PRESERVES, JELLIES, ETC. 425
cranberries. Let them boil till they are tender, clear and of a bright color, skimming them frequently. When done, put them warm into jars with the syrup, which should be like a thick jelly.
PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.
FOR every pound of fruit weigh a pound of refined sugar ; put them with the sugar over the fire in a porcelain kettle, bring to a boil slowly about twenty minutes. Take them out carefully with a perforated skimmer and fill your hot jars nearly full ; boil the juice a few minutes longer and fill up the jars ; seal them hot. Keep in a cool, dry place.
TO PRESERVE BERRIES WHOLE. (Excellent.)
BUY the fruit when not too ripe, pick over immediately, wash if ab- solutely necessary and put in glass jars, filling each one about two- thirds full.
Put in the preserving kettle a pound of sugar and one cupful of water for every two pounds of fruit, and let it come slowly to a boil. Pour this syrup into the jars over the berries, filling them up to the brim; then set the jars in a pot of cold water on the stove, and let the water boil and the fruit become scalding hot. Now take them out and seal perfectly tight. If this process is followed thoroughly, the fruit will keep for several years.
PRESERVED EGG PLUMS.
USE a pound of sugar for a pound of plums ; wash the plums and wipe dry ; put the sugar on a slow fire in the preserving kettle, with as much water as will melt the sugar and let it simmer slowly ; then prick each plum thoroughly with a needle, or a fork with fine prongs, and place a layer of them in the syrup ; let them cook until they lose their color a little and the skins begin to break ; then lift them out with a perforated skimmer and place them singly in a large dish to cool; then put another layer of plums in the syrup and let them cook and cool in the same manner, until the whole are done ; as they cool, care- fully replace the broken skins so as not to spoil the appearance of the plums ; when the last layer is finished, return the first to the kettle, and boil until transparent ; do the same with each layer ; while the lat- est cooked are cooling, place the first in glass jars ; when all are done, pour the hot syrup over them ; when they are cold, close as usual ; the jelly should be of the color and consistency of rich wine jelly.
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