Name: Preserved Strawberries No. 1
Ingredients: a pound of granulated sugar; one basketful of berries will weigh about a pound; three quarters of a pound of granulated sugar; one basketful of berries only at a time; two saucepans; one bowlful is being cooked; one basketful of berries will fill two half-pint tumblers; two half-pint tumblers

Preserved Strawberries No. 1

one basketful will fill two half-pint tumblers

Ingredients

a pound of granulated sugar
one basketful of berries will weigh about a pound
three quarters of a pound of granulated sugar
one basketful of berries only at a time
two saucepans
one bowlful is being cooked
one basketful of berries will fill two half-pint tumblers
two half-pint tumblers

Directions

Prepare the berries

Select firm, large berries and remove the hulls.
Add three quarters of a pound of granulated sugar to each pound of fruit.
Mix the berries with the sugar and let them stand ten to fifteen minutes, or long enough to moisten the sugar but not soften the berries.

Cook the berries

Put the berries in a granite or porcelain-lined saucepan and let them boil slowly for five to ten minutes, or until the berries are softened.
Do not stir the berries, as that will break them, and do not boil long enough for them to lose their shape.
Cook one basketful of berries only at a time; a larger quantity crushes by its own weight.
Use two saucepans and two bowls; leave berries in baskets until ready, then put a basketful at a time in a bowl with sugar sprinkled through; while one bowlful cooks, refill the bowl and fill glasses, the other one is ready to use.

Fill and seal

Put the strawberries into glasses; one basketful will fill two half-pint tumblers.
Cover the tops with paraffin as directed above.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Strawberries (in the method): Firm berries hold their shape during slow boiling, giving the preserve texture and visible fruit.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the fruit and draws out moisture, helping it set and keeping it preserved.

The step that matters

Do not stir, and boil only briefly. Stirring breaks the berries and long boiling makes them lose their shape. Cooking one basketful at a time prevents the weight of a large batch from crushing the fruit.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Preserved Strawberries No. 1