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Blackberry Cordial
Crush the berries with a pestle, turn into a bag, and with the pestle and a spoon press out all the juice possible. Let stand an hour of more to "settle," then turn into a bag and let drip through it. For each quart of juice, take two cups of sugar, a teaspoonful, each, of ground cloves and cinnamon, and half a nutmeg, grated; let boil gently twenty minutes, store in bottles when cold, adding to each quart about one fourth of a cup of French brandy.
Preserved Cherries and Delaware Cherry Vinegar Stone the cherries and cover with vinegar.
Let this stand on the cherries over night in a cool place. Next day drain off the vinegar and cherry juice and keep for a beverage. It is cherry vinegar or cherry "shrub," when sugar is added to it. Delaware cherry vinegar is as much esteemed as raspberry vinegar. This is, however, a by-product, the main thing being the fruit itself.
After draining off the vinegar, put the cherries in a stone crock with alternate layers of white sugar, allowing three quarters of a pound of sugar for every pint of cherries. Keep the crock covered and in a cool place. Stir it gently so as not to cut up the fruit, every day for ten days.
A wooden spatula, or spoon, is a good thing to use for this. The fruit may then be put into smaller receptacles, but need not be sealed airtight. The result is pronounced delicious.