Modern cookery, in all its branches

( Norman Receipt .) Strip carefully from the stems some quite ripe currants of tfa^ finest quality, and mix with them an equal weight of good sugar reduced to powder ; boil these together quickly for exactly eight minutes, keep them stirred all the time, and clear off the scum — which will be very abundant — as it rises ; then turn the preserve into a very clean sieve, and put into small jars the jelly which runs through it, and which will be delicious in flavour, and of the brightest colour. It should be carried immediately, when this is practicable, to an extremely cool but not a damp place, and left there until perfectly cold. The currants which remain in the sieve make an excellent jam, particularly if only part of the jelly be taken from them. In Normandy where the fruit is of richer quality than in England, this preserve is boiled only two minutes, and is both firm and beautifully transparent. Currants, 3 lbs. ; sugar, 3 lbs. : 8 minutes. Obs. — This receipt we are told by some of our correspondents is not generally quite successful in this country, as the jelly, though it keeps well and is of the finest possible flavour, is scarcely firm enough for table. We have ourselves found this to be the case in cold damp seasons ; but the preserve even then was valuable for many purposes, and always agreeable eating. FRENCH CURRANT JELLY. Mix one-third of white currants with two of red, and stir them over a gentle fire until they render their juice freely; pour it from them, strain and weigh it ; for every four pounds break three of fine sugar into large lumps, just dip them into cold water, and when they are nearly dissolved boil them to a thick syrup ; stir this without ceasing until it falls in large thick white masses from the skimmer ; then pour in the currant juice immediately, and when the sugar is again dissolved, boil the whole quickly for five minutes, clear off the scum perfectly, pour the jelly into jars or warm glasses, and set it in a cool place. Red currants, two-thirds ; white currants, one-third ; juice, 4 lbs. ; sugar boiled to candy height, 3 lbs. : jelly boiled, 5 minutes. Obs. — A flavouring of raspberries is usually given to currant jelly in France, the preserve being there never served with any kind ol joint, as it is with us. DELICIOUS RED CURRANT JAM. This, which is but an indifferent preserve when made in the usual way, will be found a very fine one if the following directions for it be [chap. X3tlV. observed ; it will be extremely transparent and bright in colour, and will retain perfectly the flavour of the fruit. Take the currants at the height of their season, the finest that can be had, free from dust, but gathered on a dry day; strip them with great care from the stalks, weigh and put them into a preserving-pan with three pounds of the best sugar reduced to powder, to four pounds of the fruit : stir them gently over a brisk clear fire, and boil them quickly for exactly eight minutes from the first full boil. As the jam is apt to rise over the top of the pan, it is better not to fill it more than two-thirds, and if this precaution should not be sufficient to prevent it, it must be lifted from the fire and held away for an instant.