then turn them on a sieve to drain. All
this work must be done quickly that the fruit may not absorb much water.

Do not use the fingers for hulling strawberries. A simple huller can be
bought for five cents.

If practicable pare fruit with a silver knife, so as not to stain or
darken the product. The quickest and easiest way to peel peaches is to
drop them into boiling water for a few minutes. Have a deep kettle a
little more than half full of boiling water; fill a wire basket with
peaches; put a long-handled spoon under the handle of the basket and
lower into the boiling water. At the end of three minutes lift the
basket out by slipping the spoon under the handle. Plunge the basket for
a moment into a pan of cold water. Let the peaches drain a minute, then
peel. Plums and tomatoes may be peeled in the same manner.

If the peaches are to be canned in sirup, put them at once into the
sterilized jars. They may be canned whole or in halves. If in halves,
remove nearly all the stones or pits. For the sake of the flavor, a few
stones should be put in each jar.

When preparing cherries, plums, or crab apples for canning or
preserving, the stem or a part of it may be left on the fruit.

When preparing to make jelly have ready the cheese-cloth strainer,
enameled colander, wooden spoons, vegetable masher, measures, tumblers,
preserving kettles, and sugar.

If currant jelly is to be made, free the fruit from leaves and large
stems. If the jelly is to be made from any of the other small fruits,
the stems and hulls must be removed.

When the jelly is to be made from any of the large fruits the important
part of the preparation is to have the fruit washed clean, then to
remove the stem and the blossom end. Nearly all the large fruits are
better for having the skin left on. Apples and pears need not be cored.
There is so much gummy substance in the cores of quinces that it is best
not to use this portion in making fine jelly.

MAKING SIRUP FOR USE IN CANNING AND PRESERVING.

Such sirups as are used in canning and preserving are made with varying
proportions of water and sugar. When the proportion of sugar is large
and that of the water small the sirup is said to be heavy. When the
water predominates the sirup is light.

There are several methods of measuring the proportion of sugar in a
sirup. The most scientific and accurate is with the sirup gauge. Careful
measurement or weighing is, however, quite satisfactory