1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



539 



crockery dishes with fine salt sprinkled over them 

 for one night. In the morning take them from 

 the dishes and pack them in a large stone jai*, and 

 pour over them scalding vinegar enough to cover 

 them, in which has been placed cloves, allspice, 

 and peppercorns — an ounce each to a gallon of 

 vinegar. Both these and the melons must be left 

 with the jars uncovered till the vinegar is cool ; 

 then they should be closed and the jars set in a 

 cool place. 



If a white cap, or a thin coating, or specks of 

 mould appear on pickles, or in the vinegar, it is 

 because the vinegar is not strong enough, and it 

 must be turned off and better procured. If pickles 

 grow so/t stir into the vinegar a little powdered 

 alum. 



A sweet pickle may be made of quinces, peaches, 

 or beets. Beets need only to be boiled as for din- 

 ner, peeled and sliced and covered with cold 

 vinegar in ajar. They are ready for the table in 

 two days. Quinces must be pared, quartered, 

 and cored. Take half a peck. Boil five pounds 

 of sugar in two quarts of vinegar five minutes, 

 and skim it well. Then add one ounce of stick 

 cinnamon and half an ounce of cloves and the 

 quince. Boil the whole till the quince is soft; 

 then place it in jars, cover them, and keep in a 

 cool closet. Remove the stones from the peaches. 

 Scald four cupfuls of sugar iu two quarts of vin- 

 egar, and skim it. Stick three or four cloves into 

 the peaches and lay them in a jar. Pour the hot 

 vinegar and sugar over them, and cover and keep 

 them as you do the quinces. At the end of a week 

 drain off the vinegar, heat it, and skim it again, 

 and again pour it over the peaches. They will 

 then keep through the winter. 



If fruit cannot be kept in a palatable condition 

 without cooking it is very well to stew it plainly, 

 in just water enough to extract its juices easily; 

 and, as this operation always increases its acidity, 

 there is no objection to the addition of a small 

 quantity of sugar scalded with it. Preserved in 

 this way it may be eaten in moderate quantities 

 without harm. But the preserve par eminence, 

 the concentrated sweetmeats, which are the crown- 

 ing glory of all the cook's efforts at keeping and 

 cooking fruit, are so expensive and so unhealthy 

 that all prudent women ought to set their faces 

 against them. But many housewives will fight 

 valiantly for them, and forego many other harm- 

 less indulgences for the sake of concocting their 

 favorite jellies and jams. So, lest more time and 

 strength and money should be squandered in 

 making them than is absolutely necessary, I give 

 a few of the best rules for their manufacture, 

 before passing on to speak more particularly of 

 the care of vegetables. 



Use none but good, sound fruit, and nice, white 

 sugar — the granulated. For preserves proper — 

 those in which the fruit is kept distinct from the 

 syrup — a pound of sugar is needed for each pound 

 of fruit. For jellies, a pound of sugar for each 



pint of syrup. For jam and marmalade the pro- 

 portion varies— according to the consistence of the 

 pulp — from half to three-quarters, or even a whole 

 pound of sugar to one of fruit. 



Make preserves in a porcelain-lined kettle,— be 

 sure that it is perfectly clean. Pare, quarter, and 

 core apples and quinces. Do the same for large 

 pears ; but only pare small ones, leaving the stem 

 on. Pare melon rinds. Skim tomatoes and 

 peaches by scalding and then rubbing or peeling. 

 Remove the whole of orange and lemon rinds, 

 cut them in slices and take out the seeds. Prick 

 plums with a fine needle to prevent the skin from 

 bursting; and grapes, cranberries, and crab-apples 

 also, if desired to retain their whole form. Berries 

 and cherries need only washing and careful 

 searching for insects. 



Observe directions in regard to pared fruit given 

 in the early part of this chapter, then, when your 

 materials are ready, weigh the fruit and place it 

 in the kettle with enough cold water to reach the 

 topmost pieces. Keep a slow, steady fire. Let 

 the kettle boil gently — scarcely above a simmer — 

 till you can penetrate the fruit with a straw. 

 Meantime have the proportion of sugar weighed, 

 and then skim out the fruit and drain it in a hair 

 sieve. Wash the kettle and return the syrup, to 

 which add the sugar and whatever materials you 

 wish to use for flavoring. Let it boil gently till 

 the syrup is clear, — skim off all impurities that 

 rise to the surface. Then drop in the fruit, using 

 great care lest it break. Boil it slowly fifteen 

 minutes ; then remove the kettle, skim the fruit 

 into jars that have been gradually heated, pour in 

 the syrup. When cool, put on the lid, or cork 

 tightly, and keep them in a cool, dry closet. 



Use only stone, or glass jars. Glass is prefer- 

 able, because if mould forms, or fermentation 

 threatens, it can be easily seen. A thick coat of 

 mould at the top will do no harm, but if small 

 specks, or bubbles, are seen among the fruit, the 

 specks must be taken out, both fruit and syrup 

 scalded and the jar washed clean before they are 

 returned.. It is well to look at preserves as often 

 as once a month to see if they need scalding. 

 Pears alone, or mingled with peaches and apples, 

 are considered nice; or with quinces. Peaches 

 and apples do well together. Quinces and sweet 

 apples mix very well ; so do barberries and sweet 

 apples. None of these need flavoring ; neither do 

 cranberries, gooseberries, strawberries, blackber- 

 ries, grapes, or raspberries. Blueberries need 

 stick cinnamon boiled in the syrup. Crab apples 

 need ginger. Plums require no flavoring, neither 

 do cherries. Tomatoes are improved with sliced 

 lemon or orange scalded with them. 



To make jam, boil the fruit, — which, if large, 

 should be cut as small as berries— in as little 

 water as possible, till it can be mashed with a 

 spoon. Then put with it the sugar and boil it 

 half an hour, stirring it frequently. This applies 

 more particularly to apples, pears, quinces, and 



