Part 51

Measure your berries and allow a heaping tablespoonful of sugar to each quart of fruit. Put the berries on alone, and bring slowly to the boiling point, and if there is any surplus juice, dip this out before adding the sugar. Boil the berries and sugar for fifteen minutes and can quickly, filling each can to overflowing.

Canned strawberries

Weigh the berries, and to every pound of fruit allow a quarter-pound of granulated sugar. Put sugar and berries in an earthen jar, and stand for an hour. Turn into a preserving-kettle, add a pinch of alum, and simmer slowly for fifteen minutes. Dip out the superfluous juice. Fill the jars to overflowing with the fruit, and seal immediately.

Canned raspberries (2)

Follow the last recipe in every particular.

Canned gooseberries

Make a syrup with one pound of white sugar to each pound of fruit, stew them till quite clear and until the syrup becomes thick, but do not let them be mashed. Do not cover the pan while stewing.

Canned quinces

Pare, and cut into quarters, dropping into cold water as you do this, to preserve the color. Weigh the fruit and allow three-fourths as much sugar. Cook the quinces gently in boiling water until soft, skim out the fruit, add the sugar to this water, skim well and boil till clear. Return the quinces to the syrup till heated through, drain and put into jars. Boil the syrup ten minutes longer, strain it into the jars, fill to overflowing, and seal as usual.

CANNED VEGETABLES

Some housewives hold that when canned vegetables may be bought for the low price at which they now stand, it is mistaken economy to attempt to “put up” such articles at home. But there are two sides to this question. In the first place there are small country places where it is next to impossible to buy many kinds of canned vegetables, and the dwellers in such localities must, of necessity, do their own canning. A still greater consideration is the fact that vegetables preserved in tin cans are not as delicate in flavor as those put up in glass. Imported peas, beans, etc., may be purchased in glass jars, but these are so expensive as to be beyond the reach of the economical housewife. Let her then supply herself with a number of wide-mouthed glass jars with properly fitting rubber rings and tops, and she may snap her fingers at importers and domestic grocers.

Tomatoes, canned whole (No. 1)

This is a delicate process, but the result amply repays one for her pains.

Stew small tomatoes tender and squeeze from them every drop of juice. Strain this juice through a flannel jelly-bag, without squeezing the bag. Season, and set aside until needed. With a thin-bladed, sharp knife remove the cores from the center of large, firm, smooth tomatoes. Lay the tomatoes, side by side, in a deep bake-pan, and pour cold water around them until it covers them entirely. Set in a moderate oven where the contents will heat gradually, and cover closely. When the water begins to boil, the pan may be removed, and the tomatoes carefully taken up. Put them very gently into large-mouthed quart jars. Bring the strained juice to a boil, skim well, fill the jars to overflowing with this, and screw on the tops.

These tomatoes may be stuffed and baked in the winter, and will be found to be as fine in flavor as the fresh vegetables. Tiny “egg tomatoes” may be canned in the same way, without removing the cores, and form a dainty garnish for such dishes as beef _à la jardinière_.

Tomatoes, canned whole (No. 2)

Select firm, ripe tomatoes; immerse in boiling water for a few minutes and slip off the skins. Have ready a large kettle of boiling water. Into this put enough tomatoes to fill just one jar. It takes about six tomatoes to fill a jar. Cover and allow them to remain eight minutes. Pack into a hot jar, fill up with boiling water and seal at once. They keep well and taste almost like fresh ones.

Canned stewed tomatoes

Scald the tomatoes and remove the skins, laying the vegetables in a colander, that the juice may drip away. Put into a porcelain-lined kettle and bring to a boil. Stew for fifteen minutes, pour off any superfluous liquor, season with salt, and pour the tomatoes, boiling-hot, into the cans. Seal immediately.

Canned corn

One of the most difficult vegetables to can is sweet corn, and I would advise the housewife not to run the risk of throwing time and labor away upon the attempt to preserve this vegetable. I, myself, have observed the utmost care in canning corn, only to find, after the lapse of a few weeks, that the vegetable had begun to ferment and was uneatable. It may, however, be safely canned with tomatoes, and thus prepared, makes a delicious scallop and a pleasant addition to vegetable soups and to stews.

Canned corn and tomatoes

Boil two dozen ears of ripe corn until the kernels are tender. Remove from the fire and, while still hot, cut the corn from the cob with a short knife. Peel two dozen ripe tomatoes, and chop into small bits. Mix the corn and tomatoes together, salt to taste, and put over the fire in a porcelain-lined kettle. Bring to a hard boil, cook for a minute and pour at once into quart jars. Seal immediately.

Potted corn

Boil the ears of corn for ten minutes after the boil begins. Remove from the water and cut all the kernels from the cobs. Put a layer of the corn in the bottom of a jar, and cover thickly with a layer of salt. Put in another stratum of corn, then more salt, until the jar is full—having the top layer of salt. Pour over all melted lard, and when this is cool, cover closely with paraffin-paper fitted over the top of the jar. Keep in a cool room until wanted. This corn must be soaked for six or eight hours before using. It will then be fresh and sweet.

Canned asparagus

Into an asparagus boiler put salted water, and when it boils hard lay the asparagus in it. Boil until tender, but not broken and soft. Lift out carefully, stand on end (with the tops up) in fruit-jars, fill the jars to overflowing with the boiling water, and seal immediately. Be sure that tops and rubbers are in good condition, and keep this delicate vegetable in a cool, dark, dry place.

Canned beets (No. 1)

Take early beets that have grown quickly, cook and peel as for immediate use, slice and pack in fruit jars. Be sure that rubbers and tops are in excellent order. Boil good cider vinegar that is not too strong, adding pepper and salt to taste, and a tablespoonful of sugar. While boiling, pour over the packed beets in the jars, fill to overflowing, and immediately screw down the tops tight. Wrap in brown paper and put in a very dark place. They keep well, and are superior to beets bought later in the season.

Canned beets (No. 2)

Prepare the beets as for immediate use. Leave on two or three inches of top to prevent bleeding; also be very careful not to cut or break the skin. Boil, and when done (which should be done in one-half or three-quarters of an hour) pour off the hot water, and replace with cold. Let the beets cool in the water, so that you can handle them. While the beets are cooling, put into an agate or porcelain kettle enough vinegar for the quantity that you are preparing. Add two cupfuls of granulated sugar to a quart of the vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste. Slice the cool beets, put them into the hot vinegar, let them remain on the fire until heated through, then put into air-tight jars.

Canned string beans

Remove all the strings from both sides of the beans. Cut the beans into inch lengths and cover with water. Boil until tender, but not soft. Season with salt and pepper. Take the beans from the pot with a perforated spoon, and put them in jars standing in a pan of hot water. Boil up and skim the liquor remaining in the kettle, and fill the jars to the brims with this. Seal at once.

Canned lima beans

Shell, cook for fifteen minutes in boiling water slightly salted. Then proceed as with string beans.

“HANDY” HOUSEHOLD HINTS

Southern recipe for whitewash

Boil one pound of rice in five gallons of water until soft and broken. Strain and rub the rice through a colander back into the water, and while it is still boiling stir into it one peck of best lime, with a pound of salt. Boil up once and apply hot.

It makes a glossy and durable covering for wood and walls.

How to clean kid gloves

Lay them upon a folded towel and pull straight. Have ready several pieces of fine, soft old flannel. Dip one in skim-milk, rub upon sweet soap—or old castile—and wash the gloves, working toward the finger-tips. As soon as the flannel becomes soiled, throw it into warm water and soak, and take a clean bit. Go all over both sides of each glove in this way until the flannel brings away no more dirt. Wash off with clean flannel wrung out in the milk with no soap. Lay between the folds of a clean towel and leave until next day. The gloves will look unsightly enough, but put them on your hands and they will resume their original color, and, if the work has been done well, will look almost like new.

A rose jar (potpourri)

Gather rose petals when the roses are in their richest bloom, but not when the dew is on them, and pack in a jar in layers two inches deep, sprinkling about two tablespoonfuls of fine, dry salt upon each layer. Continue this until the jar is full, adding fresh petals and salt daily. Keep in a dark, dry cool place. A week after the last relay is gathered turn out the salted petals upon a broad platter, mix and toss together until the mass is loosened. Then incorporate thoroughly with the formula given below; pack in a clean jar, cover lightly and set away to “ripen.” It will be ready for rose jars, etc., in a fortnight, and, if kept covered, will be good and fragrant for twenty years.

Formula—Violet powder, one-half ounce; orris root, one ounce; rose powder, one-half ounce; heliotrope powder, one-half ounce; mace, one-half teaspoonful; cinnamon, one-quarter teaspoonful; cloves, one-half teaspoonful; oil of roses, four drops; oil chiris, ten drops; oil melissne, twenty drops; oil eucalyptus, twenty drops; bergamot, ten drops; alcohol, two drachms.

A rose pillow

If you wish to fill a pillow with rose leaves alone, spread the petals in the shade, but on a sunny day, and dry thoroughly before stuffing the pillow. Then scatter a tablespoonful of powdered orris root among them, and sprinkle with ten drops of _real_ attar of roses. The inferior qualities will not hold the fragrance. Make the inner cover of glazed cambric, the outer of silk or satin, decorated to suit your fancy.

Heat marks on tables

Hot plates frequently disfigure tables by leaving on them a cloudy, white stain. This could be avoided if a mat were always placed between the hot plate and the table. The same with hot water jugs, etc. To remove the heat stains rub on a few drops of sweet oil, and afterwards polish with spirits of wine and a soft cloth.

Or hold a hot iron a few inches above the spot until the wood regains color. Polish with a cloth wrung out in kerosene.

If the spot be small, surround it with a muffin-ring, and let the hot iron rest on it a moment. It will confine the heat and rest the hand.

Match marks

Marks that have been made on paint with matches can be removed by rubbing first, with a slice of lemon, then with whiting, and washing with soap and water.

Library paste

Wet up a cupful of best flour with cold water until you can stir it easily; have on the fire a generous pint of boiling water and add the flour paste, spoonful by spoonful, to it, stirring all the time. Should it thicken too much, add more boiling water. Cook thus for ten minutes. Take it off and beat in a teaspoonful of carbolic acid. When cold put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, through the cork of which a paste brush is thrust. If you dislike the odor of carbolic acid, use salicylic acid in the same quantity, and add ten drops of oil of cinnamon.

To remove the high-water mark from porcelain wash-bowls and bath-tubs

Wet a flannel cloth with kerosene oil and thoroughly rub the tub; wash with scalding water, pouring some washing-soda dissolved therein; dry thoroughly, and the tub will have a beautiful polish.

TO “TENDER” TOUGH MEAT

Beefsteak

Hang it as long as it can be left with safety, washing over with vinegar every day. Take it down then, wipe with a clean, dry cloth, lay upon a dish and pour over it four or five spoonfuls of salad oil and the juice of a large lemon. Set in a cold place for several hours, turn it over and over, that it may soak up every drop of oil and lemon, and leave it for some hours longer. If it is for breakfast, do this over night. If for supper or a late dinner, begin the preparation in the early morning. Ten or twelve hours are better than four or five.

When you are ready to cook the steak, hold it up for a minute to let the surplus oil drip from it, but do not wipe it. It will be more juicy for the oil bath. Broil quickly over clear coals, turning several times.

A tough roasting piece

Hang it in a cool cellar or meat safe up to the last point of prudence, washing it every day with vinegar. If you suspect a “high” odor, wash it with soda and water, rubbing every part of it with a clean whisk or brush; then go all over it with vinegar or lemon juice before setting it down to roast. Baste frequently.

SOME USEFUL THINGS WE THROW AWAY

Bread dust

Two or three times a week spread the accumulated scraps upon a tin plate, or in a baking-pan, and set in a moderate oven until perfectly dry. Soft or “soggy” bits are good for nothing and interfere with the work. If, by chance or intention, the bread is slightly browned, keep it apart from that which remains white. A glass jar for each kind is a good idea.

While the dried bits are still warm, lay upon a kneading-board and crush to powder with the rolling-pin. Do this thoroughly for the “dust,” leaving no gritty particles. Keep in a closed jar in a dry place. It is invaluable for breading croquettes, fried fish, chops, etc. Roll the article to be breaded, first in beaten egg, then in the bread dust, to which have been added a little salt and pepper.

Dripping

Save fat odds and ends of cooked meats, and skim every particle of the congealed grease from the top of gravies, soups and the liquor in which ham and other large pieces of meat are boiled.

Bring slowly to a gentle simmer over the fire, and strain, without rubbing, through a fine soup-sieve, or a bit of mosquito-netting. When firm it is better for frying than any fat you can buy, unless it be pure cottolene.

Mutton and lamb fat

Must be excluded from the “trying-out” pan. At its purest state it gives an unpleasant taste to anything cooked in it. Melt it in a saucepan; when hot, add a little boiling water with a pinch of salt to cause the dregs to settle; heat five minutes without boiling, strain, but do not stir or squeeze, into small molds, such as egg-cups. When hard you will have a better cosmetic than cold cream and an invaluable salve for chapped hands and lips.

Broken crackers

Spread upon a flat platter and leave in a moderate oven until dried, but not colored. Let them cool in a dry place; crush fine with the rolling-pin and keep in a glass jar for breading chops, croquettes, etc., and for scalloping oysters, meat and other of the many made dishes that add character and variety to every-day fare.

Bones of cooked meat

Not those left on the plates after meals. They are the lawful perquisites of fowls and dogs. Bones cleaned by the carver, or the wise housemother, in the preparation of minces and stews and salads, should be laid in a spare dish, cracked through, while fresh, and put over the fire with a quart of cold water for every pound of bones, a carrot, a turnip, two tomatoes, an onion, a stalk or so of celery, all cut into dice, and boiled slowly until reduced to half the original quantity of liquid. Cool in the pot, skim and strain, and you have a tolerable “stock,” useful for a great number of dishes.

Rice water

Always boil rice in plenty of water. When the grains are soft, but not broken, drain in a colander over a bowl, and not into the sink. Rice water contains more nourishment than the cooked cereal itself. Set aside for some hours and you have a jelly which will add value to your soup stock, or may be boiled down still further, sweetened slightly and flavored with rose-water or vanilla; lastly, left in the ice or in cold place to form in a mold. Eaten with sugar and cream, it is a pleasant dessert. Beaten into a plain custard it is even better. It can also be used for thickening white sauces or gravies.

Testing a broom

When buying a broom test it by pressing the edge against the floor. If the straws bristle out and bend, the broom is a poor one. They should remain in a solid, firm mass.

To clean brass

Clean it with pulverized pumice-stone, wet with household ammonia, applying this paste first, and polishing the brass when this has dried, using for this purpose chamois skin.

Wring out a flannel cloth in kerosene, rub upon Putz-Pomade, clean the brasses and polish with old linen.

To clean a white fur rag

First, beat out all the dust and hang in the wind for some hours. Then lay it on the floor of a room you seldom use and fill it with dried flour. Rub it into the rug as you would suds, rubbing between your hands, and working with your fingers down to the roots of the fur. Cover with a clean cloth and leave all night with the flour in it. Next day take out of doors, shake out the flour, hang on a line and whip on the wrong side until every particle of flour is dislodged.

Powdered chalk may be used instead of the flour, but if any is left in the rug the alkali may injure the fur.

A few things kerosene will do

For ants, saturate rags with kerosene, and hang or lay these near their runs, and they will quickly disappear.

Kerosene is a household necessity at cleaning-time. For cleaning painted and varnished woodwork, painted walls, varnished floors, bathtubs and marble washstands it is unsurpassed. For tubs and marble, apply with a woolen cloth, then wash with soap and water. For woodwork and walls use clean cloths, changing as soon as soiled. A few drops in the water when washing windows and mirrors will give them a beautiful polish.

To clean white silk

If one desires snowy whiteness, silk should never be allowed to become badly soiled; that is, so that the silk is yellowed. Dust the garment and wash in rather warm (not scalding hot) water with Ivory soap. Rinse well, the last water being quite blue. Hang up and allow to get just dry enough to press nicely with a warm iron. If this is followed out, I know that white silk will stay white. Care must be taken with the blue water not to have it too blue, and yet blue enough to help the silk retain the “new” shade.

Should silk merely need sponging no iron should touch the surface. If rolled while damp on a broomstick, it will dry in a day or so. When there are grease spots, apply the time-honored remedy, powdered magnesia, to the wrong side under a cold pressure; then, after some hours, rub off, and if not wholly cleansed, apply again.

To clean yellow lace

If you desire to keep the lace yellow, pour enough gasoline into an earthen crock to cover the lace, shake it about in the liquid, rubbing soiled spots gently between your hands; immerse it fully in the liquid, cover the crock and leave the lace in the gasoline for five or six hours. Squeeze and shake it then, and leave it in the open air. When quite dry lay it on a clean cloth, spread over a board or table, and dampen slightly. Pull into shape with your fingers while it is damp. If the lace be wide, baste it to a thick, dampened cloth, setting a stitch in every scallop and figure. Cover with a thin, damp cloth, and press with a warm iron.

To clean Battenberg embroidery

First make a suds of warm water (not hot) with a bland, white soap; wash the pieces, and if very much soiled, rub a little soap on the Battenberg on the wrong side, then rinse thoroughly, but do not blue. Wring out, put between two folds of soft cloth and pat with the hands. Hang in a shady place for a while to take most of the moisture out.

Spread a sheet on the floor and take your pieces, one at a time. First, pin the linen from the corners, as you would a curtain, where the Battenberg joins the linen. When you have the linen perfectly smooth, begin on lace, and pull out well so as to get the same shape as when new; put plenty of pins in, so that the edges will be well shaped. This will take you a little longer than if ironed, but the iron takes all color out of embroidery, and it never does Battenberg well. When you have your piece all pinned down, take your fingers and smooth down the flowers while wet; they will look like new.

To clean black lace

If it be real lace you can treat it at home with reasonable hope of success.

Boil a black kid glove in a quart of water until you have reduced the liquid by one-third. Squeeze the glove and throw it away. When you can bear your hand comfortably in the water dip and shake the lace in it up and down a dozen times. Shake off the wet and squeeze the lace in a soft towel. Do not wring it. While wet, begin to pull the lace straight with the tips of your fingers, getting every mesh and bit of the edge into the right shape. It must be in order and still damp when laid upon the ironing-cloth. Spread a piece of old cambric or linen, or, better still, a piece of clean tissue paper over it, and iron on the right side; then, and harder, on the wrong, to bring out the pattern.

Hang in the sun or in any hot, dry place to dry quickly. Roll upon a card or a thin board to preserve the smoothness.

To dry-clean white lace

Wash in flour. Rub the flour in as you would soap; let the lace lie for some time and then shake it out. If it be not quite clean, repeat the process, which will make it look like new.

To get rid of bed-bugs

To get rid of “red rovers” (or bed-bugs) simply apply a good, thick coat of varnish to all lurking places.

OR

Get a clean oil-can, fill it with gasoline and inject into all cracks and crannies where they can possibly hide. Shut the room up for some hours to give the gasoline a fair chance to do its work.

To get rid of rats and mice

Smear the entrance of their holes with liquid tar, and spray the holes as far as a bellows will carry it with powdered, unslaked lime;

OR

After the holes are located, fill them deeply with absorbent cotton; moisten with formaldehyde; the holes are then quickly cemented with plaster of paris. Then let the neighbors do the worrying.

For mange in cats

Mix vaseline with a drop of two or diluted carbolic acid, as put up in the drug stores as an antiseptic and healing salve. A very little placed on the affected part and a clean linen rag tied around it will heal the skin and cause a new growth of fur.

To draw thread in linen

To draw thread for hem-stitching make a good lather of soap and water, and brush this over the linen where threads are to be drawn, using a shaving or other soft brush. Let it dry, and they will pull quite easily.

To clean decanters

Never use shot, for there is danger of its causing lead poisoning. Instead, try the effect of a little soapy water and some fine sand. Shake the decanter till the glass is clean and then rinse with fresh water, finally with alcohol.

To clean hardwood furniture

Make a solution of two heaping tablespoonfuls of sal soda to a quart of warm water, put it on with a tooth-brush well soaped, the place being immediately rinsed with cold water and dried with a soft cloth.

Afterward the wood should be rubbed with a mixture of two-thirds raw oil and one-third turpentine with a little salt.

The secret of success lies in cleaning only a small piece at a time and in doing the work rapidly.

Cement for lining an aquarium