PEPPERS WITH TOMATOES

Mrs. E. .S. Martin.

Halve the peppers, remove the seeds, and soak in salt water 1 hour. Add to a kettle of tomatoes, in any proportion liked, and can with them.

Wash and cut in small squares without peeling ; fill the kettle, add a very little water to start it, cover closely and steam till tender; take off the cover and boil dry if it takes all day, stirring often. Put in jars or cans and seal immediately. If in glass, cover the jar to keep but the light.

Pick over fresh spinach with more than usual care, and wash through several waters. Cook in boiling salted water about 20 minutes or till done. Take out with a fork and pack in hot jars, filling them very full. Pour in boiling water till it overflows, and seal.

Okra, beans of all kinds, peas, whole beets, whole tomatoes, succotash, etc., may all be canned in the same way, by preparing as for the table and boiling till tender, not soft.

STRING BEANS, NO. 1.

Mrs. W. J. Miller.

Take yoimg green beans, string and break them, and cook about \ hour or until tender. Drain and fill Mason jars, putting first a layer of beans and then a layer of salt, finishing up with the salt. Seal immediately. When wanted for use soak until perfectly fresh, then cook as if they were fresh beans. They may also be packed in stone jars \vith a weight on top, and well tied up.

CANNED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 269

strixg'beaxs. no. 2.

Mrs. John Sweeney.

String beans should be tender and young. String them and break into 1 inch lengths. Pack closely in tin cans or glass jars, add 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar dissolved in water to each jar, fill the jars with cold water, and cover loosely. Fut ma kettle or boiler, pack hav around to keen the jars steady, hll with cold water to the neck of the jars, and boil 3 hours. Keep the water in the boiler at the same height by addmg bodnig water. Screw the lids on tight, and when the bottles are cold, screw again. If cans are used, take off the lid. wipe dry, return it immediately and seal before taking out of the kettle.

Lima beans, peas and asparagus tips may be canned m tlic same way.

STRIXG BEANS, NO. 3.

Mrs. Blanche Eberts.

Can according to String Beans. No. 2, l)Ut omit the salt and sugar.

Scald and peel the tomatoes, cut in (juarters, and boil until soft Ad'd an even tablespoon salt to a kettle. Stir and skim as often as necessary. Keep the tomatoes boiling while lillmg the jars. If wanted as whole as possible, do not quarter, and only heat them through.

FRUIT JELLIES

Make jellv on a clear dav. Take the fruit just npe or a little under ripe. Do not pick it just after a rain, and do not wash unless sandv. Large fruits should be wiped clean, the de- caved spots removed, then cut in quarters or less, placed in a preserving kettle, and barelv covered with cold water. Cover the kettle and let cook slowly till soft. Stir occasionally to keep from burning. The small fruits should be picked over carefullv, placed in a stone jar inside a large preserving kettle, the kettle hllcd witli hot water as high as practicable, and kept filled with boiling water as fast as it boils away. Stir once in a while to heat the fruit

\\'hen soft turn the fruit into a coarse flannel bag (first dipped in hot water and wrung drv), tie the bag. and hang it up till the juice all drains out. Do not squeeze the light colored jellies, or thev will be cloudv. When the juice quits dripping, squeeze dry for" a second grade of jelly. Measure the juice, put it over the fire in a preserving kettle, and bring it to a boil. Allow pint tor pint of sugar, and put it in earthen dishes where it will heat. When the juice boils, skim it well, add the sugar, stirring just enough to dissolve it quicklv. and boil without stirring tdl done. Put a little in a cold saucer, and if it jellies on top it is done. Or dip a spoon into the boiling syrup, and if the last drops cling to the spoon, while the bowl remains covered, it is done. Begin

270 OLD COUNTRY RECIPES AND NEW.

testing ill 15 minutes unless it appears done earlier. The time depends somewhat upon the amount of water, and the thorough- ness of the previous cooking of the fruit. Skim well and take off the stove.

Have the glasses ready, washed in hot water, and kept hot ; take the syrup out with a cup and liU them, pouring a little at a time in each. A silver teaspoon left in a glass while filling is a safeguard against cracking. Keep the glasses out of a draft until cold. The next day, if the jelly is set, cut white glazed paper to fit the inside of the glasses, dip in brandy and lay over the jelly. Or pour melted parafiin over it to the depth of \ an inch. Fasten on the tin tops and set away in a cool place. A trouble- some, but satisfactory top consists of white glazed paper, cut a little larger than the tops of the glasses, dipped in white of. egg, and pasted over with the hands.

If the jelly is not firm in 24 hours, cover with paper or glass and set in the sun for several days. If still not jellied, boil it over.

Some fruits make a "ropy" jellv. If some one of the reliable kinds is combined with an unreliable one, it will correct this. Grape, quince, apple and currant give no trouble. Apple, or rhubarb, makes a good base for the more expensive jellies, and also tones down too strong a flavor.