Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1881-06-07

/ 40 Inc goal OF tn0C Lehman lay,
My shallop and me while the still stars CLEAN.
And the shadows Of earth drift away!
On Making Preserves.
THE MODERN METHoD-CARE TO BE
TAKEN IN PLACING PRESERVES IN
JARS. ~
To modern invention is entirely due
the ease with which fruit can be pre-.
served. It does not at all lie a. much
| with the method Of preparation a. with
the character of the jars. If the recep-
tacle In which the most delicate fruit Ia
Kept can only be made air-tight, then
the method of preserving food, whether
It be fruit or meat, Is accomplished. So
true Is this that providing there be only
q small quantity of some antiseptic SUBJ
stance-sugar or salt-placed with
perishable material, and there he q per-
feet vacuum In the vessel containing il.
and no possible contact with the outer
air, such material, theoretically, ought
to keep decompOsed forever.
Those OF US who remember how the
preserves of our mothers were made can
recall the trouble they gave, and how
uncertain were the results. Fruit al
ways required q very large quantity of
sugar and had to be cooked for q long
time. Then came the filing into the
jars, the layer of brown paper on the
top soaked in brandy, and finally the
last cover of strong paper tied on top.
Nous dv0sas change tout celia. Still, the
preparation Of fruit needs some care
The use of q porcelain kettle for preserv.
ing purposes should always be preferred.
Win very sweet fruit q copper or bell-
metal vessel may be used, but if the
fruit Is acid-and there is always malic
ably some slight solution of copper in
preserves, which, though possibly
harmless, may as well be omitted
The utmost care should be exercised
in the selection of the fruit. It is often
said by housekeepers, when berries
are very cheap then I will put them
up" but the cheapest are by no means
the best. Bruised fruit can never yield
the fragrance which perfect berries OF
fruit alone can give.
As general rule, with the admirable
contrivance in the way of jars, which
can be had anywhere, it ie better to have
the fruit as near as possible in it's natural
conditioner in other words, not to
cook it too much. Ofcoune 9, with jams,
it is different; they may be subjected to
q thorough cooking, but when straw
berries or raspberries are to be preserved
whole, il proper care be taken, the
chance of their spelling, even when
hardly cooked at all, is very slight.
Over-sugaring is quite as great a de-
feet as over boiling. Pound for pound
of sugar to fruit Is hardly q good rule to
60 by, because fruit differs so entirely
in sweetness. While proper, perhaps,
for currants, for almost all other fruits
the preserves made by the pound-for-
pound proportion becomes cloying. In
large factories, where business Is made
Of preserving fruits, and where, in frst-
class establishments, admirable products
are turned out the quantity of sugar used
is very small. There is, in fact, no art
at all In making q sugary mess which
has no flavor of fruit.
A fair rule In preserving sliced or
whole fruit is to make syrup of one and
one-half pounds of sugar to one of water,
which in volume should be about once
and half more than that of the fruit
Some very good authorities give two
pounds of sugar to one pound of water,
but from the experiment the quantity
we state has been found quite sufficient.
When fruit which is white and clear
in color is wanted as q preserve, such a.
ounces or pears, the whole operation
must be carried on as quickly as possi-
BILE. Everything. must be ready. just
as soon as the fruit is pared or sliced 1t
are quite manifest. If an apple or pOta-
to is sliced and exposed to the air it dark
ems, real process Of oxidation going on,
and the natural appearance of the fruit
or vegetable is spoiled.
To place a preserve properly in glass
jar (Of course we mean those with the
most improved tops, which preclude the
air from entering) requires little judg-
ment. A great many preserves are lost
every year from want of this knowledge.
The whole principle of preserving food
depends upon creating vacuum in the
vessel-not that the vacuum does any
thing, but because vacuum being pro-
duced we are absolutely certain that q
minimum of air is present, and that the
germs of fermentation are not present.
Mold is fungold growth, and Pasteur
explains how 1t ia one of the elements
which produce fermentation. For this
reason, the contents put in a jar cannot
be too hot. A very easy method of do
ing this is to place the clean jars. when
empty, in vessel of water, which Is
kept on the full boil while the fruit Is
| IuCIOuuCcu 1utO tueS0 jars ITOIu Inc pEo.
serving kettle. To lake the hot fruit
from one vessel to the other without this
precautlOn ia to run q useless risk.
Take out the jar from the boiling wa
ter containing the preservejust as rapid
iy as possible and when it Is piping hot
screw on the lid. A kind of wooden
tongs. covered with cork, and sold in
the shops, may be found useful. In
some books the statement is made that
crust of mold found on the top of pre-
serve does no harm, as 1t can be remov-
ed. MoldJ preserves are not always
ruined, 1t is true, but it is the sign of q
defective process, mostly giving more
or less of y bad taste to the fruit.
As to the economy of putting up pre-.
serves at home, which question has been
asked us, we should reply that to those
who live in cities. the cost of home.
made preserves may be greater than
when they are bought; but home pre-
serves are generally much better than
those purchased In the shops. OF late
years there can be no doubt that q great
deal Of glucose enters into the nanufac
ture OF the second class preserves.
Hundreds Of Men, Women and Children
reecue0 fr0n1 hona Of main eicrp ooo a =, j.