Wash seven pounds of fruit and let boil with a little water until soft enough to press through a colander. Add three pounds of sugar, three pints of vinegar, and cloves and cinnamon to taste, and let the mixture boil, slowly, until it is thick and jelly-like.

Pumpkin Preserve

Pare a medium-sized pumpkin and cut into inch cubes. Let steam until tender, but not broken. Or cut the pumpkin into large pieces and let steam a short time and then cut the cubes.

Prepare a syrup of sugar and water, about three pounds of sugar and a pint-and-a-half of water, in which simmer the juice and rind (cut into strips) of two lemons. Drop the pumpkin cubes into the syrup and let simmer, carefully, until the pumpkin is translucent. Dip out the pumpkin and pack in ordinary preserve jars; pour over the syrup and lemon and close the jars.

Apple-Orange Marmalade

Take seven pounds of apples, all green, if possible; wash and remove any imperfections, also the blossom and stem. Cut, but do not core nor peel. Cut in very small pieces. Three oranges; wash and remove peel, which put through finest knife of food-chopper, after discarding the inner white peeling, also seeds. Put the apple on to boil, adding water till it shows among the fruit, and boil to quite soft; mash fine and put in jelly bag to drain over night. Boil the juice with the orange pulp, cut in very small pieces; add the orange peel and cook for twenty minutes, or till the orange is cooked. Add five (5) pounds of granulated sugar and let boil until a little in a cold saucer will jell.

This recipe has never been in print to my knowledge and will prove very satisfactory to the majority of people.

This department is for the benefit and free use of our subscribers. Questions relating to recipes and those pertaining to culinary science and domestic economics in general, will be cheerfully answered by the editor. Communications for this department must reach us before the first of the month preceding that in which the answers are expected to appear. In letters requesting answers by mail, please enclose address and stamped envelope. Address queries to Janet M. Hill, Editor. American Cookery, 221 Columbus Ave., Boston, Mass.

Query No. 4241.—"I wish you would let me have a good recipe for Caramel Icing, the kind that does not call for the whites of eggs."

Caramel Icing

Add two cups and one-half of dark brown sugar to three-fourths a cup of milk, and let boil thirteen minutes. When nearly done add three tablespoonfuls of butter and one teaspoonful of vanilla. Beat until nearly cold, then spread on top of cake. It may also be used between the layers. If a sugar thermometer be used, the syrup should be boiled to the soft-ball stage, or between 235 deg. Fah. to 240 deg. Fah.

Query No. 4242.—"Please let me have a recipe for Spiced Pineapple."

Spiced Pineapple

Weigh six pounds of pineapple, after paring, coring, and cutting in rather small pieces. Cook in a porcelain kettle with three cups of the best white vinegar, until the pineapple is softened, keeping the kettle closely covered, and turning the fruit once in a while so that the pieces may be equally exposed to the action of the vinegar. Tie in cheesecloth or netting one ounce, each, of whole cloves, previously bruised, and stick cinnamon, broken into small pieces; add these to the kettle with five pounds of granulated sugar, and let cook until the mixture is of the consistency of marmalade, being careful to avoid burning. The spices may be removed as soon as they have given the flavor desired.

Query No. 4243.—"Will you kindly answer the following in your Department of Queries and Answers? Should Boiled Potatoes be started in cold or boiling water? Should Corn on the cob be put on in cold water and allowed to simmer for several minutes after it comes to a boil, or be put on in boiling water and boiled five minutes? Should Chicken, Turkey, or other Fowl be covered during roasting? Can you give a clear and up-to-date article on correct Table Service?"

To Boil Potatoes

Very young, new potatoes—the kind hardly bigger than walnuts, should be put on in cold water and brought quickly to a boil, for potatoes so young as to be immature contain more or less of a bitter principle, which is desirable to get rid of in the cooking. Potatoes in their prime, as from September to March, are best put on in boiling, salted water. Later in the spring, when the potatoes begin to sprout and shrivel they ought to be put on in cold water and brought, as slowly as possible, to a boil, or allowed to stand in cold water for some hours before cooking.

To Boil Corn

It is usually preferred to put on the corn in cold water, bring to a boil, and let simmer until done. But to steam the ears will give, in our opinion, the best results.

Should Chicken Be Covered While Roasting?

Decidedly not; it spoils the flavor not only of chicken and turkey, but of any prime joint of meat to bake it in a covered pan. The covered pan is properly used for braising only, for the tough cuts which have to be braised call for the combination of baking and steaming which results from the covered pan. All kinds of poultry, and all prime joints of meat should be placed on a rack in an uncovered roasting pan, put into a very hot oven for the first ten or fifteen minutes, and then have one or two cups of water poured over them, mixed with fat if the meat is lean, this water to be used for basting every ten or fifteen minutes. The rack in the pan serves both to allow a circulation of air around the meat, and to keep it from touching the water. It is this circulation of air that gives the fine flavor of the properly roasted meat, and the frequent opening of the oven door for the basting serves to supply the fresh air needed for the best results.

Instructions on Table Service

The Up-to-Date Waitress, by Janet M. Hill, or Breakfasts, Luncheons, and Dinners, by Mary D. Chambers, both contain clear and up-to-date directions for table service. We can supply these books if you wish to have either of them.

Query No. 4244.—"Will you tell me in your paper why my Lemon Pies become watery when I return them to the oven to brown the meringue? Also give me some suggestions for Desserts for Summertime, other than frozen dishes."

Why Lemon Pies Become Watery

A lemon pie may become watery when put in the oven to brown the meringue, if it be left in the oven too long; or it may water because the filling was not sufficiently cooked before putting into the pastry shell; or it may be from an insufficiency of flour being used in making the filling. If you had told us just how your pies are made, we would be better able to solve your problem.

In future we hope to answer queries as soon as they reach us, and by direct reply to each individual questioner; but up to the present we have answered most of them in this department of the magazine, and since it takes two or three months to get the manuscript into print many of the questions are answered too late. So it happens with your inquiry regarding desserts for Summertime. Any of the cold desserts, such as gelatines, custards, blancmanges, or fresh fruits with cream, are suitable for summer and are easily prepared.

Query No. 4245.—"Will you oblige me by an answer to the following in the pages of American Cookery? How shall I make Tartare Sauce? What should be the temperature of the fat for French Fried Potatoes or for Potato Chips? Mine are never crisp, can you tell me why? Also tell me how to Broil Fish, how to make a good Cream Dressing for fish, meat, or croquettes, and how to make Soft Gingerbread with a sauce to put over it."

Tartare Sauce

A Tartare Sauce or Sauce Tartare is merely a mayonnaise dressing with pickles chopped into it, a tablespoonful, each, or more, of chopped cucumber, cauliflower, and olives, with a tablespoonful of capers and two teaspoonfuls of red pepper to a pint of the mayonnaise. There is, however, a hot Tartare Sauce which is made by adding to one cup of thick white sauce the following ingredients: One tablespoonful, each, of chives, parsley, pickled gherkins, olives, and capers, all put through the food chopper. Stir into the white sauce; heat while stirring constantly, but do not allow the mixture to boil, and add one tablespoonful of vinegar just before serving.

Crisp Fried Potatoes

We think your trouble is not so much the temperature of the fat, which should be about 350 deg. to 375 deg. Fah., as it is that potatoes, to be crisped by deep frying, should first be soaked in cold water for twenty to thirty minutes, then dried perfectly before immersing in the fat. Also, they should be removed from the fat the moment they are done, and drained dry.

To Broil Fish

Wipe the fish dry, and brush it lightly with oil or melted butter. Place it in a double wire broiler, and cook over a clear fire, turning every other minute until both sides are a light, even brown. Remove carefully from the broiler, using a sharp boning knife to free it from adhesions. If the fish is thoroughly oiled, it should not adhere to the broiler.

I came to analyze the flavor-and-health values of these two fruit-foods. At first their use seemed rather limited but with each new dish others immediately suggested themselves.

The chief nutritive element in both prunes and apricots, of course, is fruit sugar. But you derive great value, too, from their mineral salts and organic acids. These improve the quality of the blood and counteract the acid-elements in meat, eggs, cereals and other high-protein foods.

Also, they are rich in tonic iron and other mineral and vitamine elements needed for body tone. Nor should I forget to mention that prunes especially provide a natural laxative made in Nature's own pharmacy.

But aside from these essential health values, I found that Sunsweet Prunes and Apricots offer wonderful possibilities—varying from the most delicate soufflÉ to the more substantial cobbler, pie or pudding.

SUNSWEET

CALIFORNIA'S NATURE-FLAVORED