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Preserving (Fruits in Brandy or other)

Fruits in Brandy or other Spirits. the fruit obtain its fine color. When stone fruit | put 4 ounces into 1 pound of sugar, boil to a candy is preserved, cover them with mutton suet render- height, and pour on a slab, so as to form them ed, to exclude the air, which is sure to ruin them. into cakes. All wet sweetmeats must be kept dry and cool to preserve them from mouldiness and damp. Dip a piece of writing paper in brandy, lay it close to the sweetmeats, cover them tight with paper, and they will keep well for any length of time; but will inevitably spoil without these precautions.

Another Method.

The fruit, if succulent, is first soaked for some hours in very hard water, or in a weak alum water, to harden it, and then to be drained from the fruit, either prepared or not; pour syrup, boiled to a candy height, and half cold; after some hours the syrup, weakened by the sauce of the fruit, is to be poured off, re-boiled, and poured on again, and this repeat several times. When the syrup is judged to be no longer weakened, the fruit is to be taken out of it, and well drained.

To Bottle Damsons.

Put damsons, before they are too ripe, into widemouthed bottles, and cork them down tight; then put them into a moderately heated oven, and about three hours more will do them; observe that the oven is not too hot, otherwise it will make the fruit fly. All kinds of fruit that are bottled may be done in the same way, and they will keep two years; after they are done, they must be put away with the mouth downward, in a cool place, to keep them from fermenting.

To Preserve Barberries.

Set an equal quantity of barberries and sugar in a kettle of boiling water, till the sugar is melted, and the barberries quite soft; let them remain all night. Put them next day into a preserving-pan, and boil them fifteen minutes, then put them into jars, tie them close, and set them by for use.

To Preserve Grapes.

Take close bunches, whether white or red, not too ripe, and lay them in a jar. Put to them pound of sugar candy, and fill the jar with common brandy. Tie them up close with a bladder, and set them in a dry place.

To Dry Cherries.

Having stoned the desired number of morello cherries, put 14 pounds of fine sugar to every pound; beat and sift it over the cherries, and let them stand all night. Take them out of their sugar, and to every pound of sugar, put two spoonfuls of water. Boil and skim it well, and then put in the cherries; boil the sugar over them, and next morning strain them, and to every pound of syrup put pound more sugar; boil it till it is a little thicker, then put in the cherries and let them boil gently. The next day strain them, put them in a stove, and turn them every day till they are dry.

To Clarify Honey.

The best kind is clarified by merely melting it in a water bath, and taking off the scum; the middling kind by dissolving it in water, adding the white of an egg to each pint of the solution , and boiling it down to its original consistence, skimming it from time to time. The inferior kind requires solution in water, boiling the solution with 1 pound of charcoal to 25 pounds of honey, adding, when an excess of acid is apprehended, a small , a small quantity of chalk or oyster-shell powder; next by straining it several times through flannel, and reducing the solution to its original consistence by evaporation.

To Preserve Candied Orange-flowers.

Gather plums, apricots, cherries, peaches, and other juicy fruits, before they are perfectly ripe, and soak them for some hours in hard water to make them firm; as the moisture of the fruit weakens the spirit, it ought to be strong, therefore add 5 ounces of sugar to each quart of spirit. Seville Oranges whole.

Cut a hole at the stem end of the oranges, the size of a five or ten cent piece, take out all the pulp, put the oranges in cold water for two days, changing it twice a day; boil them rather more than an hour, but do not cover them, as it will spoil the color; have ready a good syrup, into which put the oranges, and boil them till they look clear; then take out the seeds, skins, etc. from the pulp first taken out of the oranges, and add to it one of the whole oranges, previously boiled, with an equal weight of sugar to it and the pulp; boil this together till it looks clear, over a slow fire, and when cold fill the oranges with this marmalade, and put on the tops; cover them with syrup, and put brandy paper on the top of the jar. It is better to take out the inside at first, to preserve the fine flavor of the juice and pulp, which would be injured by boiling in the water.

Strawberries whole.

Take an equal weight of fruit and double-refined sugar, lay the former in a large dish, and sprinkle half the sugar in fine powder; give a gentle shake to the dish, that the sugar may touch the under side of the fruit. Next day make a thin syrup with the remainder of the sugar, and allow 1 pint of red currant-juice to every 3 pounds of strawberries; in this simmer them until sufficiently jellied. Choose the largest scarlets, and not dead ripe.

Apricots.

Infuse young apricots before their stones become hard into a pan of cold spring-water, with a plenty of vine leaves, set them over a slow fire until they are quite yellow, then take them out, and rub them with a flannel and salt to take off the lint: put them into a pan to the same water and leaves, cover them close at a distance from the fire, until they are a fine light green, then pick out all the bad ones. Boil the best gently two or three times in a thin syrup, and let them be quite cold each time before you boil them.

When they look plump and clear make a syrup of double-refined sugar, but not too thick; give your apricots a gentle boil in it, and then put them into the pots or glasses. Dip a paper in brandy and lay it over them; tie them close, and keep them in a dry place.

To keep Fruit fresh without Sugar.

Air-tight cans are now made by which, with proper care, peaches, plums, cherries, tomatoes, or other fruit or vegetables may be kept for almost any length of time with all the qualities of the fresh article. All that is required is to heat the can containing the fruit sufficiently to drive out the air, and then seal it tightly. The following plan has also succeeded perfectly:

Cut the fresh peaches (always choosing the best varieties) in half, after paring them, and take the stones out. Put them in the can, which will generally hold a pint, and which should be entirely filled; and then solder the lid closely. Place the can in a kettle containing cold water enough to Free them from their cups, stamina and pistils, cover it, and bring the water to a boil. If there be any part of the can not air-tight, it will be shown by bubbles escaping from it; and the can must then be taken out, and the leak carefully soldered over.