HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6126, 12 March 1898, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Tomato Sandwiches. — Cut some thin bread and butter. Sprinkle over oach piece of bread a little fresh mustard and cress, pepper and salt. Cut some raw tomatoes into thin slices, and lay them between the bread and butter. Press them gently together, and trim the edges with a sharp knife. Blackberry Jelly. — Have the fruit gathered in dry weather, put it into a jar, and place in a saucepan of boiling water, and simmer until the juice is extracted. Strain through a cloth or a very fine hair sieve. To every pint of juice allow lib of loaf sugar, put the juice and sugar into a preserving pan, and boil for about half an hour, or until it is sufficiently stiff. Tomato Chutnet.— Put into a mortar 4oz of salt, 4oz of raisins, stoned and minced very finely, 3oz of onions and 3pz of garlic also finely minced, 2oz of mustardseed well bruised, and _oz cayenne pepper. Pound these well, then mix with them very gradually l_oz of tomatoes, out into *slices,-_aiui boiled with -one prntof-eteong <

brown vinegar and 4oz of sugar. Mi_-th_ ingredients thoroughly, bottle the<,preparation, and cork tightly. The longer thia chutney is kept the better it will be. Apple Chutney.— Dry llb-of mustardseed gently and then bruise it in-a mortar ; dissolve lib of brown sugar in a pint of vinegar : dry two quarts of apples, peeled and chopped, and boil in a quartof vinegar till tender; peel 12oz of garlic and bruise it in a mortar. Leave aU the ingredients until cold, then mix them gradually together, adding as well 6oz of cayenne pepper, lib of salt and lib of raisins that have been stoned and cut in half— or«they can be chopped if you prefer to do so. Add a pint more vinegar. When wtell mixed put into -jars or bottles, cover with ve__m, and keep the chutney for about -three months before using it. Tomato Preserve.— -Select the little yellow tomatoes that are but little than small plums ; pour boiling witter -ower them and cover tightly for two minutes, then quickly drain and cover withuioid water. This will generally loosen tho skins. Peel. the tomatoes, bemg*su»_nl not to break them, and if any are 'found with the skins still unloosened, set tbem aside to be again treated witb boifing water. Weigh the tomatoes, and allow apound of sugar to eaoh pound of fruit. Place the sugar and tomatoes in the preo serving-pan in layers, but do not add any water. Heat very slowly, and boil Until the tomatoes look withered, beingroareful to keep them whole. Now skun.ih6m.out, lay them on a patter, and boibdown thai syrup to the desired thickness. Return the fruit to the pan, when scalded, it _j ready to be Bet away in glass: jars. Ha*, in readiness some thin slices of lementont crosswise of;the fruit /do notpeel'thedeataa or remove the seeds), place two of these slices in a jar; then a cupful of preserve, then two more shvees of lemon, and so«on until the jar is running-over, thenoscrew on the top. Four quarts of tomatoes and at least five lemons will be neededuxHmafce two quarts _ndv a pint -of preserve. To Bottle Damsons,— (l) Oather^the fruit in dry weather, and he_orat__ey*a_e fully ripe put them into quite dry wide, mouthed bottles, cork tightly, and«etaside for afortnight ; then look att__m,__ncUif any show Bigns of mould, take ._em«.u£? corfcthe bottles olosely, place them income cobbcornei, a_d, coverwith Band. (2). Pick' the damsons when they are f uDyiipe, pick off the stalks, lay them on a coarae^jlath, and set in a. cool oven; turn them-occasion-ally, and let them stay two -orthroe»days, or till they are as dry as a prune, then .put theiH away in bottles in a dry place, (a) The damsons should be carefully looked over and wiped, carebehig4aken to "discard, those very ripe or bursting. P_w»_ pot o£ cold water on the fire, put:in the bottles filled with the damsons. The water .should not be past the shoulders of the*bot_.e. Let the water come to the boil; tben fin the bottles-with boiling water,__d,>if theyneed it, with a few damsons, of which 'there should be some boiling in a saucepan. Put the corks in loosely, and leavethe4x>_tlea in the water a few minutes longer, watch- ' ing that none of the damsons break. Take | them out, and leave them to- cool a few ' minutea before corking tightly, securing the corks with resin. The bottles-with screw tope-are very good.