at a time : bring 

 slowly to boiling-point: simmer until the plums are soft, without being broken, 

 skim and can. All large plums may be canned in the same manner, first prick- 

 ing the skins to prevent cracking. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 



Canned. — Wash and put whole in a syrup made in the proportion of a pint 

 of water and a pound of sugar to every two pounds of fruit; boil for eight min- 

 utes; can and seal immediately. If pricked with a fork before putting in the 

 syrup, they will be less liable to burst. Cherries are canned in the same way. 

 (Buckeye Cookery.) 



Charlotte. — Stone a quart of ripe plums, and mix them with a pound of 

 brown sugar. Cut slices of bread and butter, and lay them around the sides and 

 in the bottom of a large, deep dish. Pour in the fruit boiling hot, cover the bowl, 

 and set it away to cool gradually. When quite cold, serve with sweet cream. 

 This is very nice in hot weather. (Skilful Housewife's Book.j 



Chee.se. — Bake the fruit in a stone jar, with a few of the kernels to flavor it: 

 then pulp it through a course sieve, and to each pound of pulp, free from stone 

 and skin, add a half pound, of powdered loaf sugar, in a pan; boil and skim till 

 the sides candy, when pour the cheese into shallow pans, previously rubbed with 

 butter, and tie them over. (Mrs. Hale.) 



To Prepare Fruit for Children. — A far more wholesome way than in 

 pies or puddings, is to put apples sliced, or plums, currants, gooseberries, etc., 

 into a stone jar, and sprinkle among them as much sugar as necessary. Set the 

 jar in an oven, with a teacup of water to prevent the fruit from burning; or put 

 the jar into a saucepan of water till its contents be perfectly done. Slices of 

 bread or some rice may be put into the jar to eat with the fruit. (Mrs. Hale.) 



Cobhler. — Take one quart of flour, four teaspoons melted lard, one-half 

 teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of baking-powder: mix as for biscuits, with either 

 sweet milk or water, roll thin, and line a pudding dish or dripping-pan, nine 

 by eighteen inches; mix three tablespoons of flour and two of sugar together, 

 and sprinkle over the crust; then pour in three pints of canned plums, and 

 sprinkle over them one coffee cup of sugar; wet the edge with a little flour and 

 water mixed, put on the upper crust, press the edges together, make two open- 

 ings by cutting two incisions at right angles an inch in length, and bake in quick 

 oven one-half hour. (Miss S. Alice Melching, Buckeye Cookery.) 



Compote. — Boil six ounces of sugar with half a pint of water to each pound 

 of plums, the usual time; simmer the plums very softly for twenty minutes; in- 



