Choosing and Packing the Fruit

Bottling fruit for shows: Use a light syrup, as this allows the natural colour of the fruit to show through the glass. Pack very carefully, bearing in mind that the fruit should be evenly sized. This is often a winning point in judging bottled fruit. Sliced fruit should be arranged with the slices showing on the outside all facing the same way, layer by layer, in a definite pattern. Large stone fruit, such as peaches, should be halved and packed with the cut halves facing outwards, the hole left by the stone filled with a cracked kernel or a grape. Rhubarb should be graded to ensure that every stalk showing is the same thickness and trimmed to exactly the right length to fill the jar. The jar should be carefully polished and neatly labelled showing type of fruit and date of packing.