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Orange Jelly
Mrs. J. P. Holt.
Soak one package of gelatine in one-half pint cold water for one hour; add the juice of three lemons, two pounds sugar and one quart boiling water; when all are dissolved add one pint of orange juice; strain carefully and set on ice till ready for use; eight oranges usually make it.
A straightforward wine-glass jelly of the gelatine era, with two things that need translating: the size of the "package" and a sugar load that would be considered extreme today.
- The package of gelatineA 19th-century box or package is usually reckoned at somewhere near 1 oz, equivalent to four modern 1/4-oz envelopes or roughly 3 tablespoons of powder. That will set the roughly 2 1/2 quarts of liquid here to a medium jelly that will just hold a moulded shape; add an extra envelope if you want it firmly sliceable.
- Sheet gelatine substitutionIf you work in leaves, 1 oz of powder is about 11 sheets of standard silver-grade, which run about 2.5 g each. Grades and bloom strengths vary between brands, so weigh rather than count when precision matters.
- SoakingAn hour in cold water is longer than needed for modern granulated gelatine, which blooms in 5-10 minutes. The soak is harmless, but do not let the bowl warm up in the meantime.
- DissolvingThe quart of boiling water does the work. Stir until no grains remain on the spoon, and do not return the mixture to the heat once the orange juice is in — boiling citrus juice dulls the flavour and gains nothing.
- The sugarTwo pounds is about 4 1/2 cups, which suits Victorian palates and helps the jelly keep. One pound gives a jelly that tastes of oranges rather than syrup, and sets just as well since sugar is not the setting agent.
- Eight orangesThe recipe's own reckoning is eight oranges to the pint; with modern fruit six to eight will usually do it, so juice, measure, and top up as needed. Strain through a fine sieve or cloth as directed -- pulp clouds the finish.
- Setting and yieldAbout 2 1/2 quarts, enough for 12-16 servings. Refrigerate at least 6 hours, or overnight in a large mould; unmould by dipping the mould briefly in warm water.
- KeepingWith this much sugar it holds several days covered in the refrigerator, but the surface weeps if left uncovered. It will not freeze successfully — the gel breaks on thawing.
Orange jelly belongs to the moment when gelatine stopped being a kitchen labour and became a grocery purchase. Earlier cooks made jelly by boiling calves' feet or isinglass for hours and clarifying the result with egg white; by the 1870s commercial packaged gelatine was widely sold in American shops, and recipes like this one — soak, dissolve, flavour, chill — spread quickly through community cookbooks. The Home Cook Book was compiled from contributions by Chicago women and sold for charity, which is why each receipt carries a subscriber's name; Mrs. J. P. Holt's jelly is a set-piece dessert of the kind that could be made a day ahead and turned out of a mould at table, and the heavy sugaring reflects both the taste of the period and the practical need for a dish to hold in a household without reliable refrigeration.