METHODS OF ERUJT PRESERVING 



577 



The finest pastes are made from Apricots, Mirabelles, and (Quinces, 

 after which come Apples, Pears, Cherries, the larger sorts of Plums, and 

 the Bilberries, so much beloved in the Fatherland. Some fruits, such as 

 Strawberries, require an addition of Apple jelly to bind the whole 

 together, for which purpose in Russia gelatine is added. 



The Russian recipe, for which I am indebted to Heir Goethe of 

 Geisenheim, is as follows : — The fruit should be thoroughly boiled and 

 then pressed. To every pint of the juice thus'gained add 1! lb. of sugar, 

 and to each pound of this mixturo is added one egg whipped to a lather. 

 The whole mass is then worked up with wooden spoons by several people 

 at the same time, and this is then poured into long flat woeden trays. 

 After it is cold it is dried at 105 115° Fahr. for about twenty-four 

 hours. The pulp weighs about half what the fresh fruit does, and is 

 usually re-thickened by the addition of sugar of from one-tenth to one- 

 fourth of the weight of the pulp, according to the kind of fruit under 

 treatment. This addition of sugar gives the finished products a very fine 

 transparent appearance, but retards the drying. The thickening is effected 

 most quickly in a copper kettle over an open fire, which must be kept 

 stirred all the time, so as to avoid burning the brew. According to an 

 old confectionery recipe, the stirring should be in the figure of eight. 



On the thickening process being completed, which occurs when fruit 

 and sugar have fused, as in jelly, the product is laid on sheets of greased 

 or otherwise waterproof paper in wire-bottomed trays, and smoothed 

 down ; and the whole is then dried in one of the usual drying machines. 

 This then looks something like tablets of soft butter-scotch, in vary i rig 

 tints, and can be cut through best by a specially constructed Instrument 

 which resembles a series of circular knives fixed at one-inch intervals on 

 a narrow rolling-pin. 



This paste is already well known in England, either in the form of 

 rings, often threaded on a thin stick, or as " true losers' knots," which are 

 generally to be found in boxes of mixed crystallised fruit. 



A German recipe for soup or sauce of this material is so truly strange 

 that I must give it here before closing my remarks on this subject : — 

 Dissolve some of the material in water, add to two pints of the above 

 compote or stew a quarter of a pound of flour mixed in a quarter of a 

 pound of melted butter. Then add half a pint of wine, and cinnamon, 

 citron, or other flavouring to taste. In this soup should be stirred black - 

 bread crumbs, with dried Currants or baked Corn. 



Crystallised Fruits. -The crystallisation of fruit is admittedly a 

 French business and but little practised in Germany. The one factory 1 

 visited carries it out to some extent, and, so far as I could learn from a 

 most uncommunicative conductor, the method pursued is to place; first- 

 class fruits, carefully peeled and slightly boiled, in a strong sugar solution 

 and allow them to soak for some days before drying on trays, which will 

 cause the sugar to dry on the outside. I do not, therefore, propose to 

 discuss this question here, as there will be a lecture on the subject of the 

 Crystallisation of Fruit and Flowers by Mr. Senn on December 5 



