The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-06-08
'G;SE1,.,,;l,s, .:~s,:><eM'ARY|'':S' E
 ~ -. W- KITCHEN
NEA Service Writer

Science has come to the rescue over the task of jelly-maliing and the novice can undertake her first attempt with the assurance that her jelly will "jelr' if she be willing to study little and profit thereby.
 A translucent, quivering shape of tender texture and delicate fa- vor-that is perfect jelly, the kind every hostess is proud to serve. Sticky, gummy, syrupy or tough jelly bespeaks lack of knowledge in the essentials of jelly-making.
 To make perfect jelly, only four ingredients are needed, but these must be used in correct proportions. The ingredients are fruit juice, fruit acid, sugar and pectin. Although pectin is the important jelly-ing agent the presence of fruit acid is necessary. Some fruits contain both these substances in goobly amounts and make excellent jelly naturally. Other fruits are lacking in one or the other and the deficiency must be supplied from some other source, such as another fruit juice or eX- tracted pectin.
 Half and Half.
 Some of the fruits which are de- ficient in pectin when fully ripe will jell naturally if used when slightly under-ripe. All fruits are richest in pectin just before they are fully ripe. so if half the fruit used is under-ripe and the other half sufficiently ripe to give good color and flavor, the finest jelly can be made. When fruit becomes soft-ripe, much of the pectin is changed to poetic acid, a condition which prevents jelly-ing.
 The fruits which make the best jelly when used alone are rich in both fruit-acid and pectin. Sour apples-including crabapples-cur- rants, sour blackberries. gooseber- ries, under-ripe grapes and decided ly under-ripe raspberries make eX- celltn jelly. Strawberries peaches. ripe grapes, sweet or mellow ripe" and ripe red raspberries do not make good jelly when used alone.
 A juice high in acid has a sour taste, SOW we may rely on our sense of taste when testing for this quail ity. Should a juice lack acid you can correct this adding 1 tablesoon lemon juice to each pint of fruit juice.
 Tests for Pcctin.
 The presence of pectin, however, is not so easily determined. The home maker can depend on two simple tests to prove the amount of pectin in a fruit juice. One test is made by the use of Epson Salts and the other by denatured alco- hol. As denatured alcohol is poi sonous, care must be taken that the tested juice is not tasted.
 To test for pectin with alcohol, measure tablespoonful of fruit juice into a dish and add an equal amount of alcohol. If a jelly-like mass forms immediately. large amount of pectin is present and one cup of sugar to one cup of juice should be used. If the juice mixed with alcohol forms into small fiaky particles, there is a small amount of pectin, and two-thirds cup of sugar to one cup of juice should be used. If the mixture remains unchanged in consistency, there is no pectin in the fruit juice and mommercial pee tin should be added.
 To make the Epson salt test, mix 1 tablespoon fruit juice. l teaspoon sugar and 1-2 tablespoon Epson salts. Stir until the salts are dls- solved and then let stand for 20 minutes. The jelly-like mass or the formation of fiaky particles indi- cates the amount of sugar to use as in the alcohol test,
 To Retain Flavor.
 Since a certain amount of pectin can take care of definite amount of sugar, the pecin test Is very im- portAnt. TOO much sugar makes . gummy. stick jelly and too little . tough jelly.
 Tn addition Co the tests the follow Ing hints are worth keeping tn mind.
 Make jelly in small quantities. Tho color and flavor are much hner duo Co the short cooking period.
 Long cooking darkena tho color and destroys the delicate fruit hh: vor. It may also cause tho natural peetln in the fruit juice 10 change