The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-26
TABLE SYRUP FROM
 WASTE INTERPRETATIONS

4 delicious table syrup can be
 made from watermelons and affords 60 the farmer, according to the fruit juice specialists of the United States Department Of Agriculture, a com venfent means of using the surplus watermelons which otherwise are aI- lowed to spoil in the field. Such syr- up has been made by farmers in a small way in various parts of the South, and the Department endeavor- ed to work out exact methods of max- ing it as a possible by-product from surplus melons. This syrup can be used immediately or can be bottled hot in sterAized jars and kept just as | is done in the canning of fruit. It is reddish brown in color, very sweet and we'll favored and will serve most of thep urposes for which syrup is used in the home. It has been tried with satisfactory results in making ginger cake, homemade candy and as a sweetening and flavorinE in iCO cream.
 As the specialists point out 6erhile the juice of commercial watermelonB contain an average only about per cent of sugar, or less than many other fruit juices, the ease with which the juice can be pressed out partly off sets the lower sugar content The method described below calls only for utensils found in every household.
 Directions for Making WatermelOn
 Table Syrup
 Remove the pink flesh and seeds from the rind of sweet, fully ripe mel | ons. Crush the flesh with a potato masher by running 1t through meat chopper. Place the crushed pulp and seed in cloth bags and squeeze out the 1 juice, which flows out readily About l 5-6 of the pulp will squeeze out as juice. About 13 gallons of the juice
 will make 1 gallon of sirup. This amount of juice can ordinarily be se- cured from 10 watermeIons weighing from 22 to 25 pounds each.
 The juice is then boiled down into
 sirup in an ordinary preserving ket- tie. The juice boils without much foa ming until it begins to thickeus
 when the fire should be slackened to
 prevent foaminge and burning. The red co1oring matter in the juice ooag-
 ulates during the boiling and part of
 it rises to the surface where it can
 be removed by sl1imming. The re- mainder floats about in the juice l forming red particles which gather near the top. Toward the last of the boiling the sirup must be watched I constantly If the housewife has c candy thermometer she should take the sirup from the fire as soon as q lreaches a temperature of 22o degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise she should let | it cook until a small sample on cool l ing is about as thick as maple sirup. | When the boiling has finished, the sirup can be set aside to cool in COW
 cred vessels or can be poured while
 hot into and sealed in cans or glass l containers.
 | Where cider pres is available the melons can be cut into pieces and ar ranged on the press so that the pres
 sure will extract the. juice of the pulp
 before it presses the rind. The juice of the rind is not so rich in sugar. and experiments with rind juice alone in- dfcate that it is not suitable for sirup. l To Remove Red CoIoring Matter. I If it is desired to make sirup free
 from red particles. start the syrup
 boiling and when some of the coaE-
 ulated matter aas been removed Eg
 skimming. transfer the juice to tall
 jars or other tall containers and allow
 it to settle and cool for a few hours.
 This allows the red particles to settle
 to the bottom. The upper part of the
 juice can then be poured off and boil ed into sirup.