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Pineapple, Brandied
Pare, trim, and slice the fruit, weigh it, and allow one pound of powdered sugar to each pound of fruit. Choose glass jars which are as nearly as possible the size of the slices of fruit. Fill them lightly with alternate layers of sugar and pineapple, without pressing them down, remembering always that the undermost and uppermost layers must consist of sugar. Pour in as much brandy as will a little more than cover the slices, put on closely-fitting covers to exclude the air, and store in a cool, dry, dark place.
A cold-pack preserve that relies on sugar and spirit rather than heat. Nothing is cooked, so success depends entirely on the fruit being sound and staying under the brandy.
- The hinge: keep the fruit submergedAny slice that rises above the liquid will brown and can spoil the jar. Top up with brandy as the fruit gives up juice and settles, and weight the surface with a small glass disc or a fold of parchment if slices float.
- "Powdered sugar"In a British book of this date this means finely ground granulated sugar, i.e. caster or superfine, not modern confectioners' sugar with its cornstarch. Ordinary granulated works; it simply dissolves more slowly.
- Brandy strengthUse a spirit of at least 40% ABV. The fruit's juice will dilute it considerably, and a low-proof or liqueur-type brandy leaves too little alcohol to hold the preserve.
- Preparing the pineappleParing and trimming means removing the rind and the woody eyes beneath it; also cut out the fibrous core, which stays tough. Fairly thick rings hold their shape best.
- JarsThe instruction to match jar diameter to slice size is practical, not fussy: it stops slices from tipping and keeps them covered. Wash and dry jars thoroughly and use new, non-reactive lids, as brandy corrodes bare metal.
- Ripeness mattersPineapple does not ripen further after picking, so start with fruit that is fragrant and yields slightly. Slices soften over months rather than staying crisp.
- Time and yieldLeave the jars some weeks before opening, and they should keep for a long period in a cool, dark cupboard as the recipe directs.
- When to discardActively fizzing, cloudy or pushing at the lid means fermentation, not maturation. Once a jar is opened, refrigerate it and keep the fruit under the liquid.
- ServingA spoonful of slices with a little of the syrup, with cream, ice cream or a plain sponge. The strained liquor is worth keeping as a cordial.
Brandied fruits belong to the long tradition of preserving in spirit, a technique English cookery books sometimes described as putting up "in liqueur" or "a l'eau-de-vie", and which sat alongside jams, jellies and dried fruit as a way of keeping a luxury on the shelf. Pineapple was that luxury: through the eighteenth and much of the nineteenth century it was grown in heated "pineries" on great estates and, by repeated account, lent or hired for display as much as eaten. By the time Cassell's dictionary appeared, steamships had brought imported pineapple within readier reach of middle-class kitchens, so a book of this period could assume a cook had whole fruit to slice, weigh and bottle. The method -- equal weights of sugar and fruit, a layer of sugar top and bottom, and enough spirit to cover -- follows a pattern found in earlier receipts for fruit in spirit.