DAMSON CHEESE

Take some ripe damsons and put them in a stone jar, and place that either in a kettle of boil- ing water or on a hot hearth, till soft enough to pulp through a tammy. Weigh this pulp^ and to every pound of fruit add three quarters of a pound of white sugar. Let this boil till it is in a thick marmalade, then pour it into small moulds^ blanch some of the kernels first and gar* nish the bottoms of the moulds with them, and stir a few into the pulp. When cold, paper over as before, and when you want to use it turn the fruit out of a mould, it will look well and be very good. To loosen it, put a silver knife round the

180 WATERS.

edges and then lay a plate on it ; shake it out. Do not fill the moulds too full. Slip it on the dish you serve it on.

Any kind of fruit might be prepared in the same manner. Apricot and greengage make de- licious cheese; and the small white buUace, which is a very acid fruit, answers particularly well^ but a pound of sugar must be used in place of three quarters, or the cheese will be too acid to be palatable. In all cases the artiste must use her own discretion, as a little more or less sugar than directed can often be used with advantage to the article prepared, though general rules must be given, and no one can fail in following them.