PRESERVING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 240, 4 February 1888, Page 8

PRESERVING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

We are now in the midst of the fruit seaaon, and much orchard produce must be wasted unless preserved by the careful and provident housewife, to adorn the table and delight the palates of youn^ and old until summer time and a new fruit harvest ahallcomo again. There are also many ways of putting up vegetables with which the lady readers of The Farmer ought to he acquainted. We therefore shall make no apology for the long list of recipes we have here collected for the instruction of mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives all over New Zealand. God ble»3 them, and preserve their happiness better than we fear some of thorn will preserve their fruit. Some of the recipes are reprinted from back numbers of Thk Farmkr for the benefit of new subscribers :—: —

Vegetables : Peas, Green (to Pkiskrvb). Carefully shell the peas ; then place them in a canister not too large ; put in a small piece of alum about the size of a horse bean to a pint of peas. ' When the canister is full of peaa fill up the interstices with water and solder on the lid perfectly nir tight, and boil the canister for about twenty minutes ; then remove them to a cool placo, and sixmonths afterwards they will be found but little inferior to fresh, newly gathered peas.

Tomato Sauce. Take eight pounds of tomatoes (ripe), ono quart of vinegar, one ounce of salt, two ounces of whole black pepper, salt spoonsful of cayenne pepper, £ pound of whole allspice (bruised), six large onions (cut up), ono ounce cloves, two pounds of brown sugar, boil all together three hours, stirring frequently. When cold strain through a sieve tine enough to retain the seods and then bottle.

Sweet? Pickled Apples. Take one teacup of vinegar and two of sugar, arid make a syrup of them, adding cinnamon and cloves. Pare and cover sweet apples, drop them in the syrup and let thorn cook until tender, not soft. Put in a jar and pour the syrup over them. They are ready to eat as soon as cold and will keep any length of time. I generally tie the spices in a little bag, especially if ground, and cook it that way.

Saucxs — Chutney. Two quarts ot uaripe gooseberries, one pound of raisins stoned, one pound of mustard seed, twelve ounces of garlic, one pound of brown sugar, six ounces of cayenne pepper. Dry the gooseberries and then boil in a quart of vinegar, dry the mustard seed gently and crush ; bruise the garlic thoroughly. Reduce the sugar to a syrup by boiling it with a little water. When cold mix together gradually, adding the remainder of the vinegar and work together well in a mortar. Bottle and mak» airtight. Age improves the sauce.

Piccalilli. One peck of green tomatoes chopped fin«, one pint of salt ; cover with water, let stand twenty-four hours ; drain vrell, add twelve green peppers, six onions, two heads of cabbage, all chopped fine ; put all in a kettle, add vinegar and water in equal quantities, enough to cover ; let scald ; drain again ; add one pound of mustard, one toacupful each of molasses and grated horse radieh ; Bpice to taste, mix well, and put in jars ; cover with vinegar and one teacupfui of brown sugar. Wo may add that in New Zealand tomatoes always produce a largo quantity of green fruit late in the season which can never ripen before frosts set in. These green tomatoes need not be wasted if utilised as above.

To Preserve Vegetable Marrow, etc. The following directions may be used in preserving melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers also : Have what quantity of marrows you wish, cut them in half, peel them, and take out the seeds. Cut them in pieces, and let them drain, weigh them, and have equal weights of loaf sugar ; put the sugar and out marrows in a large basin in alternate layers, adding the strained juice of a lemon to every pound of marrow, and let it stand thus in a cool place for two days. Put all into a preserving pan and let it boil three quarters of an hour, then put it back into the basin and let it stand six days. At the end of that time drain off the syrup, put it on the fire, and boil down quickly about twenty minutes or a little longer. Some whole ginger should be boiled with the syrup. Skim the liquid, put the preserve in pots, and entirely cover it with the syrup, then cover up so as to thoroughly exclude the air from the preserve. . »