STORING AND PRESERVING OF FRUIT. 



113 



means of preserving it. I am here speaking entirely of amateurs ; 

 large market growers are fully alive to the importance of preserv- 

 ing that fruit in the most profitable ways that cannot be sent to 

 market fresh. The object of this paper, therefore, is to endeavour 

 to assist those who grow fruit for their own consumption as to 

 the best means of preserving and utilising it. Much of what is 

 said will doubtless be well known to many, but some of the 

 suggestions may be fresh and helpful to others. 



Small Fruits. 

 Currants, Gooseberries, Straivberries, Baspberries, and 

 Cherries. 



There is no means of greatly prolonging the keeping period 

 in a fresh condition of these soft fruits, but as large quantities of 

 them are required for cooking purposes throughout the year, they 

 may be preserved by simply making into jam. This is such an 

 old and well-understood process that I need scarcely touch upon 

 it here. Probably nearly every housewife has a particular way 

 of her own. One or two points, however, may be noted. It is 

 most important to be careful in gathering the fruit so as to have 

 only one variety and one quality to deal with at a time, except 

 where two kinds of fruit are mixed together to improve the flavour, 

 such as strawberries and red currants, raspberries and red 

 currants, or strawberries and gooseberries. The briskness and 

 acidity of the one helps the sweetness of the other. 



Whole-fruit jam such as strawberries, raspberries, &c, is 

 much more prized now than formerly. This is done by reducing 

 the sugar to syrup first and pouring in the fruit while boiling, a 

 little butter being added to keep the mass from rising and boiling 

 over. Much small fruit is also made into jellies. 



One of the most useful methods, however, of retaining in a 

 more natural condition for use and without sugar is that of 

 bottling. This is a most easy and simple process, far more so 

 than was formerly the case, owing to a recent invention of bottles 

 for the purpose, with ingenious contrivances for air-tight 

 stopping.* Whatever kind of bottles you adopt they can be 

 placed together in a shallow boiler or any vessel as deep as the 

 height of the bottles, a little hay being placed between and under- 

 * See Advertisements, page 27. 



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