Peaches Preserved
Take the finest ripe free-stone peaches. Pare them, cut them in half, and remove the stones. To every pound of peaches allow a pound of double refined loaf sugar, and half the white of an egg (slightly beaten) with half a pint of very clear soft water. Put the sugar into a porcelain preserving kettle, mix it with the water and white of egg, and when it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire, and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise, which will be very soon, if the sugar is as good as it should be. There is no economy in using inferior sugar for sweetmeats, as much of it will be lost in skimming and sediment. In the mean time, boil in a little sauce-pan a bunch of fresh green peach leaves that have been cleared from all dust; or a handful of broken-up peach kernels. When the flavor is well extracted, strain this water and mix it with the syrup. Then put in the halved peaches, and boil them (uncovered) till quite clear and soft, but not till they break. While warm, put them up with the syrup in glass or white-ware jars.
Apricots are preserved in the same way.
Preserved Green Gages.—Get the largest and ripest green gages, or egg plums. Scald them in boiling water to make them peel easily; the skins of all sorts of plums becoming very hard and tough when preserved. Remove the stems; they are no ornament, and render them troublesome to eat. Make a syrup in the usual way, allowing to each pound of plums a pound of the finest loaf sugar, half a pint of water, and half a white of egg. When well skimmed and boiled put in the plums, and boil them gently till quite clear and soft, but not till broken. All plums may be done in this manner. If not as ripe as possible, they will require to each pound of fruit a pound and a half of the best sugar.