162 



HOME PRESERVING AND CANNING 



in pickle3 and preserves that we forget that they 

 are used primarily for their preservative effects 

 and that they may retard digestion as much as the 

 newer preservatives, the use of which is so justly 

 condemned. 



In her " Frugal Housewife," published in 1830, 

 Mrs. Lydia Maria Child says, " Economical people 

 will seldom use preserves, except for sickness. 

 They are unhealthy, expensive and useless to those 

 who are well." To a modern student of dietetics it 

 seems singular to give the sick anything unsuitable 

 for the well, but certain pharmaceutical values 

 were ascribed to "conserves" in. the early days of 

 their manufacture. Thomas Tusser, who died in 

 1580, author of " Five Hundreth Pointes of Good 

 Housekeeping " has this to say in their favor : 



"Good housewife provides, ere a sickness do come, 

 Of sundry good things in her home to have some ; 

 Conserves of barbary, quinces and such, 

 With sirops, that easeth the sickly so much." 



The thorough sterilization of such articles is in 

 their favor, and the value of sugar as a food is now 

 recognized. 



Dr. Robert Hutchison makes this statement 

 regarding homemade jam: "The acids of the fruit, 

 aided by the high temperature employed in the 

 course of preparation, bring about the conversion 

 of a considerable proportion of the cane-sugar into 

 the invert form. . Homemade jam is boiled for a 

 longer time than the commercial article and con- 

 sequently contains more invert and less cane-sugar 

 than the latter. The larger the proportion of cane- 

 sugar which has been inverted, the less likely is 

 the jam to interfere with digestion." 



In a discussion of preserves and preserving, a 

 number of preparations may be considered. It is 

 but a step beyond the making of ordinary pre- 

 serves to the preparation of candied, glace or 

 crystallized fruits. Preserves also naturally merge 

 into fruit butters, jams, jellies and marmalades, 

 some fruits being better adapted to one form than 

 to another. These terms are often used inter- 

 changeably and vary in their application according 

 to locality. These several preparations will here 

 be considered in order. 



Preserves. 



This type of sweet should not be served as freely 

 as the ordinary canned fruits in which there is 

 less sugar and more water, but there is no objec- 

 tion to its use in moderation. The fruit is cooked 

 in thick syrup, and more thoroughly than for can- 

 ning. The denser the syrup the better the fruit will 

 keep its shape, but when there is a tendency to 

 jelly or caramelize, more water must be added. 

 The proportion of sugar and water for the syrup 

 must vary according to the juiciness of the fruit. 

 For preserves, three-fourths to one pound of sugar 

 is allowed for each pound of fruit. At the begin- 

 ing the syrup may consist of twice as much sugar 

 as water, for average fruits. A few pieces are put 

 into the kettle at once, that each may be sur- 

 rounded by the thick, hot syrup. As soon as these 

 sections of .fi:uit are cooked, in many cases becom- 



ing somewhat transparent, they are removed to 

 the jars, and more are put into the syrup. More 

 water or sugar is added as needed. At the end, the 

 remaining syrup is used to fill the jars containing 

 the fruit, and often forms a firm clear jelly in 

 which the fruit is imbedded. 



Strawberries, stoned cherries, and any fruit likely 

 to lose form and flavor if cooked, are sometimes 

 sprinkled with sugar and the syrup thus formed is 

 scalded and poured hot over the uncooked fruit 

 placed in the jars. If the syrup is then scalded two 

 or three days in succession and poured over the 

 fruit again, there is little danger of fermentation. 



Preserves will keep in jars that are not air-tight, 

 but they should have much the same protection as 

 jellies. The texture of each lot of fruit should be 

 carefully observed, since varieties of the same 

 fruit, and any one variety at different stages of 

 growth, may produce a marked difference in the 

 product. Hard fruits, as quinces, some pears and 

 apples, may be improved by steaming until tender 

 before cooking in the syrup. When any fruit is to 

 be preserved whole, the center must be as thor- 

 oughly sterilized as the outside, which must be 

 accomplished by slow, gentle cooking, otherwise 

 the surface will be broken and unsightly. There is 

 a certain transparent appearance when the syrup 

 has penetrated throughout. 



Candied fruit. 



This is to be classed with candies rather than 

 with fruits, since the sugar predominates. Among 

 the fruits most commonly subjected to this treat- 

 ment are apricots, cherries, peaches and pineap- 

 ples. The fruit is preserved in a thick syrup, then 

 drained, cooled, dried and rolled in sugar. The 

 time given to each process depends on the texture 

 of the fruit and the size of the pieces. Experi- 

 ments in this country have been hurried too much 

 to produce as satisfactory results as are obtained 

 in France. One of our consuls has given this 

 report on the methods pursued there : " Some of 

 the denser fruits, as citron, are soaked first in sea- 

 water. All are carefully sorted as to size and 

 degree of ripeness, and stones and parings are 

 removed. The fruit is then plunged into boiling 

 water and drained, thus removing much of the 

 juice. If this process is too long continued the 

 fruit is overcooked or left too woody, but if the 

 juices are not extracted sufficiently, less sugar is 

 absorbed and there is more danger of fermentation 

 later. Experience is the only guide." 



Syrups of different densities must be provided for 

 different fruits, — the softer the fruit the denser 

 the syrup required. The fruit, after thorough 

 draining, is soaked in the syrup for a time before 

 heating. When a cloudy appearance in the trans- 

 parent syrup indicates the beginning of fermenta- 

 tion, the vessel containing syrup and fruit is heated 

 to 212° Pahr. The process of soaking in syrup takes 

 about six weeks, and the mass is heated about 

 three times during the period. After this, the fruit 

 may be crystallized by cooling slowly to about 90° 

 Fahr., which causes the thick syrup that covers it 

 to granulate. Or it may be glazed by dipping in. a 



