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Jelly Making

AVE ready at hand before commencing operations a jellybag of the coarse linen used for making dish-towels; the bag should be at least eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches long. Also have a yard of the coarse cloth known as "cheesecloth." General directions will be given first, and the different kinds of jellies that require a varying of the rules will be taken up afterward.

When the larger fruits are used they should be cut in pieces and placed over the fire in a porcelain kettle (which should always be used), with not enough water quite to cover the fruit. Cover the kettle tightly and let the fruit stew slowly until it is all broken, stirring occasionally from the bottom with a wooden spoon. The linen bag should be soaking meanwhile in hot water. The fruit has cooked sufficiently when it is so soft that the pieces may be easily crushed between the spoon and the side of the kettle. Wring the jelly-bag very dry, and, holding it over a large pan, or, better still, an earthenware bowl, turn into it the contents of the kettle. Tie the top of the bag with a strong string and hang it to drip. When the bag has hung a few minutes, carefully press its sides toward the center with two wooden spoons. By manipulating the bag a little with spoons, raising it at the center of the bottom to displace the fruit, all the juice can be obtained. Too much economy should not be exercised in this respect or the jelly will not be clear.

Measure the juice, and to every pint weigh out a pound of granulated sugar. (This quantity is modified somewhat in the particular directions which follow.) Place the juice, uncovered, over the fire and boil exactly twenty minutes. Take care that it boils steadily and not so rapidly that it will have to be removed to quiet the boiling. After the juice is placed on the fire, pour the sugar into a pan and set it in the oven to heat, stirring two or three times during the twenty minutes the juice is boiling. The sugar should be hot, and if it browns slightly about the edges it will do no harm. After twenty minutes turn the sugar into the juice. If it has been thoroughly heated, it will hiss as it falls into the liquid. Then let the mass come to a boil for not longer than three minutes, after which it is ready for the last work.

Many people consider it necessary to heat the tumblers before pouring in the jelly. This may be done, or a silver spoon may be placed in each tumbler while filling with the hot jelly. The following day if the jelly is firm and hard, pour over the top of each glass, directly on the jelly itself, one teaspoon of melted paraffine. When paraffine is hard, place covers on each glass. The paraffine can be saved, remelted and used again and again. As a curiosity, jelly of two or more colors may be put in one tumbler or glass by cutting partitions of stiff letter-paper to fit the inside of the glass. The paper must be held in position by a helper while the jelly is being poured in, and carefully withdrawn when it is nearly cold. Set the jelly in a cool, dry place that cannot be reached by a strong light. Scarcely enough can be said against putting jelly in the cellar of a house, as it is sure to be damp. It will make no difference how beautiful the jelly is, if it is not set away in the proper place, mold will form on it which always changes the taste of the jelly.

Success in jelly-making is more certain with some fruits than with other kinds, but that used should never be over ripe or frosted or fermented. If it is too ripe, it will not jelly at all; therefore it is safer to use it even a little under-ripe. An excessively wet season is fatal to fruit, as its use is not satisfactory whether it is employed in jelly-making, canning, or preserving.