Things Mother Used to Make · Chapter 13=preserves=
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=Crab Apple Jelly=
Cover the apples with water and boil until tender. Strain through a flannel bag. Boil the juice twenty minutes. Add the same amount of sugar, pint for pint, and cook five minutes. Pour into tumblers, and when cold, cover with paraffine.
=California Jam=
Divide and seed as many oranges as desired.
Slice thin, the pulp and skin together. Add to each pound of oranges one lemon, sliced thin, and one quart of cold water. Let all stand twenty-four hours; then cook until tender, with the same amount of sugar.
=Canned Cherries=
1 Quart of Cherries 1 Cupful of Sugar 1 Cupful of Water
Pick over and wash the cherries. If they are to be used for sauce, can them whole; if to be used for pies and puddings, remove stones and use less water, as there will be juice enough to cook them in. Cook until tender and seal when boiling hot.
=Cherry Conserve=
4 Pounds of Cherries 4 Pounds of Sugar 3 Oranges 1 Lemon
Wash and stone the cherries. Wash and remove seeds from oranges and lemon. Put them through the meat-grinder or chop fine. Cook all together twenty minutes, or until thick. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine.
=Preserved Citron=
4 Pounds of Citron 3 Pounds of Sugar 3 Gills of Water 3 Lemons
Pare the citron and cut into pieces one inch square. Cover with cold water, adding a pinch of salt. Next day throw off this water and cover with fresh water, this time adding a pinch of alum. Slice the lemons, removing every seed, and boil until tender. Boil the sugar and water together, skim, then put into the syrup citron and lemon. Boil until it looks rich and transparent. Skim out the fruit into jars or tumblers, boil down the syrup for ten or fifteen minutes, and pour over the fruit. If jars are used, fill to the brim and seal while hot. This can be made in the summer from watermelon-rind. Cut off all the pink of the melon, pare, and prepare as you would citron. It is really very nice.
=Currant Jelly=
Pick currants from the stems and wash clean. Put them into a kettle with a very little water and cook for ten minutes. Strain through a flannel bag. Use one pint of juice to one pint of sugar. Boil the juice fifteen minutes, add sugar and boil five minutes. Pour into tumblers or jelly moulds, and when cold cover with paraffine.
=Spiced Currants=
5 Pounds of Currants 4 Pounds of Sugar 1 Pint of Vinegar 4 Teaspoonfuls of Cinnamon 4 Teaspoonfuls of Cloves
Boil slowly two and a half hours. Tie the spices in a cloth before boiling.
=Cranberry Jelly=
1 Quart of Cranberries 3 1/2 Cupfuls of Sugar
Put one quart of cranberries on the stove, with cold water enough to cover. Boil until tender. Strain through a colander. To this four cupfuls of juice add three and a half cupfuls of sugar. Boil, twenty minutes and turn into a mould which has been wet with cold water.
=Grape Conserve=
5 Pints of Grapes 8 Cupfuls of Sugar 1/2 Pound of Raisins 2 Oranges 1 Cupful of Nut Meats
Pick the grapes from the stems, wash, and separate the pulps from the skins. Stew the pulps and press through a colander. Put the raisins and oranges through the meat grinder, after removing seeds. Cook all together except the nuts. Add these about ten minutes before removing from fire. Put into glasses and cover with paraffine. This makes eleven glasses.
=Grape Marmalade=
When making grape-juice, use the grape which is left after straining, for marmalade. Press through a colander, measure and use the same amount of sugar. Cook until it thickens and put into tumblers. When cold, cover with paraffine.
=Grape Preserve=
Pick from the stems and wash the amount of grapes desired. Squeeze the pulps from the skins. Put into a kettle with very little water and boil until the seeds loosen. Press through a colander. Put this with skins, weigh, and use three-fourths of a pound of sugar, for every pound of fruit. Cook all together until the skins are tender, usually about an hour. Seal in glass jars.
=Orange Marmalade=
1 Grapefruit 1 Whole Orange Juice of Two Oranges 1 Whole Lemon Juice of Two Lemons
Chop fruit fine or put through the grinder. Measure and put three times the amount of water. Let this stand till the next day. Boil ten minutes. Stand again till the next day. Measure and add equal amount of sugar. Boil until it jells. This will make eleven or twelve tumblerfuls. Pour into glasses while warm. When cold, pour over a thin coating of paraffine.
=Peach Marmalade=
When preserving peaches or quinces, wipe them very clean before paring, and save the skins for marmalade. Cook in water enough to cover well and, when tender, press through a colander. Measure, and add the same amount of sugar. Boil half an hour, or until it thickens. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine. This is nice for school sandwiches, or for filling for Washington pie or queen's pudding.
=To Can Peaches=
1 Quart of Peaches 1 Cupful of Sugar 2 Cupfuls of Water
Be sure to have the jars perfectly clean and warm. Glass covers are always preferable. Make a syrup of the sugar and water. Boil this hard for five minutes. Set back on the stove and let it settle, then skim very thoroughly. Pare, cut in half, and remove the stones from the peaches. When the syrup comes to a boil, put in enough peaches to fill your jar, whatever the size. Boil until tender enough to pierce with a wisp. Take the fruit out carefully with a spoon and place in the jar. Fill the jar with the boiling syrup, being careful always to cant the jar as you pour it in. If you do this, the jar will never crack, as it is likely to do if held perfectly straight or upright. Always run around the inside of the jar with a silver knife, and you will have no trouble in keeping fruit. Seal while hot. The peaches may be canned whole, if preferred.
=Pickled Peaches=
4 Pounds of Sugar 1 Pint of Vinegar 1 Tablespoonful of Cloves 1 Tablespoonful of Allspice Stick of Cinnamon
Boil the ingredients together for ten minutes before putting in the peaches. Cook as many peaches in this as possible, and have juice enough to fill up the jars. Tie the spices in a piece of cheese-cloth. Pears may be cooked in the same way.
=Ginger Pears=
10 Pounds of Pears 7 Pounds of Sugar 4 Lemons 6 Oranges 1 Box of Crystallized Ginger
Wipe pears clean and cut fine with sugar. Simmer an hour. Then add the lemons and oranges, seeded and cut fine, and the crystallized ginger. Let all boil together two or three hours.
=Preserved Pears=
1 Quart of Pears 1 Cupful of Sugar 2 Cupfuls of Water
Use pears which are just right to eat. Pare and drop into cold water, to prevent discoloring. Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar and two cupfuls of cold water, and boil the pears in this until you can stick a straw through them. Fill the jars with the fruit, all you can put in, then hold the jar slanting and fill with syrup to the very brim. Use whole pears, if preferred. If cut in halves, remove the core.
=Way to Pickle Pears=
1 Pint of Vinegar 3 Pounds of Sugar 6 Pounds of Pears 1/2 Tablespoonful of Cinnamon 1/2 Tablespoonful of whole Allspice 1 Tablespoonful of whole Cloves
Boil pears until tender. Boil vinegar, sugar, and spices together fifteen minutes, then put in the boiled pears, and cook all together half an hour. These will be nicer if sealed in glass jars.
=To Preserve Pineapple=
Peel the pineapple, remove the eyes and cut into small cubes. Weigh, and take three-fourths of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Allow one cupful of water for each jar, and cook all together slowly until tender. Fill the jars. This is very nice for ice-cream or sherbet.
=Quince Jelly=
Pare, core, and quarter the fruit, and boil in water enough to cover. When soft, take out the fruit and strain the syrup through a flannel bag, then return the syrup to the kettle and boil until perfectly clear, skimming constantly. Measure syrup, adding an equal quantity of sugar, and boil twenty minutes, removing the scum which rises to the surface. Pour into tumblers or moulds and set aside to cool; then pour over the top a covering of paraffine.
=Quince Marmalade=
Put the quinces, which were boiled in water for the jelly, in with the cores and skins. Cover with water and boil ten or fifteen minutes. Press all through a colander. Measure, and add the same amount of sugar. Set on the stove and boil fifteen minutes, being careful not to scorch. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine.
=Quince Sauce=
Peel, core, and cut into quarters the quinces. Boil in clear water until tender. Weigh the quinces before cooking, and put into the water in which they have been boiled three-fourths of a pound of sugar for every pound of quince. Boil five minutes and skim. Then put in the quinces and cook until of a dark amber color-for about an hour. As quinces are expensive, old-fashioned people used to put in one-fourth as much sweet apple or pear.
=Raspberry Jam, No. I=
Mash the berries, add equal parts of sugar, and let stand half an hour. Put on the stove in a kettle containing a half cupful of water, to prevent sticking. Boil until it thickens. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine. Blackberries and strawberries used in the same way are very nice.
=Raspberry Jam, No. 2=
Mash the berries, and use two-thirds as much currant juice as you have berries. Measure, and add the same amount of sugar. Cook all together until it jells. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine.
=To Keep Rhubarb Through the Winter=
Fill preserve jars with cold water. Cut the rhubarb into small pieces, as you would for a pie, and drop them into the jars. As they fill, the water will overflow. When full, screw the tops on the jars and set away. The water excludes the air, and the fruit, treated in this way, will keep for months. When required for use drain off the water and cook in the usual way.
=Rhubarb Marmalade=
5 Pounds of Rhubarb 5 Pounds of Sugar 5 Lemons, Juice and Rind 1 Pound of Chopped Walnuts 2 Teaspoonfuls of Extract of Jamaica Ginger
Cook all the ingredients, excepting the nuts and ginger, together three or four hours. Ten minutes before removing from the fire, add the ginger and nuts. Seal in glass jars, or put into tumblers. If tumblers are used, cover over the tops with a coating of paraffine.
=Rhubarb Jam=
6 Stalks of Rhubarb 3 Oranges 1 Lemon 4 Cupfuls of Sugar
Cook the rhubarb and rind and juice of the lemon and oranges together for twenty-five minutes. Put into tumblers and cover with paraffine.
=Spiced Fruit=
6 Pounds of Fruit 4 Pounds of Sugar 1 Pint of Vinegar
For all kinds of spiced fruit use the above measurements, adding one tablespoonful each of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, and cook until tender. Seal in glass jars.
=Bread Pudding=
1 Pint of Stale Bread 1 Quart of Milk 1 Cupful of Sugar 1 Egg 1/2 Cupful of Raisins 1 Teaspoonful of Cinnamon 1/2 Teaspoonful of Salt
Pour hot water over the stale bread and let soak until soft. Then add other ingredients and bake for three hours in a moderate oven. If eaten cold, serve with hot sauce. If eaten hot, serve with cold sauce.
=Steamed Chocolate Pudding=
Butter size of a Walnut 1/2 Cupful of Sugar 1/2 Cupful of Milk 1 Cupful of Flour 1 Teaspoonful of Baking-powder 1 Square of Chocolate, or Two Dessertspoonfuls of Cocoa 1 Egg Salt to Taste
Cream together the butter and sugar, then add egg and milk; then the cocoa, flour, salt, and flavoring. Steam for an hour and a half, and serve hot with sauce.
=Graham Pudding=
1 1/2 Cupfuls of Graham Flour 1/2 Cupful of Molasses 1/2 Cupful of Milk 1/4 Cupful of Butter 1 Egg 1 Teaspoon of Soda 1/2 Cupful of Raisins and Currants, mixed Salt and Spice to taste
Stir the soda into the molasses, then add the beaten egg and milk, salt and spice, and melted butter. Add the flour and, last of all, currants and raisins, which have been sprinkled with flour. Steam two hours in a tin pail set in a kettle of water and serve hot with sauce.
=Hasty Pudding=
Into a dish of boiling water (a double boiler is best) stir Indian meal, very slowly. Let it cook for an hour. The water should be salted a little. Turn this into a bowl. The next day, or when perfectly cold, cut into slices and fry in pork fat or hot lard. This is served with molasses.
=Baked Indian Pudding=
2 Quarts of Milk 1 Cupful of Yellow Cornmeal 1 Cupful of Molasses 1 Teaspoonful of Salt
Put one quart of the milk into an earthen puddingpot, and the other quart of the milk into an agate dish, on the stove, to scald. Stir the meal into the hot milk slowly, one handful at a time, until it thickens. Remove from the stove and add molasses, pouring the mixture into the cold milk. Bake six hours in a slow oven; serve warm with cream. If properly cooked; it will be red and full of whey.
=Orange Pudding=
4 Oranges 3 Cupfuls of Milk 1 Cupful of Sugar 3 Eggs 2 Tablespoonfuls of Cornstarch Pinch of Salt
Remove peel and seeds from the fruit and cut fine. Sprinkle over the oranges half the sugar. Let stand for a few hours. Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the rest of the sugar, cornstarch and salt, and stir into the boiling milk. Pour this, when cooled, over the oranges and sugar. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Spread this over the top and brown in the oven. To be eaten cold.
=Plum Pudding=
Take ten or twelve Boston crackers, split them open and soak over night in milk. Use a large pudding dish that will hold three or four quarts. Put in a layer of crackers, a handful of raisins, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and a little butter on the crackers; repeat this three times. Have a layer of crackers on the top. Make a custard of three or four eggs, five is better, one cupful of sugar, a little salt, and milk enough to fill the dish within two inches of the top. Bake in a slow oven four or five hours. Let stand until cold, and it will slip out whole. Serve with hot sauce.
=Queen's Pudding=
1 Pint of Bread 1 Quart of Milk 3 Eggs 1 Cupful of Sugar 1 Teaspoonful of Butter 1 Lemon
Soak one pint of bread in a quart of milk till soft. Beat together the yolks of the eggs, sugar, butter, and the juice and rind of half a lemon. Stir all together and bake until it rises, about an hour and a half. When nearly cold, spread the top with jelly, and then the white of the eggs, beaten stiff. Brown in the oven. To be eaten cold.
=Poor Man's Rice Pudding=
1 Quart of Milk 1 Small Cupful of Sugar 1/2 Cupful of Washed Rice (scant) 1 Piece of Butter, size of a Hickory Nut 1/2 Teaspoonful of Salt 1 Teaspoonful of Vanilla
Bake slowly for three hours; the success lies in the baking. If baked right it will be creamy on top.
=Suet Pudding=
1 Cupful of Molasses 1 Cupful of Milk 1 Cupful of Chopped Suet 1 Cupful of Raisins 3 Cupfuls of Flour 1 Teaspoonful of Nutmeg 1 Teaspoonful of Soda 1 Teaspoonful of Salt 1 Teaspoonful of Clove 1 Teaspoonful of Cinnamon
Beat the soda into the molasses, add milk, salt and spices. Cover the raisins and suet with some of the flour, stir all together. Steam three hours in a tin pail, set in a kettle of boiling water. Serve hot with cold sauce, made of one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of butter, creamed together. Grate a little nutmeg over the top.
=Tapioca Cream=
1 Quart of Milk 5 Tablespoonfuls of Tapioca 3 Eggs 1 Teaspoonful of Corn-starch 2/3 Cupful of Sugar Pinch of Salt
Soak the tapioca in a little warm water for an hour. Put the milk on the stove in a sauce pan. Add the sugar and salt to the beaten yolks of the eggs. When the milk is scalded put in the soaked tapioca and when boiling, stir in the eggs. Cook a few minutes and remove from fire. Stir in the beaten whites and flavor. To be eaten cold.
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