The Rural cook book

Elderberries. — These may be combined with gooseberries, crab apples and green grapes, equal parts of either, making a piquant table sauce, while pies made from them might please the individual who does not care for the flavor of the single fruit. For Winter use elderberries may be preserved in cither of the "above combinations and treated as other fruit, or canned plain without sugar for use in pies only. When making pies from the plain canned fruit it is wise to cook the berries with the same proportion of sugar, flour, etc., as given for fresh berries, filling the pie paste when cold. This insures a jelly-like consistency of the finished product without those unpalatable doughy lumps too often seen. As they may be spiced and used as a table sauce or in pies, using the same proportion. Pickled Elderberries for Pies.— Seven pounds elderberries, stemmed, four pounds sugar, one pint vinegar, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one tablespoon cloves. Boil until the juice is rather thick. They will keep in an open jar. Preserved Elderberries. — Seven pounds of elderberries, three pounds of granulated sugar, three lemons sliced thin; put the elderberries alone in a stone jar in warm salt and. water over night Next morning drain them In a colander, make syrup of the sugar and lemons and one pint of water, then put elderberries in the syrup and cook. When they begin to boil hard time them 20 minutes, then pour in a jar or can ready for use. Preserved Elderberries No. 2.— Shell berries. To an eight-quart panful use a heaping tablespoon of salt, pour on hot water and let stand half an hour; drain well. To seven pounds of berries thus prepared, use three pounds of sugar and one pint of vinegar; boil well. If one wish to keep in jars without sealing they should be boiled down thoroughly. For pies add a little sugar and flour enough slightly to thicken the juice. Spiced Elderberries. — Nine pounds cleaned elderberries, three pounds brown sugar, one pint vinegar and one ounce each of cloves, cinnamon and allspice. Put sugar and vinegar in a two-gallon granite kettle over a slow fire and let come to a boil. Add berries and let simmer two and a half hours. Tie spices in little muslin bags and add when nearly done. Seal in air-tight cans. Preserved Figs. — Take fresh, ripe figs, cut off half the stem of each and let soak all night in very weak brine, using two tablespoonfuls of salt to each quart of water. In the morning drain and cover with fresh water. Make a thick syrup, allowing three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit, and one-half cupful of water to each pound of sugar. Simmer for a few minutes until th'e syrup is dear, then drain and lay in it the freshened figs and simmer slowly until they look clear. Into each jar drop a half-inch piece of green ginger and the kernels of half a dozen peach stones, fill with fruit and syrup and seal. They should not be used for at least three months. Garfield Butter. — Use two-thirds plums and one-third peaches. Stone the plums and pare and stone the peaches. Mash and heat slowly to boiling, boil until soft, then rub through a sieve. Measure the pulp thus obtained and to one measure of fruit add three-quarters of a measure of sugar. Boil until thick, stirring continually, then put into jars and seal. Canned Grapes. — After picking ripe grapes from the stem, wash them. Remove the skins, keeping them and the pulps separate. Cook the pulps until the seeds begin to separate. Run through a colander or coarse sieve to remove the seeds. Add the skins to the pulp, cooking till tender. Allow one-half pound of sugar to each pound of fruit.