Apricots and greengages brandied are made in the same way.
To Jelly Fruits.
To make jelly clear, the fruit must be quite fresh, and all blemishes removed. Have the flannels used for straining perfectly clean and white. Nearly all jellies are made in the same way, whether currant, plum, Siberian crab-apple, gooseberry, quince, apple, peach, or grape. Some add less sugar to the sweeter fruits. The first five fruits mentioned are exceedingly easy to jelly; the grape is often quite vexatious, with its perverse inclinations. Cherries will not jelly without gelatine.
After having freed the fruit from all blemishes, put them into a porcelain preserving-kettle, with only enough clear water to keep them from burning at first. Let them boil slowly until quite soft; then, putting them into a flannel cloth, press from them all the juice possible. Strain the juice two or three times through a clean cloth; then return it to the clean preserving-kettle, adding a cup of sugar for every cup of juice, and the beaten white of an egg for the whole. The rule is to boil the sirup (without stirring) very rapidly for twenty minutes, not counting the minutes until it begins to boil. The safest rule is to boil it until it runs a little thick upon the spoon; then let it run through the jelly-bag without pressing it. If there is any fear of the jelly becoming too hard before it all runs through, place it near the fire. The most convenient jelly-strainer is made by fastening the four corners of a flannel cloth to a filter-stool ([see page 57]). If the first dripping of the jelly is not entirely clear, return it to the strainer until it runs perfectly limpid. Put the jelly into glasses; and, after it has become quite firm, cut out little papers to fit the tops, which should be dipped in brandy. Place over these second papers larger ones, which have been dipped in the whites of eggs. Press the edges against the sides of the glasses, to exclude the air.
Currant Jelly.
Follow the preceding directions. A jelly of prettier color is obtained by mixing the white and red currants. Some take the trouble to make jelly from the white and red currants separately, then harden it in successive layers in the glasses. In this way, the jelly has to be made on different days, allowing time for each layer to harden. Another pretty arrangement is to melt the jelly the day before it is served at the table, and put it into a little jelly-mold. The next day it will be quite hard enough to turn out.
Currant Jelly (from Scribner’s Monthly).
“This receipt has three advantages: First, it never fails, as the old plan is sure to do five times out of eight; secondly, it requires but half the usual quantity of sugar, and so retains the grateful acidity and peculiar flavor of the fruit; thirdly, it is by far less troublesome than the usual method. Weigh the currants without taking the trouble to remove the stems; do not wash them, but carefully remove leaves and whatever may adhere to them. To each pound of fruit allow half the weight of granulated or pure loaf sugar. Put a few currants into a porcelain-lined kettle, and press them with a potato-masher, or any thing convenient, in order to secure sufficient liquid to prevent burning; then add the remainder of the fruit, and boil freely for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Take out and strain carefully through a three-cornered bag of strong, close texture, putting the liquid into either earthen or wooden vessels—never in tin, as the action of the acid on tin materially affects both color and flavor. When strained, return the liquid to the kettle, without the trouble of measuring, and let it boil thoroughly for a moment or so, and then add the sugar. The moment the sugar is entirely dissolved, the jelly is done, and must be immediately dished, or placed in glasses. It will jelly upon the side of the cup as it is taken up, leaving no doubt as to the result. Gather the fruit early, as soon as fully ripe, since the pulp softens and the juice is less rich if allowed to remain long after ripening. In our climate, the first week in July is usually considered the time to make currant jelly. Never gather currants or other soft or small seed fruit immediately after a rain for preserving purposes, as they are greatly impoverished by the moisture absorbed. In preserving all fruits of this class, if they are boiled until tender or transparent in a small quantity of water, and the sugar is added afterward, the hardness of the seeds, so objectionable in small fruits, will be thus avoided. A delicious jam may be made of blackberries, currants, and raspberries, or with currants with a few raspberries to flavor, by observing the above suggestion, and adding sugar, pound for pound, and boiling about twenty minutes.”
Mrs. Walworth’s Currant Jelly.
This jelly took the premium at the fair, for it was not only of fine flavor, but of crystal clearness.