NECTARINES AND PEACHES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 8, Issue 191, 19 February 1943, Page 15

NECTARINES AND PEACHES

OTH excellent fruits, aren’t they? Eat them raw-as many as you can-for all their mineral salts and vitamins are available that way, and you save fuel and sugar and time besides. Then begin to think of preserves, as well as dainty desserts, When stewing peaches, add a little powdered or stick cinnamon for flavouring. Peach Delight (Cold) This is best set in individual little moulds-even cups will do, but you may adapt it for a big bowl if you wish. Stew sufficient peaches to give you 114 cups of rich, peach syrup. Do not put in the sugar until the peaches have come to the boil, or you will need much more sugar. Dissolve 2 dessertspoons of powdered gelatine in % cup hot water. Then add % cup of lemon juice, % cup of sugar, and the 1% cups of peach syrup. Stir all well together, Rinse out your little moulds in cold water, and put 1 tablespoon of this mixture to set in each-it won’t take long to set if stood in cold water. Then put half a cooked peach, hollow side up, in the mould, and fill the hollow with chopped walnuts or cherries, which look very pretty. Pour over the remaining jelly mixture, which should be just setting by this time, and leave to set. Turn out, and serve with whipped cream. If you have a refrigerator, you can use less gelatine. Peach Sponge One well beaten egg, 3 tablespoons melted butter (not hot), 4% cup sweet milk, 142 cups flour, 1 small teaspoon

baking powder, % teaspoon salt, 14 cup sugar, 42 teaspoon vanilla essence, and 4 teaspoon almond essence. Mix the beaten egg with the melted butter, Add the milk. Combine the flour, salt and sugar, and stir in gently until the batter is smooth. Add the essence and stir. Spread in a sandwich tin. Arrange sliced ripe peaches on top, pressing slightly into the batter. Sprinkle with 3 teaspoons of sugar, mixed with 14 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake in a 1..2derate oven, Serve hot with cream, or a pudding sauce. Nectarine Jam Six pounds stoned ‘nectarines, 4141bs. sugar, 2 cups water, juice 2 lemons, 1 dessertspoon butter, and the kernels of about a quarter of the fruit, Wash, but do not peel the fruit, remove the stones, cut into pieces. Put into pan with water, butter, lemon juice, and kernels. Boil till soft. Add warmed sugar in portions of about 1lb, at time. Boil, stirring well-it should an about an hourtest it. Peach or Nectarine Blancmange To 1% cups of milk add 1% cups of juice drained from stewed peaches -or nectarines. (If baked in a covered casserole the juice is richer), Put the mixture on to boil, and then stir in 4 table‘spoons of cornflour dissolved in a little milk (or even ground rice or semolina if cornflour is not available), Allow to cook for a few minutes. Arrange the stewed fruit in a mould, pour the mixture over and leave to set. Turn out when cold and serve with cream, If you have a ring-mould, it makes a

pretty dish to pour the mixture into it to set, turn out when cold, and arrange the fruit in the centre. Peach Fritters are delicious. Peel the peaches, split them in two, removing the stones. Sprinkle with castor sugar, dip into batter, and fry in hot lard. Peach and Passionfruit Jam Three pounds juicy peaches, 1 dozen or more passionfruit, juice 2 lemons, 4 large cooking apples, 3lbs. sugar, loz. butter, pinch salt, and one breakfast cup of water. Wash fruit, peel, stone and core, Boil peels and cores in the cup of water. Cut up the peaches and apples, and put in buttered pan, add the strained juice from the peels, and cook the fruit till soft. Scoop out the passionfruit seeds. Boil skins and scoop out’ the soft pulp, Add to rest of fruit mixture, add warmed sugar and boil till it will set.