Virginia Cookery-book

Even while the fresh fruit may be had this preserve is in request. There are several ways of making it, but none, unfortunately, whereby the strawberry retains its lovely natural color. A mistake often made is to put off preserving strawberries till the end of the season, while those that ripen in the early part of it are always larger and finer. Gather them, if possible, fresh from the vines, cap them, weigh them, and put them into a bowl, with an equal weight of loaf-sugar distributed through the fruit in layers. After standing a few hours plenty of sirup will have formed ; the bowl may be emptied into a preserving-kettle, and in twenty minutes, boiling rapidly, the preserves will be sufficiently done to keep, and of a light garnet color. Use self-sealing cans, if you have them ; but if not, put the strawberries into glass tumblers ; lay brandy-papers close upon the top ; and while the glasses are still hot cut out circular papers an inch larger in diameter than the turn- biers they are meant to cover ; wet the edges well with white of egg, press and hold them down well with your hand until they stick fast, and you will have no trouble with fermentation. For a common preserve you can put eight quarts of capped strawberries into a bowl with six pounds of fair brown sugar, and let them set all night. Early in the morning put them on the fire to preserve, and let them cook together for an hour ; then take the fruit out with a ladle, and let the sirup cook fifteen minutes longer. Pour it over the strawberries, and put away in stone jars not holding over a quart. If you prefer jam only cook the same proportion of fruit and berries just given for a much longer time, until the bulk is reduced one -half and the desired stiffness has been obtained. Strawberry jam makes an excellent puff. To Make Jelly out op Strawberry Acid. Dissolve one ounce of isinglass in as small a quantity of water as possible ; strain a bottle of the acid (for which the recipe is given in the proper place) and warm it over a vessel of hot water ; add the isinglass to the warmed acid, stir and mix well together, and put the whole into a blanc-mange mould that has been dipped in cold water. If the weather be very warm allow one ounce and a half of isinglass or gelatine, which amounts to the same thing, to a pint-bottle of the acid. Raspberry, blackberry, or currant acid may be stiffened in the same way; so that jelly can be made at any season of the year, if you have them among your stores, as is to be recommended. Green Tomato Preserve Take one peck of green tomatoes, peel, after scalding them in hot water, and cut them up into thin slices ; slice 346 Virginia Cookery-Book. also six fine lemons, without removing the skins, but carefully extracting every seed. To this quantity of tomato put six pounds of fair brown sugar and one tablespoonful of white ginger ground fine. Taking care to skim off all the froth that rises to the surface, boil until the preserve seems thoroughly cooked. The time required will be about two hours. One tablespoonful of Spears's Preserving Fluid added ten minutes before removal from the fire will insure its preservation, even in a large jar, without especial care as to sealing it up very securely, and no foreign taste will be perceptible. Sweetmeats. We generally term sweetmeats such as are made in imitation of West India preserves, and mostly from Southern or exotic fruits. Pineapple Preserves.