Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1867-08-30
Preserving Fruit and Making
JolNes.


A kettle should be kept ON purpose.
Brass If very bright win do. If acid
fruit is preserved in q brass-kettle which
is not bright, it becomes poisonous. Bell
metal is better than brass, and the iron
ware lined with porcelain, best of all.
The chief art in making nice preserves,
and such as viii keep, consists in the
proper preparation Of the syrup. All SUI
CARS are better for being clarified, and for
brown sugar. this is indispensable. The
ingredients in making loaf sugar are not
always very clean; but there are mineral
substances used in the sugsr-house pro-
cesses, with crushed sugar, which some
times Injuries the flavor of preserves.
Therefore the loaf is to be preferred.
Clean brown sugar makes very good
sweetmeats for family use; but the best
sugar is, in most cases, necessary to make
such as will be elegant, and keep long.
Swectmeats should be boiled very gen.
tly. This is necessary, lest the syrup
should burn, and also that the fruit may
become thoroughly penetrated with the
sugar. Furious boiling breaks small and
tender fruits. Too long boiling makes
sweetmeats dark, and some kinds are rem
dered hard and tough.
Preserves keep best in glass jars, which
have also this advantage, that you can see
whether or not fermentation has commenc-
cd, without opening them. If stone jars
are used, those with narrow mouths are
best, as the air is most easily excluded
from Them. When the preserves are cold,
cover them close, and if not to be used
for some time, paste a paper over the top.
When you have occasion to open them, if
thick, leather-looking mould covers them,
they are in good state. as nothing so eff
fectually shuts cut the air but if they are
specked here and there with mould, taste
them, and if they are injured, it should
be carefully removed, and the jar set into
kettle Of water, (not hot a. first, lest the
Jar should crack and boiled. If the taste
shows them to be uninjured, this mould
may be the beginning of a leather-lnould ;
therefore wait few days, and look at them
again, and scald them if necessary. A
very good way Of scalding them. and per-
haps the easiest, is TO put the jar (if it is
of stone ware) into brick oven as soon
as the bread is drawn, and let it stand
three or four hours. If the oven is quite
warm shorter time will do. They will
he dark and bitter by standing too long
This is also better remedy, il preserves
are beginning to ferment, than to scale
them in kettle, as they are exposed t.
the jar in pouring into the kettle and bacl
into the jar.
In order to know when jelly is boile'
take out teaspoonful, and when cool
drop it into water. If it mixes with it, i
lis not done. If it sinks to the bottom
may be taken up. A practiced eye vii
readily judge by the appearance in tn
kettle. Glass and cream-colored ware ar
best for jellies. When cold, papers Of tn
size of the mouth should be dipped i
brandy and laid on, and firm paper shout
then be pasted over the top.
1t iswell for young housekeepers
keep book in which to write down the
experience in making and keeping pr'
serves from, year to year. They will
this way secure many useful hints, whic
would escape their memory in the lapse
a year. 1t would be well worth while
write down things important to be remen
bered, ia all branches Of household econ
my.