The Portland daily press., 1891-08-07
THE HOME.
CANNING FRUIT.

Canning Is an Improvement upon the old
fashioned method of preserving pound for
pound In sugar. 1t retains more of the fresh
and natural flavor, is far less trouble to pre-
pare, and more economical. All fruits may
be canned with or without sugar, as the
sugar takes no part whatever in the preser
walton. For favoring ice-creaus and water
Ices 1t Is desirable to can the fruits without
sugar. Choose only perfectly sound and
fresh fruits. 1t is false economy to purchase
fruits on the verge of decay. even at reduced
rates. as they quickly ferment after can
ming, and you not only lose fruit, sugar and
labor. but very often the jars as we'll.
All large fruits, after pairing. should be i'm
mediately thrown into cold water to prevent
discoloration; then boiled in clear water un-
I'll tender, then again in the syrup, as direct
ed In the recipes following.
Small fruits retain their shape more per
fectly If sugared one or two hours before
cooking. A Quarter-teaspoonfu of alum
added to each pound of sugar hardens the
fruit. and gives It brilliancy.
Large-mouthed glass jars, with porcelain
Irned or glass tops only, should be used.
They should be thoroughly heated before fill
Ing, filled quickly. through wide mouthed
funnel to Overlooking. A silver spoon. handle
should be passed around the inside Of the
there, and the tops screwed on without de-
lay. Stand the jars while filling on folded
towel to prevent breakage. After ceiling,
stand the jars in warm part of the kitchen
over night. In the morning the covers
should again be frightened, as the glass will
contract after cooling, and put them away In
cool, not cold, dry, dark closets. In week
examine each jar carefully without shaking
or disturbing more than necessary. IL you
fnd the lids slightly indented, the contents
free from air bubbles and the liquid settled,
you may rest assured they will Keep. If you
find the opposites, open the Jars Immediate
ly, to prevent bursting. This fruit may be
r Iec:S and used at once, but it is never
best graduated sugar. Fruit canned with
sugar OF an inferior quality is never clear.
and is also more liable to ferment.
The surplus juice that exudes from small
fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries and
plums, may be strained and boiled for jelly.
A porcelain-lined kettle, rather broad than
deep, is best. Copper or brass must be thor
oughly cleansed with salt and vinegar, and
even then the articles are more or less i'm
pued with verdigris that is produced in them
by the action of the acids.
Small oil stoves are most convenient for
canning, preserving or jelly making, the ket-
Tie being Immediately over an even and in
tense heat, the contents boil quickly, thus re-
tanning color and favor.
II the directions are carefully folio wed,
and there Is not too large a quantity cooked
or scalded at one time to prevent careful
management of each jar. not one can In
hundred Will be lost.-Table Talk.
CARING FOR OIL STOVES.
Whenever detect any odor In my stove,
always find cause for 1t, either In the oil
which has flowed over the edge of the bur
ner and is heated. but not burning freely
like the oil 10 the wick, or in the half
burned, oily crust on the edge of the burner,
or in tiny speck of SCOT from previous
smoking, As soon as the cause is removed
the odor disappears.
To clean the burners, turn the wick quite
low then wet bit of soft cloth In hot, soapy
water, wiring quite dry. and rub it we'll with
kitchen mineral soap. With dull-pointed
knife or wooden skewer rub the cloth into
the inside CT the burner down about one
fourth of an inch, and scour off all the
Drowned deposit As in all other forms of
securing, a generous use Of elbow grease is
All that will not scour off can be scraped
off with knife. Scour the outside of the
burner and wipe off any oil, SCOT or charred
wick that may be on the netting ofthe frame
underneath. Then wipe with a dry cloth.
Turn up the wick and rub off any bits of
charred wick or sand that may adhere to 1t.
Wipe out the SCOT from the chimney. Brush
Ing is not sufficient; 1t needs hard rubbing
with a cloth. Use stick or skewer to en-
able u TIC to reach every spot The Eicks
the burner. Cut them even with the edge of
lower.
Turn the wick up and down several times
until you are sure It Is even, then light it,
and see that the fame is at uniform height
when turned as high as possible. Should
there be any points that smoke, turn II out
ana trim again until 1t Is even. When once
the wick Is even, II the oil is never allowed
70 burn entirely out, 1t will seldom need cut
ting. Merely rubbing off the charred part
and clipping any loose threads Is sufficient.
When ready to use the stove, turn the wick
up gradually and begin with low flame;
watch u carefully. and increase the height
alter little, but do not turn 1t to its full
nelgnt at hrst, for as soon as the water Eoils
In the kettle, the fame seems to be drawn
up, and 1t will surely smoke then If IL did
not before. After ten minutes 1t may be left
with safety, but be careful that no strong
draught reaches 1t. and never turn the wick
SO low that the combustion is imperfect.
When not in use, turn the wicks down till
the flame goes out, and wipe off the oil from
II this oil be allowed to accumulate, 1t
hardens and burns on to the burner. and is
difficult to remove, and the more the stove is
used the worse it smells but after this crust
is once thoroughly removed, 1t is compara-
lively easy to keep the burner clean by
simply rubbing 1t with damp cloth and
sand soap every time before lighting 1t.
By taking special pains that the stove shall
not smoke great amount of trouble may be
avoided; for just as surely as it smokes long
enough TO deposit any SCOT on the stove. just
so surely will you have the 0d0r OF smoke
until that SCOT has been removed. Merely
lowering the wick does not remove the od0r,
ana s, It Is much easier to prevent Its forma-
lion than to extinguish the fame and delay
your other work while vou clean off the SCOT