CANNING AND PRESERVING FRUIT IN THE HOME 
for apples, pears, and sweet plums. No 
sugar need be used in this process. 
Boil 6 quarts of grape juice in an open 
preserving kettle, until it is reduced to 
4 quarts. Have the fruit washed and 
pared, and, if apples or pears, quartered 
and cored. Put the prepared fruit in a 
preserving kettle and cover generously 
with the boiled grape juice. Boil gently 
until the fruit is clear and tender, then 
put in sterilized jars. 
Boiled Cider 
When the apple crop is abundant and 
a large quantity of cider is made, the 
housekeeper will find it to her advan- 
tage to put up a generous supply of boil- 
ed cider. Such cider greatly improves 
mince-meat, and can be used at any time 
of the year to make cider apple sauce. 
It is also a good selling article. 
The cider for boiling must be perfect- 
ly fresh and sweet. Put it in a large, 
open preserving kettle and boil until it 
is reduced one-half. Skim frequently 
while boiling. Do not have the kettle 
more than two-thirds full. 
Put in bottles or stone jugs. 
Cider Apple Sauce 
5 quarts of boiled cider. 
8 quarts of pared, quartered, and cored 
sweet apples. 
Put the fruit in a large preserving ket- 
tle and cover with the boiled cider. Cook 
slowly until the apples are clear and 
tender. To prevent burning, place the 
kettle on an iron tripod or ring. It will 
require from two to three hours to cook 
the apples. If you find it necessary to 
stir the sauce be careful to break the 
apples as little as possible. When the 
sauce is cooked, put in sterilized jars. 
In the late spring, when cooking ap- 
ples have lost much of their flavor and 
acidity, an appetizing sauce may be made 
by stewing them with diluted boiled cid- 
er, using 1 cupful of cider to 3 of water. 
Cider Pear Sauce 
Cooking pears may be preserved in boil- 
ed cider the same as sweet apples. If one 
prefers the sauce less sour, 1 pint of 
sugar may be added to each quart of 
boiled cider, 
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Methods of Making Jelly 
In no department of preserving does 
the housekeeper feel less sure of the 
result than in jelly making. The rule 
that works perfectly one time fails an- 
other time. Why this is so the average 
housekeeper does not know; so there is 
nearly always an element of uncertainty 
as to the result of the work. These two 
questions are being constantly asked: 
“Why does not my jelly harden?” “What 
causes my jelly to candy?” 
It is an easy matter to say that there 
is something in the condition of the fruit, 
or that the fruit juice and sugar were 
cooked too short or too long a time. 
These explanations are often true; but 
they do not help the inquirer, since at 
other times just that proportion of sugar 
and time of cooking have given perfect 
jelly. In the following pages an attempt 
is made to give a clear explanation of the 
principles underlying the process of jel- 
ly making. It is believed that the women 
who study this carefully will find the 
key to unvarying success in this branch 
of preserving. 
Pectin, Pectose, Pectase 
In all fruits, when ripe or nearly so, 
there is found pectin, a carbohydrate 
somewhat similar in its properties to 
starch. It is because of this substance 
in the fruit juice that we are able to 
make jelly. When equal quantities of 
sugar and fruit juice are combined and 
the mixture is heated to the boiling 
point for a short time, the pectin in the 
fruit gelatinizes the mass. 
It is important that the jelly maker 
should understand when this gelatiniz- 
ing agent is at its best. Pectose and 
pectase always exist in the unripe fruit. 
As the fruit ripens the pectase acts upon 
the pectose, which is insoluble in water, 
converting it into pectin, which is soluble. 
Pectin is at its best when the fruit is 
just ripe or a little before. If the juice 
ferments, or the cooking of the jelly is 
continued too long, the pectin undergoes 
a change and loses its power of gelatin- 
izing. It is, therefore, of the greatest im- 
portance that the fruit should be fresh, 
just ripe or a little underripe, and that 
