The Storage and Preservation of Fruit. 195 



l)reali:ing down of the pulp — a practice to be emphatically 

 •condemned on sanitary grounds. 



Fresh cider and grape juice are often preserved by the 

 xianning method, either in cans or bottles. Thus prepared 

 they are refreshing and wholesome drinks. Bottled fresh 

 ■grape juice is now a commercial product of considerable 

 importance. 



301. Preserving: fruits by crystallization. In this pro- 

 -cess the syrup with which the pulp of the fruit is filled pre- 

 vents the development of bacteria, and thus preserves the 

 fruit without destroying its form or consistency. The well- 

 ripened fruit is immersed in boiling water long enough to 

 •extract the juice without softening the pulp, after which 

 it is covered in earthen pans with a syrup of white sugar, 

 of which the density is varied to suit the firmness of the 

 fruit, until fermentation reaches a certain stage — usually 

 about a \,'eek. The fruit and syrup are then heated to 

 •boiling, which checks the fermentation, and the fruit is 

 left in the syrup for about six weeks, the mass being re- 

 lieated as often as necessary to stay fermentation. The 

 fruit is then removed from the syrup, washed in clean 

 water, dipped again in a thick sugar syrup and exposed to 

 the air until the syrup hardens, after which it is ready for 

 packing, and will keep well in any climate. Crystallized 

 fruits are oiten called '' candied " fruits. 



302. Fruit jams or marmalades are made by boiling the 

 fruit in water until thoroughly tender, pressing the pulp 

 ■through a colander, then adding sugar in quantity depend- 

 ing upon the fruit, and again boiling until the desired con- 

 centration is reached. Jams are made from the smaller and 

 more tender fruits, as berries, and marmalades from the 

 larger and firmer fruits, as the apple, quince, orange, etc. 



