Part 9

Wash the apples carefully, cut them into small pieces and remove any decayed parts. Put the apples and water into a cooker-pail and let them come to a boil, then set them in a cooker for four hours or more. When very soft, pour them into a jelly bag and hang this over a large bowl for several hours or over night. Measure the juice, boil it for fifteen minutes, add three quarters as much sugar as the measure of juice, boil the mixture for five minutes more, or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes. Skim the jelly carefully while it is boiling. Fruit that is slightly under-ripe is best for jelly. When cold, seal it in the following manner: For each glass cut a small piece of white paper to fit inside it, lying on the jelly. This is to be dipped into alcohol or brandy and laid in place. Cover the top of the glass with another paper cut three-fourths of an inch larger than the top of the glass, and paste it down on the sides of the glass, using white of egg or any paste without a strong odor. Or seal jelly glasses with melted paraffin poured over the top until the jelly is completely covered. Do not let the paraffin get very hot or it may give a bad flavour to the jelly.

Blackberry and Apple Jelly

5 qts. blackberries 2 cups water Apple juice

Look over the berries carefully; put them, with the water, into a cooker-pail and let them come to a boil. Put them in a cooker for three hours or more, then pour them into a jelly bag and let them drip for a least six hours. To each cupful of juice add half a cupful of apple juice prepared as for apple jelly. Boil these juices for fifteen minutes, then add five cups of sugar to each six cups of juice and boil it for five minutes longer or until a drop will jelly on a cold plate if left for a few minutes. Pour it into glasses and seal it when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Stewed Blackberries

Pick over two quarts of berries, put them, with one cupful of sugar, into a cooker-pail and let them slowly come to a boil, stirring them occasionally as they are likely to scorch if cooked over a flame or very hot fire. When boiling, put them into a cooker for two hours or more. If cooked a very long time the juice comes out and leaves the berries rather small and seedy, but otherwise no amount of cooking hurts them.

Serves twelve or fifteen persons.

Currant Jelly

Wash twelve quarts of currants, add one cupful of water and put them on to boil. Stir them occasionally so that they will not scorch. When boiling, put them into a cooker for four hours or more. Pour them into a jelly bag and let them drip for at least six hours. Measure the juice, and when it has boiled fifteen minutes add an equal measure of sugar. Boil the mixture for five minutes, or until a few drops will jelly on a cold plate if allowed to stand a few minutes. Skim the jelly several times during the boiling. When it is done, pour it into glasses, and seal it, when cold, as directed for apple jelly.

Cranberry Jelly

1¹⁄₂ qts. berries 1 cup water Sugar

Wash the berries and remove any soft and decayed ones. Bring them to a boil with the water and put them into a cooker for one or two hours or more. Mash them through a fine strainer or sieve, measure the pulp and add equal parts or three-quarters of the amount in sugar. Boil five minutes, or till a few drops will jelly on a cold plate. Pour it into moulds which have been wet with cold water. When cold, it is ready to serve.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Cranberry Sauce

1¹⁄₂ qts. cranberries 2¹⁄₂ cups sugar 1 cup water

Wash the berries and remove any that are soft and decayed. Put the berries, water, and sugar into a cooker-pail and bring them to a boil, stirring them frequently. When boiling, place the pail in a cooker for two and one-half hours or more. Serve cold.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Dried Fruits

Wash the fruit very thoroughly. If it is first soaked for five minutes and then washed, it will clean more thoroughly. To each cupful of fruit add two cupfuls of water and let it soak for at least six hours. It is better if soaked ten hours. Add the sugar and bring all to a boil. Put it into a cooker for from two to twelve hours, depending upon the fruit. Prunes are improved by long cooking, apples are not injured by it, but peaches or apricots, which are more attractive if they are not broken to pieces, will be better if removed as soon as they are perfectly soft. The amount of sugar varies for different fruits; apricots, prunelles, and such sour fruits requiring about one cupful of sugar for each pint of dried fruit; prunes, peaches, and apples requiring from one-fourth to one-half as much.

Stewed Rhubarb

1¹⁄₂ qts. prepared rhubarb ³⁄₄ cup water 2 cups sugar

Wash the stalks, pare them if old, cut them into one-inch pieces and put them, with the sugar and water, into a two quart cooker-pail. When boiling, set the pail in a cooker for from one to three hours or more, depending upon the character of the rhubarb. Some people prefer to use brown sugar with rhubarb.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Stewed Figs

1 lb. figs 1¹⁄₂ cups sugar Juice of one lemon Water to cover figs

Use pulled figs; those which come in boxes crack open when they are pressed and are not so attractive when stewed. The natural form is preserved in pulled figs, and they have, besides, the advantage of being cheaper. Wash the figs and put them, with the other ingredients, into a pan which fits the cooker-pail. Boil them, set the pan in the pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for seven hours or more. When cold, serve the figs with whipped cream.

Serves eight or ten persons.

Sweet Pickles

8 lbs. fruit (prepared) 5 lbs. brown sugar 1 qt. vinegar ³⁄₈ cup stick cinnamon ³⁄₈ cup whole allspice ¹⁄₄ cup cloves

Prepare the fruit as directed below. Tie the spices in several cheese-cloth bags, and bring them to the boiling point in a cooker-pail, with the sugar and vinegar. Add the fruit, let it barely come to a boil, stirring it carefully, so that it will not break to pieces. Set it in a cooker for the time directed below for each particular kind of fruit. When it is sufficiently cooked, remove it from the syrup and put it into cans or crocks. Boil the syrup until it loses its thin, watery consistency, and pour it over the fruit. If this occupies more than one receptacle, put one spice bag in each. Cover or seal the cans while still hot. Sweet pickles should not be eaten until they have stood for several weeks.

_Peaches_:

Select firm, ripe peaches, rub them well with a woolen cloth, but do not pare them. Cook them whole, as directed above, for from one to two hours or more, depending upon the hardness and size of the peaches.

_Pears_:

Wash, pare and, if desired, cut the pears in half, removing the cores. Cook them, as directed above, for from one to two hours or more, depending upon the hardness and size of the pears.

_Crab Apples_:

Wash and dry the apples and cut out the blossom. Drop them into the syrup as soon as the sugar is dissolved. Let them boil and cook them, as directed above, for from two to three hours.

_Watermelon Rind or Citron_:

Pare the rind and cut it into pieces. Put it into a cooker-pail of boiling salt and water, mixed in the proportion of one-half cup of salt to one gallon of water. Slip the pail at once into a cooker for ten hours or over night. When the rind is soft drain it and wash it in cold water. Drain it in a colander and add it to the syrup, prepared as directed above, and cook it, as other sweet pickles, for from four to six hours. The fruit shrinks to about one-half its bulk after cooking in the brine.

_Prunes_:

Soak the prunes for five minutes, wash them well, then soak them for six hours in enough water to cover them. Remove the pits, crack them, and chop the kernels. Cook the prunes and kernels in spiced syrup as directed above for ten hours or over night. Weigh the fruit after it has been soaked in order to estimate the amount of syrup needed.

_Plums_:

Wipe the fruit, prick it and put it into the syrup, bring it slowly to a boil and cook it as directed above, for from one to two hours. If each plum is pricked once with a sharp-pointed fork or nut-pick it will not burst.

_Quinces_:

Wash the fruit and wipe it. Peel, quarter, and core it and bring it to a boil in enough water to half cover it; cook it in a cooker for ten hours or over night or steam it in a wire rack over boiling water for ten minutes and place it in a cooker for three hours; put it over the fire and bring it again to a hard boil and replace it in the cooker for another three hours. The quinces, unless very hard, will then be ready to cook in the syrup as directed above, for ten hours or over night. If they are first cooked in water instead of by steaming, the water may be used for making a syrup to use as a pudding sauce or for other purposes.

Orange Marmalade

1 large grape-fruit 2 large oranges 1 large lemon Sugar Water

Wash the fruit with a brush, wipe it dry and cut it, in very thin slices, removing only the seeds. Discard the first and last slices, which consist of nothing but skin. Measure the sliced fruit, and to every quart of fruit add three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and put it into a cooker for ten hours or over night. Bring it again to a boil and cook it again for ten hours. Add the equivalent measure of both fruit and water in sugar, bring it to a boil, and put it again into the cooker for ten hours or more. If it is not sufficiently thick in consistency, boil it slowly until a drop will jelly slightly if put on a cold plate and left a few minutes. As marmalade is not usually sealed with air-tight covers it will evaporate somewhat, and become thicker by long standing, and will therefore not need to be boiled until very stiff. The longer it is boiled the less delicate the flavour becomes. This recipe should make five pints or more of marmalade.

Candied Orange or Grape-Fruit Peel

Peel of 6 oranges or 2 grape-fruit 3 cups sugar 1¹⁄₂ cups water in which peel was cooked

Carefully scrub the fruit till very clean, remove the peel in quarters and soak it in water for a few hours. If it is to be used as candy, scrape away a little of the white part, and cut it into very narrow strips. If to be used for cooking purposes, it need not be scraped or cut small. Put it into a cooker-pail and cover it with boiling water. Let it boil and set it in a cooker for ten hours or more. Reheat it to boiling point and cook it again for ten hours or more. This will be enough for grape-fruit, but orange-peel may require one more such period of cooking. When soft and nearly transparent, drain the peel, saving one and one-half cups of the water. Add to it three cups of sugar, and, when this is dissolved, the peel. Boil it, slowly toward the last, until most of the water has boiled away. Remove the strips and lay them in a bed of granulated sugar, covering them also with sugar. Let them stand until cold, then shake off the loose sugar, which can be used for cooking purposes, and put the candied peel into covered boxes or cans.

Canned Quinces

6 qts. quinces (prepared) 6 qts. water 4¹⁄₂ lbs. sugar

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before measuring them. Bring them to the boiling point with the water in a cooker-pail. When they are boiling hard put them into a cooker for ten hours or more. If they are not then very soft to the centre of the pieces, bring them again to a boil and cook them for from six to ten or more hours, according to their condition. When perfectly tender add the sugar and bring all again to the boiling point. Set them in a cooker for four hours or more. Bring them to a boil and put them at once into clean, sterilized cans. When overflowing full, seal the cans at once.

This recipe makes about eleven quarts.

Preserved Quinces

8 lbs. prepared quinces 8 lbs. sugar 2 qts. water

Wash, peel, quarter, and core the quinces before measuring them. Put them into a cooker-pail, add the water, and when they are boiling hard, put them into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not perfectly tender, heat them again to the boiling point and set them in the cooker for as many more hours as they require, depending upon their ripeness. Thoroughly ripe quinces will probably not require this second period of cooking. Add the sugar, bring them to a boil, and set them in the cooker for four hours or more. If they are not rich enough, boil them slowly, uncovered, until they are of the desired consistency. Long, slow boiling is what gives quinces the red colour so much admired.

Citron and Ginger Preserves

6 lbs. fruit (prepared) 4 lemons ¹⁄₄ lb. green ginger 1¹⁄₂ qts. water 6 lbs. sugar

Pare the citron and cut it into thick slices. Remove the seeds, cut the slices across into cubes, strips, or fancy shapes, and weigh them. Wash the lemons, slice them and remove the seeds. Wash and peel the ginger. Put the citron, lemon, ginger, and water into a cooker-pail. Bring them to a boil and put them into a cooker for eight hours or more, depending upon the hardness of the citron. When this is soft and nearly transparent, add the sugar, boil it, and cook again for four hours or more. Remove the fruit, put it into cans or jars, and boil down the syrup until it will just cover the fruit. Pour it at once over the fruit and close the cans when cooled. Cover them with a clean towel while cooling.

Watermelon rind may be preserved in the same manner.

Grape Jam

Remove the grapes from the stems, wash them in a colander, then press the pulp from the skins. Boil the pulp for a few minutes, until it will easily separate from the seeds. Rub it through a sieve, add the skins, and weigh or measure the mixture. Add an equal quantity of sugar, heat it over a moderate fire until it is simmering, stirring it frequently. Do not let it boil hard or the skins will be toughened. Set it in a cooker for three hours or more. Put it into sterilized glasses or jars, cover it with a towel until it is cold, and seal it as directed for apple jelly on page 169.

Grape Juice

Remove ripe Concord grapes from the stems, wash them in a colander, bring them just to the boiling point over a moderate fire, stirring them frequently. Put them into a cooker for five hours or more. Drain them in a jelly bag for at least eight hours. Each quart of loose grapes should yield about one pint of juice. Add one cup of sugar to every quart of juice; bring it just to the boiling point and pour it at once into sterilized bottles, not filling the bottles quite full. Cork them at once. When cold, press the corks down more firmly, cut them off level with the top of the bottle, and dip the inverted bottles, for an instant, into Wax for Sealing. If bubbles appear in the wax around or over the cork, break them and dip the bottle again.

Wax for Sealing Bottles

Melt together equal parts of beeswax and rosin. As soon as it is liquid it should be used or drawn back on the stove where it will not burn. It will keep indefinitely.

Preserved Ginger

Buy fresh, green ginger, of good size and quality. Peel or scrape it and cut it into lengths for serving. Cook it in a cooker for ten hours or more in boiling salted water (one-half cupful of salt to one gallon of water). Drain away the brine and add fresh boiling water to more than cover it. When boiling put it again into the cooker for ten hours or more. Change the water and cook it again, repeating this process until the ginger is very tender. It may take several days. Make a syrup, using two cupfuls of sugar to each cupful of water, bring the ginger to a boil in this syrup, set it in a cooker for five or six hours; remove the ginger, boil the syrup down to a rich consistency, and pour it over the ginger.

XX

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES

White Sauce

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt Few grains of white pepper

Melt the butter over moderate heat, add the flour, and blend the two thoroughly. Heat the milk over hot water, add it, one-third at a time, to the butter and flour, stirring constantly and allowing the mixture to become perfectly smooth and glossy before adding more milk. Season it and allow it to come to the boiling point. If it is not to be served immediately, cover it and slip it into the cooker to keep hot.

Sauce for Vegetables

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour ¹⁄₂ cup of vegetable stock ¹⁄₂ cup milk ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt Few grains of white pepper

Make the sauce in the same manner as white sauce, blending the milk and water in which the vegetables were cooked, which is called vegetable stock.

Brown Sauce

2 tablespoons butter or clarified fat 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup brown stock ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon pepper

Brown the butter slightly, add the flour and stir constantly until the flour is a rich brown. Add the seasoning and stock, one-third at a time, stirring it until smooth. If butter is not used, add the flour as soon as the fat is melted, as other fats will acquire a strong flavour if allowed to brown before the flour is added. Mutton or lamb fat, or that from smoked or salted meats, is not suitable for brown sauce.

Drawn Butter Sauce

¹⁄₄ cup butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup boiling water ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon white pepper

Melt the butter, add the flour and seasoning, and mix them well. Add the water, one-third at a time, stirring until the sauce grows smooth. When it has come to the boiling point it is done.

Caper Sauce

Drain one-half cup of capers, and add them to one cupful of drawn-butter sauce.

Egg Sauce

To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add two hard-cooked eggs, cut in one-fourth-inch dice.

Sauce for Fish

To one cupful of drawn-butter sauce add one-half tablespoonful of lemon juice and one-half tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

Hollandaise Sauce

¹⁄₂ cup butter Yolks of two eggs 1 tablespoon lemon juice ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt Cayenne pepper ¹⁄₂ cup boiling water

Rub the butter until soft and creamy, add the egg yolks, lemon juice, and seasoning, and rub them till blended, then pour on the boiling water and stand the covered bowl, containing the sauce, on a rack over a cooker pail of boiling water and put it into a cooker for three minutes; or cook it on the stove over hot water as soft custard, stirring it constantly.

Tomato Sauce

¹⁄₂ can tomatoes, or 2 cups raw tomatoes 1 slice onion ¹⁄₂ bay leaf 1 teaspoon salt ¹⁄₈ teaspoon pepper 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour ¹⁄₂ cup water or stock

Cook all the ingredients but the butter and flour in a cooker for one hour or more. Rub them through a strainer and add this, gradually, to the blended butter and flour.

Hard Sauce

¹⁄₃ cup butter 1 cup powdered sugar Nutmeg

Rub the butter till soft and creamy, add the sugar gradually. When perfectly blended, pile the sauce on a small dish or plate and put it into a refrigerating box or other cold place till time for serving, then grate nutmeg over the top.

Fruit Sauce

1 glass of jelly, or ¹⁄₂ pint grape juice ³⁄₄ cup boiling water Sugar to taste

Cut the jelly into small pieces, add the water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it stand in a cooker for one-half hour or more, or leave it on the stove till melted. If very sour jelly is used, some sugar may be required to make it sweet enough. With grape juice about one-half cupful of sugar may be used. The sugar and water should be brought to a boil, the grape juice added, and the sauce immediately set aside to cool.

Brandy Sauce

¹⁄₄ cup butter 1 cup sugar Yolks of two eggs 2 tablespoons brandy ¹⁄₂ cup milk or cream Whites of 2 eggs

Warm the butter to soften, but not melt it; add the sugar gradually, and rub the two together; add the beaten yolks and, when mixed, the brandy and the milk or cream. Heat the sauce over warm water in a cooker-pail until it registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it constantly. Cover it, and set the pail into a cooker for twenty minutes. When it is nearly ready, beat the whites of eggs stiff and pour the hot sauce over them, beating it until it is smooth. Serve immediately.

Serves six or eight persons.

Vanilla Sauce

2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup boiling water ¹⁄₄ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla

Rub together the butter and flour in a saucepan, add the water and cook until it thickens. Add the sugar, and, when dissolved, the vanilla. Serve hot.

Nutmeg Sauce

Make it in the same way as vanilla sauce, substituting brown sugar for white, and using one-eighth teaspoonful of grated nutmeg in place of the vanilla.

Buttered Crumbs

1 tablespoon butter 1 cup soft, stale breadcrumbs ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt Few grains pepper

Use bread that is at least one day old, and not sufficiently stale to be hard. Grate the bread, or crumble it in the fingers; or cut it into one-inch slices, and these into quarters, and rub two quarters together. If any large pieces break off, crumble them fine with the fingers. If bread is being crumbled for scalloped dishes, it should be carefully done; if for stuffing, bread puddings, and such uses where it becomes moistened and softened it may be cut into very thin slices, then across into strips and small dice one-eighth inch in size. Mix the seasoning with the crumbs, then add them to the melted butter. When first mixed a few crumbs absorb all of the butter, but if lightly stirred with a fork for several minutes they will become evenly buttered. If richer crumbs are needed, the quantity of butter may be doubled.

Salted Nuts

1 pt. water ¹⁄₂ cup salt 1 cup blanched nuts 1 teaspoon butter

Blanch the nuts according to directions given below. Boil them in the salt and water for eight minutes, drain them and put them into a roasting-pan or pie plate with the butter. When warm, stir them well that the butter may coat each nut. Bake them in a moderate oven until they are a very light brown, stirring them frequently. When they are done, spread them out to cool and allow them to stand until crisp before putting them into a covered receptacle. If peanuts are used, take raw nuts.

To Blanch Nuts

Pour boiling water on to shelled nuts, let them stand two or three minutes, drain them and pour cold water over them. Press them from their skins.

To Shell Italian Chestnuts

Cut a slit in each nut with a sharp knife; put them into a frying or roasting pan with one teaspoonful of butter for each pint of nuts. Shake them over moderate heat until the butter is melted, and put them into a moderate oven for five minutes; or continue to shake them over the fire for that length of time. This loosens the shell so that it may be removed with a knife.

To Sterilize Jars or Cans

Wash cans, jars or bottles and their covers and put them into a large pan of cold or tepid water, which is deep enough to fill and cover them.

Bring the water to a boil over moderate heat, unless a rack in the pan prevents contact of the glassware with the bottom of the pan, in which case a hot fire may be used. Let them boil for five minutes or more, and remove them, one by one, as they are to be filled. A clean stick or long wooden spoon-handle thrust into them may be used to take them out. Rubbers for cans should not be sterilized, as the heat will injure them. Corks may be dipped into boiling water or allowed to remain in it for a minute; but unless very stiff and shrunken, they will swell too much to fit the bottles if left long in the water.

Boiled Dressing

1 teaspoon salt ¹⁄₂ teaspoon mustard Cayenne 2¹⁄₂ teaspoons butter 1 teaspoon sugar 1 egg ¹⁄₂ cup milk ¹⁄₈ cup vinegar