Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 63

PICKLED BEETS

One cup of sharp vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar, 8 whole cloves and a pinch of black, and one of red pepper. Heat all together and pour over beets which have been sliced after being boiled tender and skins removed, and pack in gla.s.s jars which have been sterilized and if jars are air-tight these keep indefinitely.

MARMALADES, PRESERVES AND CANNED FRUITS

Young housewives, if they would be successful in "doing up fruit,"

should be very particular about sterilizing fruit jars, both tops and rubbers, before using. Heat the fruit to destroy all germs, then seal in air-tight jars while fruit is scalding hot. Allow jars of canned fruit or vegetables to stand until perfectly cold. Then, even should you think the tops perfectly tight, you will probably be able to give them another turn. Carefully run the dull edge of a knife blade around the lower edge of jar cap to cause it to fit tightly. This flattens it close to the rubber, making it air-tight.

To sterilize jars and tops, place in a pan of cold water, allow water to come to a boil and stand in hot water one hour.

For making jelly, use fruit, under-ripe. It will jell more easily, and, not being as sweet as otherwise, will possess a finer flavor. For jelly use an equal amount of sugar to a pint of juice. The old rule holds good--a pound of sugar to a pint of juice. Cook fifteen to twenty minutes. Fruit juice will jell more quickly if the sugar is heated in the oven before being added.

For preserving fruit, use about 3/4 of a pound of sugar to 1 pound of fruit and seal in air-tight gla.s.s jars.

For canning fruit, use from 1/3 to 1/2 the quant.i.ty of sugar that you have of fruit.

When making jelly, too long cooking turns the mixture into a syrup that will not jell. Cooking fruit with sugar too long a time causes fruit to have a strong, disagreeable flavor.

Apples, pears and peaches were pared, cut in quarters and dried at the farm for Winter use. Sour cherries were pitted, dried and placed in gla.s.s jars, alternately with a sprinkling of granulated sugar. Pieces of sa.s.safras root were always placed with dried apples, peaches, etc.

"FRAU" SCHMIDT'S RECIPE FOR APPLE b.u.t.tER

For this excellent apple b.u.t.ter take 5 gallons of cider, 1 bucket of "Schnitz" (sweet apples were always used for the "Schnitz"), 2-1/2 pounds of brown sugar and 1 ounce of allspice. The cider should be boiled down to one-half the original quant.i.ty before adding the apples, which had been pared and cored. Cider for apple b.u.t.ter was made from sweet apples usually, but if made from sour apples 4 pounds of sugar should be used. The apple b.u.t.ter should be stirred constantly. When cooked sufficiently, the apple b.u.t.ter should look clear and be thick as marmalade and the cider should not separate from the apple b.u.t.ter. Frau Schmidt always used "Paradise" apples in preference to any other variety of apple for apple b.u.t.ter.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

A delicious cranberry sauce, or jelly, was prepared by "Aunt Sarah" in the following manner: Carefully pick over and wash 1 quart of cranberries, place in a stew-pan with 2 cups of water; cook quickly a few moments over a hot fire until berries burst open, then crush with a potato-masher. Press through a fine sieve or a fruit press, rejecting skin and seeds. Add 1 pound of sugar to the strained pulp in the stew-pan. Return to the fire and cook two or three minutes only.

Long, slow cooking destroys the fine flavor of the berry, as does brown sugar. Pour into a bowl, or mold, and place on ice, or stand in a cool place to become cold before serving, as an accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken or deviled oysters.

PRESERVED "YELLOW GROUND CHERRIES"

Remove the gossamer-like covering from small yellow "ground cherries"

and place on range in a stew-pan with sugar. (Three-fourths of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit.) Cook slowly about 20 minutes, until the fruit looks clear and syrup is thick as honey. Seal in pint jars.

These cherries, which grow abundantly in many town and country gardens without being cultivated, make a delicious preserve and a very appetizing pie may be made from them also.

Aunt Sarah said she preferred these preserved cherries to strawberries.

Frau Schmidt preferred the larger "purple" ground cherries, which, when preserved, greatly resembled "Guava" jelly in flavor.

"WUNDERSELDA" MARMALADE

This was composed of 2 quarts of the pulp and juice combined of ripe Kieffer pears, which had been pared and cored, (Measured after being run through a food chopper.) The grated yellow rind and juice of five medium-sized tart oranges, and 6-1/2 cups granulated sugar. Cook all together about forty minutes, until a clear amber colored marmalade.

Watch closely and stir frequently, as the mixture scorches easily.

This quant.i.ty will fill about twenty small jelly tumblers. If the marmalade is to be kept some time, it should be put into air-tight gla.s.s jars.

The recipe for this delicious jam was original with the Professor's wife, and Fritz Schmidt, being particularly fond of the confection, gave it the name "Wunderselda," as he said "'twas not 'served often.'"

AUNT SARAH'S SPICED PEARS

Bartlett pears may be used, pared and cut in halves and core and seeds removed, or small sweet Seckel pears may be pared. Left whole, allow stems to remain, weigh, and to 7 pounds of either variety of pear take one pint of good cider vinegar, 3 pounds granulated sugar, a small cheese cloth bag containing several tablespoonfuls of whole cloves and the same amount of stick cinnamon, broken in pieces; all were placed in a preserving kettle and allowed to come to a boil. Then the pears were added and cooked until tender. The fruit will look clear when cooked sufficiently. Remove from the hot syrup with a perforated spoon. Fill pint gla.s.s jars with the fruit. Stand jars in a warm oven while boiling syrup until thick as honey. Pour over fruit, in jars, and seal while hot.

PEACH MARMALADE

Thinly pare ripe peaches. Cut in quarters and remove pits. Place peaches in a preserving kettle with 1/2 cup of water; heat slowly, stirring occasionally. When fruit has become tender mash not too fine and to every three pounds of peaches (weighed before being cooked) allow 1-1/2 pounds of granulated sugar. Cook sugar and fruit together about three-quarters of an hour, stirring frequently, until marmalade looks clear. Place in pint gla.s.s, air-tight jars. Aunt Sarah always preferred the "Morris White," a small, fine flavored, white peach, which ripened quite late in the fall, to any other variety from which to make preserves and marmalade.

AUNT SARAH'S GINGER PEARS

4 pounds of fruit.

2 lemons.

1/4 pound of ginger root.

4 pounds of sugar.

1 cup water.

Use a hard, solid pear, not over ripe. Pare and core the fruit and cut into thin slivers. Use juice of lemons and cut the lemon rind into long, thin strips. Place all together in preserving kettle and cook slowly one hour, or until the fruit looks clear. Should the juice of fruit not be thick as honey, remove fruit and cook syrup a short time, then add fruit to the syrup. When heated through, place in pint jars and seal. This quant.i.ty will fill four pint jars and is a delicious preserve.

PEAR AND PINEAPPLE MARMALADE

2 ripe pineapples, 4 quarts Kieffer pears.

4 pounds granulated sugar.

Both pears and pineapples should be pared and eyes removed from the latter. All the fruit should be run through food-chopper using all the juice from fruit. Mix sugar with fruit and juice and cook, stirring constantly until thick and clear. (Watch closely, as this scorches easily if allowed to stand a minute without stirring.) Pour into gla.s.s pint jars and seal while hot. Any variety of pear may be used, but a rather hard, solid pear is to be preferred. A recipe given Mary which she found delicious.

GRAPE b.u.t.tER

Separate pulp and skins of grapes. Allow pulp to simmer until tender, then mash through a sieve and reject seeds. Add pulp to skins. Take 1/2 pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Cook until thick, seal in air-tight jars.

CANNED SOUR CHERRIES FOR PIES

Pit cherries and cover with cold water and let stand over night. Drain in the morning. To 6 heaping cups of pitted cherries take 2 level cups of sugar, 1/2 cup water. Put all together into stew-pan on range, cook a short time, then add 1 teaspoonful of corn starch mixed with a little cold water and stir well through the cherries; let come to a boil, put in jars and seal. This quant.i.ty fills five pint jars. This is the way one country housekeeper taught Mary to can common _sour_ cherries for pies and she thought them fine.

CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

Cut orange peel in long, narrow strips, cover with cold water and boil 20 minutes. Pour off water, cover with cold water and boil another 20 minutes, then drain and take equal weight of peel and sugar. Let simmer 1 hour, then dip slices in granulated sugar. Stand aside to cool.