To Preserve Various Kinds Of Fruit Through The Winter Recipe

Apples can be kept till June, by taking only those that are hard and

sound, wiping them dry, then packing them in tight barrels, with a layer

of bran to each layer of apples. Envelope the barrel in a linen cloth,

to protect it from frost, and keep it in a cool place, but not so cold

as to freeze the apples. It is said that mortar, laid over the top of a

barrel of apples, is a good thing to preserve them, as it draws the air

from them, which is the principal cause of their decaying. Care should

be taken not to have it come in contact with the apples. To preserve

oranges and lemons several months, take those that are perfectly fresh,

and wrap each one in soft paper; put them in glass jars, or a very tight

box, with white sand, that has been previously dried in an oven a few

hours, after it has been baked in. The sand should be strewed thick over

each one of the oranges, as they are laid in the jar, and the whole

covered with a thick layer of it. Close the jar up tight, and keep it in

a cool dry place, but not so cool as to freeze the fruit. To preserve

grapes, gather them on a dry day, when they are not quite dead ripe, and

pick those that are not fair off from the stems. Lay the bunches of

grapes in a glass jar, and sprinkle around each of them a thick layer of

dry bran, so that they will not touch each other. Have a thick layer of

bran on the top, and cork and seal the jar very tight, so that the air

may be entirely excluded. Whenever they are to be eaten, restore them to

their freshness by cutting off a small piece from the end of the stalks,

and immerse the stalks of each bunch in sweet wine for a few minutes.

The stalks will imbibe the wine, and make the grapes fresh and juicy.

Various kinds of fruit, taken when green, such as grapes, gooseberries,

currants, and plums, can be kept through the winter, by being treated in

the following manner: Fill junk bottles with them, and set them in an

oven six or seven hours, after having baked in it. Let them remain till

they begin to shrink, then take the fruit from one bottle to fill the

others quite full. Cork and seal up the bottles. Whenever you wish to

make pies of them, put the quantity you wish to use into a tin pan, turn

on boiling water sufficient to cover them, and stew them in it till

soft, then sweeten, and make them into pies. Ripe blackberries and

whortleberries, to be kept long, should be dried perfectly in the sun,

then tied up in bags that are thick enough to exclude the air. When used

for pies, treat them in the same manner as the green fruit. Ripe

currants, dried on the stalks, then picked off, and put in bags, will

keep nice for pies during the winter. They also make a fine tea for

persons that have a fever, particularly the hectic fever--it is also an

excellent thing to counteract the effects of opium.