Fruit for preserving should be fine in quality, sound, fresh, dry, and free from dust. It should be prepared with as little handling as possible, and care should be taken not to bruise it. The sugar used for it should be of superfine quality, and should be in lumps, not powder. There is no economy in using common sugar for jams. The difference in price between it and refined sugar is quite made up for by the larger amount of scum thrown up by the inferior sugar. The different kinds of fruit may be boiled alone or in suitable combina¬ tions. The following mixtures are to be recommended : — Strawberries and Raspberries, Strawberries and Red or White Currants, Raspberries and Reel Currants, Raspberries and Rhubarb, Raspberries and Goose¬ berries, Raspberries and Cherries, and Blackberries and Apples are also very good boiled together. In each instance double the quantity of raspberries is taken to that of the accompanying fruit. A YEAR'S COOKERY 241 The method of making ordinary jam with these fruits is very much the same for each. The fruit should first be weighed, then boiled alone till it bubbles equally all over. It should be well skimmed, though not too early, as that would cause waste. The sugar should then be added, and the jam boiled till a little put upon a plate will set. Both the colour and the flavour of the fruit will be better preserved if the fruit is boiled first. When an open range is used, the preserving-pan should on no account be placed flat upon the fire, as that would be sure to make the jam burn. The fruit also should be well stirred from the sides and bottom of the pan ; especially should this be done after the sugar is added. When two kinds of fruit are used together, such as rhubarb and raspberries, the harder kind (in the instance named, the rhubarb) should be boiled longer than the kind which falls easily. As to the proportionate weight of sugar to be used, that must vary with the nature of the fruit. Acid fruit, such as rhubarb and green gooseberries, requires one pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, currants, and cherries, and most plums, need three-quarters of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit; indeed, cherries, raspberries, and black currants, when no water is used, are often boiled with half their weight in sugar. Damsons, too, are an acid fruit, and they are boiled with equal weights of fruit and sugar ; but with them it is best to allow a tablespoonful of water to each pound of fruit. If too large a proportion of sugar is used the jam will set more quickly, and will not need to boil away so much, but the delicate flavour of the fruit will be lost, and the jam will be likely to candy on the surface with keeping. When jam is sufficiently boiled it should be turned into perfectly sound jars or glasses (the latter are the best, because in them any deterioration in the quality of the jam can be at once perceived). A little tissue-paper dipped in spirit of wine should then be laid on the fruit, and the glass should either be tied down securely or be covered with gummed paper, or else with paper dipped in white of egg ; and the jam should be stored in a cool, dry, airy place.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Fruit for preserving should be fine in quality, sound, fresh, dry, and free from dust. It should be prepared with as little handling as possible, and care should be taken not to bruise it. The sugar used for it should be of superfine quality, and should be in lumps, not powder. There is no economy in using common sugar for jams. The difference in price between it and refined sugar is quite made up for by the larger amount of scum thrown up by the inferior sugar. The different kinds of fruit may be boiled alone or in suitable combina¬ tions. The following mixtures are to be recommended : — Strawberries and Raspberries, Strawberries and Red or White Currants, Raspberries and Red Currants, Raspberries and Rhubarb, Raspberries and Goose¬ berries, Raspberries and Cherries, and Blackberries and Apples are also very good boiled together. In each instance double the quantity of raspberries is taken to that of the accompanying fruit. The method of making ordinary jam with these fruits is very much the same for each. The fruit should first be weighed, then boiled alone till it bubbles equally all over. It should be well skimmed, though not too early, as that would cause waste. The sugar should then be added, and the jam boiled till a little put upon a plate will set. Both the colour and the flavour of the fruit will be better preserved if the fruit is boiled first. When an open range is used, the preserving-pan should on no account be placed flat upon the fire, as that would be sure to make the jam burn. The fruit also should be well stirred from the sides and bottom of the pan ; especially should this be done after the sugar is added. When two kinds of fruit are used together, such as rhubarb and raspberries, the harder kind (in the instance named, the rhubarb) should be boiled longer than the kind which falls easily. As to the proportionate weight of sugar to be used, that must vary with the nature of the fruit. Acid fruit, such as rhubarb and green gooseberries, requires one pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, currants, and cherries, and most plums, need three-quarters of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit; indeed, cherries, raspberries, and black currants, when no water is used, are often boiled with half their weight in sugar. Damsons, too, are an acid fruit, and they are boiled with equal weights of fruit and sugar ; but with them it is best to allow a tablespoonful of water to each pound of fruit. If too large a proportion of sugar is used the jam will set more quickly, and will not need to boil away so much, but the delicate flavour of the fruit will be lost, and the jam will be likely to candy on the surface with keeping. When jam is sufficiently boiled it should be turned into perfectly sound jars or glasses (the latter are the best, because in them any deterioration in the quality of the jam can be at once perceived). A little tissue-paper dipped in spirit of wine should then be laid on the fruit, and the glass should either be tied down securely or be covered with gummed paper, or else with paper dipped in white of egg ; and the jam should be stored in a cool, dry, airy place.

A year's cookery