will keep without deteriorating for three or four
years, or even longer. I remember eating some jam
which had been made very nearly five years, and
certainly it could compare favourably with any
other.
Jam to keep well must be stored in a cool, dry
place, free from draughts, and from any sudden
changes of temperature — the evener the latter, the
better the jam will keep. It is advisable when
putting up jam to paste labels with the name of the
jam and the date of its making on the sides of the
jars, for when stored the names, if written, as they
often are, on the top covering, are not visible, and so
a good deal of confusion may arise. Be very careful
when pouring the jam into the pots to keep the
latter as free from splashes as possible, and if by
any accident any is spilt, wipe it off at once with a
damp cloth rung out of hot water ; the importance
of attention to this point is that, if not wiped off at
once it cools and hardens quickly, and is then not
easy to remove ; and if the cover by any chance gets
moistened by the stickiness thus left, the contents of
the pot are very likely not to keep.
The above are general rules applicable to all jams,
but common sense must be used in applying them.
For instance, jams, or marmalades as the French call
them, should be cooked a little before adding the
sugar ; the same rule applies to jellies, which should
be cooked first to extract the juice, and when tender
should be drained through a fine sieve or jelly bag,
and then boiled quickly with the requisite amount of
sugar. But if the fruit is to be kept whole, either-
40
PICKLES AND PRESERVES.
the sugar should be dissolved before putting in the
fruit, or the latter should be cooked in a syrup made
of fruit juice and sugar. The following will give an
idea of this process : Have ready your fruit, whether
strawberries, black currants, apricots, &c., as you
please, and pick out a certain proportion of the
finest ; weigh these and put them in a pan sprinkled
with an equal weight of fine preserving sugar (be
careful when doing this to sprinkle the sugar in
gradually in layers with the fruit, so as not to crush
the latter), and leave them thus till next day. In
the meantime take the rest of the fruit, together with
some peeled and sliced stalks of rhubarb, and cook
it all gently in a covered jar till the juice has flowed
freely from it, then place it in a sieve and strain off
all the liquid possible. Now take this juice and pour
it over the sweetened fruit previously set aside, and
leave this to soak together for another tweuty-f«>ur
hours, allowing from one to two gills to each pound
oi the preserved fruit, the quantity of added juice
depending a great deal on whether the preserve is to
be very juicy or not ; now pour off all the j uice which
will have appeared, and put it on to boil with an
equal weight of pure cane susrar, allowing it to boil
up rapidly, and, when it does, lay in the whole fruit,
and boil altogether for twelve to fifteen minutes,
stirring it very gently (not to break the fruit), and
removing every particle of scum as it rises. This
preserve is well worth the trouble it involves, for the
fruit will be found quite firm and plump, as well as
tender, while the syrup round it will he of a creamy
consistency, delicious both in richness of flavour and
JAMS, JELLIES, AND PASTES.
41
Page 20
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
will keep without deteriorating for three or four years, or even longer. I remember eating some jam which had been made very nearly five years, and certainly it could compare favourably with any other.
Jam to keep well must be stored in a cool, dry place, free from draughts, and from any sudden changes of temperature — the evener the latter, the better the jam will keep. It is advisable when putting up jam to paste labels with the name of the jam and the date of its making on the sides of the jars, for when stored the names, if written, as they often are, on the top covering, are not visible, and so a good deal of confusion may arise. Be very careful when pouring the jam into the pots to keep the latter as free from splashes as possible, and if by any accident any is spilt, wipe it off at once with a damp cloth rung out of hot water ; the importance of attention to this point is that, if not wiped off at once it cools and hardens quickly, and is then not easy to remove ; and if the cover by any chance gets moistened by the stickiness thus left, the contents of the pot are very likely not to keep.
The above are general rules applicable to all jams, but common sense must be used in applying them. For instance, jams, or marmalades as the French call them, should be cooked a little before adding the sugar ; the same rule applies to jellies, which should be cooked first to extract the juice, and when tender should be drained through a fine sieve or jelly bag, and then boiled quickly with the requisite amount of sugar. But if the fruit is to be kept whole, either-
the sugar should be dissolved before putting in the fruit, or the latter should be cooked in a syrup made of fruit juice and sugar. The following will give an idea of this process : Have ready your fruit, whether strawberries, black currants, apricots, &c., as you please, and pick out a certain proportion of the finest ; weigh these and put them in a pan sprinkled with an equal weight of fine preserving sugar (be careful when doing this to sprinkle the sugar in gradually in layers with the fruit, so as not to crush the latter), and leave them thus till next day. In the meantime take the rest of the fruit, together with some peeled and sliced stalks of rhubarb, and cook it all gently in a covered jar till the juice has flowed freely from it, then place it in a sieve and strain off all the liquid possible. Now take this juice and pour it over the sweetened fruit previously set aside, and leave this to soak together for another twenty-four hours, allowing from one to two gills to each pound oi the preserved fruit, the quantity of added juice depending a great deal on whether the preserve is to be very juicy or not ; now pour off all the juice which will have appeared, and put it on to boil with an equal weight of pure cane susrar, allowing it to boil up rapidly, and, when it does, lay in the whole fruit, and boil altogether for twelve to fifteen minutes, stirring it very gently (not to break the fruit), and removing every particle of scum as it rises. This preserve is well worth the trouble it involves, for the fruit will be found quite firm and plump, as well as tender, while the syrup round it will he of a creamy consistency, delicious both in richness of flavour and