ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 30! 



half of water; boil it down one-third; 

 skim carefully while boiling, then strain off 

 the liquid ; add a pound of sugar-candy, 

 and boil the ginger in it until quite ten- 

 der. 



MUSHROOMS, To Preserve. — The 

 small open mushrooms suit best. Trim 

 and rub them clean, and put into a stew 

 pan a quart of the mushrooms, three 

 ounces of butter, two teaspoonfuls of 

 salt, and half a teaspoonful of Cayenne 

 pepper and mace mixed ; stew until the 

 mushrooms are tender; take them care- 

 fully out and drain them on a sloping 

 dish. When cold, press into small pots, 

 and pour clarified butter over them. Put 

 writing paper over the butter, and on that 

 pour melted suet, which will exclude the 

 air and preserve them for many weeks, if 

 kept in a dry, cool place. 



MOCK GINGER, Preserved.— Cut off 

 the stalks of lettuce just going to seed, 

 and peel off the strings, cut them in 

 pieces two or three inches long, and 

 throw them into water; after washing 

 them, put them into sugar and water, 

 mixed in the proportion of one pound of 

 sugar to five pints of water, add to this 

 quantity two large spoonfuls of pounded 

 ginger. Boil the whole together for 

 twenty minutes, and set it by for two 

 days. Then boil it again for half an hour, 

 and renew this five or six times in the 

 same syrup. Then drain the stalks upon 

 a sieve, and wipe them dry ; have ready 

 a thick syrup boiled, and make strong 

 with whole ginger. Pour it upon the 

 stalks boiling hot, boil them in it twice or 

 thrice, or until they look clear, and taste 

 like the West India ginger. 



ORANGE-PEEL, Preserved. — Clean 

 carefully ; cut in thin strips ; stew in water 

 until the bitterness is extracted ; drain off 

 the water, and stew again for half an hour 

 in a syrup of sugar and water, allowing a 

 half-pint of water and a pound of sugar to 

 each pound of peel. Put it aside in jars, 

 and keep it in a cool place. If desired, 

 a little cinnamon and ginger may be 

 stewed with the peel, but it is more deli- 

 cate cooked simply with sugar. Lemon- 

 peel may be prepared in the same man- 

 ner, either alone or mixed with orange- 

 peel. These form pleasant " relishes " 

 eaten with cake or bread, or if chopped 

 finely when prepared, they form excellent 

 flavoring for puddings and pies. 



PEARS, Preserved. — Take six pounds 

 of pears to four pounds of sugar, boil the 

 parings in as much water as will cover 

 them, strain it through the colander, lay 

 some pears in the bottom of your kettle,, 

 put in some sugar, and so on, alternately;, 

 then pour the liquor off the pear-skins 

 over, boil them until they begin to look 

 transparent, then take them out, let the 

 juice cool, and clarify it ; put the pears in 

 again, and add some ginger, prepared as 

 in the above recipe; boil till done; let 

 the liquor boil after taking them out, until 

 it is reduced to a syrup. 



PINE-APPLE, Preserved. — Choose 

 ripe but sound ones, and cut them in slices 

 about an inch in thickness, and cut off the 

 rind. Weigh the slices, and to every two 

 pounds of fruit put one pound and three- 

 quarters of sifted white sugar. Boil them 

 together in a preserving-pan for thirty 

 minutes, and if the slices are tender, take 

 them out carefully with a wooden spoon, 

 and place them on a wooden dish ; boil 

 the syrup for a short time longer, and then 

 pour it over the slices of pine-apple. This, 

 process must be repeated for three succes- 

 sive days, after which the preserves may 

 be put into jars and covered. 



PURPLE-PLTJMS, Preserved. — Make 

 a syrup of clean brown sugar ; clarify it as 

 directed in these recipes ; when perfectly 

 clear and boiling hot, pour it over the 

 plums, having picked out all unsound 

 ones and stems ; let them remain in the- 

 syrup two days, then drain it off; make 

 it boiling hot, skim it, and pour it over 

 again; let them remain another day or 

 two, then put them in a preserving-kettle 

 over the fire, and simmer gently until the 

 syrup is reduced, and thick or rich. One 

 pound of sugar for each pound of plums. 

 Small damsons are very fine, preserved as 

 cherries or any other ripe fruit; clarify 

 the syrup, and when boiling hot put in 

 the plums ; let them boil very gently until 

 they are cooked, and the syrup rich. Put 

 them in pots or jars; the next day secure 

 as directed. 



PEACHES, Preserved.— Take the peach- 

 es when ripe, pare them, and if you desire 

 to preserve them whole, throw them into 

 cold water as you pare them, so as to 

 prevent them losing color. When you 

 have everything ready, place the peaches 

 in a can, adding as much sugar to each, 

 layer as will make them palatable. Then, 



