1638. To Keep Fruit Fresh in Jars

1638.    To Keep Fruit Fresh in Jars. Use only self-sealing glass jars. Put into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, enough to fill 2 quart jars; sprinkle on sugar, 1/4 pound; place over a slow fire and heat through, not boiled. While the fruit is being heated, keep the jars filled with moderately hot water. As soon as the fruit is ready, empty the water from the jars, fill to the brim with fruit, and seal immediately. As it cools a vacuum is formed, which prevents bursting. In this way every kind of fruit will retain its flavor. Sometimes a thick leathery mould forms on the top - if so, all the better. The plan of keeping the jars full of hot water is merely to prevent the danger of cracking when the hot fruit is inserted. Some prefer to set the bottles full of cool water in a boiler of water and heating all together gradually; but the other way is much simpler and equally effective.

1639. To Can Peaches by the Cold Process

1639.    To Can Peaches by the Cold Process. Pare and halve the peaches. Pack them as closely as possible in a can without any sugar. When the can is full, pour in sufficient pure cold water to fill all the interstices between the peaches, and reach the brim of the can. Let it stand long enough for the water to soak into all the crevices -say six hours - then pour in water to replace what has sunk away. Seal up the can, and all is done. Canned in this way, peaches retain all their freshness and flavor. There will not be enough water in them to render them insipid. If preferred, a cold syrup could be used instead of pure water, but the peaches taste most natural without any sweetening.

1640. To Dry Apples, Pears and other Fruits

1640.    To Dry Apples, Pears and other Fruits. Have a frame made in the following manner:- Two strips of board 7 feet long, 2 or 21/2 inches wide - two strips 3 feet long, 11/2 inches wide, the whole 3/4 of an inch thick; nail the long strips across the ends of the short ones, and it makes a frame 7 by 3 feet, which is a convenient size for all purposes. On one of the long strips, nails are driven 3 inches apart, extending from one end to the other. After the apples are pared, they are quartered and cored, and with a needle and twine, or stout thread, strung into lengths long enough to reach twice across the frame; the ends of the twine are then tied together, and the strings hung on the nails across the frame. The apples will soon dry so that the strings can be doubled on the nails, and fresh ones put on, or the whole of them removed and others put in their place. As fast as the apples become sufficiently dry they can be taken from the strings, and the same strings used to dry more on. If large apples are used to dry, they can be cut in smaller pieces. Pears and quinces, and other fruits that can be strung, may be dried in this way. In pleasant weather the frames can be set out of doors against the side of the building, or any other support, and at night, or on cloudy and stormy days, they can be brought into the house, and set against the side of the room near the stove or fire-place. .