Temperance cook book

This method is not, I believe, generally used, but it merits, I think, attention. You will find this a nice Way of canning peaches, if the recipe is carefully followed, as the lye leaves no taste or smell, and does away with the labor of paring. Put a fire-shovel of wood ashes into a kettle, and make a strong lye; strain into another kettle, and have it boiling, on the stove; put a dozen or more peaches into the lye, have a pan in readiness, also a skimmer; let them remain in the lye about two minutes, take out and pour cold water over them immediately; the skins will then slip off easily, leaving the peach in its natural shape; put them in a jar as fast as they are done; make a strong syrup of white sugar, and pour over them, filling the jar to the brim; then put on the lid, but do not fasten down tightly, at first; set the jars in a boiler of cold water, placing small pieces of wood at the bottom to prevent them from cracking; let them come slowly to a boil, continue boiling until cooked, then fasten the covers tightly, and when the water is cool, take out and put in a dry, cool, dark place. CANNED GRAPES. Take a basket of grapes, press the pulp into a vessel, throw the skins into another, being careful to keep them separate. When you have pulped as many as you wish to preserve at one time, put the pulp on to boil, let them boil till just soft, and rub through a colander, in which the seeds will remain. Measure and replace in the kettle; measure the skins, and put them in the kettle with the pulp ; for every quart of fruit add one-half coffeecup of sugar, and cook until the skins are soft. Fill stone or glass jars with the jam, while boiling hot, and seal immediately. If a silver spoon is placed in a glass jar before pouring in the fruit, they will not break. CANNED STRAWBERRIES. Fill glass jars with fresh, whole strawberries, sprinkled with white sugar in the proportion of half pound of sugar to a pound of berries; lay the covers on lightly, stand them in a wash boiler, rilled with water to within an inch of the tops of the cans. (The water must not be more than milk warm when the cans are placed in it). When it has boiled fifteen minutes, draw to the back of the stove, let the steam pass off, roll the hand in a towel, lift out the cans, and place on a table. If the berries are well covered with their juice, take a tablespoon and fill up the first can to the very top of the rim from the second, wipe the neck, rub dry, and screw the top down firmly. CANNED PLUMS. Prick them with a needle to prevent bursting, prepare a syrup allowing a gill of pure water and half a coffeecup of white sugar to every three quarts of fruit. When the sugar is dissolved, and the water warm, put in the plums; heat slowly to a boil, and let them boil five minutes, not fast, or they will break badly; till up the jars with plums, pour in the scalding syrup, and seal quickly. CANNED BAKED PEARS. Select nice pears, wash them clean, wipe dry with a clean cloth, put them in a baking-pan and bake till done. Have ready a syrup made with one quart of water and one pint of white sugar, put in as many of the baked pears as you think the can will hold, let them boil up once, and can quickly. Pears are very fine put up in this way. CANNED BERRIES.