A Little Preserving Book for a Little Girl. Waterman Amy Harlow (Lane)
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Strawberry Jam
Mother told Adelaide to empty the strawberries into the colander and place in a pan of cold water, then to dip the colander up and down so as to thoroughly cleanse the berries; next to change the water two or three times until it was clear, then lift out the colander and drain. Mother also said that you should never wash berries after they were hulled, because if you did you lost part of the juice.
After Adelaide felt sure they were clean, and after mother had carefully inspected them, she commenced to hull the berries, using the strawberry huller, then she weighed the berries and measured out three-fourths their weight in sugar.
With a wooden potato masher Adelaide mashed the berries in the saucepan and poured over the sugar; this mixture she let stand a few minutes before putting the saucepan on the stove and letting it come slowly to the boiling point. When the fruit had cooked slowly for forty-five minutes, Adelaide stirring frequently, meanwhile, with the wooden spoon, it was ready for her to pour into sterilized tumblers, which she had previously prepared. The tops and outsides of the tumblers she wiped with a clean cloth as soon as the jam had cooled, then poured melted paraffin over the jam, and shook gently from side to side to make it air tight.
Adelaide was always glad when it came time to paste on the neat little labels and put the tumblers away in the preserve closet; she was very much surprised, too, to see how quickly her bench was becoming filled.
In the beginning, mother had told her that sometimes it would seem as though she spent all of her time preserving, for the fruits and vegetables followed fast upon one another, but Adelaide replied she was sure she would not mind, she was so eager to learn.
Raspberry Jam
Adelaide picked over the raspberries before washing them, and mother told her to keep a sharp look-out for little worms that sometimes curled themselves up in the center, and you may be sure Adelaide's keen eyes never missed one if there were any. Next she put them in the colander, and then dipped the colander up and down in a pan of clear cold water several times. When all possible dirt had been washed away, Adelaide stood the colander to drain, after which she poured the berries into the saucepan and weighed them.
Adelaide found it a great convenience to know the weight of each saucepan she used, and she kept a little card showing just how much each one weighed, then when they were weighed with the fruit, all she needed to do was to subtract the weight from the total of the saucepan to find out how much the fruit weighed.
To each pound of raspberries Adelaide measured three-fourths of a pound of sugar, then she mashed the berries, added the sugar, and let the mixture stand a short time before putting it on the stove to cook.
When the fruit had become heated to the boiling point, Adelaide let it cook slowly for forty-five minutes, not forgetting to stir with the wooden spoon to keep from burning; meanwhile, she had sterilized the tumblers and they were ready when the jam had finished cooking. Adelaide poured the jam into the tumblers at once, and as soon as it had cooled she wiped the tops and outsides carefully, poured melted paraffin over the jam, shook it gently from side to side to make it secure from the air, pasted on the labels, and stored them away in the preserve closet.
Raspberry and Red Currant Jam
First, Adelaide picked over the raspberries very carefully and placed them in the colander, then she removed the stems from the currants and added them to the raspberries. These she then dipped in clear cold water several times and set aside to drain. Next she weighed the fruit, and to each pound she added a pound of sugar.
She mashed the fruit well with the wooden masher in the saucepan and poured over the sugar. After a few minutes the juice began to run and she put the saucepan on the stove, letting the jam heat slowly through. When it boiled, Adelaide stirred it frequently and let it cook forty-five minutes. It was then ready to pour into the sterilized tumblers. When cold, she wiped the top and outside of each tumbler, poured melted paraffin over the jam, shook it gently from side to side, thus excluding all air, pasted on the labels and put away in the preserve closet.
This combination of raspberries and red currants was a great favorite with everybody.
Red Currant Jam
The red currants Adelaide removed from their stems and put in the colander to be thoroughly washed. This was done by dipping the colander up and down in a pan of clear cold water. If they were very dusty, she changed the water several times.
After draining the currants sufficiently, she weighed them and put them into the saucepan. To each pound of fruit Adelaide added one pound of sugar. With the wooden masher she mashed the currants and stirred them well with the sugar.
Putting the saucepan on the stove, she let the fruit come slowly to the boiling point, stirring with the wooden spoon frequently to prevent it from burning. It boiled gently for forty-five minutes, then Adelaide poured it into sterilized tumblers at once and stood them away to cool. When they were cold she wiped the top and outside of each tumbler, poured melted paraffin over the jam, shaking it gently from side to side to keep out any air, pasted on the labels and stored away in the preserve closet.
Black Currant Jam
Adelaide found that when she used red currants, the picking off of the stems consumed a lot of time, so she was glad to find the black currants come already stemmed.
Putting the black currants in the colander, she proceeded to wash them thoroughly by dipping the colander up and down in a pan of clear cold water several times. If they were very dusty she changed the water two or three times until it was clear. After weighing the currants she poured them into a saucepan, mashed them with the wooden masher, added an equal weight of sugar, mixed well with the wooden spoon, let stand until the juice ran, then put the saucepan on the stove and let the mixture come slowly to the boiling point, stirring occasionally. While this was boiling gently for forty-five minutes, Adelaide sterilized the tumblers, not forgetting, however, to stir the jam frequently.
When it was cooked she poured the jam at once into the tumblers and let it cool; as soon as it was cold, Adelaide wiped each tumbler thoroughly, inside the top and on the outside, poured melted paraffin over the jam, which she shook gently from side to side to keep out all air, then pasted on the labels and stored away in the preserve closet.
Blackberry Jam
Mother explained to Adelaide that the flavor of the blackberry was delicious, but you did not enjoy it so much if the seeds were allowed to remain, so that jam was prepared a little differently.
After picking the blackberries over carefully, Adelaide put them in the colander, then dipped it up and down in a pan of cold water and set aside to drain. Afterwards, she put the fruit in the saucepan and with the wooden masher mashed it well. Then she stood the saucepan over the fire and let the fruit come gradually to the boiling point. While she let the fruit boil gently for twenty minutes, Adelaide stirred frequently, using the long wooden spoon.
Moving the saucepan from the fire, Adelaide then rubbed the fruit through a fine sieve (mother said if the sieve let the seeds pass through to use a cheesecloth bag) and measured. To each cup of juice, which she returned to the saucepan, she added three-fourths of a cup of sugar, and putting the jam back over the fire, let it heat slowly, stirring often. This took three-quarters of an hour of gentle boiling before it was done.
Adelaide poured at once into the sterilized tumblers, which were waiting to be filled, and set aside to cool. When cold, she wiped the tops and outsides carefully with a damp cloth, poured melted paraffin over the jam, shaking it gently from side to side, thus keeping out all air, pasted on the labels, and stored the jars away in the preserve closet.
Gooseberry Jam