Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/84

 Soak a piece of thick string in kerosene. Tie it round the bottle where you want it to break off; then set light to it, and when the string has burnt out, and the bottle is still hot, pour cold water over it.

Night Shade or Blackberry.—Every one is acquainted with the little bushes covered with glossy blackberries that come up all over scrub land when it is first cleared. It is, I believe, correctly speaking, a nightshade, but certainly it is not deadly; on the contrary, it makes one of the nicest jams I know. Pick the berries when they are just ripe, throwing out all stalks. Ten ounces of sugar to the lb. is sufficient if the jam is not required to be kept long. The juice of one or two lemons to the lb. is an improvement, though not necessary. A little water may be added if required, but, as a rule, the berries are moist in themselves. Boil very slowly till thick.

Lilly Pilly.—What the children call Lilly Pilly is a bright red berry growing in the scrubs on a very tall, glossy-leafed tree. It also makes a good preserve. While rather acid to eat raw, they have a very pleasant sharpness when properyproperly [sic] preserved. They require a pound to a pound of sugar, or even more. Like native currants they make a good summer drink.

Wild Raspberry.—It is not generally known that these make a very nice preserve, insipid as they are in a raw state; they develop a good flavour when made into jam. Gather them when just ripe, pick off all stalks, and lay them in a preserving pan over night, with ten ounces of sugar to the pound, and just sufficient water to prevent burning. Boil slowly until they thicken, and become a good colour. Lime juice or a few lemons can be added, if liked, but they are very nice without any flavouring save their own.

The reason so much of the jam now-a-days does not keep is because it is boiled so fast. I have noticed that many cookery books tell you to boil quickly, that a better colour is the result. I deny this utterly. In our young days the jams were always a good colour, and very seldom required re-boiling after they had been put away, and only because they were boiled very slowly. One used to give up a whole day when jam making. I can remember putting on quince jam at eight o’clock in the morning, and it was not done until three or four. Peach and grape the same. But, now-a-days it it is usual to get the jam made, bottled, labelled, and put away before the midday meal, and, as a consequence, in about three months it all wants re-boiling, instead of being as good in a year as when first made. I am convinced that jam cannot be boiled too slowly. Jelly, of course, is different, it requiring only time enough to set or jell, as American housekeepers call it. Jelly is much harder to make, for that reason as the least over boiling and it will not set properly, becoming either a sticky glutinous mass, or else watery and only fit for syrup.

Citrons.—One of the nicest ways of preserving citrons is as jelly, and, without exception, citron jelly is the easiest of all to make, and I think it is least known. Soak the citrons in pretty strong salt and water first to get rid of some of the bitterness. Cut them in quarters, slice any way you like, and boil a couple or three hours till you think the liquor is strong enough. Then strain through a jelly bag several times. I would advise a new flannel bag, and the beauty of the preserve depends upon the clearness of the liquor before the sugar is added. If you want to have it particularly good to look at use loaf sugar, but there is no actual necessity, ordinary white sugar answering as well if care is taken. Add a pint of sugar to a