Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-08-17

eELEcTtoN AND PREPARATION
or eEAcKDERRY. AND PLUM
MARMALApE1.


Selection and Preparation If the
Fruit. Choose good. sound fruit which
is Just ripe. The favor Is little niCrs
desirable II the fruit is taken Just ~
the color sets. The berries should be
carefully looked over and all the inn
perfect ones discarded, which may be
used in making jam to be eaten ct
once, or for pies. The perfect berries
are placed in q colander, one that has.
plenty Of holes, 30 that the water will
run on quickly, and covered with wa
ter to remove any dirt or dust II the
berries come from the garden, far
from the road, the flavor Is more deli
cate II they are not washed. The
flavor IL, also much better II they can be
preserved as soon as they are picked.
Amount OF Sugar.--AIf the fruit Is
tart. to every quart Of fruit add three
quarters Of q quart 81 sugar, and II
it is sweet, half quart is enough, or
to every pound Of fruit thfee-Quafters
of pound Of sugar.
Cooking the Fruit--A kettle with 3
perfectly smooth bottom, such as en-
anel ware, is best. and an asbestos
plate, which costs only five cents, IL q
great help in preventing burning.
Rinse the kettle with cold water and
place the fruit IN it. crushing a FEW Of
the berries at first so as to keep the
fruit from burning. Since the prin-
cipie involved in the making Of jam
is to get rid Of the large amount Of
water In the fruit as soon as possible.
1t b not desirable TO add water. Cook
the fruit slowly, stirring frequently,
SO that it will not stick, until it seems
quite thick. II cooked too fast, the
havor Is not 80 good. The time re-
duired win be from twenty minutes to
three quarters of an hour, depending
upon the size OF the kettel, the amount
OF fruit used. and the condition OF the
fruit A wet season makes it neces-
sary to cook the fruit longer. The
fruit may be cooked on the top Of
the stove. Many think the flavor bet
ter when cooked In the oven.
Time to Cook Fruit With the Sugar.
The measured sugar. which has been
heated until it is hot, but has not
changed color, Is now added and
stirred in. The fruit is cooked slowly
until it viii hold its shape, when
some Is taken onto cold saucer
From ten to twenty minutes time will
be required for two gallons or less
IT, at the end Of twenty minutes, it
does not hold its shape, it shows that
the sugar. was added too soon. It is
better then to take the fruit on and
have 1t little thin than to continue
the cooking and have the flavor
strong. BY allowing it to stand cover
cred in the sun for day before put
ting it away it often viii stiffen.
Kind of Jar to. Use.-While the
fruit lis cooking the Jars can be made
ready. The kind of jar is not SO Inn
portant as in canning fruit, as the.
large amount of sugar in jam makes 1t
easy to keep. Glass Jars or jelly
glasses are preferable. using those
with covers, when possible. It is al
ways desirable to put the fruit up In
jar about the size that will be needed
for one meal. After they are cleaned,
place jars and covers in cold water
and bring the water to the. boiling
point and continue boiling for twenty
minutes. Leave in the water until
ready to use.
Filling the Jar.-Place the jar IN a
pan Of warm water or have the spoon
which was put in the water with the
jars ready to put into each Jar as it
Is filled with the hot jam. The jam,
when ready to put into the jars, is
SKINNED, II necessary, and while still
hot is poured into the jars, filling them
nearly FULL II Mason Jars are used,
a new rubber Is dipped into hot water
and the cover placed on and screwed
down as tight as possible. When cold.
try to tighten further. If a jelly glass
is used, the cover is placed on lightly
and it is allowed to stand unGil the
next day. Then parah1ne, which can
be bought at any grocery by the pack
age. is melted and poured over the top
of the fruit SO that no air can get In
and the cover is put on. II no cover is
available, piece of writing paper
may be put over the top and pasted
down on the sides. When the jam is
used. wash the parafine and put it in
covered can ready for use again.
Plum Marmalade.
Select and prepare fruit in the same
manner as described above. In cook
ing, the only difference from the above
directions is that the plums should be
sca1ded to get rid of the bitter taste.
After measuring the plums, put them
in the kettle, cover with boiling water,
bring to the boiling point, pour of the
water and proceed as for the jam. Dr.
not add water while cooking fruit
until soft, unless absolutely necessary.
To Remove the Stones. When the
pulp is soft, place in coarse strainer,
push the pulp through, pick the stones
out from the skins, add the skins to
the pulp, and cook until skins are soft.
Add measured sugar and proceed as In
the jam.
II the fruit does not keep, you can
be certain that you did not do some
one thing directed.