To Preserve Strawberries

History

As printed in Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife, the recipe reads: "Get the largest strawberries before they are too ripe; have the best loaf sugar, one pound to each of strawberries--stew them very gently, taking them out to cool frequently, that they may not be mashed; when they look clear, they are done enough." The method — an equal weight of loaf sugar to fruit, gentle stewing, and repeatedly lifting the fruit out to cool so it is not crushed, stopping when it "looks clear" (transparent) — is the same approach the book prescribes generally in its "Directions for making preserves": "All delicate fruit should be done gently, and not allowed to remain more than half an hour after it begins to stew, before it is laid on dishes to cool; it must be put into the syrup again for the same time; continue this until it is sufficiently transparent." The Virginia House-Wife (first edition 1824) by Mary Randolph is considered the first regional American cookbook; it collected nearly 500 recipes and was republished at least nineteen times before the Civil War. Mary Randolph (1762–1828) built her cooking reputation running a Richmond, Virginia, boarding house before publishing the cookbook, whose recipes were shaped by the enslaved cooks and European immigrant traditions around her. The sources consulted do not document a broader migration lineage for this specific preserving recipe, nor any status, class, or wealth meaning attached to it.

Ingredients

• strawberries
• 1 pound loaf sugar

Instructions

1. Select the largest strawberries before they become fully ripe. Use the best loaf sugar in a ratio of one pound sugar to one pound strawberries.
2. Stew the strawberries very gently, taking them out frequently to cool so they do not become mashed. When they look clear, they are done enough.