Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-08-17
A WORD 10 .Rousekeepg's. Uses of
: :. WiaterraeloFlzRf1ds.

NdnC6S anu we ma many uuIlIeu jars
in our cellars owing to the scarcity Of
raspberries and blackberries this year,
which have been so large proportion
Of the fruit laid up for winter use, a
few hints on how to make use of the
rind Of the watermelon may be well
come to our readers, hence we publish
a few receipts that are tried and true,
that furnish delicious preserve.
Cut the rind into broad pieces, leay-
ing some quite large. Peel each piece
with sharp knife exactly as you do a
lemon, taking off all the green and re-
moving also every vestige of the pink
part.
For every s pounds of fruit provide E
of sugar, ounces Of green ginger-root,
and large or 6 small lemons.
After you have peeled the melon
lind, cover it with cold water and add a
level teaspoonful Of salt; leave the rind
in this solution twenty-four hours; then
put it into fresh water in which you
have dissolved a saltspoonful of alum,
and let it stand over night
Next morning wash it well and with a
sharp pen-knife cut it in fancy designs.
There is exercise for great taste and
ingenuity in this part of the work
Stars, cresents, diamonds, and hollow
rings cubes and dices are the easier and
simpler devices. Oak and maple leaves
and geometrical figures are more intri-
cate and also more effective. The cary
ing of the designs is done after they
have come out Of the alum bath. The
rings can be cut with the cover of a
pepper box and athimble the smaller
disks serving to fill up spaces in the
jars. When ready for use put them in
cold water to stand while the syrup is
being prepared. Have some root ginger
and lemons on hand to use as favoring,
use quantity according to taste.
Slice the lemons, rind and all, but
take out the seeds; put into boiling
water to cover and boil thoroughly ten
der, which viii be in about half an
hour.
Scrape and slice the ginger very thin
and Rasisz.tO boil; it will take couple
Of hours, more or less, to get this tender
according to the toughness of the root,
but it must be thoroughly tender be-
fore you use it.
Put the sugar into a preserving kettle,
allowing pint and half of water to
the pounds; use for this the water in
which the lemons were boiled, adding
plain boiling water to make the proper
quantity. Let the sugar dissolve slowly
and come to the simmering point.
While the lemons and ginger are
boiling, put the rind into boiling water
to cover and boil about three-quarters
Of an hour, or until it looks evenly
transparent; then drain from the water
and dry as thoroughly as possible, even
absorbing the moisture from the pieces
by means Of a soft towel. Lay them on
flat china dish to cool; they will look
detected and limp and almost dis
courage you, but that is just the way
they should look at this stage. Next
boil your syrup hard a few minutes,
sllimming after it has settled.
Now, put into the syrup the rind, the
lemons and the ginger, adding some of
the water in which the ginger was
boiled this is aWonderful Improvement
if the water be pungent Of the root
Boil until you see your pretty designs
fill out thoroughly and each become
rich and translucent; then skim the
fruit carefully from the syrup and put
into wide-mouthed glass jars, placing
them to show well through the sides
Boil the syrup about twenty minutes
longer; pour q generous supply over
the fruit and cover while hot. Set
away and as the winter days draw nigh
! you will find no nicer fruit among your
| deserts for company dinners.
Almost every one makes sweet pickle
of watermelon rind. Our receipt is the
same as for preserve as far as the salt
and alum baths are concerned, then
after packing in open jars we pour over
q syrup made by using one part vinegar
o three parts brown sugar in which
stick cinnamon and spices have been
boiled, with ginger and calamus root
added if the taste is pleasant to the
| family. Some prefer to leave these out.
Pour this over the prepared fruit and
let stand twenty four hours when you
strain the fluid off and repeat the pro-
cess, do this three times and the pickle
is ready to use. If there seems a
tendency to ferment at any time boil
the fluid and repeat the heating process
but in my experience I have never
found it necessary.
FOX GRAPES
As wild grapes are plentiful this year
Il perfectly delicious preserve can be
made of them green, by, cutting each
one open and extracting the seed, then
boil them in white sugar using pound
Of sugar to 4 pound of grapes, reduce
the sugar to a syrup then boil the fruit
in it for twenty minutes and seal in
Mason and Hamlin jars. This preserve
sells readily for S1.25 a quart in the
larger cities where it is 4 rare delicacy.