Do You Knoxtf When Fruit Is Ripe? m. g. kains 



There is a "Psychological Moment" in the Career of a Peach or Pear, etc., Which to Miss 



is to Lose the Best of the Season's Effort 



IF YOU don't know when an apple is 

 ripe trust the ubiquitous small boy. 

 He can tell at a glance which apple is 

 ready for the mouth, which for the 

 basket, and which should remain on the tree. 

 It's a matter of color and development of the 

 skin. In general the "green as grass" look 

 has been replaced by a more waxey finish 

 and the fruit seems to say "I'm ready." Some 

 people say the seeds should be brown; but 

 many apples have brown seeds before they are 

 fully matured so the appearance of 

 the skin is the safer guide. 



Too much care cannot be exercised 

 in gathering apples, pears, plums, 

 apricots, and cherries. These trees 

 bear their fruit mostly on "spurs" or 

 little twigs which live from year to 

 year — often for twenty years when 

 left alone. To break them off is to 

 reduce by that much the ability of 

 the trees to produce fruit; for a fruit 

 spur once gone is gone forever. The 

 only time when spurs may be advan- 

 tageously removed is when there are 

 too many of them and the fruit is be- 

 coming smaller each year. In well 

 managed trees such cases are rare. 

 In gathering the fruit, therefore, give 

 the stalks a twist instead of a pull to 

 remove them, they will then tear loose 

 at the proper place without injuring 



the spurs. 



* * * 



For canning whole gather peaches 

 just when they "give" slightly when 

 pressed gently between the fingers 

 and the thick part of the thumb — 

 that is, with the whole hand, not 

 with the tip of the thumb. They 

 will thus not be bruised. For slicing 

 let them get a little softer, but for 

 eating out of hand when no one is 

 around to insist upon "manners" let 

 some of them become "bags of 

 flavor" by remaining on the tree in 

 protected places so the wind won't 

 make them fall — the interior parts. 

 Then puncture a hole where the stem has 

 been removed and squeeze the fruit slightly 

 as you suck the juice. Talk about ambrosia! 

 nectar! and their synonyms! The gods had 

 nothing like this — if you have a peach as is a 

 peach. 



So far as harvesting is concerned plums 

 may be divided into two classes; the soft 

 juicy ones, and the meaty kinds. The former 

 must be picked promptly as soon as ripe and 

 handled gently to prevent breaking their 

 skins; the latter may be allowed to remain 

 on the trees longer. In the far West they 

 are usually allowed to fall upon the ground or 

 are gathered by jarring into sheets because 

 they are not injured and it is cheaper to gather 

 them in this way. The soft kinds spoil far 



Can you guess which watermelon is really ripe ? It is easy 

 with a little care to tell positively 



The way to get choice grapes is to slip paper bags over the bunches just as they 

 begin to ripen. It delays ripening a few days, but then ! 



more quickly than do the meaty ones so they 

 must be eaten or cooked soon after being 

 gathered. The meaty kinds may be kept 

 in humid climates such as that of Long Island 

 for a week or a month and in dry ones even 

 longer without serious deterioration. Never- 

 theless it is generally better to dispose of 

 them soon after harvest. 



* * * 



The grape must be allowed to become 

 fully ripe before it is gathered; it does not 

 ripen in storage. Wait until even the slowest 

 maturing berries of the cluster are ripe. No 

 harm will usually result from allowing the 

 clusters to remain on the vines after the fruit 

 is ripe, for a few days or even several weeks 

 in some cases because the berries become 

 sweeter the longer they stand — unless there is 

 danger of rather severe freezing. Both foliage 

 and fruit will withstand the light frosts of 

 early autumn. Indeed the long keeping 

 varieties will keep all the better if allowed to 

 remain on the vines until late in the season. 

 Varieties which "shell" or "shatter"; that is, 

 drop their berries badly cannot be allowed 

 to remain on the vines more than a few days 

 after they are ripe. 



* * * 



For culinary purposes never allow fruits 

 to become "dead" ripe. Not only are they 



17 



then much more "mushy" than when gath- 

 ered earlier, but they will lose a great deal 

 of that delicate flavor and aroma that makes 

 them so delicious when eaten out of hand. 

 Best results in canning and preserving are 

 secured from fruit that is mature but has not 

 become fully ripe, because such fruits not 

 only retain their shape better than do soft 

 ones but the acids that they contain help to 

 preserve them and to hold the flavor. In 

 cooking such fruit still more of the flavor may 

 be retained when only the least 

 quantity of water or syrup is used, 

 when the temperature is kept so low 

 that the action is rather a simmer 

 than a boil, and the vessel in which 

 the cooking is done is kept closed 

 untd after the fruit is steam cooked. 

 Cooking with the skins on emphasizes 

 the characteristic flavor still more. 

 This has special reference to the 

 making of apple and other sauces, 

 "butters," and the like. A colander 

 will separate the skins and other 

 waste from the "sauce." 



Bordeaux stains are both un- 

 sightly and unwholesome, even poi- 

 sonous, so it is necessary to get them 

 ofF the fruit on which they have 

 lodged because of spraying. Don't 

 waste time trying to rub, scrub, or 

 wash them off. Here's an easier 

 way: Place the fruit in a frying 

 basket or something else with an 

 upright handle and loose or open 

 sides. Then dip into a crock half 

 full of weak vinegar. Move it up 

 and down three or four times, rapidly 

 enough to make a current. Lift it out 

 and dip similarly in clean water and 

 allow it to dry. You will be delighted 

 to find that it is clean; for the acetic 

 acid of the vinegar combines chemic- 

 ally with the copper sulphate and the 

 lime of the bordeaux mixture, and 

 forms the much more soluble acetates 

 of copper and lime, the last vestige 

 of which is rinsed off by the water. 

 * * * 



For finest flavor in cantaloupes never 

 allow the fruits to part naturally from the 

 vines because they are then likely to be "flat" 

 and "mushy." Again, never cut them be- 



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Pears should never ripen on the tree. Lift with an upward, 

 outward twist. If ripe it will come off 



