Compôte of Siberian crabs.—To three-quarters of a pint of water add six ounces of fine sugar, boil them for ten or twelve minutes, and skim them well. Add a pound and a half of Siberian crabs without their stalks, and keep them just at the point of boiling for twenty minutes; they will then become tender without bursting. A few 459strips of lemon-rind and a little of the juice are sometimes added to this compôte.
Obs.—In a dry warm summer, when fruit ripens freely, and is rich in quality, the proportion of sugar directed for these compôtes would generally be found sufficient; but in a cold or wet season it would certainly, in many instances, require to be increased. The present slight difference in the cost of sugars, renders it a poor economy to use the raw for dishes of this class, instead of that which is well refined. To make a clear syrup it should be broken into lumps, not crushed to powder. Almost every kind of fruit may be converted into a good compôte.