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Classic
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page 377
Large glass tumblers are the best for keeping jellies, much better than large
vessels, for by being opened frequently they soon spoil; a paper should be cut
to fit, and placed over the jelly; then put on the lid or cover, with thick
paper rubbed over on the inside with the white of an egg.
There cannot be too much care taken in selecting fruit for jellies, for if the
fruit is over ripe, any amount of time in boiling will never make it
jelly,--there is where so many fail in making good jelly; and another important
matter is overlooked--that of carefully skimming off the juice after it begins
to boil and a scum rises from the bottom to the top; the juice should not be
stirred, but the scum carefully taken off; if allowed to boil under, the jelly
will not be clear.
When either preserves or canned fruits show any indications of fermentation,
they should be immediately reboiled with more sugar, to save them. It is much
better to be generous with the sugar at first, than to have any losses
afterwards. Keep all preserves in a cool, dry closet.
PRESERVED CHERRIES.
Take large, ripe Morella cherries; weigh them, and to each pound allow a pound
of loaf sugar. Stone the cherries, (opening them with a sharp quill,) and save
the juice that comes from them in the process. As you stone them, throw them
into a large pan or tureen, and strew about half the sugar over them, and let
them lie in it an hour or two after they are all stoned. Then put them into a
preserving-kettle with the remainder of the sugar, and boil and skim them till
the fruit is clear and the syrup thick.
PRESERVED CRANBERRIES.
The cranberries must be large and ripe. Wash them, and to six quarts of
cranberries allow nine pounds of the best loaf sugar. Take three quarts of the
cranberries, and put them into a stew-pan with a pint and a half of water. Cover
the pan, and boil or stew them till they are all to pieces. Then squeeze the
juice through a jelly bag. Put the sugar into a preserving kettle, pour the
cranberry juice over it, and let it stand until it is all melted, stirring it up
frequently. Then place the kettle over the fire, and put in the remaining three
quarts of whole cranberries. Let them boil till they are tender, clear, and of a
bright color, skimming them frequently. When done, put them warm into jars with
the syrup, which should be like a thick jelly.
PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.
For every pound of fruit weigh a pound of refined sugar, put them with the sugar
over the fire in a porcelain kettle, bring to a boil slowly about twenty
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