Syltning

Orange essence (Erken 1914): strips of orange peel are steeped for 2 months in cognac or vinegar; 3 dl of this essence is mixed into a cold sugar syrup of 1 l water, 1 kg sugar and 30 g citric acid.

Orange essence for tea (Erken 1914): 250 g sugar is rubbed against the peel of 1 kg oranges, boiled for 3 minutes with orange and lemon juice in an enameled pot, strained and filled into small jars that are sealed at once.

Orange cordial (Erken 1914): sugar rubbed against the zest of 4 oranges, boiled 5 minutes with 1 liter of water, cooled and mixed with orange juice and 25 g citric acid; stands 2 days before straining and bottling.

Barberry cordial from Erken (1914): 1 kg of berries is brought to a boil with 7.5 dl water, steeped 15 minutes, strained, and left to stand 8 days. The juice is strained again and simmered 15 minutes with 400 g sugar per liter before bottling.

Blackberry cordial from Erken (1914): the juice is wrung from crushed blackberries and left overnight, then boiled 10 minutes with 250 g sugar per liter of juice and bottled.

Classic blueberry cordial from Erken's Stor kokebok 1914: 8 l blueberries boiled ½ hour with 2.5 l water, the juice strained, boiled ½ hour with 750 g sugar per liter and bottled in hot bottles.

Candied orange peel (Erken 1914): peel soaked 4 days, pricked and boiled tender, weighed and candied in a syrup of equal parts sugar and peel over several days; the syrup is boiled down at the end and the jars tied over the next day.

Blue plums are covered with vinegar for 24 hours, the vinegar is poured off, and the plums are layered with sugar in a crock; 1 kg plums to 1/2 kg sugar.

Apple slices in vanilla syrup (Erken 1914): 3 kg apples cooked tender in a syrup of 1 kg sugar, 7.5 dl water, and a vanilla bean, placed in jars, the syrup reduced 10 min and poured over cooled. Sterilized 10 min at 85 °C.

Whole preserved raspberries: 1 kg berries are layered with 1 kg sugar overnight, gently cooked 10 minutes, the berries lifted out, the juice boiled 10 minutes and poured back over the berries.

Whole plums layered with sugar in a crock and cooked in a water bath (2 x 20–30 min) or in the oven; 2 kg plums to 1 kg sugar.

Erken's cloudberry preserve: cleaned cloudberries are cooked without sugar into a mash, filled into warm jars, and sealed cold with a cognac-dipped linen cloth and a layer of melted tallow or paraffin.

Blackberry jam from Erken's Great Cookbook (1914, p. 585): 1 kg blackberries, 375 g sugar, and 1.25 dl water. The berries steep for 5 minutes in a clear sugar syrup, are taken out, the juice is boiled down for 15 minutes, the berries are returned and given a final boil before being filled into a warm crock.

Double recipe from 1914: 7 l blueberries and 7 l gooseberries boiled with 7 l water, 3 kg sugar, cinnamon, and cloves; the juice is strained and boiled into a bottled cordial, while the leftover berries become jam for pancakes or fruit soup.

Blueberry jam from Erken (1914, p. 585): 1 kg blueberries, 1 kg sugar, and 1 dl water. Sugar and water are melted over low heat, the berries added and boiled until clear while the pot is shaken; the jam is skimmed in a dish and put into jars that are tied over at once.

Strawberry Jam II from Schønberg Erken 1914: 1 kg strawberries sprinkled with 750 g caster sugar overnight, boiled gently 15 min, the berries filled into warm jars, the juice reduced 15 min and poured over, with 1 tsp cognac on top of each jar.

Classic cherry jam from Schønberg Erken 1914: 2 kg cherries, 2.5 kg sugar, and 5 dl water. The berries are boiled 8 min in syrup, rested until the next day, the juice is boiled down 5 min, the berries are boiled 4 min with the cracked cherry kernels, and the jam is filled hot into jars.

Stirred wild strawberries (Erken 1914): 1 kg berries and 1 kg fine-grained sugar are layered with 1 dl cognac, left until the next day and stirred cold for 1 hour in the same direction before being filled into jars. Uncooked jam.

Scottish "thick marmalade" from Erken (1914): 1 kg sweet and 0.5 kg bitter oranges plus 2 lemons peeled thin, the peel slivered, the fruit sliced thin, soaked 24 hours in 4 l water, boiled 2 hours, then 3 kg sugar added and boiled on about 30 minutes until the gel test sets. Filled into jars.

Erken's orange marmalade II from Stor kokebok 1914: thinly sliced oranges and Seville oranges soaked a full day in water, boiled tender, weighed and boiled on with 1 kg sugar per kg of pulp until the setting point.

A variant of Erken's orange marmalade in which the seeds are soaked two days in cold water and the strained water is added in the final boil for better setting.

Erken's English orange marmalade: 7 bitter oranges cut paper-thin, soaked overnight in 1 l water, boiled 3 hours with the rest of 4 l water, then 2 hours with 2.5 kg sugar, with lemon juice at the end. Serves ice cold with macaroons.

Raspberry marmalade of 1 kg berries and 1 kg sugar put on together and simmered while stirring for about 45 minutes, skimmed and poured up.

Apple porridge for the winter (Erken 1914): apples are boiled with minimal water, passed through a sieve and reduced until the spoon stands up in the porridge, filled into warm jars and, when cold, covered with a cloth and a thick layer of lingonberry porridge as a preservative.

Canned apricots from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914): apricots are blanched, peeled, halved and pitted, packed into jars with a few blanched kernels, covered with a sugar syrup of 400 g sugar and 1 l water, and sterilized 20 minutes at 90 °C.

Canned blackberries from Erken (1914): 2 kg of berries placed in jars, covered with a hot syrup of 500 g sugar and 1 l water, left overnight, and sterilized for 20 minutes at 80 °C.

Canned blueberries from Erken (1914, p. 585): 6 kg of cleaned blueberries packed tightly into jars and covered with a sugar syrup boiled from 400 g sugar per liter of water (about 1 kg sugar in all), then the jars are sterilized for 20 minutes.

Erken's canned apples (1914): peeled, halved apples are placed in citric-acid water, blanched in a sugar syrup (500 g sugar per liter of water), filled into jars, the syrup poured over, and the jars sterilized 20 min at 80 °C. Pears with 300 g sugar per liter.

Canned raspberries: whole berries in jars with a syrup of 1 l water and 300 g sugar, sterilized at 75 °C for 15 minutes.

Canned sweet cherries (Erken 1914): cleaned berries are packed tightly into jars, covered with a syrup of 300 g sugar to 1 liter of water and sterilized 20 minutes at 80 °C.

Barberry jelly from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914): crushed barberries steep for 1–2 days in cognac, are strained, and the juice is cooked with 1 kg sugar per liter for about 30 minutes until the jelly sets.

Blackberry jelly from Erken (1914, p. 585): 1 kg blackberries and 1 kg red currants (or 2 kg apples) steam out their juice in a covered crock in a water bath, strained overnight. Sugar is melted and cooked dry without browning, 0.5 kg of juice is poured in, and the jelly is boiled about 10 minutes before being filled into cups.

Clear raspberry jelly from 1914: crushed raspberries stand for 24 hours, the juice is strained without pressing and cooked with 1 kg powdered sugar per liter while stirring constantly, stirred for 5 minutes after cooking and filled into jelly cups.

Classic apple jelly from Erken 1914: tart apples are boiled tender in water, the juice is strained, boiled with 1 kg sugar per liter and a vanilla pod until it takes on a reddish tinge; the remaining pulp is used for apple marmalade.

Erken's general method for berry and fruit jelly: ripe berries are crushed or cooked, the juice is strained clear, sugar is dissolved before boiling, the jelly is skimmed and boiled until the drop test hangs firm. Alternatives: the juice is poured into dry-boiled sugar, or a cold-stirred jelly. Filled into warm jars and covered when cold.

A blended jelly of 3 parts raspberries and 1 part red currants: the berries are juiced in a jar, ½ kg sugar and ¼ dl water per ½ kg juice are cooked dry, the juice is added and cooked 8–10 minutes, then poured into warm jars.

Blueberries with vinegar from Erken (1914, p. 585): cleaned blueberries covered with vinegar and left for 24 hours, the vinegar strained off and the berries layered with sugar in a crock. No quantities given in the original.

Bottled blueberries from Erken (1914, p. 585): 3.5 kg cleaned blueberries boiled with sugar while stirring for 20 minutes, poured into bottles that are corked and sealed with wax. The amount of sugar is illegible in the source.

Cloudberries in jars (Erken 1914): small cloudberries are crushed and the juice strained over whole, fresh cloudberries in jars rinsed with cognac; a linen cloth dipped in cognac is placed in the jar neck before the cork is tapped in, and the jars may be sealed with lacquer.

Erken's method for preserving rhubarb without sugar: cut stalks are filled into bottles, corked and boiled 10 minutes or sterilized at 80°C for 5 minutes, then stored cool and dark.

Rhubarb in water (Erken 1914): rhubarb stalks are peeled, cut into 3 cm pieces split lengthwise, placed in bottles and covered with cold water. Corked loosely the first day, topped up with water the next day, corked and sealed, stored dark. Used for porridge, soup and jam.

Rhubarb in sugar syrup (Erken 1914): 3 cm rhubarb pieces are placed in bottles and covered with a syrup of 500 g sugar per liter of water. The bottles are corked and boiled 10 minutes in a water bath or sterilized at 80°C for 15 minutes.

Mixed compote of 5 kg apples, pears, and plums cooked by type in a brine of 3 kg sugar, white wine, wine vinegar, water, and vanilla; the brine is boiled down and the fruit filled into a warm jar.

Cranberry compote I: 1 l cranberries is cooked covered for 20 minutes with 2½ dl water, 400 g sugar and ¼ vanilla pod, without stirring. The skins become less tough and the compote sets on cooling.

Cranberry compote II: 1 kg cranberries is brought to a boil with 2 dl water, and 1 kg sugar is sprinkled over in four portions with a boil-up between each, without stirring. Poured out at once.

Lingonberry compote: 1 l berries brought to a boil in 2½ dl water, 375 g sugar added, and simmered for a quarter of an hour before being filled into jars.

Erken's 1914 recipe for glazed orange peel: peel slivers simmered in a sugar syrup of 250 g sugar and 2 dl water, dried briefly in the oven and dusted with sugar; used as a candied-peel substitute and cake decoration.

Apple paste (Erken 1914): 2 kg unpeeled apples are cooked with 5 dl water, passed through a sieve, cooked at least 1 hour with 375 g sugar per liter of purée, poured 1 cm thick onto moistened platters, dried 4–5 days, cut into pieces, dried a further 14 days, sugared, and stored in tins.

A simple basic recipe for sugar brine from Erken's preserving chapter: 1 liter of water is boiled a few minutes with 500–1000 g sugar, skimmed, and strained clear. Used for sterilizing and pre-cooking fruit and berries in jars.