Bottling Fruit

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 90, 14 March 1941, Page 46

Bottling Fruit

I should like to publish this letter in connection with our big drive this year, for preserving fruit. The dear old lady who sent it to me has now slipped through the " Little White Gate," but her good advice given so freely to the Daisy Chain is still helping us. Dear Aunt Daisy, Here is my own old-fashioned method of bottling fruit. I have used it, without one failure, for 40 years, which is surely a good testimonial. What I like about it so much is that there is no handling of hot bottles. The sound fruit (not overripe) is packed in the bottles to within an inch of the top. Then pour in clean cold water until the fruit is covered and an air space of about half an inch left at the top. Adjust the rubber ring and lid, and screw down tightly, then place the bottles in boiler and cover them with cold water. Light the fire now and bring the water to nearly boiling point -about one and a-half hours, probably. Then remove from the fire and allow the whole thing to cool gradually. When cold remove and store in a cool dry place, standing the bottles upright. Fruit thus treated should keep indefinitely. Be sure that there is sufficient cold water in the copper to cover the bottles well so that there is no danger of the tops becoming exposed to the air. Also, when you take out the cold bottles do not try to tighten the tops any morejust leave them as they are. Of course, they must be tightly screwed down in the first place. Instead of pouring clean, cold water over the fruit in the bottles you may use syrup made by boiling 4% Ib. sugar in a quart of water for about ten minutes, The syrup must be cold when put over the fruit. _, A few clean rags in the bottom of the copper will prevent the bottles from touching and breaking-unless you have a rack or small platform of some other description. — Your friend " Grannie in the Bush" (Auckland).