The Laurel Health Cookery: A Collection of Practical Suggestions and Recipes for the Preparation of Non-Flesh Foods in Palatable and Attractive Ways

CAN PEACHES AND FRUITS OF THAT CLASS =Peaches= Wash peaches, rubbing well, drain, pare as thin as possible and drop into cold water to keep them from turning dark. If the peaches are very ripe, put a few at a time into a wire basket and plunge into boiling water. Hold them there a moment, then quickly turn them into cold water; after which the skins will slip off easily. This is a quicker method and does not waste the peaches, but I have thought they were more apt to turn dark. For each rounded quart of peaches, make a syrup of ⅓-½ cup of sugar and 1-1½ cup of water, the water in which the peaches were standing. Bring the syrup to the boiling point, drop the peaches in (if in halves the cut side down), boil until thoroughly heated through, or until tender; drop the peaches into the jars, pour boiling syrup over, seal, following “Suggestions” carefully. =Pears= 1 rounded qt. (8 or 9) pears in halves ⅓-½ cup sugar 1 tablespn. lemon juice 1-1½ cup water Finish the same as peaches. The lemon juice gives character to the pears. I once had some pears that were so flavorless it seemed hardly worth while to can them, but I tied ground anise seed in small pieces of cheese cloth and cooked with them, besides adding lemon juice, and they were excellent. Small pears and those with thin skins may be canned without paring. They are richer but the skins sometimes cause flatulence. Do not can pears while they are hard. =Plums= 1 qt. plums ¼-⅓ cup sugar ¼-½ cup water It is a good plan to prick the plums on all sides with a fork before cooking. =Quinces and Sweet Apples= 6 qts. quinces in eighths 6 qts. sweet apples in quarters 5 qts. water 4-6 cups sugar Cook quinces in water until tender, remove with skimmer; cook apples in same water, remove apples, measure water, adding more if necessary; dissolve sugar in water, heat to boiling, add fruit, simmer a few minutes and put into jars. Quinces