LEMON JELLY. A BEAUTIFUL DISH
Set an ounce of isinglass in a pint of water on the stove in a stew-pan; stir the isinglass until it dissolves. Let it boil a few minutes, then add a pint of lemon juice sweetened with a pound and a half of sugar, or a little more, if it is wished very sweet. Stir this in with the rinds of six lemons, and boil all together. After boiling for about five minutes, put a teaspoonful of saffron in to color it yellow, and strain through a flannel bag. Fill your jelly-glasses with it; when cool, it is a most beautiful dish for a collation.
BLACKBERRY JELLY
Cook the fruit till tender in a little water; throw off the water, bruise and strain the fruit, and to each pint of the juice add one pound of white sugar. Put it now in a preserving-pan, and boil it rapidly, but do not stir it while boiling, as that breaks the jelly; skim it carefully, and when it jellies, pour it into tumblers or small jars. I have made two pecks of berries into jelly in two hours. This is said for the benefit of young housekeepers who often boil their jelly too slowly and too long, which makes it ropy.
APPLE JELLY, WITHOUT WATER
Pare and core the fruit, which should be juicy and tart. Lay the apples in a vessel to cook without putting in any water; cover them closely, and cook until properly soft; strain the juice, and add three-fourths of a pound of sugar to a pint of apple juice. Beat in the white of an egg to clarify the jelly, and skim it as it boils; try it and, as soon as it jellies, take it from the fire and put it in glasses.
JAM
This can be made from almost any kind of ripe fruit. Blackberries, strawberries or raspberries are especially suited for this form of preserve. You must weigh your fruit (say blackberries), and allow three quarters of a pound of good sugar to each pound of fruit. Crush the fruit and sugar, with a biscuit beater, until they are well mashed; add a gill of water to each pound of fruit; boil gently (not rapidly like jelly) until it becomes a jelly-like mass, and when done, put it into glasses, or small earthenware pots and when cold, cover up like jelly. This is an excellent medicine in summer for dysentery; but if intended for invalids, you must spice it, and add a gill of brandy—fourth proof—to each pound of jam.
TOMATO JAM
Take nice ripe tomatoes, skin them, take out all their seeds, but save the juice to put with the sugar. Weigh the fruit, and to each pound, add three-fourths of a pound of sugar; boil some lemons soft, take one for each pound of tomatoes, mash them fine, take out the pips, and put the lemons to the sugar and tomatoes; boil slowly and mash the jam smooth with a silver spoon. When smooth and jelly-like, it is done. Put it away in glasses carefully.