THE PRESERVING OF FRUITS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 134, 16 January 1942, Page 39

THE PRESERVING OF FRUITS

Helpful Recipes For Busy Housewives

VERYBODY is eager to pre- | serve every scrap of fruit this year; and we are fortunate indeed to have such plenty, and so little restriction of sugar. We shall be wise to make as much jam and jelly as we possibly can; who can tell what demands may be made. upon us? General Hints With some fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries, sprinkling with sugar overnight is recommended" to harden the outside a ]ittle, and so assist in keeping them whole; but care must be taken in this process-it can be overdone. For instance, plums often have a rather thick skin, and if left too ong in the sugar, or if too much sugar is sprinkled over them, they will be tough and leathery. In the case of .cut up fruit, such as quinces and melon, it may so harden the outside that the centres cannot cook, but remain hard and lighter in colour than the outside. For making jam, the fruit should be ripe, not mushy or fermented. If slightly damaged, perhaps a little too soft in places, or bruised, these parts should be cut out, and the good pieces only used. Good results will not be obtained from bad material. : Fruits that require a long boiling to soften them, and also to bring out the colour, such as quinces, pears, oF melons, should be boiled very slowly till cooked. On the other hand, bright coloured fruits, such as raspberries, need a quick, sharp boiling. A slow cooking will darken the jam, and so spoil the appearance; and the flavour will not be as good. ; When the fruit is cooked, the sugar

is added. If put in before the fruit is cooked, it tends to harden the outside, and so prevent further cooking of the centres. The jam, of course, is boiling when: the sugar is put in, and this cools it a little. Before boiling heat is again reached, the whole of the sugar must be dissolved, If not, the jam is liable to crystallise later on. When the sugar is dissolved, boil rapidly. On most jams at this point, a scum will form, and should be skimmed off most carefully. If the skimming is done while the jam is boiling slowly, there may be a ceftain amount of waste, but a rapid boiling makes the scum rise more frothy, and it is then easily skimmed off without waste. The hard boiling is continued till the jam is finished. Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam To every 1 Ib. of strawberries, allow Y% lb. of rhubarb, and 1% Ibs. of sugar. Cut up the rhubarb, and cover it and the strawberries with half of the sugar, and let it stand all night. Next day, put in a pan with the rest of the sugar,

and boil about 1 hour, or until a little taken out of the pan sets on a plate. Strawberry Jam Six Ibs. of strawberries, 41/2 Ibs. sugar. Wash and drain the berries, sprinkle with the sugar and leave overnight. Then simmer till the berries are

plump-about 30 or 40 minutes. The juice of 1 or 2 lemons is an improvement, Strawberry Conserve Six pounds of strawberries; 6 lbs. of sugar; 112 pints of strained red currant juice, or gooseberry juice. Put the strawberries in a basin, sprinkle with half the sugar, and leave till next day. Put the gooseberry or red currant juice in a pan with the rest of the sugar and the juice from the strawberries, Boil about eight or ten minutes, stirring all the time. Then add the strawberries and boil till it will set, about twenty minutes. Skim, and fill warm jars. Cover when cold. This will be whole strawberries set in a heavy jelly. Black Currant Sauce This recipe comes from Mataura. First make some black currant juice, by boiling a quantity of currants with just a very little water to start the juice running. Strain as for jelly, then measure this juice for the sauce. You

need 3 tumblers of black currant juice; 2 tumblers of vinegar; 144 Ibs. of sugar; ¥% tablespoon of salt; and 1 tablespoon each of cloves, mixed spice, and cinnamon; also 1 dessertspoon of pepper. Boil for half an hour. A little more salt (to taste) may be added, Cherry Jam Four pounds of cherries; stone carefully, saving all the juice. Boil. together 4 Ibs. of sugar and 3 teacups of water; stir till it comes to the boil, and keep boiling for 10 minutes. Then add the prepared cherries and boil for 30 minutes, or until the jam will set when tried on a cold plate..Cherry jam becomes "treacly" if overboiled even a little, so try it before it cooks very long. Cherry and Red Currant Jam To every 4 lbs. of cherries, allow one pint of red currant juice (made by boiling red currants with a little water until soft and mushy, then straining as for jelly). Simmer until the cherries are soft, then add pound for pound of sugar. Boil up, after the sugar has been stirred in until thoroughly dissolved. Take off the fire as soon as it will set when tested. Bottle when cooled ay little. Candied Cherries Allow 1 Ib. of sugar to each pound of cherries; make a syrup of the sugar and a little water-about half a cupful for each pound, and let it simmer in the preserving pan till all the sugar fs melted. When the syrup boils, put in the cherries; simmer them very slowly till quite clear. Pour off the syrup, place the fruit on flat dishes, and let dry in the sun, or in a slow oven-it may take ten hours or more. When they are thoroughly dry, dust them over with sugar, and put in a papered tin. : Bottled Cherries Make a syrup of % Ib. of sugar to a pint of water, Heat the cherries and syrup in a saucepan, and bring to the boil slowly. Allow the cherries to remain. in this syrup overnight. Next day, put the fruit in clean hot jars; boil up the syrup and fill the jars to within one inch of the top, and heat in the oven for thirty minutes on a low heat. Finish as usual. This special method removes any possibility of the cherries being hard. Black Currant Vinegar To two pounds of black currants, allow one quart of the best vinegar, and leave to stand for three days, stirring well every day. Then bruise the currants and strain thoroughly through butter muslin, Next measure, and allow one cup of sugar to every two cups of the liquid. Boil up together for about twenty minutes. Bottle when cold, and seal the cork with. paraffin wax. This is very good for sore throats when mixed with hot water, and very pleasant when mixed with cold water or soda water.