Fruits, in Rum.—This is a German mixture,
and is particularly good iced, as a garnish for moulded
ices, savarins, etc., or it can be used as a purée, as
sauce, or as the foundation of sorbet ices, etc., to
taste. Have ready a large preserve jar and put into
it a pint of good rum, then lay in the fruit as you
get them, stalked, stoned, and halved as necessary,
according to their nature, adding some at all events
of the kernels of any stone fruit, blanched, to the
mixture. Add to each layer of fruit as it is put in,
an equal weight of roughly crushed cane loaf sugar,
and stir it well up from the bottom each time you
make an addition, being careful not to break the fruit
in the process, and keeping it closely covered down
with a moistened bladder. A pint of spirit (for rum,
brandy, whiskey, etc., may all be used as you choose),
is sufficient for six pounds of fruit, with a pound of
the crushed cane loaf sugar for each pound of fruit.
The great secret of this preserve is to have perfectly
sound, ripe fruit, chosen when at their best, any
the least mouldy, wet, or crushed, being rigorously
excluded; the sugar must be pure cane sugar, no
other will do, for the fruit is raw, remember; and
lastly, the spirit used must be sound and good of its
sort. You need not use Three Star Cognac,
naturally, but neither must you use cheap brandy,
which owes more of its fire to Hamburg than to the
grape. (The use of inferior material is a frequent
cause of the failure of home-made preserves, liqueurs,
etc., be it observed by the way). For this preserve
you can use cherries, strawberries, raspberries, melon,
apricots, mulberries, plums, blackberries, etc., adding