Stewed Fruits and Fruit Ices : Part 1

Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery: A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet
By A. G. Payne

(Page 13 of 16)

There are few articles of diet more wholesome than fruit, in every shape, provided it is fresh. It is a great mistake, however, to suppose that fruit, when too stale to be eaten as it is, is yet good enough for stewing. We often hear, especially in summer weather, of people being made ill from eating fruit. Probably in every case the injury results, not from eating fruit as fruit, but from eating it when it is too stale to be served as an article of food at all. There is an immense amount of injury done to this country by the importation of rotten plums, more especially from Germany and it is to be regretted that more stringent laws are not made to prevent the importation of all kinds of food hurtful to health.

We will suppose that in every recipe we are about to give the fruit is at any rate fresh; we do not say ripe, because there are many instances in which fruit not ripe enough to be eaten raw is exceedingly wholesome when stewed properly and sweetened. As an instance we may mention green gooseberries and hard greengages, which, though quite uneatable in their natural state, yet make delicious fruit pies or dishes of stewed fruit. Of all dishes there are few to equal what is called a compote of fruit and there are probably few sweets more popular than -

Compote of Fruit. - A compote of fruit consists of a variety of fresh fruits mixed together in a bowl. Some may be stewed and some served in their natural state, or the whole may be stewed. When a large variety of fruits can be obtained and are sent to table in an old-fashioned china family bowl, few dishes present a more elegant appearance, especially if you happen to possess an old-fashioned punch ladle, an old silver bowl with a black whalebone handle. Care should be taken to keep the fruit from being broken. The following fruits will mix very well, although, of course, it is impossible always to obtain every variety. We can have strawberries, raspberries, red, white and black currants and cherries, as well as peaches, nectarines and apricots.

We can also have stewed apples and stewed pears. Very much, of course, will depend upon the time of year. Those fruits that want stewing should be placed in some hot syrup previously made and only allowed to stew till tender enough to be eaten. Tinned fruits, especially apricots, can be mixed with fresh fruits, only it is best not to use the syrup in the tin, as it will probably overpower the flavor of the other fruits. The syrup, as far as possible, should be bright and not cloudy. The fruit in the bowl should be mixed, but should not be stirred up. We should endeavor as much as possible to keep the colors distinct. If strawberries or raspberries form part of the compote, the syrup will get red.

Should black currants be present, avoid breaking them, as they spoil the appearance of the syrup. In summer the compote of fruits is much improved by the addition of a lump of ice and a glass of good old brandy. Should the compote of fruits, as is often the case, be intended for a garden party, where it will have to stand a long time, if possible get a small bowl, like those in which gold and silver fish are sold in the street for sixpence and fill this with ice and place it in the middle of the larger bowl containing fruit, otherwise the melted ice will utterly spoil the juice that runs from the fruit, which is sweetened with the syrup and flavored with the brandy. If much brandy be added, old ladies at garden parties will be found to observe that the juice is the best part of it.

Apples, Stewed. - Peel and cut out the cores of the apples and stew them gently in some syrup composed of about half a pound of white sugar and rather more than a pint of water. A small stick of cinnamon, or a few cloves and a strip of lemon-peel can be added to the syrup, but should be taken out when finished. The apples should be stewed till they are tender, but must not be broken. The syrup in which the apples are stewed should of course be served with them. This syrup can be colored slightly with a few drops of cochineal, but should not be colored more than very slightly. The syrup looks a great deal better if it is clear and bright. It can be strained and clarified. Apples are very nice stewed in white French wine, such as Chablis or Graves.

Stewed Pears. - Pears known as cooking pears take a long time to stew. They should be peeled and the cores removed and then stewed very gently in a syrup composed of half a pound of sugar to about a pint and a half of water; add a few cloves to the syrup, say two cloves to each pear. The pears will probably take from two to three hours to stew before they are tender. When tender add a glass of port wine and a little cochineal. If the pears are stewed, like they are abroad, in claret, add cinnamon instead of the cloves.

Stewed Rhubarb. - Stewed rhubarb is of two kinds. When it first comes into season it is small, tender and of a bright red color and when stewed makes a very pretty dish. The red rhubarb should be cut into little pieces about two inches long. Very little water will be required, as the fruit contains a great deal of water in itself. The amount of sugar added depends entirely upon taste. The stewed rhubarb should be sent to table unbroken and floating in a bright red juice.

When rhubarb is old and green it is best served more like a puree, or mashed. Very old rhubarb is often stringy and can with advantage be rubbed through a wire sieve. It is no use attempting to color old rhubarb red, but you can improve its color by the addition of a very little spinach extract. A few strips of lemon-peel can be stewed with old rhubarb, but should never be added to young red rhubarb.

Gooseberries, Stewed. - Young green gooseberries stewed, strange to say, require less sugar than ripe gooseberries. It is best to stew the fruit first and add the sugar afterwards. The amount of sugar varies very much with the quality of the gooseberries.

Prunes, Stewed. - The prunes should be washed before they are stewed. They will not take more than half an hour to stew and a strip of lemon-peel should be placed in the juice. Stewed prunes are much improved by the addition of a little port wine.

Plums, Stewed. - Stewed plums, such as black, ordinary, or greengages, or indeed any kind of stone fruit, can be stewed in syrup and have this advantage - plums can be used this way which could not be eaten at all if they were raw. These fruits are much nicer cold than hot. In many cases, in stewing stone fruit (and this applies particularly to peaches, apricots and nectarines), the stones should be removed and cracked and the kernels added to the fruit.

Cassell & Company, Limited: London, Paris & Melbourne. 1891.