28o 



CURING AND STORING. 



rim of the barrel, entirely round the same, 

 after which make another ring, until the 

 whole is covered. Then throw in your 

 apples, and when your barrel is full, 

 press them down and put in the bottom, 

 after which turn them head upwards. 

 When the barrel is opened from the top, 

 your apples will be found in good con- 

 dition, even and nicely packed. 



APPLE BUTTER.— Select two bushels 

 of sour apples, and peel, core and quar- 

 ter them. Take a barrel of good, sweet 

 apple cider, and boil it in a copper kettle 

 until all the impurities have risen to the 

 surface. After this is done, and the im- 

 purities skimmed off, take out two-thirds 

 of the cider. Then put in the apples, 

 and as the quantity boils down put in the 

 rest of the cider. After putting in the 

 apples the butter must be stirred without 

 interruption until it is taken off. It will 

 take about five hours boiling after the ap- 

 ples are put into the cider. It should be 

 boiled until the whole mass becomes 

 smooth and of the same consistency, and 

 •of a dark brown color. Spice with ground 

 •cloves and cinnamon to taste. The but- 

 ter can then be taken off and put into 

 vessels for use. Earthen crocks are best 

 for this purpose. Tie the vessels over 

 with heavy paper and set them away in a 

 •dry place. The butter will keep a year 

 if wanted. 



BEANS, To Keep Fresh for Winter.— 

 Procure a wide-mouthed stone jar, lay on 

 the bottom of it some freshly-pulled 

 French beans, and over them put a layer 

 of salt; fill the jar up in this manner with 

 alternate layers of beans and salt. The 

 beans need not all be put in at the same 

 time, but they are better if the salt be 

 put on while they are quite fresh. They 

 will keep good all through the winter. 

 When going to use them, steep for some 

 hours in fresh cold water. 



BEANS, String, Dried.— Dried string 

 beans are very excellent in winter. Cut 

 the beans up in the usual lengths, dry 

 them, put them in a bag. In winter, 

 soak them and cook them in the usual 

 way. 



BEEF, Pickled.— Rub each piece of 

 beef very lightly with salt; let them lie 

 singly on a tray or board for twenty-four 

 hours, then wipe them very dry. Pack 

 them closely in a tub, taking care that it 

 is perfectly sweet and clean. Have the 



pickle ready, made thus : Boil four gal- 

 lons of soft water with ten pounds of 

 coarse salt, four ounces of saltpetre, and 

 two pounds of coarse brown sugar ; let it 

 boil fifteen minutes, and skim it while 

 boiling very clean. When perfectly cold 

 pour it on the beef, laying a weight on 

 the top to keep the meat under the pickle. 

 This quantity is sufficient for ioo pounds 

 of beef if closely packed. 



BUTTER, To Preserve. — i. The best 

 method to preserve butter from the air is 

 to fill the pot to within an inch of the 

 top, and to lay on it common coarse- 

 grained salt, to the depth of one-half an 

 inch or three-quarters of an inch, then 

 to cover the pot up with any flat arti- 

 cle that may be convenient. The salt 

 by long keeping will run to brine, and 

 form a layer on the top of the butter, 

 which will effectually keep out the air, 

 and may at any time be very easily re- 

 moved by turning the pot on one side. 



2. Fresh butter, sixteen pounds ; salt, 

 one pound. 



3. Fresh butter, eighteen pounds ; salt, 

 one pound ; saltpetre, one and one-fourth 

 ounces ; honey or fine brown sugar, two 

 ounces. 



APPLE BUTTER, Pennsylvania, to 

 Make. — Let three bushels of fair sweet 

 apples be pared, quartered, and the cores 

 removed. Meanwhile let two barrels of 

 new cider be boiled down to one-half. 

 When this is done, commit the prepared 

 apples to the cider, and let the boiling go 

 on briskly and systematically, stirring the 

 contents without cessation, that they do 

 not become attached to the side of the 

 kettle and be burned. Let the stirring go 

 on till the amalgamated cider and ap- 

 ples become as thick as hasty-pudding, 

 then throw in pulverized allspice, when 

 it may be considered as finished, and 

 committed to pots for future use. 



BUTTER, Packing and Preserving. — 

 Packing butter that is gathered up at 

 country stores is a nice operation, and 

 needs to be carefully performed. As it 

 is of all shades of color, from white to 

 pale yellow generally, a coloring may 

 be prepared by melting some of the but- 

 ter and dissolving in it the prepared anr 

 natto, which may be procured at any 

 drug store. This should be kept for use 

 as it is wanted. To use it, take a quan- 

 tity of the butter to be colored in the 



