To Bake Fruit

This is a method rather than a fixed recipe, written for a cook expected to know how much sugar her fruit needs. The gaps are worth filling before you start.

• Oven temperatureThe recipe gives no temperature at all; "cook until done" leaves it to the cook. A moderate oven, around 350F, suits a baked fruit dish, with 25 to 40 minutes depending on the fruit and the depth of the dish.
• Which fruit needs stewingThe instruction to stew applies to firm fruit -- apples, quinces, hard pears, rhubarb, dried fruit that has been soaked. Berries, stone fruit and soft pears go into the dish raw and release their own liquid.
• "Enough liquid to season"This means the stewing syrup, or a few tablespoons of water, cider or fruit juice -- enough to keep the bottom from scorching, not enough to poach. Roughly a quarter cup per pound of fruit.
• SugarStart at 2 to 4 tablespoons per pound of fruit and adjust for tartness. Rhubarb and sour apples want the upper end; ripe plums may want none at all.
• Flavourings implied"Any flavor desired" is open; likely candidates are lemon rind, cinnamon, nutmeg, a clove or two, or a spoonful of vanilla or almond extract stirred in near the end.
• The meringueTwo egg whites beaten stiff with 4 tablespoons sugar will cover a dish serving six. Spread it so it touches the rim all round, or it shrinks and weeps, and return the dish to a 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until set and lightly coloured.
• The custard versionThe yolks left from the meringue make a soft custard: 2 to 3 yolks per cup of milk with a tablespoon of sugar, poured over the fruit and baked at 325F in a water bath until just set with a faint wobble at the centre. Pushed much beyond roughly 180 to 185F the custard is liable to curdle and separate from the fruit juice.
• YieldA 1 1/2-quart baking dish holding about 2 lb of prepared fruit serves six.