[253.] Quince Jelly.
Halve your quinces, take out the cores, and boil the quinces until very soft, in just sufficient water to cover them, then squeeze them through a flannel bag, and to a pound of quince pulp, put a pound of white sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, strain it again, fill your glasses and cover them tight.
[254.] Apple Jelly.
Take greenings, pippins or crab apples, halve them and take out the cores, boil them till tender in water just sufficient to cover them, boil with them the peel and juice of a lemon, to every three pounds of the apple. Strain the apple, and to each pound, put a pound of loaf sugar. Boil and skim it till clear; when it becomes a jelly, take it up, color it if you like, either with saffron, beet juice, or cochineal. Strain it, and put it in glasses, and set them in a cool place.
[255.] Lemon Jelly.
Put on a slow fire an ounce and a half of isinglass, (pulled into small pieces,) a pint of water, with the rind of several lemons; when dissolved put in a pint of lemon juice, a pound and a half of white sugar, color it with a few grains of saffron, strain it through a flannel bag, then boil it ten or fifteen minutes, strain it till clear, let it remain till nearly congealed, then fill your glasses or moulds with it. To get it out of the moulds dip them into lukewarm water for a minute, the jelly will then come out easily.
[256.] Calf's Foot Jelly.
To four feet put four quarts of water, boil them till tender, and the water boils away to one quart. Take it off, let it stand till cold, then skim off the fat carefully, and put the jelly into a preserving pan, and set it on the fire; when it melts take it from the fire, put in the beaten whites of seven eggs, a little cinnamon, half a pint of white wine, the juice of two lemons, and the rind, leaving out the white part; sweeten the whole to your taste, with loaf sugar. Put it back on the fire, and boil it fifteen minutes, then strain it through a flannel bag, without squeezing it, if it is not clear the first time it is strained, strain it till it is. The bag should be suspended on a nail over a dish, and the jelly poured into it, and allowed to drain through it gradually. When clear turn it into cups or glasses, and set them where the jelly will congeal, but not so cold as to freeze it. This kind of jelly will not keep longer than two or three days in warm weather. A knuckle of veal makes a jelly as good as calves' feet, it is made in the same manner. Jellies and sweet meats are less liable to ferment, if kept in glass jars or bottles. A paper wet in spirits and put over sweet meats, has a tendency to prevent their fermenting. Sweet meats should be carefully watched during warm weather, and if fermentation commences turn the syrup from them, scald it, and turn it back.
[257.] Coffee.
To make good strong coffee, allow for each person a heaping table spoonful of ground coffee, and a pint of water. Put your coffee into a tin pot, with a piece of fish skin about the size of a ninepence, to two or three quarts of water, turn on your water boiling hot, and boil the coffee from fifteen to twenty minutes, take it off, and let it stand to settle five or six minutes, then turn it off carefully. French coffee is made in a German filter, the water is turned on to it boiling hot, an ounce to each person is allowed, put in a piece of fish skin before you turn on the water. When cream cannot be preserved for coffee, boiled milk is a good substitute. Many people dislike to settle coffee with fish skin, thinking it imparts a disagreeable taste to the coffee, but it is owing to its not being prepared properly, the skin should be taken from mild codfish, washed, and cut into small pieces and dried perfectly. The white of an egg, egg shells, and isinglass, are all good to settle coffee. The best kind of coffee is old Java, and Mocha; before it is roasted, it should be hung over the fire two or three hours to dry, if dried in the oven it looses its strength, it should be hung at such a distance from the fire, as to be in no danger of burning. When dry put it on hot coals, and stir it constantly till done, which is ascertained by biting one of the lightest kernels, if it is brittle, the whole is done. Put it in a box, and cover it up tight, to keep in the steam.