I9ii.] 



Fruit Bottling. 



979 



the bottles are quite air-tight, the fruit will keep for an 

 indefinite period. The writer bottled some plums, goose- 

 berries, raspberries, blackberries, and currants in 1903, and 

 they are quite good at the present time. 



The Use of Syrup. — Syrup is not necessary, though many 

 persons think it is; pure water is as suitable as syrup, and 

 being more transparent, adds to the beauty of the fruit after 

 sterilisation. Moreover, a thin syrup spoils the natural 

 flavour of the fruit without making it sufficiently sweet to 

 render further sweetening unnecessary when used. Sugar, 

 therefore, should either not be used at all, or it should be 

 used at the rate of half a pound (and upwards) to one quart 

 of water. Raw sugar should not be employed, as it renders 

 the syrup ■"cloudy"; white lump sugar, however, leaves it 

 tolerably clear. 



Ripeness of the Fruit. — The degree of ripeness has a con- 

 siderable effect on the appearance of the fruit after the bottling 

 process is completed. Fruit should be slightly under-ripe 

 for bottling, as the skin does not then so readily break during 

 the process of sterilisation; with ripe fruit this can hardly 

 fail to happen and the appearance is apt to be spoiled. In 

 this respect under-ripe fruit will bear a higher temperature 

 without injury than ripe fruit ; but in no case need the tem- 

 perature of the water in the kettle rise higher than 200 0 F., 

 and in practically all cases 190 0 F. is sufficient. A ther- 

 mometer is required to ascertain the temperature of the water. 



Quality of the Fruit. — The fruit should be sound and 

 without speck or injury of any kind. It is best gathered 

 dry; but if it be damp or wet it should be sterilised a little 

 longer. All stalks and large calyces, as in the case of the 

 gooseberry, should be removed, and fruit of equal size should 

 be placed in the same bottle. Mixed fruit, large and small 

 sizes together in the same bottle, does not sterilise well, and 

 has not a good appearance. 



Filling the Bottles. — This is an important operation, as, 

 if the bottles are imperfectly filled, the fruit after sterilisation 

 will rise, and leave a large space at the bottom without fruit. 

 Many have experienced this in their first attempts at fruit 

 bottling. A stout stick or piece of wood, about twelve inches 

 in length — blunt at one end and rather pointed at the other — 



