Evening journal., 1906-12-21
.RAISINS NOW
COME SEEDED
And So Work OF Making
Fruit Cake and MlnCe Meat
is Less Difficult

Christmas cooking is not nearly 20 ar.
hoult az art as it used 70 be. This Is not
beoause boars head and peacock nave
gone out Of fashion as diner Dishes il is
not even because the grocer and the
baker make most OF our good Things tor
US and all We have to do is to buy Them.
The real reason that the making OF
fiult cake is no longer a task 10 be sighed
ever and approached with anxiety Is DC
cause Of the prepared run which is now
20 be had.
The memory Of the youngest of US rln-
meth back TO tho time when the seeding OF
raisins was a WEAKNESS to the flesh, and
ar ail-day job When raisns were to ue
seded the last member of the household
was summoned and set to work
Father came from his library wearing
"a preoecupied siF and mothers Bingham
1 apron and set to work with what SIKH ne
paight, to extract an inhnitesimal seed
/ from n medium sized raisln-and found
the operation more difficult than curing
the appendicitis which the seed might
have caused. The children were cuiea
and sent perempporily TO wash their hands
and ., proprietor the sacrinceo1 Is.
Tien mother herself came ana INC fam
/ lily gathered about a table and engaged
IL the sticky work. Each person was per-
! mitied TO eat ten raisins. no more. ana u
was not a sufficient reward Tor inc iaooI
that those elusive seeds gave all hands.
! II tick an evening to seed two POUNDS
Of raisins, and even then occasionally
: later one met a stray one in the cake and
heartily cursed the careless person VINO
haad loft it there to ruin his teeth
When tho pislns were finished there
we're currants to be washed ana mace
presentapiS n q 81 rp p Rs .sf
No spe eonld2 ever explain now more
currants came TO be n such a terribIs
condition. They were filled with small
stones. and with chunks Of dirt. and II
took ten waters and good hour 10 render
! them Immaculate.
Now, bless you, no housekeeper thinks
Of seeding a raisin. She buys hers al
ready nicely seeded, and so saves herself
m infinite amount Of trouble. whether
they arc done by machinery or wnetaer
I l,s,, r3rdSrhqdoes not inquire These lri-
ies are nothing 10 her, there arc fai
Vsis.ns minus their seeds. and that should
be enough for any woman not an Eve.
Thee urrants are clean as new pins,
too. They are, all put up IN boxes. an,
lthsre ise't a stone or a BIZ o. art win
| them.
II is the part Of prudence 10 put saeu
IN water Of course. but tho result hardly
/ iurfffirs the fro,,hto
once upon % time. too, It was hard
hard work making mince meat becius'
the meat and the apples and the fruit
had all 10 be chopped by hand as inns
| as pos ible. Now every housekeeper- s m.
/ NY PUTS these deleotab.e things INTO
tineat-chopper, and does the work Fl
i which it formerly took a whole work NJ
day in a0imlnutes or an hour.
For weeks before Christmas. In the o..
timee-that is, as late as 10 years ago
there used TO be a great beating OF eggl
and sitting Of spices IA every household
Now the grocer and the baker supply
\ number Of them with dainties. and ser
want IS sent out on Christmas Eve {,
lerder five POUNDS Of fruit cake. two plum
buildings and three quarts of mnco mont
:, The new way Is not han as lpncn iug
as the old. and Il takes something % IN.
holiday atmosphere from the hou-eho'i
but it f. a boon TO busy owmen.
Some time, perhaps. the ceremonial o.
Christmas VIII be res'ored-holr's had
peacock, Yulc lag, waits and all unu
!, scat hour let as thank oucauclSy silr'
that IS fslns cenie seeded ana tho meat
: chortr was invented ~ e.s