Bottling Fruit

Appears in

Published 1971

Sugar syrup: In general, soft and delicate fleshed fruits seem better suited by a heavy sugar syrup (such as raspberries, peaches) and harder fruit by a light sugar syrup (such as plums, gooseberries). But this is very much a matter of taste. It is usual to allow 6 oz. granulated sugar to each pint of water for a medium strength syrup; increase or decrease the amount of sugar by 2 oz. per pint to produce a heavy or light syrup respectively. Heat the sugar in water until dissolved, bring to the boil, and boil for 2 minutes. You can substitute either golden syrup or honey for the sugar, but this will colour the syrup and, in the case of honey, add a different flavour. It is possible to bottle fruit successfully in plain water, but it is much more trouble to sweeten the fruit afterwards, and takes at least as much sugar. The flavour never seems to be so rich and luscious as if the fruit has been bottled in syrup. On the other hand, too heavy a syrup makes the fruit rise in the bottle, and over-sweetens it.
Brine: A brine suitable for bottling vegetables is prepared by adding 1 oz. salt to each quart of water. Bring the salt and water to the boil, then boil for 2 minutes.