mrs. m. t. wellborn's recipes for preserving fruits (1874)

8/6/2019 Mrs. M. T. Wellborn's Recipes for Preserving Fruits (1874)

1/22

MV


2/22


3/22

\^^K

Mrs. M. T. Wsllborn^sRECIPES EOR

Piiiiiflif fiiili

Geo. B. Staddan, Printer, sV^ Cherry St., Nashville.


4/22


5/22

MRS, M, T, WELLBORN'SRECIPES FOR

Preservmg Peaches, Pears, Apples, Plums, Gagesand Quinces, Berries, Grapes, Tomatoes and

Oh'a, in barrels, kegs or Jars, of anykind or size.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1874, byMrs. M. T. Wellborn, in the office of Librarian of Congress,at Washington.

REMARKS.Several years ago the "Spear's Patent Fruit

Preserving Solution" was introduced to me,claiming to prevent fermentation, and preserveall kinds of fruit, without need of making thejars air-tiglit, and without the use of sugar.Being most favorably impressed with theidea, I at once proceeded to give it a trial, andput up several kinds of fruit according to thedirections that accompanied the solution. Ifound the fruit to keep reliable as claimed, injars of any kind and size, without making themair-tight; and I could use the fruit little by littleas wanted. I found the fruit to keep just asreliable without using any sugar, as with usinglittle or much of it as wanted; and was pleasedwith the solution, because it maintained thesebold claims. The preserved fruit remainedquite as firm and good to appearance as the


6/22

2 Mrs. M. r. ]Vellbonis Recipesbest canned fruits; but upon tasting them Jfound some kinds were just a little deadenedin flavor, but possibly good for the desert, andquite good for baking and cooking purposes.Some other kinds I found were still moredeadened and insipid, and with a very slightperceptible taste of the solution, but hardlyobjectionable; whilst some others I found witha decided taste of the solution, rendering themdisagreeable to almost every one who tasted ofthem.Having flattered myself by anticipating somuch of the preserved fruit, consideringtheir reliable keeping and elegant appearance,I must confess I was very much disappointedupon using the fruit, to find them so varied inflavor. Uncertain if the fault was my own orthat of the solution, I set about making en-quiry of others who had used the solution, toknow their experience, and found the resultin nearly every case similar to my own.

Notwithstanding this shortcoming of the sol-ution, I considered its other advantages, suchas the simple and easy manner of preservingthe fruit, keeping them in large earthen andstone jars without sealing air-tight, allowingthe fruit could be used little by little as wan-ted; and that in keeping large quantities offruit, I need not add sugar to them at the timeof preserving, whereby so litde trouble andoutlay of money is incurred, to inspire me toput up very much more fruit for winter than Iwould have the courage, in fact the ready-


7/22

For Ptrserviui^ Fruit. 3money to do by the more troublesome andexpensive air tightening methodaltogetherenough to justify my continuing its use the fol-lowing year, determined upon using it withthe greatest care according to the directions,and to personally superintend the preservingof the fruit.Thus becoming more and more interested inthe cause of the solution, I commenced mak-

ing experiments according to my own ideas,and with no other motive than to thoroughlymanage and utilize the solution to my own ap-preciation and advantage in my housekeeping.After making many fruitless attempts and ex-periments, I still persisted, and made others,leading to the following result, and to my en-tire satisfaction, and as now directed in thisrecipe. I have confidently and largely usedthe solution during the past three years, andam using it still, and would use it more largelythis season if the fruit could be obtained.Last year, (1873,) ^ P^t up about two hun-dred and fifty (250) gallons of fruit, a part ofwhich I sold in our town at one dollar j)ergallon. Their cheapness and good qualitiescreated quite an excitementall the more,considering the fruit was kept in barrels, with-out sugar at the time of preserving, and withthe Spear's Solution, and the taste not percepti-ble, and so many persons wanting to knowhow it is done, I have therefore prepared thisrecipe, with the explanation in printed form,and protected it to myself by copyright, and


8/22

4 Mrs. M, T. Wellborn's Recipeswill dispose of it to any and all who may wantit. And (pardon my saying it) if the recipewas the invention of another, having renderedme so much satisfaction and good service, Iwould impulsively urge its adoption upon allin any consideration; but being my owninvention, I feel mysteriously constrained,lacking charity to give it to the public as a freeoffering, and lacking boldness (or somethingelse necessary) to urge its value upon the pub-lic, notwithstanding my conscientious convic-tions, and absolute assurances that the greatmajority of families and all farmers andFRUIT GROWERS would be greatly benefited byhaving, and confidently employing it as it pro-poses. You will find the recipe is very sim-ple and easy to apply, and it is all the betterfor that, and you hereby obtain it very muchcheaper than I did. Thus I have done withremarks, and will proceed to give the recipeas follows PEACH ES.

Peaches should be quite fresh^just pickedif possiblea little under-ripe or half ripe, sothat they will remain firm upon cooking.Cling seed is preferred; after paring them,and cutting them into halves or quarters asdesired, remove the pits or stones, and imme-diately put them in clear cold water to preventtheir becoming discolored; having thus pre-pared the fruit, weigh out enough, (noticingthe weights) to fill the preserving kettle nearly


9/22

For Presenmg Fruit. 5full, which put into the kettle, and pour enoughclear cold water with it to nearly cover thefruit; place it over a hot fire, and as the fruitgets hot, stir it carefully and frequently fromthe bottom, that the fruit may all get hot alikeor scalded through, but not cooked to get soft.Then dip out the fruit with a skimmer or wireladle, and put it into the barrel, keg or jar forkeeping. To the water remaining in the pre-serving kettles, add Spear's Preserving Solu-tion at the rate of two (2) tablespoonsful ofthe solution to each eight (8) pounds of fruit.Let the water or syrup boil a few minutes, andwhen boiling hot, pour it into the barrel overthe fruit, and immediately throw a thick clothover the barrel to prevent the steam from es-caping. Continue to scald fruit in this man-ner, each time adding the solution to the sy-rup, and put boiling hot into the barrel, untilit is filled with fruit and syrup; let it thenstand closely covered for six or eight hours,for the fruit to settle, and then proceed to putdie head in the barrelbut before doing so,dip out what syrup you can conveniently, tokeep it from leaking when the hoops are raisedto admit the head. Having properly securedthe head and hoops to their proper places, re-move the bung, and pour the syrup you dip-ped from the head, back into the barrel.There ought to be enough syrup saved overwhen scalding the fruit, to fill the barrels en-

tirely full, instead of using water, but if thereshould not be enough, make more by adding


10/22

6 Mrs. M. T. Wellborn' s Recipesfour or five tablespoonsful of the solution toevery gallon of boiling water. When en-tirely full, drive in the bung, and the work isdone for the present; after standing a day ortwo, again remove the bung, and if not en-tirely full, fill it with hot water and solutionmade as before stated, and then drive in thebung, and pour melted seaHng wax around it,and the work is done for long keeping. Re-move the barrel to a cellar, or some cool dampplace, that the barrels may remain tight, andnot leak, or the fruit-syrup to evaporate du-ring the hot months.

TO MAKE THE SEALING WAX,Take eight or nine parts of rosin and one partof tallow, melt and mix together, and pouron the bung boiling hot.

Clingstone peaches preferred, as they re-main firm after prolong keeping. Barrels orkegs having been used for liquors, such aswhisky, brandy or wines, are preferable to newones. After having thoroughly cleansed thel)arrel inside and out, fill it with water, andlet it stand to soak over night, or for a day ortwothen pour it off, and put in a pint offresh water, and add to it two tablespoonsfulof Spear's Solution, and thoroughly drenchthe barrel with it by rolling, tilting and shak-ing. When wanting to use the fruit, open thebarrel by removing the head, and immediatelydrive the hoops back to their place. Removeas much of the fruit as is wanted for the oc-


11/22

For Preseming Fruit. 7casion, or if you like, enough to last you for afew weeks, if in cool weather.In removing the fruit, do so with a wireladle, thus simply removing the fruit, andleaving the syrup in the barrel ; then put thefruit into clear, cold water, and stir a little towash it, then pour off the water, and drain thefruit as dry as possible, and to each gallon offruit add two or three (2 or 3) pounds ofwhite sugar, or more or less to suit, and one(\) gill of white vinegar; stir and mix the vin-egar and sugar through the fruit, repeating thestirring a few times, and then let them remaina few hours with only a thin towel over them.The vinegar will remove any insipid taste ofthe solution upon the fruit, and in a few hoursyou cannot either taste or smell the vinegar.You can use less vinegar if it is very strong.

If the directions are carefully followed, thefruit will be firm, and frequently crispy if thefruit was fresh gathered, and not too ripe.The firmer the peaches are, the more of thepeach flavor is retained. If the peaches aretoo firm to be eaten with sugar and cream,which is frequently the case, stew them untiltender, and let them get cold before using.The effect of the vinegar is to neutralize thesolution, and to incorporate itself with thesugar and fruit, so as to restore and begetmore of the fresh fruit flavor than is usuallyfound with canned fruit, and peaches so pre-pared will serve good any way you would usefresh or canned peaches.


12/22

8 Mrs. AL T. IVdlboni's RecipesThey will also make nice sweet pickles and

sugar preserves, by first soaking the peacheswhen removed from the barrel, in cold water,containing one (i) gill of vinegar to each gal-lon of fruit. Have water enough to cover thefruit, and let it soak for a few hours, then pouroff the vinegar and water, and soak in fresh,cold water. Spice as preserves in the usualmanner. Do not use tin-plated ware aboutthe fruit, as it turns it dark.

APPLES.Any tart or acid apple a little under-ripemay be prepared according to the Peach Re-

cipe, and they will keep very nice. To pre-pare them for use as wanted, take them fromthe barrel in the same manner as directed forpeaches, and put them in clear, cold water,and wash as directed for peaches; then pouroff the water, and add to the fruit one (i) gillof white vinegar to each gallon of fruit; alsoadd whatever sugar is needed to render themsuitable to the taste or use. Add water tocover them, and remove altogether into thepreserving kettle and cook until tender, byadding more hot water if necessary. Theywill be as good as fresh cooked apples for allpurposes for the desert. To prej^are the ap-ples for mince meats, take out as much fruit asis wanted'wash it in cold water, then pouroff the water, and fill in enough fresh, cold


13/22

For Preserving Fruit. 9-water to entirely cover the fruit; then add (2)two gills of vinegar to each gallon of fruit,and let them soak for a few hours, then usethem raw as you would fresh apples.

PEARS and QUINCES.Preserve them in the same manner as di-rected for peaches or apples. To preparethem for use, put them to soak in vinegar andwater, the same as directed for apples; afterremaining for a few hours, draw the vinegarand water from the fruit, and add to the fruitwhatever of sugar is wanted, and let themstand for twelve hours. They will be veryfresh and delicious. They retain the pearflavor if only scalded to get hot through.They also make a good preserve after beingsoaked in vinegar and water, and then soakedin clear, cold water, and preserved as youwould citron.

PLUMS and GAGES.Plums and gages can be preserved as firm

as when gathered, by putting them up in coldwater, and using three (3) tablespoonsful ofSpear's Solution to every eight (8) pounds offruit. Weigh the fruit (noting the weight) andfill the barrel full with fruit, then add the sol-ution according to the weight of the fruit, andfill the barrel or jar full of cold water, and


14/22

lo Airs. M. T. Wellborn s Recipeshead up the barrel or seal the jar as directedfor other fruit. The fruit will remain firm andretain its natural color if yellow fruit is used.Do not let the fruit be mellow. When wantedfor use, soak in vinegar and w^ater, then sprin-kle with sugar as directed for pears.

Plums can be saved in barrels or any size jarby adding a half pint of water to eight (8)pounds of plums, and scald them until hotstir frequently that all will be hot alike. Thenadd two (2) tablespoonsful of solution to everyeight (8) pounds of fruit. Mix it well by stir-ring, and pour it boiling hot into the barrel orjar, and keep it closely covered; continue inthis manner until the barrel is full, and thenput in the head as directed for peaches.When wanted for use, add sugar and one (i)gill of vinegar, and scald all together in a pre-serving kettle, and they will be equal to freshfruit.To preserve plums, gages, grapes and straw-

berries, or any kind of very acid fruit, withvery little sugar, or only enough to make thempalatable:To every twelve (12) pounds offruita little under-ripe or half ripe preferredadd from three to four pounds of sugar, anda half pint of cold water, put altogether intoa preserving kettle, and let them scald untilthe skins begin to burst. Stir them frequentlythat all may be scalded alike, but not scorchedthen remove them into a jar, and continueto boil more fruit until the jar is full. Let itthen stand one or two hours to settle, and then


15/22

For Prcscnmg Fruit, 1cut two pieces of thick white paper, and dipone in the solution and lay it over the fruit,and pour one tablespoonful of the solution toevery twenty-four (24) pounds of the fruit, uponthe paper. Fit the other piece of paper inthe neck of the jar, and then fit in the stonelid or a cork as tightly as possible, and pourmelted sealing wax, (made as before-men-tioned) around the edges, being careful notto leave any air-holes for the syrup to evapor-ate. If the directions are carefully followed,the fruit will be as nice in twelve months aswhen first put up. It will be ready preparedfor the table, and be as nice as fresh-stewedfruit. After opening, when not using from thejar, keep a paper saturated with the solutionover the fruit to prevent fermentation.

BERRIES.AH kinds of berries keep nice if only made

scalding hot. Use the water that drains fromthem after washing to scald them with. Theywill melt as they get hot, and make their ownsyrup. Stir them frequently that all may gethot alike. When hot, add to each eight (8)pounds of fruit, two (2) tablespoonsful ofSpear's Solution. Stir them well, and put al-together boiling hot into the jar. Let it standtwo or three hours for the fruit to settle, andif the fruit shrinks, fill up the jar with hotwater, and keep it closely covered during the


16/22

12 Mrs. Af, 7\ IVellbonrs Recipestime. Ill en cut two pieces of paper, and dipone in the solution and lay it on top of theberries, and pour about a teaspoonful of thesolution upon the paper to thoroughly saturateit and prevent mould. Then fit the otherpiece of paper into the neck of the jar, andput on the lid or cork as tight as possible, andpour melted sealing wax around the edges toprevent evaporation. When wanted for use,wash them in cold water, and add one (i) gillof vinegar to each gallon of fruit. Mix thevinegar by stirring them, and let them remainfor several hours; then put them into the pre-serving kettle with what water drains fromthem, and cover close with a plate turned overthem. As they get hot, stir them occasionally,and when boiling, add sugar to suit the taste.

No. I TOMATOES.Take large, firm tomatoes, not mellow ripe,

scald, peal and cut up, and let them drain.The least water about them the better. Weighand put them into the preserving kettle over aliot fire; -stir them frequently, that they mayall get hot alike and not scorch. When hot,add two (2) tablespoonsful of Spear's Solu-tion, to every eight (8) pounds of fruit, andstir well. Do not let the fruit boil to get soft,but only boifing hot. Pour it into a jar, fill-ing it entirely full, cover closely, and let standtwo or three hours to settle. If the fruit


17/22

For Preserving Fruit. 13shrinks much, fill up with hot water. Cut twopieces of thick, white paper, and dip one inthe solution and lay on top of the fruit, andpour a teaspoonful of the solution over th^paper to saturate it well. Put the other pieceof paper in the neck of the jar, and fit thestone top or cork in as tight as possible, andpour melted sealing wax around the edge. Becareful not to leave any air-holes, as the syrupwould evaporate, and the fruit mould on top.When wanted for use, add two (2) gills of vin-egar to one gallon of tomatoes ; add plenty ofsugar, and a large tablespoonful of butter, andbake or stew in a yellow crock bowl till dry.The vinegar restores the natural flavor of thetomato, and they are in every respect as niceas fresh tomatoes.

To Preserve Tomatoes Whole.Select those not quite ripe, scald and peel

them. Put in the preserving kettle one (i)pint of water to every eight (8) pounds offruit that you are going to scald. When thewater boils, add three tablespoonsful of thesolution to every eight (8) pounds of tomatoes.Drop in a few tomatoes at a time, and letthem scald until hot, but not cooked. Dipthem out carefully, and put them into the jar,and continue to scald fruit until the jar is filled,and then let them stand a few hours to settle.If the fruit shrinks much, fill the jar full of


18/22

14 Mrs. M. T. Wellborn's Recipesthe syrup that the fruit was scalded in. Thesyrup that drains from the fruit is sufficientwater in the jar. Then treat them with paperand solution on top, and seal up the same asdirected in the other recipe for tomatoes.These tomatoes are often preserved firmenough to slice, and serve with vinegar, pep-per and salt, and are relished by some personsserved in that way.When wanted, scald in vinegar and water,then add to the soup as you would fresh toma-toes. Small watery tomatoes with many seed,will not keep by these recipes.

After opening a large jar of tomatoes as wellas other fruit, keep a thick paper saturatedwith the solution over the fruit, when notusing from the jar. All preserved fruit shouldbe kept in a cool place or cellar.

K R A.Okra can be kept in small jars if put up late

in the season. Weigh the okra, and put inthe preserving kettle with cold water enoughts cover it. Let it boil until the pods beginto burst. If too much water, pour off some,and add two (2) tablespoonsful of Spear'sSolution to every eight (8) pounds of okra.Stir well, and pour all boiling hot into the jar,and then let stand to settle. Keep it closelycovered, and if it shrinks much, fill with hotwater, and put paper and solution over the


19/22

For Preserving Fruit. 1top of the okra, and seal up as directed fortomatoes.When wanted for use, scald in a lined stew-kettle with a little vinegar added to the water.When hot, add to the soup, and use any wayyou would fresh okra.Any very acid fruit can be kept for a fewweeks by stewing them, and adding sugar tomake them palatable. Put them in a jar, andsaturate a piece of heavy white paper withthe solution, and lay it on top of the fruit, andcork or cover close.

If these directions are carefully followed,there will not be a failure in preserving thedifferent kinds of fruit; and all kinds of fruitare so plentiful in the summer season, thatthey can be made a common article of foodduring our prolonged winter months^ when itwould be a very acceptable article of diet tomost persons.

I have ever found it so at the hotel. Mytable has been as bountifully supplied duringthe winter months, with fresh fruits as good asthe canned fruits, and pronounced by manyto be superior in every respect to the bestcanned fruits, and at such a small cost and solittle trouble. And I am sure they would addhealth as well as luxuries to every household;besides, the surplus fruits thus saved wouldfind a ready sale and a good price in any mar-ket, and would add an income to many per-sons that is lost year by year for the want of


20/22

1 Mrs, M. T. Wellborn's Recipessome cheap and simple method of preservingtheir fruits.Hoping to benefit the pubHc as well as myown pecuniary interest, I will close my re-marks MRS. M, T. WELLBORN,

Marion, Perry County,Alabama.


21/22

I'


22/22

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

014 421 112 1 #

mrs. m. t. wellborn's recipes for preserving fruits (1874)

Documents