Cherry Conserve

The page as printed has lost most of its ingredient list — only the raisins and oranges survive, and the quantity of cherries and sugar, the two things that decide whether this sets, is gone. Read it as a method rather than a formula.

• The missing quantitiesCherries and sugar are both called for in the method but absent from the list. A conserve of this type generally runs equal weights of pitted fruit and sugar, or a little less sugar; without the original figures any number here would be invention. Treat the printed text as incomplete.
• "14 lb. seeded raisins"Most likely a typesetting loss of a fraction; 1/4 lb., about 3/4 cup, would suit a batch of this size, though the original figure is unrecoverable. Fourteen pounds of raisins against three oranges makes no sense.
• Seeded, not seedless"Seeded" in 1900s usage means the seeds have been taken out, as against modern seedless raisins, which come from naturally seedless grapes. Muscat raisins were seeded by hand or machine; ordinary dark seedless raisins are the nearest substitute.
• Sour cherriesA conserve like this was most often made with sour pie cherries — Montmorency or Early Richmond — rather than sweet Bings, though the recipe does not say. Sour cherries carry the acid that helps the mixture gel and keeps the sweetness in check. Frozen pitted sour cherries work; drain but keep the juice.
• The oranges"Juice and pulp" means the flesh, not the peel. Segment the oranges over a bowl and add the membranes' juice; discard seeds and the tough white pith.
• Cooking the cherries firstThe fifteen minutes before sugar goes in is there to soften skins and draw out juice. Sugar added at the start firms fruit skins and the cherries stay tough.
• "Cook until thick"With no thermometer given, judge by the sheet test or by 220F on a candy thermometer at sea level. Stir often once it thickens — the raisins sink and scorch. Timing will depend entirely on batch size, which the page does not give.
• StorageNo sealing instructions are given, which was common in books that assumed you already knew. Refrigerate or freeze the finished conserve; if you want shelf-stable jars, follow a current tested water-bath procedure rather than pouring into whatever jars are at hand.