Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers Part 22

Sc.r.a.pe the outside from the green ginger, and boil it in a little water, till it is soft; then take it out, and sc.r.a.pe off any spots that are on it; make a syrup of half a pint of water to a pound of sugar and a pound of ginger; let it boil slowly about half an hour; take it up and boil the syrup a little longer.

Green Gage Plums.

Take an equal quant.i.ty of fruit and sugar, pour boiling water on the plums, and wipe them dry; stick them over with a pin; make a syrup of the sugar and some water, and when it boils, put in half of the plums; let them do slowly till they are clear, then take them out and put in the rest; if the syrup should be thin, let it boil longer. Do not put them in the jars till the next day. Egg plums may be done in the same way.

Green Lemons.

Take the young lemons, cut them in half, sc.r.a.pe them, and take out the pulp; cut them in such shapes as you please; put them in a preserving kettle and cover them with water; put in a little alum to green them, and let them boil till they are transparent, then take them out and drain them on a cloth; give the kettle another cleansing, and put them in with their weight in sugar; let them stew gently, but be careful that they do not boil; let them cook till the syrup is rich.

Raspberries.

Boil three pounds of raspberries in a pint of currant juice, for ten minutes; put in four pounds of sugar, and let them boil half an hour, or until it is a jelly. Paste paper over the jar.

Citron Melon.

Pare the melon and cut it in slices half an inch thick, without the seeds; let it lay in salt and water for an hour, then wash the salt off, and boil it in strong ginger tea; make a thin syrup and boil it again, then make a syrup of a pound of loaf-sugar to a pound of citron, and boil it in this till it is clear; season it with mace and lemon peel.

Watermelon Rinds.

Cut the rinds in any form you please; put them in strong salt and water, with cabbage leaves over and around them, and set them in a warm place till they become yellow; then wash them, and put them in a kettle with alum and water, and grape or cabbage leaves over and through them; set them on the fire, and keep it at scalding heat for two hours--but do not let them boil. If they are not of a fine green color, change the water and leaves; when they are green enough, put them in cold soft water for three days, changing the water twice a day; then make a syrup of rather more than a pound of sugar to a pound of melon, some sliced ginger, the peel of a lemon, and a little mace; let them boil slowly fifteen minutes, take them up, and boil them again at the end of a week.

Cantelopes, Cuc.u.mbers, or Melons.

Take young watermelons, cuc.u.mbers or cantelopes; sc.r.a.pe the melons, and cut the rinds in shapes--leave the cuc.u.mbers whole; put them in a preserving kettle with alum and water; cover them, and let them boil till they are transparent; take them out, wash them in cold water, and wipe each piece separately; have your kettle nicely cleaned, and give them rather more than their weight in sugar; put a layer of sugar, and a layer of melon, some slices of green ginger, and the rind and juice of a lemon; let them stew over the fire till the syrup is rich; take them up, and stew them over again in about a week.

Cranberries.

To preserve cranberries, allow them their weight in sugar; make a syrup of the proportions of half a pint of water to two pounds of the sugar; boil and skim it before you put the fruit in; then let them boil until clear. To make sauce to eat with roast fowls, put three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit.

Gooseberries.

Take the large gooseberries, pick off the stems and blossoms, give them their weight in sugar; put them in the kettle alternately, with the sugar, and pour over them a pint of water to four pounds of fruit; let them boil gently till the sc.u.m arises; when this is taken off, let them cook faster; when clear, take them up on dishes, and boil the syrup longer.

Peaches.

Have sweet, white clingstone peaches--pare and stone them; to each pound, take a pound of sugar made in a syrup, put the peaches in, and when they look clear, take them up on dishes; let the syrup boil longer.

A New Mode of Preserving Peaches.

Pare, halve and weigh the peaches; put them in a preserving kettle of boiling water, and to six pounds of peaches, put a tea-spoonful of soda or pearl-ash; let them boil one minute; then take them out, and throw them in cold water; sc.r.a.pe off the black sc.u.m which adheres to the peaches; wipe and lay them on a dish; have the kettle cleaned, and put the peaches in layers, with half their weight in sugar; they will not require any water; let them cook slowly at first, then boil till clear--when take them out, and let the syrup boil till it becomes rich.

The flavor of the peach is retained, and they are not so sweet as in the old way.

Damsons.

Weigh out as much sugar as you have fruit; if it is brown you must clarify it; put a pint of water to three pounds of sugar, make a syrup, wash the damsons, put them in and let them cook slowly for half an hour; then take them out on dishes, and let them dry in the sun for two days, taking them in the house at night; boil the syrup half an hour after the fruit is taken out; when done in this way they will be whole and clear. You can make a jam by boiling them slowly for two hours; or a jelly as currants.

To Preserve Strawberries.

Gather the strawberries in the mid-day, pick out the largest and best, stem them, and to each pound of strawberries put a pound of loaf-sugar and a gla.s.s of white wine; let them stand four or five hours; take off the syrup so as not to mash the fruit, and clarify it; then put in the strawberries, and to each pound put as much fine alum as will lay on the blade of a penknife; let them boil up several times, and shake them round in the kettle, but do not stir them with a spoon, as that will mash them; a few minutes boiling is sufficient; after you take out the fruit, let the syrup boil up, and when it is nearly cold pour it over them in the jar; put a piece of white paper over the top, and pour a spoonful of brandy on it; paste several thicknesses of paper over the jar.

If you like your preserved strawberries, cherries, or peaches, to have a fine pale color, allow them to bob half the time recommended in the receipt, then spread the fruit thin on dishes, with but little syrup, pour the rest of the syrup also on dishes, and set them daily in the sun; if the weather be clear and the sun hot, four days will be sufficient. Preserves done in this manner do not ferment. You should spread a piece of gauze or netting over them to keep out insects or dust.

Another Way.

To each pound of the fruit take a pound of crushed sugar; put them in the preserving kettle, a layer of sugar and a layer of fruit; let them stand a little while to make syrup before putting them over the fire; they should boil fast for twenty minutes; watch them all the time, taking off the sc.u.m as it rises; stir them gently without mashing the berries; put them in jars, put brandy papers over them and paste or tie them close. Preserves should never be put in jars that have had pickles in them.

Tomatoes.

Take solid round tomatoes, scald and peel them, give them their weight in sugar, put a layer of sugar and of tomatoes alternately; let them boil slowly till the syrup forms, then boil faster, till clear, and the syrup is rich; season with lemon peel, ginger or mace; some prefer the yellow tomato for preserving.

Quinces.

Pick out the finest quinces, pare them, and cut them in halves, or in rings; take the best of the parings and the seed, and boil them in water till they are very soft, strain the liquor, and have the kettle cleaned again, wash and weigh the quinces, and give them their weight in sugar, put the sugar in the water the parings were boiled in--skin it, and put in the quinces, let them boil very slowly till clear, take them up on dishes, and boil the syrup longer.

Green Peppers.

Get peppers that have a sweet taste, take out the seeds, leaving on the stems, lay them in salt and water for three days, changing the water each day, then put them in a kettle with leaves around them, and a small piece of alum, let them scald, but not boil, for two hours, take them out, and let them lay in water three days, changing it twice each day, then boil them in sugar and water fifteen minutes, then make a syrup, allowing them their weight in sugar, and boil them gently in it half an hour, take them out and boil the syrup longer.

Pumpkin.

Choose a fine grained, high colored pumpkin, fully ripe, cut it in thin slices, about four inches long and two wide, to two pounds of pumpkin, put two pounds of sugar in a bowl, cut the peel of two lemons in rings, and squeeze the juice over the pumpkin, let it stand all night, the next day put it on to preserve with two tea cups of water, let it cook gently till the pumpkin seems clear and crisp, take it up, scald the lemon peel, and boil it in the syrup, cool it on dishes, and put it in a jar.

Green Fox-Grape Jelly.

Fill a kettle with grapes, and let them boil with a pint of water till the skins burst, mash and strain them, put a pound of sugar to a pint of juice, and let it boil half and hour. Ripe fox-grapes may be made into very nice jelly in the same way, and is very good to drink in sickness, mixed with water.

Pears.

Pare and core the fruit, but leave the stems on; put them in a syrup of a pound of sugar, and a half a pint of water to a pound of pears, with some green ginger or lemon peel; boil the syrup half an hour after they are done.