FUDGE

Particularly smooth fudge is made in a way that seems strange until you try it. Take two cups of sugar, half a cup of milk, one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a few drops of vanilla, and four tablespoonfuls of cocoa. Mix, and boil without stirring until it makes a soft ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from the fire, set aside until cool, then pour on to a b.u.t.tered platter and beat with a silver fork until creamy. When you see it beginning to harden, quickly smooth out and mark in squares.

MOLa.s.sES TAFFY

All little children like this, and it is easily made. To two cups of mola.s.ses, add one cup of sugar, two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter, and boil until brittle when dropped in cold water. Add then one-fourth teaspoonful of soda, stir through and pour on b.u.t.tered tins. When cool enough to handle pull to a light color, cut in sticks, and lay on oiled paper to harden. This is good flavored with a few drops of peppermint, but do not get in too much.

STUFFED DATES

Stuffed dates are a most wholesome sweet, and quickly made, too. The dates must first be picked apart, washed in warm water and dried in an old napkin. Remove the seed from each with a sharp knife, slip a nut in its place, press together, and sift over with granulated sugar. Leave standing a while on oiled paper to become firm. They are nice served at the end of a dinner, with the dessert and coffee.

SALTED NUTS

Salted nuts, used so much, are usually placed on the table when it is set, and pa.s.sed during the meal. They are very expensive if bought ready for use, but quite inexpensive made at home. Either almonds or peanuts can be used, but the almonds must first be dropped in boiling water long enough to loosen the skins, which will slip off easily in a cloth. Melt half a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter in a pie-pan, pour in a cup of nut meats, stir enough to cover with the oil, and brown in the oven. Remove, and rub dry with a soft cloth, and sprinkle with fine salt.

CHAPTER XV

Preserving

I should not feel the series of lessons complete without a word to the mothers about how to interest their girls in this important part of cooking. It is so easily done, and my own little daughters took such pleasure in the work, that I hope every woman will let her child try putting up at least one kind of fruit. The first step, however, is to get the fruit jars and gla.s.ses all conveniently at hand, clean and dry, with fresh rubbers for the tops.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARKING THE PRESERVES]

CANNED PEARS AND PEACHES

Peaches and pears should be thinly peeled and halved, then dropped into a thick sirup made by boiling four parts granulated sugar to one part water. The fruit juice will thin this considerably, but the fruit should be boiled gently until thoroughly cooked and transparent. Then lift it carefully into the jars, set in a pan of boiling water, out of a draft, to avoid breaking, pack to the top, and fill to overflowing with the sirup. Screw tops on immediately as tight as possible. This is the great secret of successful canning.

PRESERVED PLUMS

Damson plums make a rich, old-fashioned preserve if washed, p.r.i.c.ked, and allowed to stand a few hours, mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of sugar--pound for pound--then put on the stove where they will gently simmer until cooked down quite thick. They must be watched carefully, however, to prevent scorching. Such rich fruit is best put up in pint jars, as usually only a small quant.i.ty is needed at a time.

CANNED CHERRIES

Seed the cherries after washing them, watching carefully to see that none are wormy, and measure. Take half the quant.i.ty of sugar, moisten with just enough water to melt, boil to a thick syrup, and then add the cherries. Cook fifteen minutes, and seal.

RASPBERRY JAM

Pick over the berries, measure, wash and then crush. Put on to boil, and cook ten minutes, stirring to keep from sticking to the pan. Then add three-quarters the amount of heated sugar, cook twenty minutes longer and pour into small jars, or in gla.s.ses that can be covered with paraffin as soon as the jam is cold.

BAR-LE-DUC CURRANTS

Wash, stem, and measure the currants. Take three-quarters the amount of sugar, moisten with barely enough water to melt, boil to a thick syrup, turn in the currants, and cook twenty minutes. Pour into small gla.s.ses, and as soon as cool cut rounds of white paper to fit tops, wet in brandy, and lay over the fruit. Cut larger circles of the paper, wet thoroughly on one side with white of egg, and paste over the gla.s.s carefully, to make air-tight. This sounds like going back to the days of our grandmothers, but these currants are too rich to be put up in larger quant.i.ties, and jelly tumblers do not have tight tops.

APPLE JELLY

First peel and core sound sour apples, and put on to stew with just enough water to cover. Cook until the apples are almost a mush, put in a jelly-bag, and let hang overnight. Do not squeeze. Next day measure the juice and let boil twenty minutes, skimming whenever necessary. While it is cooking, heat an equal quant.i.ty of granulated sugar in the oven and stir it in. Cook five minutes longer, or until the jelly forms when dropped on a cold saucer. Stand jelly gla.s.ses in a dripping-pan, surround with boiling water, pour in the jelly, and set aside until firm. When solid, if covered with one-quarter inch of melted paraffin, it will not mould, nor will tin covers be necessary.

CRAB APPLE JELLY

Crab apple jelly is made in the same way as the apple jelly, but the fruit is simply wiped off and quartered,--not peeled.

GRAPE JELLY

Pick grapes from the stem, wash, crush, and boil twenty minutes. Then put in jelly-bag to drip overnight, but do not squeeze. Next day measure juice, boil ten minutes, add an equal amount of sugar that has been warming, boil three minutes, or until a drop jellies on a cold dish, then turn into gla.s.ses.

About half as much juice as drips will be left in the bag, and it can afterward be squeezed out and boiled separately, (for it will be cloudy), or the entire contents of the jelly-bag can be put through the colander, sweetened and spiced to taste, and cooked until of the desired thickness. This makes a nice marmalade.

FRUIT COMBINATION

At a time when other fruits are very high, the plain apple jelly, so delicate in flavor itself, can be mixed when ready to pour with any kind of preserved fruit, ready to be put up, even in the proportion of one-fourth, and it will not be noticeable. Since the pure food law went into effect and manufacturers have had to print their formulas on the bottles, we have been able to gather a few trade secrets; and one of our best-known firms has this admission on its jam labels:

"These goods are compounded from forty per cent, each fresh fruit and granulated sugar, with addition of ten per cent. each fresh apple juice and corn sirup, to prevent crystallization."

Their jams are very good, but why pay twenty cents a pound for a mixture of apple juice and corn sirup?

And only forty per cent. fresh fruit!

Really, though, this fine apple jelly is quite a valuable addition to such strong fruits as quinces, or such watery ones as strawberries.

CHAPTER XVI

Sandwiches and Drinks

SANDWICHES OF CHICKEN OR MEAT

For picnics, school luncheons, and her evening parties my little maid will want sandwiches, and there are many kinds easily made. And generally she will want the bread cut very thin and spread with soft b.u.t.ter. For ordinary occasions she may use any kind of meat she happens to find in the house, slicing it if she can, then seasoning with mustard, or else putting it through the grinder and seasoning with mustard, a small minced pickle, or finely chopped sweet green pepper. In using the ground meat, however, rub it to a paste with the b.u.t.ter intended for the bread, and it will spread more easily.

HAM SANDWICHES