Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/81

 PRESERVES, JAMS, CONFECTIONERY.

ERY many people who have gardens of fruit might preserve them for future use with a small amount of trouble, or if not too much blessed with this world’s goods, they could sell their canned fruit if it was put up attractively. I give the directions for those who would like to try. The best bottles to use are Mason’s preserving jars with the rubber bands, or those with the screw ring that fits over the glass stopper. I have used the ordinary fruit tins (2 lbs.), but the soldering is a great trouble, and if you can afford the others they will be more satisfactory.

To Bottle or Can Fruit—No 1.—Take only fruit that is fresh and perfectly ripe, but not too soft. Fill the bottles or jars quite full and stand them in a boiler with straw or dry grass between them to prevent cracking or breaking, put over a slow fire and pour in cold water up to the shoulders of the bottles. Let it heat gradually, and as the fruit falls or sinks together, keep filling in more. Meanwhile make a syrup of white sugar. The quantity of sugar depends upon the fruit. For pears, 8 ozs. to the lb.; for quince, 10 ozs. to shethe [sic] lb.; for peaches, 4 ozs. to the lb.; for plums, 8 ozs. to the lb.; for grapes, 8 ozs. to the lb.; for gooseberries, 8 ozs. to the lb.; for pineapples, 6 ozs. to the lb. When the fruit is about half done, pour the syrup over it hot, and let it go on boiling till quite done, but not to fall to pieces. When the jar or bottle is full take a long skewer or pickle fork and run it down the fruit to let the air bubbles escape. Screw on the tops as securely as possible, and let them stand until cold, then store away. As a rule the length of time to boil varies with the different fruit. Pears, thirty minutes; quinces, fifteen minutes; peaches, fifteen minutes: plums, ten minutes; grapes, ten minutes; gooseberries, eight minutes; pineapples, thirteen minutes. It is a good plan to put white paper on the top, or a few spoonsful of mutton fat to exclude all air. In canning, when the tops have been soldered on, a tiny hole should be left to allow all the air to escape, then put the tins in boiling water, and while the steam is coming out just drop a little bit of solder on to the hole and stop it up.

To Bottle or Can Fruit—No 2.—Make a syrup of white sugar as directed in last recipe. When boiling in preserving jars drop in the fruit, taking great care that it does not break in the cooking or bottling. Boil until tender, according to time already given; have your jars and their lids hot; keep your pan on the fire while bottling, that the fruit may all be put boiling into the jars. When one jar is full to overflowing, very quickly dry the neck, put on the rubber ring, and screw on the top, not too tightly at first; in two or three minutes tighten the screw, and as the bottle cools you will find it will screw tighter still. Go on to the second bottle and so on, but screw up each one as it is filled. If properly done this recipe never fails. Boil the syrup well, as it keeps it from fermenting.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. of sugar to one pint of fruit, two eggs.

Mode: Put the sugar into the preserving pan, pour the water over it, and let it stand till quite dissolved, stirring now and then. When the sugar has melted, place the pan over the fire and let it come to the boil slowly, and then boil fast for half-an-hour. Beat up the whites and shells of two eggs, and while the syrup is boiling throw in the egg and water, give it one stir round, and let it boil