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Cranberry Jelly
Wash and pick the cranberries, put them in the preserving kettle with a very small quantity of water, cover closely and stew till done. Pour through a jelly bag or coarse towel, without squeezing, as this will prevent it from being clear. Measure and pour the liquid in to the preserving kettle. Let it boil up and remove the scum, then add the sugar, cut or loaf, one pound to a pint. Boil about twenty minutes, or until it jellies. It preserves the color of fruit jellies to add the sugar as late as possible.--Mrs. S. T.
A straight strained fruit jelly that relies on cranberries' own pectin and acid. The instructions are sound; only the vessels, the sugar and the storage need translating.
- Preserving kettleUsually a broad, shallow pan; period examples were brass, copper (often tin-lined) or enamelled iron. Use a broad stainless or enamelled pot at least twice the depth of the liquid, since sugar syrup climbs hard as it approaches the setting point.
- Cut or loaf sugarSugar was sold in hard cones or blocks and chipped or cut down; loaf was the most refined grade generally available, and refined sugar throws less scum. Ordinary granulated white sugar can stand in with no adjustment.
- A pound to a pintAbout 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar to each 2 cups of strained juice, near enough. That is roughly equal weights of sugar and juice, and it is what makes the jelly set and keep.
- Do not squeeze the bagThe hinge of the recipe. Pressing the pulp forces fine solids through the cloth and the jelly turns cloudy. Let it drip, several hours or overnight, and accept the lower yield.
- Very little waterJust enough to keep the fruit from catching in a covered pan. Cranberries give up liquid freely as they burst, and extra water only means longer boiling later.
- Testing the setTwenty minutes is a guide, not a rule. Cranberries are rich in pectin and acid and often set sooner. Go by a thermometer at 220F, or by the sheeting test: jelly run off a cold spoon breaks away in a single curtain rather than in drops.
- Sugar added lateThe observation is correct. Prolonged boiling with sugar darkens the syrup, so the fruit is cooked first in water alone and the sugar goes in only for the final short boil.
- StorageThe recipe stops at the jelly and says nothing about sealing; tumblers covered with paper, brandied paper or wax were all in use. Refrigerate and use within a few weeks, or follow current tested water-bath canning directions if it is to be shelf-stored.
Cranberries' high pectin and acid made them the easiest of all jellies for a cook working without commercial pectin, which did not reach kitchens until the twentieth century. Housekeeping in Old Virginia, compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree and published in 1877, gathered contributions from named Virginia housewives, and the initialled attribution here, "Mrs. S. T.", is typical of the book's method: a network of women's kitchens set down as received. The instruction to hold back the sugar until the end reflects an understanding cooks had by observation long before it was explained in chemical terms, and the insistence on not squeezing the jelly bag shows how much value was placed on clarity, a jelly being judged at table as much by the light through the glass as by the taste.