SELECTION AND HANDLING OF FRUIT FOR JELLY MAKING.
An acid fruit is the most suitable for jelly making, though in some of the acid fruits, the strawberry, for example, the quantity of the jelly-making pectin is so small that it is difficult to make jelly with this fruit. If, however, some currant juice be added to the strawberry juice a pleasant jelly will be the result; yet, of course, the flavor of the strawberry will be modified. Here is a list of the most desirable fruits for jelly making. The very best are given first: Currant, crab apple, apple, quince, grape, blackberry, raspberry, peach.
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.
If berries are sandy or dusty it will be necessary to wash them, but the work should be done very quickly so that the fruit may not absorb much water. ([See washing fruit, p. 13.])
Large fruits, such as apples, peaches, and pears, must be boiled in water until soft. The strained liquid will contain the flavoring matter and pectin.
It requires more work and skill to make jellies from the fruits to which water must be added than from the juicy fruits. If the juicy fruits are gathered at the proper time one may be nearly sure that they contain the right proportion of water. If gathered after a rain the fruit must be boiled a little longer that the superfluous water may pass off in steam.
In the case of the large fruits a fair estimate is 3 quarts of strained juice from 8 quarts of fruit and about 4 quarts of water. If the quantity of juice is greater than this it should be boiled down to 3 quarts.
Apples will always require 4 quarts of water to 8 quarts of fruit, but juicy peaches and plums will require only 3 or 3½ quarts.
The jelly will be clearer and finer if the fruit is simmered gently and not stirred during the cooking.