The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-06

ly every farm which will not be salable of time to pick and pack for distant markets, or because the amount may seem too small at any one time to be worth saving. Such fruit should not be allowed to go to waste for it may be used in making fruit buffers. Well-made fruit buffers are very welcome and tasty, and homemade apple butter, peach but ter plum butter, pear butter and other fruit buffers go long way to make plain cereals appetizing. Children, and older people, too, like such fruit butter on bread, and it is good dietics as well as good economy to use such highly flaw ored products to 'carry'' a relatively large amount of milder favored food. It is desirable to use only good quality fruit for fruit buffers, and it must be remembered that poor fruits will not make good fruit buffers. However, as every housekeeper knows, part of an ap- pie or other fruit may be sound and good, while the remainder is not, owing to bruising or other injury, and such good portions may be used successfully for fruit-butter making. Thus it is often d u6ClQGQ eCOIOIHyy SfHNC IL SAWS Niie | would otherwise be total loss.
 APPLE BUTTER
 There is no better way to use good ap- pies and the sound portions of windfall and wormy apples than to make apple butter of them While almost all varie- ties of apples will make good apple but ter, those with distinctive flavor and good cooking quality are most satisfac- tory The summer varieties also will make good apple butter, it has been found by recent tests in the United States department of agriculture.
 If apples of coarse texture are used, it Is desirable to cook them and put them through a colander or coarse wire strain CT before adding them to the boiled cider. Sweet apples are sometimes used with tart ones. Oyerripe apples are not de- sirable.
 Apple butter is made by boiling down fresh, sweet cider to half its original been peeled and sliced. The apples either are added directly to the boiled cider and cooked in it until the apple butter is one, or are made into apple sauce which is cooked in the boiled cider. The cook ing should be continued until the cider and apple pulp do not separate; then the butter will be of the right thickness when cold
 It takes usually about equal amounts of sweet cider and peeled and sliced apples to make butter of the right consistency Ln other words, if five gallons of sweet cider are used. it should be boiled down tc 211z gallons, and gallons of. peeled and sliced apples should be added, either raw or made into apple sauce.
 Two things essential to making good apple butter are: Long, slow cooking (i to hours) and constant stirring.
 If sugar is used it should be added after the cooking of cider and apples is about two-thirds done. About a pound of either white or brown sugar is the usual amount per gallon of apple butter but more or less, or not any, may be used to suit the taste.
 Apple butter is spiced according to one's preference about half a teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves and alispice for each gallon being a common mix ture These are stirred into it when the cooking is finished.
 While still boiling hot apple butter should be packed in hot steri1ized glass jars or dramatically sealed stone jars, or crooks with tightly fitting covers, and be sterilized in steam as follows: Set the containers. filled and with tops on, in a vessel fitted with false bottom and deep enough to hold them, pour in lit tie water, put on the cover to hold in the steam and set over the fire. Begin to count time when the steam starts to es- cape, and after minutes Q0 minutes for half gallon, or 15 for larger contain ers) take the containers out to cool, then set them away for future use. Do not disturb the covers until the apple butter is to be used If the covers do not fit tightly place waxed or oiled paper in them to make tight fit before ster- ilizing is done. This steriIizing Is done for the purpose of preventing any spoil