Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Peaches, Canned. — Half a pound of sugar to 1 lb. of peaches. Put the sugar on the fire with a little water, let it boil until the syrup is clear. Pack the jars tightly with the peaches, fill them up with the syrup. Then put the jars in a large boiler of water, standing them on slabs of wood and not letting the jars touch each other. The water should come up to within three inches of the top. Cover the boiler and boil the fruit until tender. Let the water get cold, then take out the jars, fill up with boiling water, and seal. Peaches, Preserved. — Choose large, white peaches, and peel but do not cut them. Make a syrup, and cook them till nearly done, trying with a straw. Put them in cans and pour the hot syrup over them. Or, if you prefer the yellow peach, peel and cut in halves; and add a few peach kernels to each can for the flavor. Another way : — Remove the skins from the peaches by putting them, a few at a time, in a wire basket and dipping them into a kettle of boiling water; you can then peel them like boiled potatoes. Weigh them, and allow 1 lb. of sugar to I lb. of fruit. Make a syrup of the sugar in the proportion of a pint of cold water to 3 lbs. of sugar. Skim it, and let it clarify. Pears, Canned. — Put the peaches, a few at a time, into the syrup, and cook them until soft. This you can tell by trying them with a straw ; when you can feel the stone they are done. Put them in jars, and pour the hot syrup over them. Clingstones should always be used for preserving. Pears, Canned. — To obtain the bartletts in perfection, they should be placed between flannel to ripen, and when not quite mellow enough for eating they are ready for canning. To every quart jar allow seven medium-sized pears, a scant pint of water, and % lb. of sugar. Cut the fruit in two, core, pare, and throw the pieces into cold water to prevent discoloration. Put the sugar and water in a porcelain kettle, over the fire ; when scum arises, remove it, and as soon as the syrup boils hard add the fruit; boil all three minutes or more. If the jars are of glass, wet a cloth in cold water, fold several times, and put under to prevent breakage. Lay in a few pieces of fruit, then some juice, until the jar is full; run a spoon -handle down the side to allow all the air bubbles to escape, and seal tightly while all is hot. Keep in a cool, dark place. Seckel pears are canned in the same way, only their flavor is best when picked fresh from the tree and not ripened in the house. If the bartletts are hard, and cannot be ripened in flannel, boil them a few minutes. Pear Marmalade is best made of the large yellow pears, which should be very ripe. Peel and core 10 lbs. of pears, put in a porcelain kettle with a pint of water, let cook very slowly until reduced to a pulp, add % lb. of sugar to I lb. of fruit, and stir over the fire until thick and smooth. Take up in a bowl, let cool, put in small glasses or jars, seal, and set in a cool, dry place. Pear Preserves, Rich. — Peel the pears, cut them in halves, and remove the core. Weigh them, and allow