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Plum Compote
One peck of plums (remove the pits), three oranges cut fine and seeded, three lemons, one pound of raisins (seedless and cut in half). Weigh the ingredients, and to each pound take three-fourths of a pound of sugar; boil the sugar with one pint of water, then add the compote and boil two hours or until thick, and can while hot.
— Mrs. H. P. Pettengill
Despite the name, this is a conserve — a long-boiled preserve of plums, citrus and raisins put up in jars — rather than the loose stewed fruit a modern cook means by compote. The proportions are given by weight, which makes the recipe easy to scale down.
- A peck of plumsA peck is eight dry quarts, roughly 12 to 14 lb of plums depending on size. Pitted, that yields something in the region of 10 to 12 lb of fruit, which with the citrus and raisins makes an enormous batch. Quartering or eighthing the recipe is sensible for a home kitchen.
- Weigh, then sugarThe instruction to weigh the ingredients and allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar per pound is the whole structure of the recipe. The order of the receipt suggests weighing the fruit after it has been pitted and cut, though it does not say so outright.
- The citrus goes in whole"Three oranges cut fine and seeded" means peel, pith and flesh, sliced thin — that is where the pectin and the bitterness both come from. The lemons are treated the same way, though the receipt does not say so.
- Two hours is a guide, not a ruleModern stovetops and heavy pans will often reach the setting point sooner. Judge by thickness: a jelly thermometer reading 220F, or a spoonful that wrinkles when pushed on a chilled plate.
- Stirring and scorchingA sugar mixture this heavy will catch once it thickens. Use the widest heavy-bottomed pot available and stir down to the bottom in the last half hour.
- Canning method is outdated"Can while hot" describes open-kettle canning, filling jars with boiling preserve and letting the cooling lid seal itself. This is no longer considered a reliable seal even for high-sugar, high-acid preserves; follow current tested guidance for a boiling-water bath, or simply refrigerate the finished conserve and use it within a few weeks.
- Seedless raisinsAt the time, "seedless" distinguished sultana-type raisins from the muscat raisins that had to be seeded by hand. Any modern raisin qualifies; cutting them in half is optional but keeps them from sinking in whole clumps.
- YieldThe full quantity as written makes a very large batch, enough to fill many jars; a quarter batch is far more manageable in a home kitchen.
Fruit-and-citrus conserves of this kind were common in American community cookbooks around the turn of the twentieth century, when oranges and lemons were widely available in country stores. The label "compote" here is loose; by the standards of the period it is closer to a conserve, the term used for a preserve carrying more than one fruit plus raisins or nuts. Community cookbooks of the period commonly listed contributors under their husbands' names, which is why Mrs. H. P. Pettengill's own first name has not come down with her plums.