GAS COMPANY 167

SPICED CRABAPPLE JELLY

4 Ibs. crabapples Cinnamon
Water to cover Sugar
Lemon juice

Wash and quarter the crabapples. Add water just to cover and cook covered for
Y hour. Mash and stir fruit occasionally. Strain through a jelly bag. Measure strained
juice. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/16 teaspoon cinnamon to each cup of
juice. Bring to the boil in a large flat-bottomed preserving kettle. Add warm sugar
(2/3 cup sugar to each cup of juice). Stir until sugar is dissolved; then boil rapidly,
undisturbed, except for testing until jelly stage is reached.

ORANGE-GRAPEFRUIT JELLY

(From frozen concentrated juice)

31% cups sugar Y, bottle liquid pectin
1 cup water 1 6-oz. can frozen concentrated
3 tablespoons lemon juice orange-grapefruit juice

Stir the sugar into the water. Place on high heat and stirring constantly, bring
quickly to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, Add lemon juice, boil hard
for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in the pectin. Add thawed concentrated orange-
grapefruit juice and mix well. Pour immediately into hot containers and seal. Makes
about 5 six-ounce glasses.

MINT JELLY
1 cup finely chopped mint leaves Green vegetable coloring
1 cup fruit pectin 1 cup vinegar
1% cups water 6/2 cups sugar

Stir vinegar, sugar and water in large kettle, over flame, until sugar is dissolved.
Add coloring to desired shade (about 1 dessertspoon). Add mint leaves, and bring to
full rolling boil, add pectin, and boil hard about Y2 minute. Remove mint leaves and
pour at once into jars. Seal with paraffin and cool.

PICKLES
There are really only two main types of pickles: the quick process kind including
spiced fruits, vegetable pickles, relishes, piccalilli, and spicy sauces—and the long

process fermented pickles such as dills, sauerkraut and the like.

Points on Pickling

1. Use firm, fresh vegetables and fruits for making pickies. Fruits may be slightly
under-ripe.

2. Some vegetables, such as cucumbers, require soaking in brine before covering with
vinegar. This soaking helps to keep the vegetables firm during the succeeding
pickling process. It also reduces bitterness. Cucumbers for gherkins or dills
should be placed in brine as soon after picking as possible. Holding cucumbers
at room temperature for even a few hours may result in hollow centres.

3. Use good quality vinegar. If vinegar is too weak, pickles will be soft. Both cider
and blended vinegars have good flavor, but white, spirit vinegar gives better color
where light-colored foods, such as onions, cauliflower or pears are used.

4. The use of a small amount of alum during the pickling process develops a crisp
quality in certain pickles.

5. Spices should be used with caution. This is particularly true of cloves, allspice and
hot peppers since they are exceptionally strong-flavored. A dark color or bitter
flavor may result from using too much spice or from boiling the spice too long with
the vinegar.

Whole spices give better color and flavor than ground spices. Whole spices should
be tied loosely in a cheesecloth bag, cooked with the vinegar or pickle and then
removed. The bag should be large enough to allow the vinegar to boil through
the spices. :