The century cook book

juicy the fruit is, the less water will be required. Boil the fruit until cooked through, but not long enough to become mussy; have your can full of hot water, and when ready to fill with fruit, pour out the water and set it in a basin partly filled with hot water, put in the fruit with a fruit tunnel, and when filled wipe off the can with a damp cloth, put on the rubber and top hot and screw down; tip the can bottom side up and if no juice escapes it is airtight, but if there is a flow of juice press down the lower edge of the cover with an iron spoon handle; if this is not effectual add another rubber, or change the cover. In canning strawberries plunge them in the hot syrup and boil briskly at least thirty or forty minutes; this will prevent them from losing their shape and color after they are canned. Pears should be put in cold water as soon as peeled, to prevent discoloration. Fruit Jellies. Boil the fruit with as little water as possible, and squeeze in a jelly bag. Allow a pound of sugar to a pint of juice, and boil until it jellies, which is usually in fifteen or twenty minutes. Pour in cans or glasses, and leave uncovered until cold. If the jelly fails to thicken as much as is desirable when cold, set the glasses in the sun for two or three days, leaving off the covers. Jams. Crush the fruit with a potato masher, and allow a pound of sugar to a pint of the crushed fruit. Bring to a boil slowly to prevent scorching, and boil until thick and clear. Put up in glass. Orange Marmalade. Take two dozen sour oranges, and take off the peel, cut in halves across the sections, take out the seeds, and weigh. Take as many pounds of sugar as you have pounds of fruit, and put in a preserving kettle with enough water to dissolve. Bring to a Pickles and Preserves boil slowly, to prevent scorching, and boil for ten or fifteen minutes. While the syrup is boiling, grate half a cupful of the yellow part of the orange peel, and when the syrup has boiled the requisite time, put in the orange and grated peel. Boil' fifteen minutes longer, and put in glass jars or cups. Syrup for Spiced Fruit. One pint of vinegar, three and one-half pounds of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, tied in a thin muslin bag and boiled in the syrup. Pears, peaches, cherries, plums, grapes, can all be spiced or pickled in this syrup; it always gives satisfaction. Allow about seven pounds of fruit to the above rule. Apple Marmalade. Take green fruit, sour, equal quantities of apples and sugar, cook the apples (a peck before they are cored) with a little water, and two lemons. When thoroughly cooked then sift, add sugar, boil fifteen minutes, and can. Much better than the ripe fruit, and it looks clearer. Common sour apples that are juicy, or crab apples, are the best for this. Canning'. The proportions of sugar fruit used in canning and preserving vary greatly. The amount of sugar given below is about an average for canning when a very rich preserve is not desired. These canned fruits are excellent for pies, etc. Sugar to a Quart Jar. Cherries, 6 ounces. Grapes, 6 to 8 ounces Strawberries, 6 to 8 " Peaches, 4 " Raspberries, 4 " Pineapples, 4 to 6 ' Blackberries, 5 to 6 " Crab apples, 6 to 8 " Quinces, 8 to 10 " Plums, 4 " Pears,