Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

gently until they are transparent; take them from the sirup with a skimmer, and lay them on sieves ; boil the sirup until it jellies, removing all scum as it rises ; put the peaches into glass jars, pour the hot sirup over them, and let them cool ; then close them air-tight, as directed in the preceding recipe. PEACH MARMALADE. Brush the fur from sound, ripe peaches, cut them in halves, remove the stones, and crack half of them ; pour boiling water over the cracked kernels, rub off the skins, and cut them in strips lengthwise. Weigh the peaches, and put them into a preserving-kettle with three-fourths of their weight of sugar ; set the kettle over the fire where its contents will heat gradually ; stir the marmalade with a wooden spoon constantly after it begins to boil, and let it boil for half an hour ; at the end of twenty-five minutes add the kernels ; put the marmalade into earthen jars, and when it is thoroughly cold lay a round of paper dipped in brandy in each jar, and seal them air-tight. BRANDY PEACHES. Peel sound Morris White peaches as directed in the recipe for preserved peaches, putting them into hot water while the following sirup is made : For each pound of peaches allow a pound of sugar and half a pint of water; boil them together, removing all scum as it rises, and when the sirup is clear, cool it, and mix it with an equal quantity of the best French brandy ; also boil together a pound of sugar and two quarts of water, and when it has been skimmed clear, put in a few peaches at a time, and boil them until they are tender enough to yield under slight pressure ; then take them up, and put them into jars ; cover them with the brandied sirup, and close the jars air-tight. APRICOT MARMALADE. Prepare the marmalade as directed in the preceding recipes for marmalade, boiling the fruit only twenty minutes ; and then put up the marmalade as directed above. APRICOT PRESERVES AND JELLY. Jelly and preserves can be made from apricots by following the directions given in the peach recipes. CHERRY PRESERVES. The Morello cherry, and the large red variety ordinarily used for pies, make the best preserves. Choose fine, sound fruit, as large as possible, reserving the smaller fruit for marmalade. Stem the cherries, and stone the fruit without bruising it ; this is not difficult if a quill is squarely cut off, and pushed evenly through the cherries from the stem end, thus punching out the stones. All the juice from the fruit should be saved. After the fruit is stoned, weigh it, and allow an equal quantity of sugar ; sprinkle the sugar among the cherries, and let them stand for several hours, or over night, so that the sugar may slightly harden the fruit ; then put the fruit, sugar, and juice into a preserving-kettle, place it over the fire, gradually heat them together, and then boil them gently until the cherries look clear, removing all scum as it rises. After the fruit is clear, take the preserving-kettle from the fire, cover it, and let the preserves cool ; when quite cool, put the cherries into glass jars, lay a piece of brandied paper on the top of each jar, and then close them air-tight, and keep them in a cool, dark closet. The sweeter varieties of cherries should be reserved for pies and puddings. CHERRY MARMALADE.