A Little Preserving Book for a Little Girl

Now that the marmalade was finished, it seemed easy work to clear the things away. Mother helped her stand the marmalade in the sun while it set, and then Adelaide ran away to play. Later, when it was cool, she took a clean cloth, dipped it in hot water, and wiped off the drops of jelly from the tops of the tumblers and outsides, then melted some paraffin and poured it over the top. By moving the tumblers gently from side to side the paraffin formed on the sides and excluded the air.

Last of all, she put on the little labels and carried all but one tumbler to the bench in the preserve closet, which mother had told her might be for her special use.

The next morning at breakfast Daddy was very much delighted to find a jar of marmalade before his plate, and he proceeded to help himself generously when the hot buttered toast was passed. He was so intent in his enjoyment of this that Adelaide and mother could smile at one another without being observed. When he had quite satisfied his appetite he announced:

"Well, mother, there is no question about it, you certainly do know how to make marmalade. I've never tasted better; I only hope Adelaide can make it as well when she grows up."

At that mother and Adelaide burst out laughing, while Daddy looked surprised and questioned, "What's the joke? There's nothing funny about that statement that I can see."

"Oh, no, Daddy, only, you see, I happened to make that marmalade myself and before I grew up," replied Adelaide.

Can't you just imagine how surprised and delighted Daddy was?

Mother said that many people liked the addition of grapefruit in their marmalade, so she let Adelaide try

Orange and Grapefruit Marmalade

This was prepared in exactly the same manner as the previous recipe, except that Adelaide grated the rind of the grapefruit instead of cutting it into thin slices. The oranges, lemon, and grapefruit were all washed thoroughly and wiped. Adelaide cut the oranges and lemon lengthwise into quarters, removing the seeds and thick skin at the centers. Each quarter was then sliced as thinly as possible with a sharp little knife, and put into a bowl until all were ready to be measured. The rind of the grapefruit was grated and added to the sliced oranges and lemon, then, after cutting the grapefruit in halves, Adelaide removed the seeds and used only the juice and fruit pulp, which she separated from the little pockets with a very sharp knife.

After measuring the prepared fruit with the glass measuring cup and putting it into the saucepan, Adelaide added two cups of boiling water to each cup of fruit, then covered it and let it stand for twenty-four hours. In another pan Adelaide measured as many cups of sugar as there were cups of fruit,—she remembered the number of cups of fruit she had before adding the water—so that all would be ready for the next day.

The following morning Adelaide put the saucepan containing the fruit on the stove to boil, removing the cover first. When the mixture came to the boiling point, she began to time it and let it continue boiling gently for an hour. This gave her time to wash the jelly tumblers, after which she sterilized the same by placing them on a rack in a pan of cold water deep enough to cover them, then putting them on the stove and bringing the water to the boiling point. The pan of sugar was placed on the back of the range to heat through, and when the fruit had boiled an hour the sugar was added.

After adding the sugar Adelaide stirred the marmalade frequently, and as soon as it had boiled another half-hour she began testing to see if it would "jell." This she did by dropping a little from the spoon into a cold saucer. If it began to thicken and set, it was ready to remove from the fire and pour into the sterilized tumblers. These were placed on a tray in the sun to set, and when cool, the tops and outsides were wiped with a clean cloth dipped in hot water to remove any marmalade that might have been spilled in the process of filling. Then, melting some paraffin, Adelaide poured it over the top of the marmalade, and gently moving the tumbler from side to side she completely covered it with paraffin which kept out all air. Next came the labels, and then the tumblers were ready to be stored in the preserve closet.

Orange and Rhubarb Marmalade

Adelaide found this marmalade much more simple to make. The oranges and sticks of rhubarb were thoroughly washed, the oranges then cut into quarters lengthwise, and all seeds and tough centers removed. After this, they were put through the meat chopper and the rhubarb was skinned and cut into one-half inch pieces.

Putting these together, Adelaide measured them to see how many cups of fruit she had and emptied each cup in the saucepan. To each cup of fruit she added one-fourth cup of cold water, then placed them on the stove in the saucepan to boil. When the boiling point was reached, Adelaide noted the time and let them boil slowly for one half-hour. Removing the saucepan from the fire, Adelaide again measured the contents and to each cup she added three-fourths of a cup of sugar. These were all put back in the saucepan and boiled slowly until thick, then poured at once into the sterilized tumblers, which Adelaide had previously made ready. When cool, there followed the usual wiping with a clean cloth dipped in hot water, to remove any spillings while filling, and the paraffin was melted and poured over the top.

Adelaide never forgot to shake each tumbler gently while the paraffin was still soft, as it sealed the marmalade much more securely from all air. Next came the labels and the removal of tumblers to preserve closet.

Peach Marmalade

What little girl does not love peaches? Adelaide was no exception, and this marmalade was very simply made.

First, mother told Adelaide to put the peaches in a pan and completely cover them with boiling water and let them stand for a minute or two, or until the skins would slip off easily. Pouring off the water, she then proceeded to remove the skins with a small silver fruit knife (a steel knife would discolor the fruit), and to take out the stones.

Next, Adelaide weighed the saucepan (in which the peaches were to be cooked) while it was empty, and then cut the peaches into thin slices and placed them in the saucepan. Again the saucepan was weighed, this time containing the peaches. The differences between the weight of the empty saucepan and the same saucepan containing the peaches showed Adelaide just how much the peaches weighed, and to these she added half their weight in sugar.

Mixing the fruit and sugar well together, she put the saucepan away in a cool place until the next day. Picking out four of the best peach stones, she cracked them and removed the kernels. These she scalded in boiling water and removed the brown skins, after which they were shredded into small pieces and added to the sliced peaches.

The next morning Adelaide put the saucepan containing the peaches on the stove to heat and let them cook very slowly until thick and smooth, not forgetting to stir frequently with the wooden spoon. In the meantime, her tumblers had been sterilized, and, as soon as the marmalade was done, they were removed from the boiling water and at once filled. When they were cool Adelaide wiped them carefully, poured melted paraffin over the top (shaking the tumbler gently from side to side), labelled them, and carried them away to the preserve closet.

Another way to make Peach Marmalade was as follows:

Peach Marmalade No. 2

Adelaide scalded the peaches with boiling water, then removed the skins. Then she cut the peaches into small pieces, put them in the saucepan with the water, and boiled slowly until the fruit was thoroughly soft. Adelaide stirred the fruit frequently with the wooden spoon. Next she rubbed the cooked fruit through a strainer, returned the peaches to the saucepan, added the sugar and lemon juice, and let the mixture cook slowly another half hour, stirring it occasionally.

When the marmalade was finished she poured it at once into the sterilized tumblers that were ready waiting. As soon as they were cool she wiped the tumblers clean, poured the melted paraffin over the marmalade, labelled them, and stored them away in the preserve closet.

Mother told Adelaide that she could also make marmalade of apricots, quinces, plums, and even prunes, in exactly the same manner. So Adelaide tried each one in its season.

Apricot Marmalade

From the apricots Adelaide did not remove the skins, she simply cut them in halves and took out the stones, put them in the saucepan, added the water, and boiled slowly until the fruit was very soft, stirring frequently with the wooden spoon. When sufficiently cooked she rubbed the fruit through a wooden strainer, put it back in the saucepan, added the sugar and lemon juice, and let it cook slowly for about half an hour. Adelaide stirred occasionally to be sure that the marmalade did not burn, and poured it at once into sterilized tumblers when it was finished. The tops and outsides she wiped clean when they were cool, and then poured melted paraffin over the top of the marmalade, and gently shook the paraffin from side to side to make them air tight.

The labels were then pasted on and the tumblers stored away in the preserve closet.

Quince Marmalade

Mother told Adelaide to wash the quinces thoroughly, wipe, remove blossom ends, cut in quarters and remove seeds, then cut in small pieces; to put into saucepan, add water, and let cook slowly until very tender, stirring with the wooden spoon frequently; to then rub fruit through a strainer, return to saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice, and cook slowly one half-hour. This she did, and when the quinces were properly cooked, Adelaide poured them at once into the sterilized tumblers she had ready waiting, and put them on a tray to cool.

Then mother told her to wipe the tops and outsides clean, cover with melted paraffin (shaking gently from side to side), label, and store away in the preserve closet.

Plum Marmalade

Adelaide first wiped the plums and removed the stones, then put the fruit into a saucepan, added the water and cooked until very soft, stirring every little while with the wooden spoon. Next she rubbed the fruit through a strainer, returned it to saucepan, added the sugar and lemon juice, and cooked slowly one half-hour.

The sterilized tumblers were waiting, and into these Adelaide poured the marmalade. When the jars were cool she wiped the tumblers clean, poured over melted paraffin, shook gently from side to side to make them air tight, added the labels, then stored them away in the preserve closet.

When Adelaide came to the prunes mother wondered what would happen, for Adelaide did not like prunes. It had been a tender subject between them for some time. However, the results were better than mother had expected, for Adelaide remarked: "Well, mother, I may as well try it, because even if I don't like prunes, you do, so I'll make this marmalade especially for you."

Prune Marmalade

The prunes, mother said, would have to be thoroughly washed in several waters, then soaked over night in the cup of water. This Adelaide did, and the next morning put them on the stove in her little saucepan to boil until thoroughly cooked. With two silver forks Adelaide then removed the stones and rubbed the fruit through a strainer; returning the fruit to the saucepan, she added the sugar and lemon juice, cooked it slowly one half-hour, poured into sterilized tumblers, and let cool.

When cold, Adelaide wiped each tumbler, poured melted paraffin over the top of marmalade, shook gently from side to side to exclude all air, pasted on the labels, and stored away in the preserve closet.

Apple marmalade came next, and mother thought that that was sufficient for the present.

Apple Marmalade

These were nice tart apples of fine flavor. Adelaide washed them well, cut into quarters (removing stem and blossoms only), put in saucepan, and added enough water to almost, though not quite, cover the apples. These she cooked slowly until very soft, then pressed them through a strainer. She next measured the fruit, returned it to the saucepan, and to each cup of fruit added three-fourths of a cup of sugar. Returning the saucepan to the fire, Adelaide let it boil gently for three-quarters of an hour, stirring every little while.

The sterilized tumblers were ready, and into these Adelaide poured the marmalade; when cool she wiped the tops and outsides clean, poured melted paraffin over the marmalade, shook the tumblers from side to side gently to exclude all air, pasted on the labels, and stored away in the preserve closet.

CHAPTER II

JAMS

Of course Adelaide did not make her jams, jellies, etc., in the order given, but according to the season, and she welcomed each fruit in its turn. Adelaide was especially fond of jams; they did make the most delicious sandwiches when she came home hungry from school or went on a picnic, but the climax of enjoyment was reached when mother made rolly-polly jam puddings in the winter.

Strawberries were usually first on the market, and so "Strawberry Jam" was the first attempt in the jam making line.

Strawberry Jam