Grape Jelly
1 3/4 cups grape juice 3 tablespoons lemon juice 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 ounce of gelatin, cooked in 1 cup hot water A few grains salt Prepare the gelatin as usual, by soaking it in three changes of hot water. After it is drained the last time, cook it in the one cup hot water till it dissolves, then strain it into the remaining ingredients, which have been mixed together. Turn it into a mold or into cups wet with cold water. When cold, turn it into a mold or into cups wet with cold water. When cold, turn it out of the mold, and serve with custard sauce or apple whip.
A plain gelatin dessert of the domestic-science era, built on bottled grape juice. The only technical problems are the vintage gelatin handling and the ratio of gelatin to liquid.
- The gelatinA quarter ounce is one standard envelope of granulated gelatin, about 7 g. The instruction to soak it through three changes of water (here hot) reflects older sheet or shredded gelatin, which was commonly washed and soaked before dissolving; modern granulated gelatin needs only a five-minute bloom in cold liquid before dissolving.
- Set strengthOne envelope reliably sets about 2 cups of liquid. Here the total liquid comes to roughly 3 cups, which will give a spoonable, barely-standing jelly rather than one that unmolds cleanly. For a jelly that holds its shape on a plate, use half again as much gelatin.
- Dissolve, do not boilGelatin only needs to reach about 140F to go into solution. Hard boiling weakens the set and gives a cooked, glue-like flavor that grape juice does not hide.
- Add the acid afterThe lemon and grape juice are stirred into the dissolved gelatin off the heat, as written. Keeping the acid out of the hot gelatin protects the set, since prolonged heating in acid breaks the protein down.
- Grape juiceUnsweetened bottled Concord juice is closest to what the book intended. If using a sweetened juice or cocktail, cut the sugar to about a third of a cup and taste before molding, since the flavor flattens as the jelly chills.
- MoldingRinsing the mold with cold water leaves a film that helps release. Chill at least 4 hours, and overnight if unmolding; dip the mold briefly in warm water and invert onto a wet plate so the jelly can be slid into position.
- YieldAbout 3 cups, serving four to six in cups. Custard sauce or apple whip, both standard accompaniments in books of this type, supply the richness the jelly itself lacks.