Amy Waterman - A Little Preserving Book for a Little Girl

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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."