(3686). Stewed Apples With Jelly (Compote De Pommes A La Gelee)

Peel some fine medium-sized apples; suppress the cores with a tin tube, rub the surfaces with half a lemon and cook in a twelve-degree acidulated syrup, being careful to keep them whole. As soon as done drain and range in a tureen, cover with fresh syrup at thirty-two degrees, leaving to cool in this; keep the syrup they were cooked in for further use. Drain the apples from their syrup and dress on a compote dish; filter the syrup kept aside, add a little sugar to it and cook it to the consistency of a jelly (see apple jelly, No. 3668); leave this stand for one moment on the corner of the range, then pour it over the apples; serve when cold.

(3687). Stewed Bananas (Compote De Bananes)

Skin some sound bananas; suppress the coarse threads and throw them immediately into boiling water; drain at once, then transfer them to a hot twenty-eight degree syrup; leave to cool in this. Drain once more, range them pyramidically in a compote dish and cover with their own syrup; they are now ready.

(3688). Stewed Cherries (Compote De Cerises)

Cut the stalks halfway up from a pound of fine, large, sour cherries. Boil a light syrup in a sugar pan, just having sufficient to cover the fruit, then throw in the cherries; toss them for two minutes, boiling the liquid up once only, then pour the whole into a bowl to leave till cold. Lay both syrup and fruits on a sieve placed on top of the sugar pan and take away some of the fallen syrup, pouring sufficient sugar into the remainder that when boiled again it forms a thick syrup; as this becomes almost cold add the cherries to it, take from the fire and half an hour later dress the stewed fruit.

(3689). Stewed Chestnuts (Compote De Marrons)

Suppress the shells from two pounds of fresh chestnuts without breaking the meats; soak them for seven or eight hours in cold water with a little citric acid added. Drain and place in a recently tinned saucepan with plenty of water, having a bag containing bran. At the first boil remove the pan to the side of the fire so that the liquid only quivers for two hours, being careful to replace at times a part of the black water by a little clean boiling water, so as to keep the chestnuts as white as possible. When tender but. yet whole, drain off a few at a time to peel without get-ting cold, then put them at once into another saucepan with tepid syrup cooked to twelve degrees and half a stick of split vanilla; use only the whole chestnuts. Cover the saucepan and keep it on one side of the range to have the liquid hot without boiling, and two hours after drain off half the syrup, replacing it by a stronger hot one of thirty degrees; keep the chestnuts in this for one hour on the side of the tire.

Drain them again delicately one by one to dress on a compote dish: strain the syrup, reduce it to twenty-eight degrees, and when cold pour it over the chestnuts.