Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-08-28
Jellles That Surely Jell.

"Jellies that surely jell'' are the aim
of every good housekeeper; and II .
| few points are borne In mind, there
should not be the slightest difficulty In
securing the brightest and dearest OF
iellies. Jellies are made Of clear, cooked
fruit juices, boiled with sugar to the
jellying stage.
The property of oongealing is due to
the substance called pectosc or Its rela.
tive Poetic acid. Many fruits. such %
peaches, pears and overripe grapes, do
not contain sufficient peotose to thicken
the Juice when cold, and are therefore
combined with other fruits In which this
property abounds. Thus to peaches are
added apples and to ripe grapes, apples
or ounces.
Fruit when overripe or gathered i'm
mediately after rain, should not be
used for jelly making. as 1t will rarely
give satisfaction. Poetic acid 10 .
gelatinous substance, soluble 10 the
juices of fruit. Heated In combination
with sugar, 1t congeals when cold. If,
however, the boiling is continued too
long, the mixture loses it's gelatinous
properties and becomes q thick syrupy
or ropy mass, which never again will
return to the jellying point.
To obtain the juice of fruit, add to
1t as little water as possible and with
fruits like currants, grapes, etc., II they
are mashed slightly before they are put
on to cook, no additional water will be
needed, provided they are frequently
stirred while beating. Large fruits
should be cleaned and cut In small
pieces, and II q little fruit juice is added
in the place of water, the better will be
the flavor of the finished product.
Always heat the fruit slowly when
making jelly, and after 1t Is cooked
strain through double thickness OF
cheesecloth or flannel. which is half
cotton and half wool. The same general
rule applies to the making of all jellies,
no matter what the variety of the fruit
employed. Measure the strained fruit
juice and to each pint allow an equal
quantity Of granulated sugar. For the
very best results, do not make jelly of
more than two quarts Of juice at a time,
because when cooking small quantities,
the jellying point is reached more
quickly, thus producing lighter
colored, clearer and better favored jelly.
For the same reason, evaporate the
water from the fruit juice by boiling 1t
for ten or fifteen minutes In an open
saucepan before the sugar Is added.
Always have the sugar heated In the
oven before mixing 1t with the boiling
syrup and have 1t sufficiently hot so that
it will "hiss" as 1t goes in. Skim the
jelly as 1t cooks, and continue boiling
until little dropped on q cold plate
shows a jellying tendency.
No absolute rule can be given to deter
mine the jellying point, az the time
required to reach it varies. Much de-
ponds upon the quality, ripeness and
kind of fruit used, and also on the
amount of water left in the juice. As
soon as 1t is done, remove Immediately
from the fire, I'LL into jelly glasses that
have been rinsed with hot water, and
stand aside to cool.
1t Ia better to let the jelly stand for
at least thirty six hours before covering
with melted parafin. Store in a cool,
dry closet. For grape jelly, green
grapes, or those just beginning to ripen
are best. Wild grapes also make jelly
of delicious flavor, especially appetizing
to serve with roast duck or goose.
Cultivated grapes, II fully ripe, are
deficient in poetic acid and unless cooked
with apples or plums, make syrup
rather than jelly.
Apples are very rich In pectose and
the jelly "comes" very quickly. Choose
tart, well-favored apples. Wash, re-
move the stems and blossom ends and
then cut into quarters or eighths, with
out peelipg them or removing the cores.
Be very careful in extracting the apple
juice not to squeeze the pulp hard, as
1t comes through easily and makes a
rough, unattractive jelly. A bag that
will allow the juice to merely drip is
best, and the pulp can be utilized In an
apple butter or marmalade.
Boil the juice for twenty minutes
before adding the sugar, then follow the
general directions for jelly making. Or
ange or very little lemon juice may be
added to some of the jelly to impart a
pleasing variety, and small quantity
can be favored with vanilla extract just
before 1t is poured into the glasses.
The flavor of rose geranium or fresh
mint Is also delicious, and this may be
given by dropping a small, well-washed
rose geranium leaf or sprig OF mint
into the bottom OF some of the glasses,
before pouring the jelly into them.
Apple juice is also recommended for
"extending" the juice Of the more expen.
sive fruits like raspberry, strawberry or
black berry. One-third raspberry to
two-thirds apple juice giving delecta-
BILE jelly of strong raspberry flavor.
Ounce jelly is considered by many to
be the very "queen Of jellies." This is
frequently made from the parings, cores
aud inferior parts of the fruit; the better
portions being reserved for canning and
preserving.
Remember, however, to carefully re-
ject the ounce seeds, because of their
mucilaginous nature. When they are
included, the result will be only q
stringy, ropy mixture. A combination
of ounces and crabapples is very good,
as they produce very dainty, delicate
jelly. Use about two-thirds ounce to
one-third apple.
Five-fruit jelly, as 1t Is called, gives
very dainty jelly with a tempting,
elusive flavor. Use two quarts of cur
rants, one quart CT straw berries, one
pint of raspberries, one quart of cherries
and one pint of apple juice. The cher
ries should be ripe, the other fruits q
little underripe. Stone the cherries,
saving all the juice. Heat all the fruits
together in a double boiler until the
juices flow freely. Strain as usual and
add the apple juice. Let the juice boil
about twenty minutes. Add the hot
sugar Ia cupful of sugar for each cupful
of juice) and let boil until 1t jells.