{"id":5395,"slug":"watermelon-preserves","title":"Watermelon preserves.","description":"From The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book (1919) by Victor Hirtzler.","ingredients_raw":["a melon with a thick rind","salt","water","alum","sugar (one pound per pound of fruit)","ginger root","one lemon"],"ingredients_norm":["melon with thick rind","salt","water","alum","sugar","ginger root","lemon"],"steps":["Select a melon with a thick rind, and cut in any shape desired.","Lay the pieces in strong salt water for two or three days; then soak in clear water for twenty-four hours, changing the water frequently.","Then put in alum water for two hours to harden.","To every pound of fruit use one pound of sugar. Make a syrup of the sugar and a few pieces of ginger root and one lemon sliced thin.","After boiling for a few minutes, remove the lemon and ginger, add the melon, and boil until transparent.","Lift carefully, and place in glass jars. Fill the jars with the syrup."],"categories":[],"prep_time_minutes":null,"cook_time_minutes":null,"total_time_minutes":null,"servings":null,"yield_text":null,"difficulty":null,"source_name":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39550","source_ref":"pg:39550:w73:6","authors_url":null,"license":"Public domain (US)","license_url":null,"extraction_confidence":1.0,"content_hash":"21fd14bdfcbbd9f544f001f256d990fb79b63d82305e1b179edbe6cd328a8311","created_at":"2026-08-02T16:44:05Z","updated_at":"2026-08-02T17:11:32Z","notice":"Historical recipe (1919), reproduced as published: it may reflect its era's ingredients, language, and food-safety practices. Apply modern judgment on cooking temperatures and preservation.","url":"https://recipecontextprotocol.com/recipes/watermelon-preserves"}