The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-09-22
HOMEMADE FRUIT
BUFFERS CAN BE
EASILY PUT UP
Government Urges Making
Of This Preserve AS
An Economy.

AS final drive on fruit preserving
the United States Department of Agri-
culture urges the making of, home
made fruit buffers This is recon-
mended not only to those who grow
the fruit, but to those in the city who
may take advantage Aof large supplies
and cheap prices. In a great many
cases 1T will be possible for city peo-
pie to get from outlying farms fruit
which might otherwise be wasted.
Various fruit buffers recommended
are apple butter with cider, apple but
ter without cider, apple butter with
grape juice, apple butter with lem
ons pear butter, peach butter, plum
butter, and Garfield butter made with
plums and peaches. With the ex-
cept1on of a good preserving kettle
very little equipment is needed for the
preparation of such buffers
There is no better way to use good
apples says the department, than to
make them into butter. The sound
portions of windfaIls, wormy, and
bruised apples may also be used The
better the apple the better the butter
will be. In apple butter with cider
either fresh sweet cider, or CONNER
cial sterilized cider should be used
after being boiled down to about half
its original quantity. The peeled aed
sliced apples may be cooked in the
boiled cider or they may be first made
into apple sauce which is then cooked
in cider. 1t usually takes about
equal quantities of sweet cider and
sliced apples to make butter of the
right consistency. In other words,
gallons of sweet cider should be
boiled down to / gallon, and 2 gallons
of the prepared apples should be add
ed to it either uncooked or as apple
| sauce. The two essentials of good
apple butter are long, slow cooking
| from to hours-and frequent stir
ring. If sugar is used, it should be
| added after the cooking is about two
| thirds done. About 1 pound of sugar
| is the usual proportion for each gall
| lon Of apple butter but more or less
may be used to suit the taste. The
butter may be spiced with cinnamon,
| cloves and allspice, or with any one
| of the three, the spices being stirred
in when the cooking is finished, III
/ While still boiling hot the butter
should be packed in sterilized glass re-
ceptacles, or in stone Jars, with thor
L-sugh precautions against spelling as
with any other preserves.
/ Good apple butter may be made
| without cider. In this case enough
water is added to make a thin apple
| sauce. Brown sugar rather than
| white suger is ordinarily used. If a
grape flavor is desired, it may be OBJ
tanned by the use Of grape juice In the
proportion of I pound to each gallon
| of the peeled and sliced apple. There
| should also be added a cup Of brown
| sugar and Ia teaspoonfu1 salt. When
| the desired thickness is obtained, 1
teaspoonfuI cinnamon is stirred in.
Pear butter is made like apple but
! ter without the cider.
In making peach butter it is desir-
| able to put the peaches into a wire
| basket and dip them in boiling water
for a few seconds until the skin
| slips, then dip the peaches into cold
| water, peel them, and pit them. Well
i ripened free-stone peaches are best.
They should be mashed and cooked in
their own Juice without: adding water.
i and If butter of fine texture is want
ed the pulp should be put through a
/ colandere or coarse wire sieve. To
! each measure of pulp add half meas
| ure of sugar. Peach butter can be
j made also from dried or canned
4 peaches. Lemon Juice in the proper
! ton of lemon to Is pounds OF
peaches may be added to give tart
i ness.
| Plum butter is made like peach but
/ ter except that the skins and pits are
separated by rubbing the pulp
through a co1ander or wire sieve at
ter the pluns have been cooked. Free
stone pluns, however, may be treated
Z! exactly like peaches.
The Garfield butter is made of two
thirds plums and one-third peaches
and needs rather more sugar than the
4 plain peach butter.
| Farmers Bulletin 900, Homemade
4 Fruit Buffers which contains detail
ed directions for making various fruit
buffers, may be obtained free from the
United States Department of Agricu1-
ture, Washington, D. c., as long as the
( supply lasts.