"What were you doing to all those jars?"
"Just getting ready to sterilize them. You see I'll put them on a folded cloth, in this big kettle of cold water. Then I'll slowly heat the water to the boiling point, and fill the jars immediately with the fruit and syrup. I must scald the rubber rings, too, before I use them."
Bettina was rapidly looking over currants as she talked. "Girls, do you notice my jelly strainer? See, it's a piece of cheese-cloth fastened into a wire strainer. It can be attached to any kettle. I haven't used it yet, but I know that it will be very convenient. You know it's best to strain the juice through the cheese-cloth without pressure. If I have the cloth double, the juice will be quite clear. If I wanted an especially clear jelly, I could even have the juice pass through a flannel or felt bag."
"How on earth can you tell when the jelly jells?" asked Ruth.
"Well, I test it this way. I take up, in a cold silver spoon, a little of the mixture that is cooking. If it jells and breaks from the spoon, it has been cooking long enough. Of course I remove the rest from the fire while testing it, because it might be done."
"Bettina, cooking and jelly-making and things like that seem to be so natural for you!" cried Ruth. "I get so frightened sometimes when I think what if I should be a poor housekeeper and make Fred unhappy!"
"Alice," said Mary, "Heaven forbid that either of us should ever be talking like that about a man!"
"Goodness, I should say so!" declared Alice emphatically, a little too emphatically, thought Bettina.
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)