The Portland daily press., 1882-08-15
AGRICULTURAL.
Preserving Fruit.
Bottling, Canning and Picking.

At this season housekeepers can lay up
toothsome supply of fruit for the Winter at
small expense and with but little trouple.
Bottling and canning fruit are two different
operations, although they are often CON
founded with each other. Putting up Irui6
in glass bottles or wide mouthed jars, with
either covers or corks, and Fastening tnem
down with rubber rings to secure them from
the air or Theoretically sealing them with
corks that are dipped into mixture of tai
low and beeswax after they are driven into
the bottles is called "bottling." Putting
frnit into tin cans, soldering down tightly,
is "canning.n The first process is much SUI
perio- to the latter, as glass is always bet
ter receptacle for acid fruit than tin. Cher
ries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries,
blueberries and huckleberries can all be bot
tied with perfect success by the following
process:
Place the bottles or jars into kettle of
cold water, after filling them with fruit and
sugar in these proportions: Fill the Jars half
full of berries, then add a heaping table,
spoonful of graduated sugar and I'LL to the
brim with fruit, and add another tablespoon
full of the sugar. Screw on the cover sllg ht-
ly and boil the jars for ten minutes. Then
fill up each jar, the fruit having fallen con-
siderably, from the contents of one of the
lars, and screw down their lids closely.
Turn each jar bottom side upward and let 1t
remain so for an hour. This will show
whether the jar is air-tight, as, if it is not,
some of the juice of the berries will leak
out, and it also helps to expel the air.
Tighten each jar again, and put them away
in dark, cool place, or pack in boxes
Fruit put up in this n amer will retain its
favor perfectly for years, and will make de-
licious short-cakes, tarts, or pies for the
Winter, as well as sweetmeats for the table.
Cherries should be stoned before they are
bottled and few stones added to flavor
them. Peaches should be preserved when
little hard, aud the yellow varieties possess
more of the peculiar peach flavor and are
generally preferred to the white varieties,
except for preparing "brandy peaches"
when "Morris whites" are used. The stone
increases the peach flavor, and If the peach
es are preserved in halves, two or three
stones should be added to each jar. Pour
boiling water over the peaches and the skins
can be removed more easily. For picking
peaches the fuzzy skin should be removed by
rubbing them with crash towel Prepare
a syrup for peaches, pears or plums by tax
ing pound of sugar to every pound OF
fruit. Melt the sugar in little water, and
put in the fruit and scald it thoroughly so as
TO expel the air. Ten minutes of slow boil
ing will soften the fruit sufficiently. Put
the glass jars into apan of warm water when
you begin to melt the sugar. Filling the
Jars with hot water is sometimes done, but
they can be used more expeditiously if no
water is placed in them. When the fruit is
done, put silver table spoon into the jar
you will first fill, and skim the fruit and fill
the Jar with the spoon in it, then remove it
to another jar. This will prevent the air
from cracking. Put the cover upon each
jar as soon as it is filled, and lift it out of
the pan of water and set it upon wet tow
ell folded in thick folds upon the table.
Screw down the lid tightly. 1t takes two
persons to bottle fruit quickly.
Peaches, pears and plums make delicious
pickles, which are often more relished than
when preserved. Do not remove the skins,
but after rubbing the fuzz from the peaches
put two or three cloves into each, and three
or four cassa buds into each pear. Plums
need no spices, as their own flavor is so deli
cious. For sweet pickles, take five pounds
of sugar to every ten pounds of fruit and
cup of vinegar to each pound of sugar.
Boil the vinegar and sugar with a bag of
mixed spices and skim the syrup thorough
ly. Then put in the fruit and boil it gently
until soft enough. Plums should be prick
ed with darning needle in several places
so their skins will not burst off but crack
slightly. Pears and peaches should be
punctured unless spices are stuck into them
before scalding them. Skim out the fruit
into glass or stone jars and boil the syrup
for ten minutes. Then pour it over the
fruit in the jars and cover tightly and try
each jar as before directed.
Peaches, pears and plums can be kept
nicely by packing them in fine salt in stone
lars, letting them make their own brine.
BuL they should be kept coYered with salt
until the extracted juice covers them, or
they will mould. When needed for use,
soak in several waters until quite treshened.
and then make into sweet pickles by the
above recipe. Or they can be picked like
cucumbers. Tomatoes can also be kept per-
should not be wholly ripe when salted.-Re-
publican.