Ingredients
- a quart of juice is quite enough
- two-thirds quince juice
- one-third rhubarb juice is added
- two chairs
- one-eighth inch
Directions
Apples, quinces, crabapples, currants, grapes, and black- berries make the best jellies — all acid fruits. A combination which is delightful in flavor and color is two-thirds quince juice and one-third cranberry, and has the advantage of coming late in the season, when it is more comfortable to work over a hot stove.
All fruit should be fresh and a little under-ripe. Juicy fruits, sUch as currants and berries, should be gathered after a rain. Fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, which do not "jell" easily, make beautiful jelly if one-third rhubarb juice is added. The jelly will be clearer and more delicate in texture
Preserves. 289
if it is boiled hard and not stirred during the cooking. Medium- sized granite preserving kettles are best to use in making jelly; they are lighter to handle and easily cleaned. Do not make a quantity at a time. A quart of juice is quite enough, or even a pint.
Wash the fruit, remove stems and imperfections. Cut large fruit into small pieces. With watery fruit, such as grapes and currants, use no water. With apples and quinces use enough water to cover them. Cook the fruit until the juice flows, crush- ing it with a spoon. Remove it from the fire and strain it through a pointed cheesecloth bag hung between two chairs, or any convenient way. Do not squeeze the bag. Measure the juice and put an equal quantity of sugar (sometimes a little less for sweet fruits) into the oven to heat. Boil the juice with the sugar until the jelly thickens quickly when dropped from a spoon on a cold saucer. Pour into sterilized jelly glasses and set aside to harden. Jelly must be completely covered to keep it from mold. Paraffin is most convenient for this purpose. Pour your melted paraffin on to the depth of one-eighth inch.