FRESH FRUITS

Pine Apples. j,LICE on a slaw cutter, or very thin with a knife; mix with finely-powdered sugar. Set on ice till ready to serve.

A Nice Way to Prepare Apples. Pare a dozen tart apples, take out the core, place sugar, with a small lump of butter, in the center of each apple, put them in a pan with half a pint of water, bake until tender, basting occasionally with the syrup while baking; when done, serve with cream.

To Stew Apples. One pound sugar boiled in one quart of spring water and skimmed, one pound of the largest pippins, cut in quarters and the cores taken out. Have the syrup boiling; when you put them in let them stew till they are quite tender, then add the juice of two large lemons, and the peel cut small; give them a few more boils after the lemons are put in. If you want them to keep all the year, the syrup must be well boiled after the apples are taken out. A? you peel the apples fling them into cold water.

Bananas and Cream. Peel, slice, and heap up in a glass dessert-dish, and serve raw, with fine sugar and cream.

To Crystallize Fruit. Pick out the finest of any kind of fruit — leave in the stones*, beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth; lay the fruit in the

156 FRESH FRUITS.

beaten egg, Avith the stems upwai'd; drain tlieni and beat the part

that drips off again; select them out, one by one, and dip them into

i- cup of finely-powdered sugar; cover a pan with a sheet of fine

paper, place the fruit on it, and set it in a cool oven; when the

icing on the fruit becomes firm, pile them on a dish, and set them

in a cold place.

To Keep Grapes.

Select nice fresh clusters, and cut the end of the stem smooth and dip it into melted sealing wax; then put it in cotton batting; pack them away in wooden boxes; keep them in a dry cool place. In this way they will keep fresh all winter. Another way — Take full bunches, ripe and perfect; seal the end that is cut from the vine so that no air can get in, or the juice of the stem run out, and let them stand one day after sealed, so as to be perfectly sure they are sealed (if not they will shrivel up) ; then pack in boxes of dry sawdust and keep in a cool place; they will keep nicely all winter without losing their flavor; in packing, do not crowd the bunches; sprinkle the sawdust over the bottom of the box, then lay the grapes carefully, a bunch at a time, all over the box, then sawdust and grapes alternately until the box is full.

Meloxs. Melons are much nicer if kept on ice until time for serving. Cut off a slice at each end of the water-melon, then cut through the center; stand on end on platter. Cantaloupe melons should have the seeds removed before sending to the table. Eat with a spoon- ful of strained honey in each half of melon.

Oranges, Slice, mix with powdered sugar, and strew grated cocoa-nut over the top. Are also nice served whole, the skins quartered and turned down. Form in a pyramid with bananas and white grapes.

Candied Cherries. Two quarts large, ripe, red cherries, stoned carefully; two pounds loaf sugar, one cup water. Make a syrup of the sugar and water

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and boil until it is thick enough to " pull," as fox- candy. Remove to the side of the range, and stir until it shows signs of granula- tion. It is well to stir frequently while it is cooking, to secure this end. When there are grains or crystals on the spoon, drop in the cherries, a few at a time. Let each supply \ie in the boiling syrup two minutes, when remove to a sieve set over a dish. Shake gently but long, then turn the cherries out upon a cool, broad dish, and dry in a sunny window.

Steaved Pears. Peel pears. Place them in a little water, with sugar, cloves,^ cinnamon and lemon peel. Stew gently, and add one gliass of cider. Dish up cold.

Glace Cherries,

Make as above, but do not let the syrup granulate. It should not be stirred at all, but when it " ropes " pour it over the cherries, which should be spread out upon a large flat dish. When the syrup is almost cold, take these out, one by one, with a teaspoon^ and spread iipon a dish to dry in the open air. If nicely managed- these are neariy :.s good as those put up by professional confec- tioners. Keep in a dry, cool place.

Candied Lemon-Peel.

Twelve fresh, thick-skinned lemons, four pounds loaf sugar, a little powdered alum, three cups clear water. Cut the peel from the lemons in long, thin strips, and lay in strong salt and water all night. Wash them in three waters next morning, and boil them until tender in soft water. They should b" almost translucent, but not so soft as to break. Dissolve a little alum — about half a tea- spoonful, when poAvdered — in enough cold water to cover the peel, and let it lie in it for two hours. By this time the syrup should be ready. Stir the sugar into three cups of water, add the strained juice of three lemons and boil it until it " ropes " from the end of the spoon. Put the lemon-peels into this, simmer gently half an

158 FRESH FRUITS.

hour; «ake them out and spread upon a sieve. Shake, not hard, but often, tossing up the peels now and then, until they are almost dry. Sift granulated sugar over them and lay out upon a table spread with a clean cloth. Admit the air freely, and, when per- fectly dry, pack in a glass jar.

CHAPTER XL