Soyer's standard cookery

Wipe, quarter, core and pare quinces. Follow directions for preserving. Quinces may be cooked with an equal weight of sweet apples wiped, quartered, cored and pared; in this case use no extra sugar for apples. Preserved Cherries. Use large white or red cherries. Wash, remove stems, then follow directions for preserving. Preserved Huckleberries. Pick over and wash berries, then put in a preserving kettle with a small quantity of water to prevent berries from burning. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, and put in jars. No sugar is required, but a sprinkling of salt is an agreeable addition. Preserved Rhubarb. Pare rhubarb and cut in one inch pieces. Pack in a jar, put under cold water tap, and let water run twenty minutes, then screw on cover. Rhubarb preserved in this way has often been known to keep a year. Preserved Tomatoes. Wipe tomatoes, cover with boiling water, and let stand until skins may be easily removed. Cut in pieces and cook until thoroughly scalded; skim often during cooking. Fill jars, following directions given. Damson Preserves. Wipe damsons with a piece of cheese-cloth wrung out of cold water, and prick each fruit five or six times, using a large needle; then weigh. Make a syrup by boiling three- fourths their weight in sugar with water, allowing one cup to each pound of sugar. As soon as syrup reaches boiling-point, skim, and add plums, a few at a time, that fruit may better keep in shape during cooking. Cook until soft. It is well to use two kettles, that work may be more quickly done, and syrup need not cook too long a time. Put into glass or stone jars. Strawberry Preserves. Pick over, wash, drain, and dry strawberries; then weigh. Fill glass jars with berries. Make a syrup the same as for damson preserve, cooking the syrup fifteen minutes. Add syrup so as to overflow jars; let stand fifteen minutes, when fruit will have shrunk, and more fruit must be added to fill jars. Screw on covers, put on a trivet in a kettle of cold water, heat water to boiling-point, and keep just below boilingpoint one hour. Raspberries may be preserved in the same way. Raspberry and Currant Preserve. Six pounds currants, six pounds sugar, eight quarts raspberries. Pick over, wash, and drain currants. Put into a preserving kettle, adding a few at a time, and mash. Cook one hour, strain through double thickness of cheese-cloth. Return to kettle, add sugar, heat to boiling-point, and cook slowly twenty minutes. Add one quart raspberries when syrup again reaches boiling-point, skim out raspberries, put in jar, and repeat until raspberries are used. Fill jars to overflowing with syrup, and screw on tops. Brandied Peaches. One peck peaches, half their weight in sugar, one quart highproof alcohol or brandy. Remove skins from peaches, and put alternate layers of peaches and sugar in a stone jar; then add alcohol. Cover closely, having a heavy piece of cloth under cover of jar. Tutti Frutti. Put one pint brandy into a stone jar, add the various fruits as they come into market; to each quart of fruit add the same quantity of sugar, and stir the mixture each morning until all the fruit has been added. Raspberries, strawberries, apricots, peaches, cherries, and pineapples are the best to use. Preserved Red Peppers.