The new practical housekeeping

Or, peel and cut a pine-apple into uniform slices, put in a glass dish and cover with a cup powdered sugar. Let stand to form a syrup, and just before serving add a half cup orange juice. To Keep. — Pare and cut out the eyes of a ripe pine-apple, strip all the pulp from the core with a silver fork ; to a pint of this add a pound of granulated sugar ; stir occasionally until sugar, is dissolved, put in glass fruit-cans, and turn down the covers as closely as possible. 'uiis will keep a long time. Plums. — The California and Oregon varieties may be had through August and September, as also the domestic sweet plums. The Blue Damsons, a sour variety, come later, and are highly prized, many considering them superior to the sweet plums. The Green Gages and Imperial Gages are excellent for canning and preserving. To serve, they may be simply heaped carelessly on a border of green. Baked Quinces. — Core the quinces and rub them well, put in baking-pan, and core cavity with powdered sugar. Bake till tender and serve with sugar and cream. ^ Or, pare, quarter, extract the seeds and stew in clear cold water until a straw will pierce them; put into a baking-dish with a half cup sugar to every eight quinces, pour over the liquor in which they were boiled, cover closely and steam in oven one hour. Pour the syrup over them and serve. For a Quince Compote, cook as above, then take out the fruit, lay in covered bowl to keep warm, return syrup to saucepan and boil twenty minutes ; pour over fruit and set away covered to cool. Serve cold. Fruits. Strawberries. — If to be plainly served select large fine fruit with the stem on, clip the stems within an inch of the berry, and arrange in basket as in cut, bordering with leaves, and rounding the center by heaping up more leaves. Arrange the strawberries carefully, standing them on their stems, and pass with a tiny cup (wine-glasses, egg-glasses [illustration: Strawberries]. or even butter-plates will do) of powdered sugar to each guest. The berries are taken by the stem, dipped into the sugar and eaten. Never wash berries unless absolutely necessary. But if they must be washed, take a dish of cold, soft water, put in a few berries, and with the hand press them down into the water once or twice, until they look clean, then hull them. Repeat the process till all are hulled, changing the water often. Never drain in a colander. Some wash them by putting them under the pump in an open basket, and give them one good showering that passes through the berries and carries off all grit and dirt. If not to be eaten for an hour or more, hang the basket in the refrigerator, and do not hull them until the last moment, though many prefer to stem them and sprinkle thickly with sugar two or three hours before serving, while others put no sugar over them until dished at table.