Chapter 2

When fruit is brought into the house put it where it will keep cool and crisp until you are ready to use it.

The preparation of fruit for the various processes of preserving is the second important step. System will do much to lighten the work.

Begin by having the kitchen swept and dusted thoroughly, that there need not be a large number of mold spores floating about. Dust with a damp cloth. Have plenty of hot water and pans in which jars and utensils may be sterilized. Have at hand all necessary utensils, towels, sugar, etc.

Prepare only as much fruit as can be cooked while it still retains its color and crispness. Before beginning to pare fruit have some sirup ready, if that is to be used, or if sugar is to be added to the fruit have it weighed or measured.

Decide upon the amount of fruit you will cook at one time, then have two bowls--one for the sugar and one for the fruit--that will hold just the quantity of each. As the fruit is pared or hulled, as the case may be, drop it into its measuring bowl. When the measure is full put the fruit and sugar in the preserving kettle. While this is cooking another measure may be prepared and put in the second preserving kettle. In this way the fruit is cooked quickly and put in the jars and sealed at once, leaving the pans ready to sterilize another set of jars.

If the fruit is to be preserved or canned with sirup, it may be put into the jars as fast as it is prepared. As soon as a jar is full, pour in enough sirup to cover it.

If several people are helping and large kettles are being used for the preserving, or where fruit (like quinces and hard pears) must be first boiled in clear water, the pared fruit should be dropped into a bowl of cold water made slightly acid with lemon juice (one tablespoonful of lemon juice to a quart of water). This will keep the fruit white.

All large, hard fruit must be washed before paring. Quinces should be rubbed with a coarse towel before they are washed.

If berries must be washed, do the work before stemming or hulling them. The best way to wash berries is to put a small quantity into a colander and pour cold water over them; then turn them on a sieve to drain. All this work must be done quickly that the fruit may not absorb much water.

Do not use the fingers for hulling strawberries. A simple huller can be bought for five cents.

If practicable pare fruit with a silver knife, so as not to stain or darken the product. The quickest and easiest way to peel peaches is to drop them into boiling water for a few minutes. Have a deep kettle a little more than half full of boiling water; fill a wire basket with peaches; put a long-handled spoon under the handle of the basket and lower into the boiling water. At the end of three minutes lift the basket out by slipping the spoon under the handle. Plunge the basket for a moment into a pan of cold water. Let the peaches drain a minute, then peel. Plums and tomatoes may be peeled in the same manner.

If the peaches are to be canned in sirup, put them at once into the sterilized jars. They may be canned whole or in halves. If in halves, remove nearly all the stones or pits. For the sake of the flavor, a few stones should be put in each jar.

When preparing cherries, plums, or crab apples for canning or preserving, the stem or a part of it may be left on the fruit.

When preparing to make jelly have ready the cheese-cloth strainer, enameled colander, wooden spoons, vegetable masher, measures, tumblers, preserving kettles, and sugar.

If currant jelly is to be made, free the fruit from leaves and large stems. If the jelly is to be made from any of the other small fruits, the stems and hulls must be removed.

When the jelly is to be made from any of the large fruits the important part of the preparation is to have the fruit washed clean, then to remove the stem and the blossom end. Nearly all the large fruits are better for having the skin left on. Apples and pears need not be cored. There is so much gummy substance in the cores of quinces that it is best not to use this portion in making fine jelly.

MAKING SIRUP FOR USE IN CANNING AND PRESERVING.

Such sirups as are used in canning and preserving are made with varying proportions of water and sugar. When the proportion of sugar is large and that of the water small the sirup is said to be heavy. When the water predominates the sirup is light.

There are several methods of measuring the proportion of sugar in a sirup. The most scientific and accurate is with the sirup gauge. Careful measurement or weighing is, however, quite satisfactory for all ordinary work if the sirup need not be boiled a long time. In boiling the water evaporates and the sirup grows thicker and richer. The amount of evaporation depends upon the surface exposed and the pressure of the atmosphere. For example, if a large quantity of sirup is boiled in a deep kettle the evaporation will not be rapid. If the same quantity of sirup were boiled the same length of time in a broad, shallow kettle the water would evaporate more rapidly and the sirup would be thicker and heavier. If a given quantity of sirup were boiled the same length of time in a high altitude, Colorado for example, and at the sea level, it would be found that the sirup boiled at the sea level would be thicker and less in volume than that boiled in Colorado. From this it will be seen that it is difficult to say what proportion of sugar a sirup will contain after it has been boiling ten or more minutes. Of course by the use of the sirup gauge the proportion of sugar in a sirup may be ascertained at any stage of the boiling. After all, however, it is possible to measure sugar and water so that you can know the percentage of sugar when the sirup begins to boil. The following statement gives the percentage of sugar at the time when the sirup has been boiling one minute and also what kind of sirup is suitable for the various kinds of fruit:

One pint sugar and 1 gill of water gives sirup of 40° density: Use for preserved strawberries and cherries.

One pint sugar and one-half pint water gives sirup of 32° density.

One pint sugar and 3 gills water gives sirup of 28° density: Use either this or the preceding for preserved peaches, plums, quinces, currants, etc.

One pint sugar and 1 pint water gives sirup of 24° density: Use for canned acid fruits.

One pint sugar and 1½ pints water gives sirup of 17° density.

One pint sugar and 2 pints water gives sirup of 14° density: Use either of these two light sirups for canned pears, peaches, sweet plums, and cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

The lightest sirups may be used for filling up the jars after they are taken from the oven or boiler. The process of making a sirup is very simple, but there are a few points that must be observed if sirup and fruit are to be perfect. Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and stir on the stove until all the sugar is dissolved. Heat slowly to the boiling point and boil gently without stirring. The length of time that the sirup should boil will depend upon how rich it is to be. All sirups are better for boiling from ten to thirty minutes. If rich sirups are boiled hard, jarred, or stirred they are apt to crystallize. The sirup may be made a day or two in advance of canning time. The light sirups will not keep long unless sealed, but the heavy sirups keep well if covered well.

USE OF THE SIRUP GAUGE.

The sirup gauge is a graduated glass tube, with a weighted bulb, that registers from 0° to 50°, and that is employed to determine the quantity of sugar contained in a sirup.

If this gauge is placed in pure water the bulb will rest on the bottom of the cylinder or other container. If sugar be dissolved in the water the gauge will begin to float. The more sugar there is dissolved in the water the higher the gauge will rise. In making tests it is essential that the sirup should be deep enough to reach the zero point of the gauge. If a glass cylinder holding about half a gill is filled to about two-thirds its height, and the gauge is then placed in the cylinder, the quantity of sugar in the sirup will be registered on the gauge.

Experiments have demonstrated that when sugar is dissolved and heated in fruit juice, if the sirup gauge registers 25°, the proportion of sugar is exactly right for combining with the pectin bodies to make jelly. The sirup gauge and the glass cylinder must both be heated gradually that the hot sirup may not break them. If the gauge registers more than 25°, add a little more fruit juice. If, on the other hand, it registers less than 25°, add more sugar. In making sirups for canning and preserving fruits, the exact amount of sugar in a sirup may be ascertained at any stage of boiling, and the sirup be made heavier by adding sugar, or lighter by adding water, as the case demands.

CANNING FRUIT.

This method of preserving fruit for home use is from all points the most desirable. It is the easiest and commonly considered the most economical and the best, because the fruit is kept in a soft and juicy condition in which it is believed to be easily digested. The wise housekeeper will can her principal fruit supply, making only enough rich preserves to serve for variety and for special occasions.

The success of canning depends upon absolute sterilization. If the proper care is exercised there need be no failure, except in rare cases, when a spore has developed in the can. There are several methods of canning; and while the principle is the same in all methods, the conditions under which the housekeeper must do her work may, in her case, make one method more convenient than another. For this reason three will be given which are considered the best and easiest. These are: Cooking the fruit in the jars in an oven; cooking the fruit in the jars in boiling water; and stewing the fruit before it is put in the jars. The quantity of sugar may be increased if the fruit is liked sweet.

It is most important that the jars, covers, and rubber rings be in perfect condition. Examine each jar and cover to see that there is no defect in it. Use only fresh rubber rings, for if the rubber is not soft and elastic the sealing will not be perfect. Each year numbers of jars of fruit are lost because of the false economy in using an old ring that has lost its softness and elasticity. Having the jars, covers, and rings in perfect condition, the next thing is to wash and sterilize them.

Have two pans partially filled with cold water. Put some jars in one, laying them on their sides, and some covers in the other. Place the pans on the stove where the water will heat to the boiling point. The water should boil at least ten or fifteen minutes. Have on the stove a shallow milk pan in which there is about 2 inches of boiling water. Sterilize the cups, spoons, and funnel, if you use one, by immersing in boiling water for a few minutes. When ready to put the prepared fruit in the jars slip a broad skimmer under a jar and lift it and drain free of water. Set the jar in the shallow milk pan and fill to overflowing with the boiling fruit. Slip a silver-plated knife or the handle of a spoon around the inside of the jar, that the fruit and juice may be packed solidly. Wipe the rim of the jar, dip the rubber ring in boiling water and put it smoothly on the jar, then put on the cover and fasten. Place the jar on a board and out of a draft of cold air. The work of filling and sealing must be done rapidly, and the fruit must be boiling hot when it is put into the jars. If screw covers are used, it will be necessary to tighten them after the glass has cooled and contracted. When the fruit is cold wipe the jars with a wet cloth. Paste on the labels, if any, and put the jars on shelves in a cool, dark closet.

In canning, any proportion of sugar may be used, or fruit may be canned without the addition of any sugar. However, that which is designed to be served as a sauce should have the sugar cooked with it. Fruit intended for cooking purposes need not have the sugar added to it.

Juicy fruits, such as berries and cherries, require little or no water. Strawberries are better not to have water added to them. The only exception to this is when they are cooked in a heavy sirup.

RASPBERRIES.

12 quarts of raspberries. 2 quarts of sugar.

Put 2 quarts of the fruit in the preserving kettle; heat slowly on the stove; crush with a wooden vegetable masher; spread a square of cheese cloth over a bowl, and turn the crushed berries and juice into it. Press out the juice, which turn into the preserving kettle. Add the sugar and put on the stove; stir until the sugar is dissolved. When the sirup begins to boil, add the remaining 10 quarts of berries. Let them heat slowly. Boil ten minutes, counting from the time they begin to bubble. Skim well while boiling. Put in cans and seal as directed.

RASPBERRIES AND CURRANTS.

10 quarts of raspberries. 3 quarts of currants. 2½ quarts of sugar.

Heat, crush, and press the juice from the currants and proceed as directed for raspberries.

BLACKBERRIES.

The same as for raspberries.

CURRANTS.

12 quarts of currants. 4 quarts of sugar.

Treat the same as for raspberries.

GOOSEBERRIES.

6 quarts of berries. 1½ quarts of sugar. 1 pint of water.

For green gooseberries dissolve the sugar in the water, then add the fruit and cook fifteen minutes. Ripe gooseberries are to be treated the same as the green fruit, but use only half as much water. Green gooseberries may also be canned the same as rhubarb (see p. 18).

BLUEBERRIES.

12 quarts of berries. 1 quart of sugar. 1 pint of water.

Put water, berries, and sugar in the preserving kettle; heat slowly. Boil fifteen minutes, counting from the time the contents of the kettle begin to bubble.

CHERRIES.

6 quarts of cherries. 1½ quarts of sugar. ½ pint of water.

Measure the cherries after the stems have been removed. Stone them or not, as you please. If you stone them be careful to save all the juice. Put the sugar and water in the preserving kettle and stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. Put in the cherries and heat slowly to the boiling point. Boil ten minutes, skimming carefully.

GRAPES.

6 quarts of grapes. 1 quart of sugar. 1 gill of water.

Squeeze the pulp of the grapes out of the skins. Cook the pulp five minutes and then rub through a sieve that is fine enough to hold back the seeds. Put the water, skins, and pulp into the preserving kettle and heat slowly to the boiling point. Skim the fruit and then add the sugar. Boil fifteen minutes.

Sweet grapes may be canned with less sugar; very sour ones may have more.

RHUBARB.

Cut the rhubarb when it is young and tender. Wash it thoroughly and then pare; cut into pieces about 2 inches long. Pack in sterilized jars. Fill the jars to overflowing with cold water and let them stand ten minutes. Drain off the water and fill again to overflowing with fresh cold water. Seal with sterilized rings and covers. When required for use, treat the same as fresh rhubarb.

Green gooseberries may be canned in the same manner. Rhubarb may be cooked and canned with sugar in the same manner as gooseberries.

PEACHES.

8 quarts of peaches. 1 quart of sugar. 3 quarts of water.

Put the sugar and water together and stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. When the sirup boils skim it. Draw the kettle back where the sirup will keep hot but not boil.

Pare the peaches, cut in halves, and remove the stones, unless you prefer to can the fruit whole.

Put a layer of the prepared fruit into the preserving kettle and cover with some of the hot sirup. When the fruit begins to boil, skim carefully. Boil gently for ten minutes, then put in the jars and seal. If the fruit is not fully ripe it may require a little longer time to cook. It should be so tender that it may be pierced easily with a silver fork. It is best to put only one layer of fruit in the preserving kettle. While this is cooking the fruit for the next batch may be pared.

PEARS.

If the fruit is ripe it may be treated exactly the same as peaches. If, on the other hand, it is rather hard it must be cooked until so tender that a silver fork will pierce it readily.

QUINCES.

4 quarts of pared, cored, and quartered quinces. 1½ quarts of sugar. 2 quarts of water.

Rub the fruit hard with a coarse, crash towel, then wash and drain. Pare, quarter, and core; drop the pieces into cold water (see p. 13). Put the fruit in the preserving kettle with cold water to cover it generously. Heat slowly and simmer gently until tender. The pieces will not all require the same time to cook. Take each piece up as soon as it is so tender that a silver fork will pierce it readily. Drain on a platter. Strain the water in which the fruit was cooked through cheese cloth. Put two quarts of the strained liquid and the sugar into the preserving kettle; stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. When it boils skim well and put in the cooked fruit. Boil gently for about twenty minutes.

CRAB APPLES.

6 quarts of apples. 1½ quarts of sugar. 2 quarts of water.

Put the sugar and water into the preserving kettle. Stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. When the sirup boils skim it.

Wash the fruit, rubbing the blossom end well. Put it in the boiling sirup, and cook gently until tender. It will take from twenty to fifty minutes, depending upon the kind of crab apples.

PLUMS.

8 quarts of plums. 2 quarts of sugar. 1 pint of water.

Nearly all kinds of plums can be cooked with the skins on. If it is desired to remove the skin of any variety, plunge them in boiling water for a few minutes. When the skins are left on, prick them thoroughly to prevent bursting. (See fruit pricker, p. 10.)

Put the sugar and water into the preserving kettle and stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. Wash and drain the plums. Put some of the fruit in the boiling sirup. Do not crowd it. Cook five minutes; fill and seal the jars. Put more fruit in the sirup. Continue in this manner until all the fruit is done. It may be that there will not be sufficient sirup toward the latter part of the work; for this reason it is well to have a little extra sirup on the back of the stove.

STEWED TOMATOES.

Wash the tomatoes and plunge into boiling water for five minutes. Pare and slice, and then put into the preserving kettle; set the kettle on an iron ring. Heat the tomatoes slowly, stirring frequently from the bottom. Boil for thirty minutes, counting from the time the vegetable begins actually to boil. Put in sterilized jars and seal.

WHOLE TOMATOES.

8 quarts of medium-sized tomatoes. 4 quarts of sliced tomatoes.

Put the pared and sliced tomatoes into a stewpan and cook as directed for stewed tomatoes. When they have been boiling twenty minutes take from the fire and rub through a strainer. Return to the fire.

While the sliced tomatoes are cooking, pare the whole tomatoes and put them in sterilized jars. Pour into the jars enough of the stewed and strained tomato to fill all the interstices. Put the uncovered jars in a moderate oven, placing them on a pad of asbestos or in shallow pans of hot water. Let the vegetable cook in the oven for half an hour. Take from the oven and fill to overflowing with boiling hot, strained tomato, then seal. If there is any of the strained tomato left, can it for sauces.

CANNED FRUIT COOKED IN THE OVEN.

This method of canning fruit, in the opinion of the writer, is the one to be preferred. The work is easily and quickly done, and the fruit retains its shape, color, and flavor better than when cooked in the preserving kettle.

Cover the bottom of the oven with a sheet of asbestos, the kind plumbers employ in covering pipes. It is very cheap and may usually be found at plumbers' shops. If the asbestos is not available, put into the oven shallow pans in which there are about two inches of boiling water.

Sterilize the jars and utensils. Make the sirup; prepare the fruit the same as for cooking in the preserving kettle. Fill the hot jars with it, and pour in enough sirup to fill the jar solidly. Run the blade of a silver-plated knife around the inside of the jar. Place the jars in the oven, either on the asbestos or in the pan of water. The oven should be moderately hot. Cook the fruit ten minutes; remove from the oven and fill the jar with boiling sirup. Wipe and seal. Place the jars on a board and out of a draft of air. If the screw covers are used tighten them after the glass has cooled.

Large fruits, such as peaches, pears, quinces, crab apples, etc., will require about a pint of sirup to each quart jar of fruit. The small fruit will require a little over half a pint of sirup.

The amount of sugar in each quart of sirup should be regulated to suit the fruit with which it is to be used. The data on page 14 will be a guide. The quantities given will not make the fruit very sweet. The quantity of sugar may be increased or diminished to suit the taste.

CANNED FRUIT COOKED IN A WATER BATH.

Prepare the fruit and sirup as for cooking in the oven.

Fill the sterilized jars and put the covers on loosely. Have a wooden rack in the bottom of a wash boiler (see p. 10). Put in enough warm water to come to about 4 inches above the rack. Place the filled jars in the boiler, but do not let them touch one another. Pack clean white cotton rags, or perhaps better, cotton rope, between and around the jars to prevent them from striking one another when the water begins to boil. Cover the boiler and let the fruit cook ten minutes from the time the water surrounding it begins to boil.

Draw the boiler back and take off the cover. When the steam passes off take out one jar at a time and place in a pan of boiling water beside the boiler, fill up with boiling sirup, and seal. Put the jars on a board and do not let cold air blow upon them. If screw covers are used tighten them when the glass has cooled and contracted.

PRESERVING FRUIT.

In the case of most fruits, canning with a little sugar is to be preferred to preserving with a large quantity of sugar. There are, however, some fruits that are only good when preserved with a good deal of sugar. Of course, such preparations of fruit are only desirable for occasional use. The fruits best adapted for preserving are strawberries, sour cherries, sour plums, and quinces. Such rich preparations should be put up in small jars or tumblers.

STRAWBERRIES.

Use equal weights of sugar and strawberries. Put the strawberries in the preserving kettle in layers, sprinkling sugar over each layer. The fruit and sugar should not be more than 4 inches deep. Place the kettle on the stove and heat the fruit and sugar slowly to the boiling point. When it begins to boil skim carefully. Boil ten minutes, counting from the time the fruit begins to bubble. Pour the cooked fruit into platters, having it about 2 or 3 inches deep. Place the platters in a sunny window, in an unused room, for three or four days. In that time the fruit will grow plump and firm, and the sirup will thicken almost to a jelly. Put this preserve, cold, into jars or tumblers.

WHITE CURRANTS.

Select large, firm fruit, remove the stems, and proceed as for strawberries.

CHERRIES.

The sour cherries, such as Early Richmond and Montmorency, are best for this preserve. Remove the stems and stones from the cherries and proceed as for strawberry preserve.

CHERRIES PRESERVED WITH CURRANT JUICE.

12 quarts of cherries. 3 quarts of currants. 2 quarts of sugar.

Put the currants in the preserving kettle and on the fire. When they boil up crush them and strain through cheese cloth, pressing out all the juice.