Oranges are the most delightful eaten raw, but there are many other ways of serving them, the Seville orange being the most preferable for cooking, and is a little bitter. A simple way of preparing them for a dessert is to peel the oranges so as to remove outer layer of pulp, then remove each section from pulp. Put alternately into dessert dish a layer of oranges sprinkled with powdered sugar and a layer of shredded cocoanut. Place in cool place and serve.

PEACHES AND PEARS.

These fruits have the high esteem of many people in warm and temperate climates. The peach is called the Persian apple, and is, like the pear, delicious served either cooked or raw.

STRAWBERRIES.

These are best served raw, and may be hulled, or if cream is not desired, serve with the hulls left on and put a mound of powdered sugar in the center of the fruit dishes.

PICKLES AND PRESERVES

"Touch you the sourest points with sweetest terms."--Shakespeare.

CATSUP.

To one bushel tomatoes use one small measure onions; boil and sift; one handful salt, one tablespoonful mustard, one tablespoonful cayenne pepper, two tablespoonfuls black pepper, one-half pound sugar. Add spice just before it is finished boiling.

CHILI SAUCE.

Twelve large, ripe tomatoes, two onions, two green peppers, two tablespoonfuls salt, one cup sugar, one cup vinegar, one teaspoonful each cinnamon, allspice, cloves; chop fine, boil about two hours.

CHILI SAUCE.

One peck ripe tomatoes, twelve large onions, four cups vinegar, six tablespoonfuls salt, twelve large tablespoonfuls sugar, four red mango peppers, ground cloves, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg to taste; chop onions and peppers fine; cut tomatoes in small pieces and drain. Boil all things half an hour. Put in sealed jars.

CUc.u.mBER PICKLE.

Place the cuc.u.mber in a stone jar. Make a strong brine, strong enough to bear up an egg; pour it over them boiling hot, let them stand over night, in the morning pour off the brine and wipe the cuc.u.mbers dry, put them in a preserving kettle and pour over them enough cider-vinegar to cover them; put in also the following spices for four hundred pickles: Two ounces whole cloves, two tablespoonfuls white mustard seed, several strips horseradish, four or five sticks cinnamon, coffee-cupful brown sugar, two ounces allspice, four small red peppers cut in small pieces and the seed taken out, three onions sliced. Let all come to a boil, boil for five minutes, and put boiling hot over cuc.u.mbers.

CUc.u.mBER SWEET PICKLES.

Put small cuc.u.mbers in a dish with one-half cup salt to two quarts cuc.u.mbers; cover with boiling water and let stand all night. Remove from brine, place in granite kettle, cover with vinegar containing whole mustard seed, cloves and cinnamon and one cup of sugar. Let come to boiling point, but not boil. Can, or bottle while hot.

FRENCH PICKLE.

One peck green tomatoes sliced, six large onions sliced; mix these and throw over them one teacupful of salt, let them stand over night; next day drain thoroughly, boil in one quart of vinegar mixed with two quarts of water for fifteen minutes, then drain; take four quarts vinegar, two pounds brown sugar, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, mace, cloves; tie spices in little bags, put all together and boil ten or fifteen minutes.

GERMAN PICKLED PLUMS OR PEACHES.

One pint vinegar, seven pounds plums or peaches, three pounds sugar, one ounce cinnamon (whole), one ounce cloves (whole), a layer of plums, layer of spice, layer of sugar. Have your vinegar scalded and pour over the plums, going through this process for three successive days. Put all in a kettle and let them come to a boil, and they are ready for use.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLE.

Twelve green tomatoes, three large onions. Boil in salt and water and drain, or sprinkle with salt and allow it to stand all night, then drain. Scald in vinegar to which has been added one cup of brown sugar, one stick of cinnamon bark, a few cloves, red pepper to taste.

SPICED GRAPES.

Seven pounds grapes, one pint vinegar, three and one-half pounds sugar (or more if you like), one-half ounce ground cloves, one-half ounce ground cinnamon. Slip the pulp out of the skins, scald it, then pa.s.s through a sieve to seed. Then put the juice and skins and all the seasoning together and boil fifteen minutes.

SWEET PICKLE BEETS.

Boil the beets till they can be pierced with a fork; put into cold water, slip off the skins and slice. Boil one quart of vinegar, two cups brown sugar, add sliced beets, a little salt and pepper, boil five or ten minutes, place in cans and close tightly.

UNCOOKED SWEET PICKLES (300).

As pickles are often put up in very warm weather, this recipe will be found especially simple and easy to carry out.

One gallon cider vinegar, one cup granulated sugar, one-third cup salt, one cup freshly grated horseradish (or two five-cent gla.s.ses), one-half cup ground mustard, one-third ounce saccharine, two tablespoonfuls mixed spices in each quart jar. Be sure to get in a few red peppers and cloves. Put pickles in jars and fill with above mixture, cold.

Preserves and Jellies

BLACKBERRY JAM.

Press the berries through a colander, add one pound brown sugar to a pint of juice. Let it boil slowly more than half a day.

CHERRY PRESERVES.

Wash the cherries, pick and stone them, then weigh, taking the same amount of sugar as cherries. Let them stand one hour, put on fire and let them boil through thoroughly. Pour on a flat platter and let them stand in the sun until they thicken.

CRAB-APPLE JELLY.

Wash apples, remove blossom and stem ends, put them whole into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, add cold water to nearly cover apples, cover and cook slowly until soft. Mash and drain through cheese-cloth or coa.r.s.e sieve. It makes the jelly cloudy to squeeze the apples. Now allow juice to drip through a jelly bag or through two thicknesses of cheese-cloth, boil twenty minutes and add equal quant.i.ty of sugar, boil five minutes, skim and turn in gla.s.ses. Let the gla.s.ses stand in a sunny window twenty-four hours. A sprig of rose geranium dropped in syrup while it is boiling the last time will give the jelly a delicious and unusual flavor.

CURRANT AND RASPBERRY PRESERVES.

Pick over six pounds of currants, wash and drain, put into a preserving kettle a few at a time and mash, cook an hour and strain through double thickness of cheese-cloth. Then return to kettle, add six pounds of sugar, bring to boiling point and cook slowly twenty minutes. Bring syrup to boil again, add one quart of raspberries, skim out raspberries, put in jar, and repeat until raspberries are used. Fill jars with syrup, and screw on tops.