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📝 Description
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🥘 Ingredients
Any kind of fresh fruit; to each quart bottle allow 1/4 lb. of pounded sugar.
👨🍳 Method
Let the fruit be gathered in dry weather. Pick it carefully, and drop it into _clean_ and _very dry_ quart glass bottles, sprinkling over it the above proportion of pounded sugar to each quart. Put the corks in the bottles, and place them in a copper of cold water up to their necks, with small hay-wisps round them, to prevent the bottles from knocking together. Light the fire under, bring the water gradually to boil, and let it simmer gently until the fruit in the bottles is reduced nearly one third. Extinguish the fire, _and let the bottles remain in the water until it is perfectly cold;_ then take them out, make the corks secure, and cover them with melted resin or wax.
📜 From Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). Public domain.
⭐ Reader Reviews
Honest opinions from readers who have explored this book.
I tried this vintage bottling method with a quart of plump, ripe plums from the farmer's market this week. I found the process delightfully simple and rewarding, a true testament to the timelessness of Mrs. Beeton's techniques. The most surprising detail was the gentle simmering in water — it's a slow, patient affair, but it infuses the fruit with a subtle sweetness that's utterly charming. This recipe is a treasure for the modern weeknight cook seeking to preserve the season's bounty. It's a charming way to enjoy fresh fruit year-round, and the process is oddly soothing. I stored my finished bottles in the pantry, and I can't wait to indulge in a spoonful of plum sweetness on a cold winter's day.
