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Cider Jelly
To two pints of cider allow two full tablespoons of gelatine, softening the gelatine in a little of the cold cider, heating the remainder to boiling point, adding a pound of sugar and then the softened gelatine. Strain and turn into a mould; cool and set on ice. Serve with rich milk.
A two-ingredient molded jelly that depends entirely on getting the gelatine ratio and the chilling right. The one thing to watch: add the softened gelatine to the hot cider off the heat, and do not let the mixture return to a boil, or the set weakens noticeably.
- Gelatine quantityTwo full tablespoons is roughly 18 g, or about two and a half envelopes of modern powdered gelatine, for two pints (4 cups) of liquid. That is a firm, sliceable mold-strength jelly meant to be unmolded and stand up on a plate; if you want a spoonable set, one envelope less is enough.
- Which ciderIn American usage "cider" in a dessert of this kind generally means sweet, unfermented apple cider, though the recipe does not specify. Hard cider will also work and gives a sharper, drier jelly.
- SugarA pound is about two and a quarter cups, very sweet by current taste. Half that amount still sets and tastes fine with modern sweet cider, which is already sugary.
- StrainingWorth doing even with filtered cider: it catches any undissolved gelatine grains, which otherwise show up as rubbery specks in a clear jelly.
- "Set on ice"Means packing the mould in ice or standing it in the ice chest. Refrigerate at 40F for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight for a large mould. Dip the mould briefly in warm water to release.
- "Rich milk"Means unhomogenized whole milk or thin cream. Pouring cream is the closest modern equivalent.
- YieldTwo pints of cider with a pound of sugar dissolved in it comes to rather more than a quart, so allow a mould of about a quart and a half; serves six to eight.
Cider jelly of this kind belongs to the era when packaged granulated gelatine was becoming a household staple. Earlier, a cook wanting a molded jelly boiled calves' feet or bought expensive isinglass; as pre-cleaned gelatine came to be sold in envelopes — a gradual shift rather than a sudden one — clear fruit jellies moved from confectioners' work into ordinary home cookery. The recipe also reflects how much cider there was to use up: jellies, boiled ciders and apple butters were all ways of spending it. Note that "cider jelly" in New England also refers to something quite different: sweet cider boiled down for hours to a thick, tart amber spread with no gelatine at all, and no relation to this molded dessert beyond the name.