the use of glucose and preservatives, as to create a general impression among consumers that the articles thus purchased in the open market are adulterated and misbranded. When these preparations are made in the household we are at least assured of the genuineness of the product. It must be admitted that the art and technique of manufacture cannot possibly be so perfect in the home as in the large factories. It follows as a necessary consequence that such goods as those indicated ought to be better and cheaper and more readily preserved if made in large manufacturing centers than when made at home. Even those who make the genuine product suffer in common with those who make adulterated articles, since the suspicion of adulteration attaches to the whole output. The practice of domestic manufacture will undoubtedly continue until the public is fully convinced that better and cheaper articles can be purchased in the open market.
Peach Preserves.—A common practice among the housewives throughout the United States is to boil peaches with sugar or sugar sirup, forming the well known product, peach preserves. Preserves of this kind are considered a delicacy, and, as they are easily made and kept, they are a very common article of diet throughout all parts of the country where peaches are grown.
Fruit Butter.—There are several preparations of fruit which differ in some respect from those just mentioned, to which the term "butter" has been applied, such as apple butter, peach butter, etc., and these are common articles of domestic manufacture. This type of article is illustrated by a description of apple butter.
Apple butter is made by boiling comminuted, sound, carefully selected apples of a proper degree of maturity with cider until the whole mass forms a bulk of the proper consistence. The preparation thus made is treated with certain spices according to the desire of the manufacturer and the taste of the consumer. There is quite a quantity of material insoluble in water in genuine fruit butter. The rest consists of water, the added sugar, if any, and the fruit juice with which the butter is made.
Adulteration of Fruit Butter.—Very extensive adulterations are practiced with fruit butter offered in the open market. In the Bureau of Chemistry as high as 30 percent of glucose has been found as an added product. The addition of cane sugar cannot be regarded as an adulteration but the best fruit butters are made without it. Artificial colors are sometimes used, and preservatives, especially benzoic acid, are quite common in the commercial article.
Brandied Fruit.—The use of brandy in common with sugar in the preservation of fruit is widely practiced. Sometimes alcohol alone is relied upon as a preserving agent. At other times greater or less quantities of cane sugar are used. Usually heat is employed in addition to the other preserving agents to complete sterilization. Nearly all forms of fruit may be preserved
