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Another Way to Preserve Apples

A method of preserving apples using dried fern, pebbles, wood, and mortar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Another Way to Preserve Apples

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the box

  1. Layer apples and dried fern alternately in a box. Cover the box tightly.

Fill and seal the jar

  1. Dry a glazed jar thoroughly and place a few pebbles in the bottom.

  2. Fill the jar with apples and cover it with a piece of wood that fits snugly. Seal the wood with a little fresh mortar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Apples
The fruit being preserved, kept from spoiling by the sealed, dry-fern packing.
Dried fern
Layered with the apples to absorb moisture and help keep them from spoiling.
Fresh mortar
Seals the wood cover so air and moisture cannot easily enter the jar.

The step that matters

Seal the wood with a little fresh mortar. A tight seal keeps air and moisture out of the jar. A gap lets air in, which speeds spoilage of the apples inside.

“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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