Jellies are made of equal parts of clear fruit juice and sugar. Apples^ currants, quinces^ grapes^ and barberries are the fruits usually used. Zow blackberries and swamp 396 The Boston Cook Book. huckleberries make delicious jelly. Crab apples and quinces will form jellj easil}' ; but grapes are unreliable, and cur- rants, if not gathered at the proper time, will sometimes fail. Cherries and some other fruits require the addition of gelatine. Berries, currants, and grapes require no water. Simply mash them in their own juice. Apples, peaches, and quinces should be stewed in as little water as possible, then mashed, and the juice strained. The juices of fruits contain a gelatinous substance called pectose, or pectic acid, which is soluble in the fruit juice, but has the property of coagulation when mixed with sugar, exposed to a slight heat, and then cooled. Sometimes the heat of the sun is sufficient, but usually a short but more intense * heat is necessarj^ When the sugar has a bluish tinge, or when there is not enough sugar to absorb the water in the juice, or when the juice is unusuall}^ watery, as when the fruit is over- ripe, and the fruit is boiled a long time to evap- orate this water, the mixture loses its gelatinous properties and becomes gummj^, or, as disconsolate housekeepers say, ''will not jelly." Currant Jelly, — Currants should not be over-ripe, nor gathered after a rain, as then they are too water}'. In New England currants are in the best condition about the 10th of July. Equal parts of red and white currants,, or currants and raspberries, make a delicately colored and flavored jelly. Pick over and remove the leaves and poor fruit, and if gritty wash and drain them, but do not stem them. Mash them in a porcelain kettle with a wooden pestle, without heating, as that makes the jelly darker. Let them drain in a flannel bag over night. Do not squeeze them, or the jelly will be cloudy. In the morning measure a bowl of sugar for each bowl of juice, and heat the sugar carefully in an earthen dish in the oven. Stir it often to prevent burning. Boil the juice twenty minutes, and skim thoroughly. Add the hot sugar, and boil from three to five minutes, or till it thickens on a spoon when exposed to the air. Turn at once into glasses, and let them remain in the sun several The Boston Cook Booh, 397 days, then cover with paper dipped in brandy, and paste paper over the top of the glass. One who is authority' on this subject recommends cov- ering with melted paraffine, or putting a lump of paraffine on the jelly while still hot ; then no paper is needed. If one can be sure of several sunny days, and a perfectly dry place in which to keep jellies, they may be made without boiling. Mix the sugar with an equal weight of currant juice, and stir till dissolved. Fill the glasses and keep in the sun till dry. After draining the juice the currants may be squeezed, and a second quality of jelly made. It may not be clear, but answers for some purposes. ✪ Currant Jelly

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Jellies are made of equal parts of clear fruit juice and sugar. Apples, currants, quinces, grapes, and barberries are the fruits usually used. Low blackberries and swamp The Boston Cook Book. huckleberries make delicious jelly. Crab apples and quinces will form jelly easily; but grapes are unreliable, and currants, if not gathered at the proper time, will sometimes fail. Cherries and some other fruits require the addition of gelatine. Berries, currants, and grapes require no water. Simply mash them in their own juice. Apples, peaches, and quinces should be stewed in as little water as possible, then mashed, and the juice strained. The juices of fruits contain a gelatinous substance called pectose, or pectic acid, which is soluble in the fruit juice, but has the property of coagulation when mixed with sugar, exposed to a slight heat, and then cooled. Sometimes the heat of the sun is sufficient, but usually a short but more intense heat is necessary. When the sugar has a bluish tinge, or when there is not enough sugar to absorb the water in the juice, or when the juice is unusuall}^ watery, as when the fruit is over- ripe, and the fruit is boiled a long time to evaporate this water, the mixture loses its gelatinous properties and becomes gummy, or, as disconsolate housekeepers say, ''will not jelly." Currant Jelly, — Currants should not be over-ripe, nor gathered after a rain, as then they are too watery. In New England currants are in the best condition about the 10th of July. Equal parts of red and white currants, or currants and raspberries, make a delicately colored and flavored jelly. Pick over and remove the leaves and poor fruit, and if gritty wash and drain them, but do not stem them. Mash them in a porcelain kettle with a wooden pestle, without heating, as that makes the jelly darker. Let them drain in a flannel bag over night. Do not squeeze them, or the jelly will be cloudy. In the morning measure a bowl of sugar for each bowl of juice, and heat the sugar carefully in an earthen dish in the oven. Stir it often to prevent burning. Boil the juice twenty minutes, and skim thoroughly. Add the hot sugar, and boil from three to five minutes, or till it thickens on a spoon when exposed to the air. Turn at once into glasses, and let them remain in the sun several The Boston Cook Booh, days, then cover with paper dipped in brandy, and paste paper over the top of the glass. One who is an authority on this subject recommends covering with melted paraffine, or putting a lump of paraffine on the jelly while still hot ; then no paper is needed. If one can be sure of several sunny days, and a perfectly dry place in which to keep jellies, they may be made without boiling. Mix the sugar with an equal weight of currant juice, and stir till dissolved. Fill the glasses and keep in the sun till dry. After draining the juice the currants may be squeezed, and a second quality of jelly made. It may not be clear, but answers for some purposes.

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Currant Jelly

Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book