Cloves

This is a spiced-peach preserve of the sweet-pickle type: fruit poached in a vinegar-and-sugar syrup with whole cloves and cinnamon. The original gives no quantities, so the syrup has to be built from a standard ratio.

• No amounts are givenThe sugar, vinegar and cinnamon are unmeasured in the text as printed, and no reliable figure can be recovered from it. Any syrup you build will be a guess of your own rather than the author's intention; start with rather more sugar than vinegar and adjust to taste.
• Vinegar strengthNineteenth-century household cider vinegar was variable and need not have matched today's standardised 5% product. If the syrup tastes harsh, dilute with water rather than adding more sugar.
• Twenty minutes of boilingThe long boil infuses the cinnamon and reduces the syrup. Keep the pan covered or add a little water back if it reduces too far before the fruit goes in.
• "Rub off the fur"The hot-water dip loosens the fuzz so it can be wiped away with a rough towel, leaving the skin on. It is not a full blanch-and-peel; the recipe says only to dip the fruit quickly.
• Four cloves per peachWhole cloves are assertive. Four to a peach is authentic to the period taste but will dominate; two is closer to modern palates. Push them into the fruit near the stem end so they are easy to find and remove before serving.
• "One-half peaches at a time"Most likely this means cooking the fruit in batches, half the quantity at a time, so the pan is not crowded and the peaches poach evenly; the phrasing could also be read as using halved peaches. Lift each batch out with a slotted spoon as it turns tender.
• "Until soft"Ripe peaches need only 5 to 10 minutes in simmering syrup; a skewer should meet no resistance but the fruit should still hold its shape. Firm or underripe fruit takes longer and holds up better.
• Keeping itAs written this makes a fresh preserve, not a shelf-stable one. Refrigerate the peaches in their syrup in a covered jar and use within a couple of weeks; proper long-term storage requires a current tested canning procedure.