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Venison Jelly
1 peck wild grapes 1 quart vinegar Whole cloves, Stick cinnamon} 1/4 cup each 6 pounds sugar Put first four ingredients into a preserving kettle, heat slowly to the boiling-point, and cook until grapes are soft. Strain through a double thickness of cheese-cloth or a jelly bag, and boil liquid twenty minutes; then add sugar heated, and boil five minutes. Turn into glasses.
A spiced wild-grape jelly meant as a condiment for game, not a dessert preserve. The vinegar and the whole spices are what distinguish it from ordinary grape jelly, and both belong in from the start.
- A peck of grapesA peck is 8 dry quarts, which for grapes works out to somewhere around 12 pounds, though wild grapes on the stem vary a good deal. Stem them before weighing if you want to be exact; the volume of strained juice will vary with the fruit.
- "First four ingredients"That means grapes, vinegar, cloves and cinnamon together in the kettle. The spices infuse during the initial cook and are strained out with the skins and seeds.
- Vinegar strengthVinegar of this period was not standardised and its acidity is unknown. Standard 5 percent cider vinegar is a reasonable substitute; do not use a specialty vinegar diluted below that, since the acid is doing preserving work as well as flavouring.
- Spice quantityA quarter cup each of whole cloves and stick cinnamon is a great deal by modern taste. Halving the cloves gives a jelly that still reads as spiced without the medicinal edge.
- Wild grapes and their look-alikesForaged wild grapes (Vitis species) are worth the trouble because they are high in natural pectin and acid, which is why this recipe needs no added pectin. Be certain of identification: Canada moonseed grows in the same hedgerows, resembles a grape cluster, and is poisonous. Moonseed has a single crescent-shaped seed and no tendrils.
- Judging the boilTwenty minutes for the juice and five after the sugar are guides, not guarantees, since wild fruit varies. Test on a chilled plate or take the syrup to about 220F before filling.
- Heating the sugarWarming the six pounds of sugar in a low oven before adding it keeps the boil from stalling, exactly as intended. It is still a useful step with a heavy kettle.
- "Turn into glasses" and sealingThe original means jelly tumblers, historically topped with melted paraffin. Use half-pint canning jars and process them in a boiling-water bath per current guidance instead; paraffin seals are no longer considered reliable.
- ServingThis is a meat accompaniment: a spoonful alongside venison, duck or roast pork, or melted into the pan juices.