Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1867-08-23
Preserving Fruit and Making
JeIliea.

A kettle should be kept on purpose.
Brass il very bright win do. If acid
fruit is preserved in . brass-kcttle 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
gars 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 sugar-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 commence
ed, without opening them. If stone jars
are used, those with narrow mouths are
best, as the air is most easily excluded
from Them. When thepreseryes are cold,
cover them close, and if not to be used
for some time, paste paper over the top.
When you have occasion to open them, if
thick, leather-looking mould covers them,
they are in a 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 at 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. II the oven is quite
warm shorter time will do. They will
be dark and bitter by standing too long.
This is also better remedy, il preserves
are beginning to ferment, than to scald
them in kettle, as they are exposed to
: the jar in pouring into the kettle and back
into the jar.
In order to know when jelly is boiled
take out teaspoonful, and when cool
drop it into water. If it mixes with it, it
il not done. If it sinks to the bottom it
may be taken up. A practiced eye will
readily judge by the appearance in the
kettle. Glass and cream-colored ware are
best for jellies. When cold, papers Of the
size of the mouth should be dipped in
brandy and laid on, and firm paper should
then be pasted over the top.
1t iswell for young housekeepers K
keep book in which to write down thei
experience in making and keeping pre-
serves from year to year. They will il
this way secure many useful hints, which
would escape their memory in the lapse Q
year. 1t would be well worth while I
write down things important to be remem
bered, 10 all branches of household econo
my.