Soft and somewhat imperfect fruit may be used. If in the basket of fruit bought for canning or preserving there are some fully ripe or poorly shaped specimens, these may be used for jam. For jam proper allow a pint of sugar to a pound of fruit. Cook the fruit with enough water to prevent its sticking to the kettle, using as little as possible.
Mash the fruit by stirring it occasionally as it cooks. When the fruit is soft, add the sugar, stir thoroughly, and cook gently for about five minutes. Test by cooling a spoonful on a saucer. The jam should thicken slightly. When ready, pour it into jelly glasses, or somewhat larger earthen jars—“jam pots.” Seal, as directed for jelly.
The fruit butter is even more like fruit sauce than is the jam, for it is softer than jam, and contains less sugar. A cup or only a half
cup of sugar to the pound of fruit is enough. Proceed exactly as in jam-making.
Apple butter may be flavored with spices, with ginger root and lemon juice, and with other fruits. One or two quinces or a slice of pineapple cooked with the apples gives a pleasing variety. Exercise the inventive faculty here.
Jelly making.
There is another principle involved in jelly making in addition to the principle of preservation. Fruit contains a substance known as pectose, one of the carbohydrates, that partially solidifies the fruit juice when the water in the juice is partially evaporated. The addition of sugar helps in this process, but no amount of sugar will set the jelly if the pectose is not present. Some fruits have more than others, and also more when not over-ripe. Currants and firm apples are good jelly makers, and serve as a basis for other fruits that do not jelly well. Mellow summer apples do not set well. Crab apples are excellent for this purpose.
There is another step in this process, the straining out of the juice from the pulp. For this, prepare a jelly bag from firm cotton cloth which has been boiled and washed. This bag must be hung in such a way that the juice drops from the point of the bag into a bowl below. It may be hung upon a stick between two chairs, or upon the rod of a strong towel rack over a table.
1. Apple jelly.
Select tart, red-skinned apples, cut them in small pieces with the skins on, retain the cores, and put them in a kettle with cold water to barely cover. When thoroughly cooked and mashed, put this pulp into the jelly bag, and allow the juice to drip as long as it will. Do not squeeze the bag, nor stir the pulp if you wish clear jelly. This dripping process is a matter of hours, and in the home kitchen may continue all night. Allow a pint of sugar to a pint of juice. Return the juice to the kettle, and allow it to simmer for twenty-five minutes or half an hour, skimming when necessary. In the meantime, heat the sugar, being careful not to melt or burn it. Stir the sugar gently into the juice, and boil five minutes. Test a little upon a saucer. It should show signs of jellying as it cools. Boil longer, if necessary. Finish as directed. Jelly often does not set until twenty-four hours have elapsed.