USES OF THE QUINCE. 139 



12. SWEET PICKLES. Prepare as for preserves. Cook 

 tender in water, drain well, and simmer for five minutes 

 in a syrup of good vinegar, covering the fruit, and add 

 sugar, one and a half pounds to a pound of quinces, with 

 spices of cinnamon, allspice, mace, and cloves to suit one's 

 taste. The water in which they were boiled can be used 

 to make jelly. A pint of vinegar to seven pounds of fruit 

 is a good proportion for sweet pickles to keep well. 



13. QUINCE JELLY, when well made, is unsurpassed. 

 Most housekeepers use the parings and cores of such as 

 have been used for some other confection. It is better to 

 leave out the cores, as the mucilage around the seeds may 

 make the syrup ropy, and hinder success. The skin, 

 with what adheres, contains the part of fruit richest in 

 pectine, and so is best for jelly. Indifferent fruit should 

 be cooked with the skins for jelly. Apples may be used 

 to increase the quantity of jelly without seriously reduc- 

 ing the flavor. Cook the apples, and then the quinces 

 in the same water. The color of all jellies may be kept 

 light by shortening the time of boiling ; and this may be 

 done by dividing the fruit into three or four parts, cook- 

 ing them successively in the same water. By the time 

 the last is cooked, and the pulp pressed and syrup strained, 

 the sugar can be added ; by measure rather than weight, 

 bulk for bulk. When the sugar is added to the syrup a 

 scum will rise, and should be removed. No more skimming 

 is necessary till it is done, when another skimming will 

 leave it entirely clear. The exact jellying point in the 

 process must be determined by trial as the boiling pro- 

 ceeds. Longer boiling may reduce it to a syrup again. 

 As soon as the jelly is done, let the heat subside a little, 

 and pour into cups to mold it for use ; and in a few 

 minutes after, run a spoon around the top of the cups 

 to gather the film, when each will be perfectly smooth 

 and glassy. Preserve from mould as above described for 

 preserves. 



