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RASPBERRY JAM (another way) (Mash a quantity of fine ripe)
Mash a quantity of fine ripe dry raspberries, strew on them their own weight of loaf sugar, and add half their weight of white-currant juice. Boil them half an hour over a clear slow fire, skim well, and put them into pots or glasses; tie down with brandied papers, and keep them dry. Strew on the sugar as soon as possible after the berries are gathered, and in order to preserve their flavour they must not stand long before they are boiled.
A high-sugar preserve of the old school, with white-currant juice doing the work a commercial pectin would do now. The main change a modern cook should make is to the boiling time.
- Loaf sugarLoaf sugar was refined white sugar sold in a hard cone and broken or crushed for use. Ordinary granulated sugar is the direct equivalent; there is no need for preserving sugar here, since the currant juice supplies pectin and acid.
- Equal weightsThe proportion is 1 lb sugar to 1 lb fruit, plus 8 oz white-currant juice. For a manageable batch, 2 lb raspberries, 2 lb sugar and about 1 lb of juice will fill roughly five or six 8 oz jars.
- White-currant juiceSimmer white currants with a splash of water until they burst, then strain through a jelly bag without pressing. Redcurrant juice works identically but tints the jam darker. The point is pectin and acidity, not flavour.
- Half an hour is too longThirty minutes of boiling was usual in an era when sugar thermometers were uncommon in domestic kitchens, but it dulls raspberry flavour and darkens the colour. Boil hard and test from about ten minutes: setting point is 220F (105C), or a wrinkle on a spoonful chilled on a cold saucer.
- "Fine ripe dry" berriesDry means picked in dry weather, not dried fruit. Surface water from rain or rinsing dilutes the batch and lengthens the boil, which is exactly what the last sentence is trying to avoid.
- Sugaring at onceStrewing sugar over the mashed fruit immediately draws out juice and holds the fresh flavour while you assemble the rest. The recipe insists the fruit must not stand long before boiling, so keep the wait short -- an hour or two at most.
- SkimmingSkim the pink foam as it rises, or stir in a small knob of butter at the end to disperse it. Foam left in the jars traps air and encourages mould at the surface.
- Brandied papers and sealingA round of paper soaked in brandy laid directly on the hot jam, then a cover tied over the rim, was the Victorian seal. It works, but modern practice is to fill sterilised jars to within a quarter inch of the top and seal with new two-piece lids while the jam is above 185F, or process 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Store in a cool, dark, dry place.
Raspberry jam was one of the standard sweet preserves of the British kitchen garden, and Cassell's gives several versions because raspberries are awkward: they are low in pectin, high in flavour, and fall apart quickly once picked. The white-currant juice in this version is the classic domestic fix, currants ripening at the same time and carrying enough pectin and acid to set a jam that would otherwise stay syrupy. Commercial pectin extract did not reach household cooks until the twentieth century, so mixed-fruit setting of this kind was simply how preserving worked. The brandied paper is a spirit-soaked disc laid on the surface to discourage mould in the days before airtight sealing, and it survived in domestic manuals long after screw-top jars were available.