Cookery for every household

Take as many apricots as desired, wipe them, peel them, and cut them in halves, removing the stones. Then cut them in small pieces and weigh them. Put the prepared apricots into a preserving pan, and add to them an equal weight of sugar and about J pint of water to each 4 lbs. fruit. Boil all together, stirring almost constantly, until a little of the marmalade will set when tested on a plate. Then pour into pots, and cover. Note. — A few of the kernels may be blanched and added to the marmalade. 2118. Apricot Jam or Marmalade, 3 4 lbs. apricots. I 3 lbs. sugar. 1 gill water. I i pt. water. Wipe and stone the apricots, but do not peel them. Put them into a preserving pan with the above proportion of water, and cook them until reduced to a soft pulp. Then rub them through a sieve. Put the sugar and its proper proportion of water into a preserving pan and boil them together to the “ hard ball ” (see p. 597), skimming when necessary. When ready, add the apricot pulp and boil again until the marmalade will set when tested on a plate. Pot and cover (see p. 466). Note. — A few of the kernels may be blanched and added. 2119. Apricot Jam from Dried Fruit 2 lbs. dried apricots. I 7 lbs. preserving sugar. 5 pts. cold water. | 4 lemons. Wash the apricots, put them into a large basin, cover them with the water, and let them soak for 3 days. Then put water and fruit into a preserving pan with the sugar, and add the thinly peeled rind of the lemons finely chopped, and the strained juice. Bring carefully to the boil, and then boil from 20 to 30 minutes or until the jam will set. Skim if necessary, pot and cover. 2123. Black-currant Jelly To 1 pint of black-currant juice allow 1 lb. of sugar. Pick the currants from the stalks and wash them if necessary. Put them into a double saucepan, or into a jar placed in a saucepan of boiling water, with 1 gill of water or rhubarb juice (see p. 472) to each pound of fruit, and cook for 2 hours at least, or until all the juice is drawn out. Then strain them through a jelly cloth or large sieve, allowing them to drip all night. Next day measure the juice and put it into a preserving pan with the above proportion of sugar. Stir carefully until the sugar is dissolved, and then boil for | hour, or until the jelly will set. Notes. — A few red currants may be mixed with the black. Red-currant or cranberry jelly can be made in the same way. 2120. Blackberry and Apple Marmalade Equal quantities of apples and blackberries and 1 lb. of sugar to 1 lb. pulp. Wash the apples, and cut them in slices without removing skins and cores. Pick the blackberries carefully, discarding any that are unsound. Put both kinds of fruit into a preserving pan with just enough water to keep them from burning. Cook until reduced to a pulp, stirring frequently. Then rub through a hair sieve, leaving only the skins and seeds. Return the sieved pulp to a clean preserving pan with sugar in the above proportion, and stir almost constantly for 20 minutes or until it is firm. If this is put in small pots it can be turned out in shape when wanted, and is very good served with blancmange or with cream. 2121. Blackberry or Bramble Jelly Blackberries. Preserving sugar.