_ saucepan with the above ingredients,
and let them simmer very gently until tender, which will be in from 3 to
4 hours, according to the quality of the pears. They should be watched,
and, when done, carefully lifted out on to a glass dish without breaking
them. Boil up the syrup quickly for 2 or 3 minutes; allow it to cool a
little, pour it over the pears, and let them get perfectly cold. To
improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may
be added, which rather enhances the beauty of this dish. The fruit must
not be boiled fast, but only simmered, and watched that it be not too
much done.

_Time_.--3 to 4 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from September to January.

THE BON CHRETIEN PEAR.--The valuable variety of pear called _Bon
Chretien_, which comes to our tables in winter, either raw or
cooked, received its name through the following incident:--Louis
XI., king of France, had sent for Saint Francois de Paule from
the lower part of Calabria, in the hopes of recovering his
health through his intercession. The saint brought with him the
seeds of this pear; and, as he was called at court Le Bon
Chretien, this fruit obtained the name of him to whom France
owed its introduction.

PINEAPPLE CHIPS.

1577. INGREDIENTS.--Pineapples; sugar to taste.

_Mode_.--Pare and slice the fruit thinly, put it on dishes, and strew
over it plenty of pounded sugar. Keep it in a hot closet, or very slow
oven, 8 or 10 days, and turn the fruit every day until dry; then put the
pieces of pine on tins, and place them in a quick oven for 10 minutes.
Let them cool, and store them away in dry boxes, with paper between each
layer.

_Time_.--8 to 10 days.

_Seasonable_.--Foreign pines, in July and August.

PRESERVED PINEAPPLE.

1578. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of fruit, weighed after being pared,
allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar; 1/4 pint of water.

_Mode_.--The pines for making this preserve should be perfectly sound
but ripe. Cut them into rather thick slices, as the fruit shrinks very
much in the boiling. Pare off the rind carefully, that none of the pine
be wasted; and, in doing so, notch it in and out, as the edge cannot be
smoothly cut without great waste. Dissolve a portion of the sugar in a
preserving-pan with 1/4 pint of water; when this is melted, gradually
add the remainder of the sugar, and boil it until it forms a clear
syrup,