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Save Sugar in Jelly Making

Simple Alcohol Test Prevents Waste of Sugar and Failure of Jellies.

Much waste of sugar and spoilage of jellies can be avoided by using a simple alcohol test recommended by the Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture. Το determine how much sugar should be used with each kind of juice put a spoonful of juice in a glass and add to it one spoonful of ninety-five per cent grain alcohol; mix by shaking the glass gently. Pour slowly from the glass, noting how the pectin - the substance in fruits which makes them jell - is precipitated. If the pectin is precipitated as one lump, a cup of sugar may be used for each cup of juice; if in several lumps, the proportion of sugar must be reduced to approximately three fourths the amount of the juice. If the pectin is not in lumps but is merely precipitated, the sugar should be one half or less the amount of the juice. If the juice shows no precipitation under this test, it is insuitable for jelly making and must be combined with apples or other juices rich in pectin.

The housewife will do well, before making the test, to taste the juice, as fruits not as acid as good tart apples probably will not make good jelly unless mixed with other fruits which are acid.

Amber Marmalade, 82 Apple, Butter, 97, 98 Crab, Jelly, 115 Jam, 92 Jelly, 112 Mint Jelly, 113