The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-06-29
PRESERVING By SUN HEAT.

fNEpEtflNu y oON oGhhs
There is probably no fruit which sub
mits so we'll to the canning aud preserv-
ing processes as the cherry, which does
not lose its delicious favor by cooking,
says a household authority. The straw
berry, of course, is best raw, and Is in its
greatest perfection when freshly picked
and eaten at once. Still there are many
ways in which it can be cooked and pre-
served, and if the result gives US some
thing different from the original fresh
fruit in flavor it is yet very delicious. If
you have never tried sun preserving of
strawberries and cherries it will pay you
to experiment with it this year, and, If
properly done, you will find it one of
the most delightful ways of putting up
these fruits. 1t preserves them quite as
effectually as cooking over the fire, and
much more dellcately, for it gives none
of the rankness which is apt to follow
cooking in heavy syrup. The manner
of preserving in the sun is as follows:
Stone some of the cherries and put
them on platters or in fat dishes. To
each pint Of cherries put scant pint Of
granulated suga-. Mix them we'll by
putting in first the pint of cherries and
sprinkling the sugar over. Let them
stand over night, and by morning the
sugar will have extracted much of the
juice. If they seem not to be very juicy
in the morning set each platter in the
oven for a few minutes only, or on a
warm place above the stove, until the
juice has come out freely. Then set the
platter in the sun-in the hottest place
you can fnd-and put either glass or
some sort of very thin netting over them.
In from day and half to two days the
syrup will thicken and the fruit will be-
come semi-transparent. Put cold into
jars and close them and the cherries are
ready for winter use. No heating is
necessary, but it is little better to put
into self-sealing jars than into open ones,
merely to keep the fruit from drying.
Sun-preserved Strawberries are done in
exactly the same manner, and is by far
the best way to preserve the flavor OF the
berry.
For canning cherries the best way is
to sweeten them but slightly, cook for a
few minutes and then put them in air.
tight jars. They are very easily kept,
and the favor is retained better If only a
little sugar is put in. When the cans
are opened in the winter they can be
sweetened to taste. Strawberries are
more difficult to keep and require more
sugar. The proportion for canning
should be half as much sugar as berries.
They should be cooked only until they
ore thoroughly heated through, then put
into the jars as carefully as possible.
They will lose their shape, in spite of
care, but will retain their color if not
cooked too much.
Another way to treat strawberries,
which is somewhat more troublesome,
but has good results. is to put the ber-
ries and sugar in the jars, set them in
cold water and heat gradually until they
are heated through. Then seal the jars.
This way takes more time, but the
shape OF the berry is retained better han
when they are cooked in a preserving
kettle. Still another excellent way is
to stem the berries, put the sugar on
them and let them stand over night. In
the morning pour off the Juice and
melted sugar, boi! it down little, and,
while boiling, drop the berries in Just
long enough to heat them. Then put
them in jars and seal. This gives
very pretty transparency to the berries.
New York Recorder.