found at the thriftstore.

home preserving made easy. a complete guide to pickling, smoking, canning, drying, freezing, jelly-making with special sections on making wine, cheese, sausage and other preserves and helpful hints on saving space, money and energy. by vera gewanter & dorothy parker.

-watermelon chutney-

the great thing about this chutney is that you can eat the soft flesh of the watermelon first, fresh and sweet and pink and moist, because all you will need for the chutney is the rind, the white part, from which you will remove the green outer casing.

rind of 1 watermelon

1 tsp. powdered alum

6 tbs. salt

1 lb. apples (or pears)

3 med. onions

vinegar

1 tbs. celery seed

2 tbs. mustard seed

3 cloves garlic

1 lb. raisins

1 c. preserved ginger

2 c. sugar

1 sliced lemon

juice of 2 more lemons

2 tsp. each cinnamon, allspice, ground pepper, ground clove

cut the white rind into rather small pieces. add the alum and four tbs. of salt to enough water to cover the rind; boil it for fifteen minutes and drain. peel, core, and cut up the apples; peel and chop the onions. cove the apples and onions with vinegar, then add two tablespoons salt and the softened rind. let stand three hours, then drain, reserving the vinegar.

mash the celery seed, mustard seed and garlic. add this mash to the reserved vinegar, along with the remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. stir well and add the watermelon mixture. turn heat down and simmer until watermelon rind is transparent and texture becomes syrupy. cool and let stand eight to ten hours. bring to boil again, then seal in sterilized bottles.

-chestnut paste-

1 lb. chestnuts

1/2 c. milk

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

brandy

peel chestnuts and put them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. boil them until tender, then remove the second skin, drain, and place in a bowl. add the milk and press the chestnuts with a spoon so as to make a rather thick paste. in a small pot, add a very little water to the sugar and cook until it caramelizes. pour this slowly on the paste while with the other hand you "work" the paste so that the sugar is thoroughly mixed in. then add the vanilla extract and continue to knead. while the mixture is still warm, put it in jars with a few drops of brandy on top of each jar.

when the paste is still warm it will seem too loose, but it will cool off to the right consistency.

get it.