Fruit jelly

“ The present product of this manufactory is from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of jelly each day of ten hours. It is calculated that improvements now in progress will increase this to something more than a ton per day. Each bushel of fruit will produce from four to five pounds of jelly, fruit ripening late in the season being more productive than earlier varieties. Crab apples produce the finest jelly; sour, crabbed, natural fruit makes the best looking article, and a mixture of all varieties gives most satisfactory results as to flavor and general quality. ”

“ Strawberry jelly should have a little lemon-juice added [461] to that of the fruit. Both it and blackberry, and very ripe raspberry jelly, are apt to be less firm than that made from more tart fruits; still, do not boil it. Set it in the sun, as I have directed at the beginning of the section upon preserves and fruit jellies, filling one cup from another as the contents shrink. The sun will boil it down with less waste, and less injury to color and taste, than the fire will. Cooking jelly always darkens it. ”

“ Apples make a very mild jelly, and it may be flavored with fruits, flowers, or spices. If the apples are acid it is not advisable to use any flavor.
Juicy fruits, such as currants, raspberries, etc., should not be gathered after a rain, for they will have absorbed so much water as to make it difficult, without excessive boiling, to get the juice to jelly. ”

“ Certo jelly recipes are developed with fully ripe fruit instead of the under-ripe fruit commonly used in old-fashioned jelly making. They take you a long way toward perfect flavor. And Certo jelly recipes are designed to give best texture at the time the jelly is most apt to be used. They take account of the fact that many jellies grow progressively firmer for a week to a month after they are made. ”

“ The most natural way for one to do would be to cut the oranges in halves, and squeeze them in a lemon-squeezer, but that will not do, for the orange-oil of the rind is extracted in such large quantities as to destroy the delicate flavor of the jelly. The proper way to do is to peel the fruit, cut it in pieces, put them in a jelly-bag, and squeeze out the juice with the hand. ”

“ In fact, when in this immature state, fruits may be used to make jelly, whereas the same fruits, when perfectly ripe, often will not make jelly at all, or, if they do, will produce a jelly that is inferior in quality. ”

“ To be satisfactory, jelly must be made from fruit juice containing pectin and acid. Pectin is a substance in the fruit which is soluble in hot water and which, when cooked with sugar and acid, gives, after cooling, the right consistency to jelly.
Fruits to be used should be sound, just ripe or slightly under-ripe, and gathered but a short time. Wash them, remove stems and cut large fruits into pieces. With juicy fruits add just enough water to prevent burning while cooking. In using fruits which are not juicy cover them with water. Cook slowly until the fruits are soft. ”

“ CANNING FRUIT JUICES FOR JELLY.--During the canning season, when a great deal of such work is being done, the housewife often feels that making jelly and preserves is an extravagant use of sugar. Still, fruit juices left over from canning and large quantities of fruit, such as crab apples and currants, that are not suitable for other purposes, will be wasted unless they are used for jelly. If it is not convenient to use the fruit at the time it is obtained, a good plan is to extract the juice as for jelly making and then can it. ”

“ The fruit is only intended as an ornament. A jelly that is quite as pretty may be made by using clusters of red and white, or red, white, and black currants. The red and white ones should have two or three young leaves attached, and each cluster be perfect; no black-currant leaves must be used, as they have a strong flavor.
Jelly with Candied Fruits.—Make a quart of maraschino jelly, which is done by omitting the rum, lemon, and cinnamon from the last recipe, and using in place of rum a gill of maraschino, and water in place of lemon juice. ”

“ Apple jam is made of the fruit after the juice has been drawn off for jelly. Economical house-*keepers will find that very excellent jelly can be made of apple parings, so that where apples in any quantity have been used for pies and tarts the skins can be stewed in sufficient water to cover them, and when the liquor is strongly flavoured it can be strained and boiled with sugar to a jelly. To make apple jelly, pare, core and slice the apples and put them into a preserving-pan with enough water to cover them. ”

“ Contrary to the general belief, gelatin is never used in making fruit jelly. In the manufacture of the very cheapest grade of jellies starch is sometimes employed. Jellies containing starch, however, are so crude in their appearance that the most superficial inspection is sufficient to demonstrate that they are not pure fruit jellies. From their appearance no one would think it worth while to examine them to determine their purity. ”

“ Cook the fruit only until the skin is broken and pulp softened. Strain without squeezing for jelly, and use the last juice you squeeze out for jam. Measure the juice and boil uncovered, skimming off. For sweet fruits 3/4 of a pound of sugar is enough to a pint of juice. Heat the sugar in the oven, add to the boiling juice; stir till dissolved. When it boils up, draw to the back of the stove. Scald the jelly glasses, fill and let stand in a clean, cool place till next day; then cover. Blackberries make jelly of a delicious flavor and jelly easily when a little underripe. ”

“ Prepare Fruit: Select fully ripe fruit. Wash, then prepare exactly as recipe directs. If fruit lacks tartness add 1⁄4 cup lemon juice when adding sugar. For separating juice for jelly, use 1-yard square of Canton flannel, spread over colander. Place prepared fruit in cloth, bring corners together and twist while pressing down on bag. To make jellies from dripped juice, use twice amount of fruit called for in recipe.
2. Prepare Glasses: Wash, scald, and drain the glasses and tin covers needed, and melt paraffin in a small pot over hot water while making jelly or jam. ”

“ Peaches, apricots, plums, apples, &c., are better for being boiled in a little clear syrup before they are laid in the jelly; strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and currants are put in raw. In winter, when fresh fruits are not obtainable, a very pretty jelly may be made with preserved fruits or brandy cherries: these, in a bright and clear jelly, have a very pretty effect; of course, unless the jelly be very clear, the beauty of the dish will be spoiled. It may be garnished with the same fruit as is laid in the jelly ”

“ Fruit Jellies.—Crab-apple, quince, grape, etc., are all made in the same way. Allow a teacup of water to a pound of fruit; boil till very tender; then strain through a cloth, and treat as currant jelly. Cherries will not jelly without gelatine, and grapes are sometimes troublesome. ”

“ Such fruits as peaches, cherries, and others containing but a small proportion of pectose, cannot be made into a firm jelly. All fruit for jelly should, if possible, be freshly picked, and before it is over-ripe, as it has then a much better flavor. The pectose, the jelly-producing element, deteriorates with age, so that jelly made from over-ripe fruit is less certain to "form." If the fruit is under-ripe, it will be too acid to give a pleasant flavor. Examine carefully, as for canning, rejecting all wormy, knotty, unripe, or partially decayed fruit. ”

“ It may assist in making soup.
(2) Any liquid may be used to dissolve this substance to make a plain jelly. Examples: coffee jelly, tomato jelly, wine jelly.
(3) Plain jelly may be varied as follows:
Allow the plain jelly mixture to cool until it is as thick as cream, and then beat in whipped egg-white, or fruit, or chopped vegetables, and set away until firm. Examples: snow pudding, orange charlotte, vegetable salad.
(4) Strain off the juice from a can of fruit, heat it, and use it for dissolving the gelatine. When almost set, add the fruit, and set away to become firm. ”

“ The chief requirement of fruits that are to be used for jelly making is that they contain acid and pectin. Pectin is the real jelly-making property of fruits. When it is in the presence of acid and combined with the correct proportion of sugar and the combination is properly boiled, a desirable jelly is the result. Without pectin, however, it is impossible to make the juice solidify, or jell. Pectin is closely related to the carbohydrates, but as it does not yield heat energy nor build tissue, its food value is not considered. ”

“ Now boil up the fruit until it is tender, put the damsons into a sieve while warm, and boil the jelly alone full half an hour, and taking off any scum that may yet have arisen. Put the fruit into your pots, jars, &c., and pour your jelly over them, well heated. When cold, put brandy-paper upon the fruit, and melted mutton suet above that. Make all safe with bladder and leather, and store them in a dry, airy, cool room. ”

“ At a time when other fruits are very high, the plain apple jelly, so delicate in flavor itself, can be mixed when ready to pour with any kind of preserved fruit, ready to be put up, even in the proportion of one-fourth, and it will not be noticeable. ”

“ The jelly thus formed by the action of the dilute acid upon the apple is converted into quince, pear, pineapple, or any other fruit that the pleasure of the manufacturer may choose by the addition of artificial flavoring agents. There is no reason for believing that the jellies thus prepared are harmful to health. ”

“ EFFECT OF RIPENESS ON FRUITS.--There is a very marked difference between ripe and green fruits as to their composition, flavor, texture, palatability, and digestibility. Green fruits, containing more acid than ripe ones, serve some purposes for which ripe fruits of the same variety cannot be used so well. For instance, a very much better jelly can be made from grapes that are not entirely ripe than from those which have completely ripened. Green fruits contain less sugar than do ripe ones, and so they are more sour to the taste. ”

“ French Jellies may be made with all kinds of fresh fruits, filling the mould by degrees, the jelly first, let it set, then the fruit, and so on till full, the mould being buried in ice; when ready to serve dip in hot water, mix it well, and turn out carefully on your dish. In the winter, preserved fruits in syrup may be used, decorating the mould with them, pouring in a little jelly at a time until it is cold, and fill up by degrees ”

“ Clear Apple Jelly.—Pare and core half a peck of green apples, cut them up, and drop them as you cut them into two quarts of water. Pare two small [53] lemons, cut them up, removing the pips, and add them to the apples, reserving the lemon-peel. Put the apple-parings and the cores with the apples, and boil all together very slowly till the fruit is quite a pulp. Then strain it through a jelly-bag, and to every pint of liquid add half a pound of lump sugar. Boil the whole very fast with the peel of the two lemons, skimming thoroughly all the time. It ought to jelly in three-quarters of an hour ”

“ Natural fruit jellies become liquid on being warmed. A spoonful dissolves readily in warm water, although considerable time is required with those that are especially firm. The small fruits contain practically no starch, as apples do, and the presence of starch in a jelly indicates that some apple juice has probably been used in its preparation.
Detection of Starch.—Dissolve a teaspoonful of jelly in a half teacupful of hot water, heat to boiling and add, drop by drop, while stirring with a teaspoon, a solution of potassium permanganate until the solution is almost colorless. ”

“ It is very good to those who like it; and it is decidedly better than none. So are blackberry pies and puddings. But, if the jam be the lowest of jams, the jelly is the highest of jellies—of fruit jellies. Blackberry jelly is truly a dainty, not only good for sore throats and hoarsenesses, but a dainty sweet with cream, or on puffs. So Harry and his party are to bring home a vast crop;* the elder ones being always careful to gather only those which grow out of reach of the poor children who have a sort of natural right to all wild good things that they can lay hands on. ”

“ PINK JELLY GARNISHED WITH PINK CARNATIONS. WHIPPED JELLY OR SNOW PUDDING
Make a wine or lemon jelly (page 415) . Place it in a bowl on ice; when it is cold, but before it begins to harden, beat it with a Dover beater until it becomes white and a mass of froth. Turn it into a mold to harden. Serve with it a sauce made of boiled custard, or any preserve that will go well with the flavoring, or a compote of orange or any fruit. ”

“ Too much boiling, or too slow boiling, injures jelly and makes it ropy. Too much sugar will cause jelly to grain; the quantity used must be in accordance with the requirements of the fruit, acid fruit requiring more sugar and dead ripe fruit less. Red currants take more sugar than black currants; they also take more time to boil to a jelly. A little practice and a few mistakes will make anyone who takes pleasure in cooking a good jelly-maker and preserver. ”

“ If it is desired to have the jelly exceptionally clear and nice, it may be turned through a bag of cheese cloth, previously wrung out of hot water, into the jelly glasses. If the covers of the glasses are not tight fitting, a piece of firm paper should be fitted over the top before putting on the cover, to make it air tight. Pint self-sealing fruit cans are excellent for storing jelly, and if it is sealed in them in the same manner as canned fruit, will keep perfectly, and obviate any supposed necessity for the use of brandied paper as a preservative measure. ”