Canning is so simple an operation that it is unfortunate that most people
consider it difficult. The directions generally given are so troublesome
that one can not wonder it is not attempted oftener; but it need be hardly
more care than the making of apple sauce, which, by the way, can always be
made while apples are plenty, and canned for spring use. In an experience
of years, not more than one can in a hundred has ever been lost, and fruit
put up at home is far nicer than any from factories.

In canning, see first that the jars are clean, the rubbers whole and in
perfect order, and the tops clean and ready to screw on. Fill the jars
with hot (not boiling) water half an hour before using, and have them
ready on a table sufficiently large to hold the preserving-kettle, a
dish-pan quarter full of hot water, and the cans. Have ready, also, a deep
plate, large enough to hold two cans; a silver spoon; an earthen cup with
handle; and, if possible, a can-filler,–that is, a small tin in
strainer-shape, but without the bottom, and fitting about the top. The
utmost speed is needed in filling and screwing down tops, and for this
reason every thing _must be_ ready beforehand.

In filling the can let the fruit come to the top; then run the
spoon-handle down on all sides to let out the air; pour in juice till it
runs over freely, and screw the top down at once, using a towel to protect
the hand. Set at once in a dish-pan of water, as this prevents the table
being stained by juice, and also its hardening on the hot can. Proceed in
this way till all are full; wipe them dry; and, when cold, give the tops
an additional screw, as the glass contracts in cooling, and loosens them.
Label them, and keep in a dark, cool closet. When the fruit is used, wash
the jar, and dry carefully at the back of the stove. Wash the rubber also,
and dry on a towel, putting it in the jar when dry, and screwing on the
top. They are then ready for next year’s use. Mason’s cans are decidedly
the best for general use.

GENERAL RULES FOR CANNING.

For all small fruits allow one-third of a pound of sugar to a pound of
fruit. Make it into a sirup with a teacup of water to each pound, and skim
carefully. Throw in the fruit, and boil ten minutes, canning as directed.
Raspberries and blackberries are best; huckleberries are excellent for
pies, and easily canned. Pie-plant can be stewed till tender. It requires
half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit.

For peaches, gages, &c, allow the same amount of sugar as for raspberries.
Pare peaches, and can whole or in halves as preferred. Prick plums and
gages with a large darning-needle to prevent their bursting. In canning
pears, pare and drop at once, into cold water, as this prevents their
turning dark.

Always use a porcelain-lined kettle, and stir either with a silver or a
wooden spoon,–never an iron one. Currants are nice mixed with an equal
weight of raspberries, and all fruit is more wholesome canned than in
preserves.

TO CAN TOMATOES.

Unless very plenty, it is cheaper to buy these in the tins. Pour on
boiling water to help in removing the skins; fill the preserving kettle,
but add no water. Boil them five minutes, and then can. Do not season till
ready to use them for the table. Okra and tomatoes may be scalded together
in equal parts, and canned for soups.

PRESERVES.

Preserves are scarcely needed if canning is nicely done. They require much
more trouble, and are too rich for ordinary use, a pound of sugar to one
of fruit being required. If made at all, the fruit must be very fresh, and
the sirup perfectly clear. For sirup allow one teacup of cold water to
every pound of sugar, and, as it heats, add to every three or four pounds
the white of an egg. Skim very carefully, boiling till no more rises, and
it is ready for use. Peaches, pears, green gages, cherries, and
crab-apples are all preserved alike. Peel, stone, and halve peaches, and
boil only a few pieces at a time till clear. Peel, core, and halve pears.
Prick plums and gages several times. Core crab-apples, and cut half the
stem from cherries. Cook till tender. Put up _when cold_ in small jars,
and paste paper over them.

JAMS.

Make sirup as directed above. Use raspberries, strawberries, or any small
fruit, and boil for half an hour. Put up in small jars or tumblers; lay
papers dipped in brandy on the fruit, and paste on covers, or use patent
jelly-glasses.

MARMALADE.

Quinces make the best; but crab-apples or any sour apple are also good.
Poor quinces, unfit for other use, can be washed and cut in small pieces,
coring, but not paring them. Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar and
a teacupful of water to a pound of fruit, and boil slowly two hours,
stirring and mashing it fine. Strain through a colander, and put up in
glasses or bowls. Peach marmalade is made in the same way.

CURRANT JELLY.

The fruit must be picked when just ripened, as when too old it will not
form jelly. Look over, and then put stems and all in a porcelain-lined
kettle. Crush a little of the fruit to form juice, but add no water. As it
heats, jam with a potato-masher; and when hot through, strain through a
jelly-bag. Let all run off that will, before squeezing the bag. It will be
a little clearer than the squeezed juice. To every pint of this juice add
one pound of best white sugar, taking care that it has not a blue tinge.
Jelly from bluish-white sugars does not harden well. Boil the juice
twenty-five minutes; add the sugar, and boil for five more. Put up in
glasses.

ORANGE MARMALADE.

This recipe, taken from the “New York Evening Post,” has been thoroughly
tested by the author, and found delicious.

“A recipe for orange marmalade that I think will be entirely new to most
housewives, and that I know is delicious, comes from an English
housekeeper. It is a sweet that is choice and very healthful. If made now,
when oranges and lemons are plentiful, it may be had at a cost of from
five to six cents for a large glass. The recipe calls for one dozen
oranges (sweet or part bitter), one half-dozen lemons, and ten pounds of
granulated sugar. Wash the fruit in tepid water thoroughly, and scrub the
skins with a soft brush to get rid of the possible microbes that it is
said may lurk on the skins of fruit. Dry the fruit; take a very sharp
knife, and on a hard-wood board slice it very thin. Throw away the thick
pieces that come off from the ends. Save all the seeds, and put them in
one bowl; the sliced fruit in another. Pour half a gallon of water over
the contents of each bowl, and soak for thirty-six hours. Then put the
fruit in your preserving-kettle, with the water that has been standing on
it, and strain in (through a colander) the water put on the lemon-seeds.
Cook gently two hours; then add the sugar, and cook another hour, or until
the mixture jellies. Test by trying a little in a saucer. Put away in
glasses or cans, as other jelly.”

FRUIT JELLIES.

Crab-apple, quince, grapes, &c., are all made in the same way. Allow a
teacup of water to a pound of fruit; boil till very tender; then strain
through a cloth, and treat as currant jelly. Cherries will not jelly
without gelatine, and grapes are sometimes troublesome. Where gelatine is
needed, allow a package to two quarts of juice.

CANDIED FRUITS.

Make a sirup as for preserves, and boil any fruit, prepared as directed,
until tender. Let them stand two days in the sirup. Take out; drain
carefully; lay them on plates; sift sugar over them, and dry either in the
sun or in a moderately warm oven.

PICKLES AND CATCHUPS.

Sour pickles are first prepared by soaking in a brine made of one pint of
coarse salt to six quarts of water. Boil this, and pour it scalding hot
over the pickle, cucumbers, green tomatoes, &c. Cucumbers may lie in this
a week, or a month even, but must be soaked in cold water two days before
using them. Other pickles lie only a month.

Sweet pickles are made from any fruit used in preserving, allowing three,
or sometimes four, pounds of sugar to a quart of best cider vinegar, and
boiling both together.

CUCUMBER PICKLES.

Half a bushel of cucumbers, small, and as nearly as possible the same
size. Make a brine as directed, and pour over them. Next morning prepare a
pickle as follows: Two gallons of cider vinegar; one quart of brown sugar.
Boil, and skim carefully, and add to it half a pint of white mustard seed;
one ounce of stick-cinnamon broken fine; one ounce of alum; half an ounce
each of whole cloves and black pepper-corns. Boil five minutes, and pour
over the cucumbers. They can be used in a week. In a month scald the
vinegar once more, and pour over them.

TOMATO CHUTNEY.

One peck of green tomatoes; six large green peppers; six onions; one cup
of salt. Chop onions and peppers fine, slice the tomatoes about quarter of
an inch thick, and sprinkle the salt over all. In the morning drain off
all the salt and water, and put the tomatoes in a porcelain-lined kettle.
Mix together thoroughly two pounds of brown sugar; quarter of a pound of
mustard-seed; one ounce each of powdered cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and
black pepper; half an ounce of allspice; quarter of an ounce each of
cayenne pepper and ground mustard. Stir all into the tomatoes; cover with
cider vinegar,–about two quarts,–and boil slowly for two hours. Very
nice, but very hot. If wanted less so, omit the cayenne and ground
mustard.

RIPE CUCUMBER OR MELON-RIND PICKLES.

Pare, seed, and cut lengthwise into four pieces, or in thick slices. Boil
an ounce of alum in one gallon of water, and pour over them, letting them
stand at least half a day on the back of the stove. Take them out, and let
them lie in cold water until cold. Have ready a quart of vinegar, three
pounds of brown sugar, and an ounce of stick-cinnamon and half an ounce
cloves. Boil the vinegar and sugar, and skim; add the spices and the melon
rind or cucumber, and boil for half an hour.

SWEET-PICKLED PEACHES, PEARS, OR PLUMS.

Seven pounds of fruit; four pounds of brown sugar; one quart of vinegar;
one ounce of cloves; two ounces of stick-cinnamon. Pare the peaches or
not, as liked. If unpared, wash and wipe each one to rub off the wool.
Boil vinegar and sugar, and skim well; add spices, sticking one or two
cloves in each peach. Boil ten minutes, and take out into jars. Boil the
sirup until reduced one-half, and pour over them. Pears are peeled and
cored; apples peeled, cored, and quartered. They can all be put in stone
jars; but Mason’s cans are better.

TOMATO CATCHUP.

Boil one bushel of ripe tomatoes, skins and all, and, when soft, strain
through a colander. Be sure that it is a colander, and _not_ a sieve, for
reasons to be given. Add to this pulp two quarts of best vinegar; one cup
of salt; two pounds of brown sugar; half an ounce of cayenne pepper; three
ounces each of powdered allspice and mace; two ounces of powdered
cinnamon; three ounces of celery-seed. Mix spices and sugar well together,
and stir into the tomato; add the vinegar, and stir thoroughly. Now strain
the whole through a _sieve_. A good deal of rather thick pulp will not go
through. Pour all that runs through into a large kettle, and let it boil
slowly till reduced one-half. Put the thick pulp into a smaller kettle,
and boil twenty minutes. Use as a pickle with cold meats or with boiled
fish. A teacupful will flavor a soup. In the old family rule from which
this is taken, a pint of brandy is added ten minutes before the catchup is
done; but it is not necessary, though an improvement. Bottle, and keep in
a cool, dark place. It keeps for years.