Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-19

nHE berries must be fully ripe, but
not what is called dead ripe"
Il The old saying that currant jelly
will not be firm unless put up before
the Fourth of July has this proviso OF
perfect ripeness as a warrant. Inc
housemother who understands her pro-
fession has learned that, in most IN
stances, there must be acid in the trult
she would jelly.
Blackberries Strawberries and red
raspberries, even the wild blackcap, II
really ripe, do not jelly easily. The
mixture of currants and raspberries, OF
which [ shall speak presently, owes
form, as well as flavor, to the red juice
of the tart berry. Blackberry ana
strawberry jelly, if there be no addl-
ton of lemon juice or other aeld, must
be set in uncovered glasses in the not
test June sunshine or the Vertlcal rays
of the July sun for several days, that
evaporation may boil down the con-
serve to the right consistency.
I have never been successful with
peach Jelly, except when lemon juice
was added to the oversweet sirup. Tllls
is the reason why the small fruits
should, be gathered in their prime ana
before the sugared juice would De
cooked into cloying sweetness.
Red Currant Jelly
Gather the fruit on a sunny day. 1t
is not necessary to strip 1t from the
stems on which the clusters grow. III
fact. the succulent stems contain an
acid of their own that adds to the
flavor of the Jelly. Wash the fruit well,
draining it in colander, and pack INTO
a stout stone or agate-iron jar Put on
close cover and set the jar IN pot
of cold water. -.
two-thirds of the way to the top of the
crock. Set the pot on the side of The
range and go about your other duties
for an hour or more. Then look INTO
the lar and crush down the heating
berries with a wooden paddle. MOVE
the kettle to a warmer place ana close
the jar again. o.,,+ cot.
+ino the not over a very slow fire that
will die down before morning. Before
brealSfast I visit the kitchen ana eX-
anime the fruit. 1t is invariably broken
all TO pieces and, if not cold, quite cool
enough to handle with comfort; II ls
then turned into bag OF doupieu
cheesecloth and suspended over Wlue
bowl to drip. +. o+
Iong-legged, backless chair is set,
beols inward. on a table; the four cor
ners of the bag are lashed to the III
verted legs. high enough up to allow
tho howl TO stand beneath. Whlle we
are at breakfast the juice drips stead
i1v and nv the time the meal is over
the pulp, or "pomace,' is almost uIS;
The residue of the juice is eXpresseu
by squeezing. Las
Ir there be a pair of manly hahds
which are both willing and strong theS
are coaxed into service for TINS part oI
the work. A few dexterous twists OF
the crimsoned cloth and half dozen
mighty squeezes leave the ponace
iuiceless. The pulp is emptied into tne
garbage pail and the bag throWn llto
cold water to soak. ,,+ q
over the fire in a preserving ketlle
WEIGH ont as many pounds of sugar as
,,o,, have hints of juice. Divide the
sugar into three or four portions ana
snread each upon a platter or shallow
nan Set these in the oven, leaving II
onen for the first ten minutes and STIR
ring several times.
close the oven when the juice in the
kettle begins to simmer, but watch the
contents of the platters lest the not
sugar begin to melt. Stir often. When
fhe iuice boils hard skim off the scum,
and when the boil has lasted twenty
minutes dump in the hot sugar as fast
as YOU can, stirring vigorously. After
II has dissolved, which will be very
soon. let the sirup boil exactly one min
ute. -,-,u
Pour the jelly into small tumblers
which Won have rolled over and over in
hot water to prevent cracking as the
ieIIv fills them. The glasses must be
taken directly from the hot water and
filled white wet. At this stage of the