Preserved Barberries

Take the berries when fully ripe, let them remain on the stem. Make a rich syrup, allowing same weight of sugar as fruit, putting in ½ cupful of water to each pound of sugar, let boil up and skim. Drop in the barberries, letting the syrup cool partially first. Boil until thoroughly penetrated by the syrup. Tie up in glass jars. A very ornamental preserve. Preserved barberries mixed with cold water forms a refreshing drink in fevers.

Currant Preserves

Make same as Raspberry Preserves, using pound for pound of sugar and boiling a little longer. Preserved currants mixed with water are an excellent drink in fevers.

Prune Preserves

Pour boiling water on the prunes and set them where they will keep warm, together with a lemon cut in pieces. When swelled to the original size, put to each pound of the prunes ½ pound of brown sugar and 1 stick of cinnamon. If there is not enough water remaining to cover the prunes, add more, and stew in this syrup one-fourth of an hour. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon to every 3 pounds of prunes. Do this just before removing from the fire. Pit the prunes.

Cranberry Preserves

Take pound for pound of fruit and sugar. Put a little water in the bottom of the preserving kettle and boil until tender.

Persimmon Preserves

Select firm, ripe persimmons, and take the equivalent of their weight in sugar. Let the persimmons lie in cold water for twelve hours. Put them on the fire in enough water to cover them and stew gently until tender. Remove, drain and spread them out to become cool and firm. Make a syrup by adding a cupful of cold water to every pound of sugar and boiling until clear, skimming constantly. When clear, put in the persimmons and cook ten minutes. Take them out, spread again upon dishes and set these in the sun. Add the juice and peel of a couple of lemons to the syrup, boil it thick, return the persimmons to it, cook twenty minutes more, pour into glass jars. Seal when cold.

Pumpkin Preserves

Divide, peel and remove the seeds; cut in small square pieces. For each pound of the pumpkin to be preserved take 1 pound of pulverized or granulated sugar. Put the pumpkin in a deep dish with alternate layers of sugar sprinkled thickly over the top. Pour in lemon juice, ½ cupful to 1 pound of pumpkin. Let stand twenty-four hours. Then boil the whole together with ½ pint of water to every 3 pounds of pumpkin, 1 tablespoonful of ginger tied in a cloth and the peel of the lemons shredded. "When the pumpkin is tender, put in jars. In a few days pour off the syrup, boil up and pour over the pumpkin hot. Very nice. Vinegar may be substituted for the lemon juice, in which case a lemon may be sliced in the preserves when cold.

Sweet Potato Preserves

Make syrup as for peaches. Parboil the potatoes, first cutting in round slices, and boil in the syrup until clear.

Grape Cheese

Put the grapes over the fire in a preserving kettle, add a little water. Let scald until they can be put through a colander. Return the smooth pulp to the kettle, add 2/3 pound granulated sugar to 1 pound of the fruit pulp. Boil down stiff, pack in glasses and seal with egg paper like jelly. Very nice.