THE LARDER (continued 3)

Rhubarb and Orange Marmalade.—To every pint cut-up rhubarb allow 3 oranges and 12 oz. crushed loaf sugar. Peel the oranges, take out some of the white pith, and cut the rinds into thin strips as for orange marmalade. Cut up the insides of the oranges into slices, removing the pips. Put rhubarb, oranges, and sugar into a preserving-pan, and let them boil gently over a moderate fire until sufficiently done, which may be ascertained as above. As the scum rises it should be removed. When the jam sets pour it off into jars, to be covered down next day when cold.

Rowan Jelly.—(a) The rowans should be quite ripe. Pick them off the stalks and put them into the pan, and cover with water. Take them off before they come to the boil, break them well down with a wooden spoon, and strain through a jelly-bag; then add 1 lb. sugar to every pint of juice, and boil till it jellies.

(b) Apples and rowans equal weight. Slice the apples without paring or coring, put them in the pan with the rowans, water just sufficient to cover the fruit. Warm slowly until they boil; then bruise with a wooden spoon, and pass through a sieve. Strain through muslin, and boil 1 lb. sugar to every lb. fruit juice. Boil to the thickness desired. It keeps better when thick.

Strawberry Jam.—Gather the strawberries on a fine dry day, pick off the stalks carefully, and reject all that are the least unsound. Weigh the fruit, and take an equal quantity of pounded sugar; put the fruit into a preserving-pan on the fire and when the juice runs out add the sugar; let it simmer, stirring gently, and skimming well. When it boils keep it boiling, not too fast, for 20 minutes, stirring most carefully, so as not to break the fruit, all the time with a wooden spoon.

Strawberry Jelly.—Take 3 lb. strawberries, and 2 lb. pink rhubarb or red currants. If rhubarb, cut it in small lengths. Put these into a very wide-mouthed jar, and set it on a hot stove, with a ring under it lest it should catch. Cover the fruit with a plate or saucer small enough to go inside the jar, so that as the fruit sinks down you may be able to press it gently from time to time, and drain off the juice into a basin. When 1½ pint is extracted, pass it through a hair sieve into a stewpan, and put to it 2 oz. gelatine, which has been soaked for ½ hour, in ½ pint of cold water, 6 oz. loaf sugar, and the beaten whites and crushed shells of 3 fresh eggs. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved, and the jelly boils. Put the lid on the stewpan, and let it boil gently, without stirring or skimming for ½ hour. Let it stand away from the fire for a few minutes, and then strain as you would calf’s foot jelly. Oil the mould you intend using well with a little good salad oil. Arrange prettily in the bottom of it, according to its pattern, a few nice strawberries and blanched almonds. Pour in sufficient of the lukewarm jelly to set the fruit, and put in a cool place until set. Keep the remainder of the jelly in a liquid state until you are ready to fill up the mould, then set the whole if possible, on ice to get firm. Turn it out just before serving in a glass dish, with or without a custard, round, but not over it. The fruit pulp left from this may be made into a tolerable preserve for nursery use, if boiled with ¾ lb. sugar to a pint of pulp.

Strawberries Preserved Whole.—Take equal weights largest strawberries procurable and fine loaf sugar, lay the fruit in deep dishes, and sprinkle half the sugar over them in fine powder; give the dish a gentle shake that the sugar may touch the under part of the fruit. The next day make a syrup with the remainder of the sugar and the juice drawn from the strawberries, and boil it until it jellies; then carefully put in the strawberries, and let them simmer nearly an hour; then put them with care into jars or bottles, and fill up with the syrup, of which there will be more than required; but the next day the jars will hold nearly or quite the whole. Cover the jars or bottles with brandy papers. (E. A. G.)

Tomato Preserve.—(a) Take those tomatoes not entirely ripe (the very green ones late in the autumn are nice) and remove the stems; allow ½ lb. white sugar to 1 lb. fruit; put into the preserving kettle, and add water enough to make sufficient syrup. Do not put too much water in at first, as you can add to it if there is not enough. Lemons should be sliced and put into it in the proportion of 1 lemon to every 2 lb. fruit. Cook until done through and the syrup looks thick. They make an excellent preserve and taste almost like figs.

(b) Take the sound fruit as soon as ripe, scald, and peel them. To 7 lb. tomatoes add 7 lb. white sugar, and let them stand overnight. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar and boil the syrup, removing the scum; put in the tomatoes and boil gently 15-20 minutes. Remove the fruit again and boil until the syrup thickens; on cooling put the fruit into jars, and pour the syrup over it; add a few slices of lemon to each jar.

Vegetable Marrow Preserve.—Take a ripe marrow about 9 lb. weight, with the same amount of sugar, pare the marrow and remove the seeds and any soft parts; cut in pieces 1 in. thick and 2 in. length; put them in a basin with layers of sugar all night, with 1 tablespoonful capsicums tied up in muslin, and double the quantity of rough ginger well bruised and tied in muslin. In the morning pour the liquid over the remainder of the sugar, which boil and skim; then add the fruit, also the juice and rind of a lemon to each lb. of fruit, and 1 teaspoonful cochineal for colouring; boil till the fluid is clear; before taking off 2 glasses of brandy may be added.

Walnuts, Preserved.—Gather the walnuts when they are full grown, but not hard. They should be in that state that a pin will penetrate them. Prick each walnut over with a large pin, put them in cold water, and leave them for 2 hours; then pour that water away, and fill the pan with fresh. Let the walnuts remain thus for 4 days, changing the water every 24 hours, to take out all the bitterness. At the end of the time change the water, and set them on the fire. As soon as they are soft take them out carefully with a skimmer, put them again into cold water, and leave them 4-5 days, changing the water as before every 24 hours. Then place the walnuts in a large glazed pan; then take common brown sugar, boil this with some water, and run the syrup through a jelly bag. Boil it again until it becomes thick, let it stand, and when about half cold pour it over the walnuts, and leave them. Next day drain off the syrup, boil it again, and when half cold pour it on the fruit. Repeat this every 24 hours, increasing the thickness of the syrup each time of boiling. A small quantity of coarse sugar should be added at every boiling, as the fruit ought to be covered with the syrup. On the ninth day put a few cloves and some cinnamon in a glass of water for 24 hours, then cut each clove into 4 pieces lengthwise; cut the cinnamon also into bits about the same size. Take the walnuts out of the syrup, and stick 4 pieces of clove and as many of cinnamon into each walnut. In the meanwhile boil the syrup up again, and when half cold pour it over the fruit and leave it. In 24 hours drain off the syrup, and set it on the fire for the last time. As soon as it begins to boil put in the fruit; let them boil up together about 12 times, and then take them from the fire. Make the bottles quite hot, put in the walnuts one by one with a skimmer, pour the syrup on (they should be well covered with it), and, when cold, cork them tight and tie a parchment over every one. You must not try to hurry the preserving, or you will get a bitter jam. These walnuts may be eaten immediately, or they will keep for 10 years; but, as in course of time the fruit sucks up the syrup, they should be filled up with fresh. You might use loaf sugar in preference to brown.