Currants, sour apples, crab-apples, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, partly ripened grapes, and quinces make good jelly; but peaches, pears, strawberries, and cherries are deficient in certain substances necessary to produce a jelly of good consistency and flavor. This deficiency may be overcome, by combining these juices with those that make good jelly.

A fruit juice that is good for making jelly is one that contains pectin, the essential jelly-making substance. Juices extracted by cooking are apparently far richer in this substance than juices extracted from the raw fruits. To determine whether a juice contains pectin, 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of the hot juice should be mixed thoroughly with an equal volume of grain alcohol (90 to 95 per cent), and the mixture should be cooled. If pectin is present, a gelatinous mass, which can be gathered on a spoon, will appear in the liquid.

Acid is another requisite for juices that make good jelly.

To extract juice from a very juicy fruit, such as currants or raspberries, place the clean fruit, washed if necessary, in an enameled preserving kettle, add just enough water to prevent burning-perhaps 1 cup to 4 or 5 quarts of fruit-cover the kettle, and place it where the fruit will cook rather slowly, stirring it occasionally with a wooden or a silver spoon. When the simmering point is reached, crush the fruit further with a well-soaked wooden masher, and continue heating it until the whole mass is cooked through. Allow the juice to drain through a jelly bag or a double piece of cheese-cloth into an earthenware or enameled receptacle for half an hour or more. It is better not to combine the first extraction with the later. If later extractions are to be made, it is well to reserve a pectin test of first extraction as a standard for concentrating ones later.

When,the first extraction is fairly well drained out, generally within half an hour, transfer the pulp to the preserving kettle, cover it with water, stir it well, and cover the kettle. Bring the juice slowly to the boiling point, and simmer it for 15 or 20 minutes. Strain it through a jelly bag as for the first extraction. If the alcohol test indicates much pectin, make a third extraction. Generally only three extractions can be made, but some fruits will allow five. The second and later extractions may be combined. The boiling juice may be sealed in sterilized bottles and made into jelly in the winter.

* Condensed from Principles of Jelly Making, by N. E. Goldthwaite, Univ. of III., Bull. 15.

If a less juicy fruit, such as apples or quinces, is used, wash the fruit, discard any unsound parts, cut it into small pieces, including the skins and the seeds, cover it with water, and extract the juice according to the directions for juicy fruits, making more than one extraction if possible.

For currants and partly ripened grapes, the correct proportion of sugar for the first extraction is likely to be equal volumes of sugar and juice. For red raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, and for fruits to which much water must be added, such as sour apples, crab-apples, and cranberries, the correct proportion by volume for the first extraction is likely to be three-fourths as much sugar as juice. The quantity of sugar required is determined by the quantity of pectin present in the juice. If too little sugar in proportion to pectin is used, the jelly is likely to be tough; if too much sugar is used, the jelly is soft and does not hold its shape. The remedy for having used too much sugar is to add more juice and thus supply more pectin. It is better to err on the side of too little rather than too much sugar. The second and third extractions may be mixed. The mixture should be boiled down until the juice approximates in pectin-content the richness of the first extraction, as shown by the pectin test. The juice should then be measured, and the sugar should be added in the proportion suggested for the first extraction.

The proportion of sugar to juice, the proportion of pectin in the juice, and possibly the proportion of acid in the juice, govern the length of time for boiling the juice to produce good jelly. Boiling from 8 to 10 minutes may be sufficient for currant juice, while from 20 to 30 minutes may be required for juice from raspberries, blackberries, apples, and the like. The juice in any case should be boiled rapidly.

The sugar should be added to the juice when the period of boiling is about half completed. If the sugar is hot, the cooking process is not delayed. Care should be taken not to scorch the sugar, however. The juice should be stirred fairly constantly, after the sugar is added, in order to prevent burning.

A good jelly test is to allow juice to drop from the side of a spoon and when it sheets off, or breaks off, to stop the cooking.

If jellies are to stand any length of time before using, they should be sealed properly from the air. After the glasses have been filled completely with the hot jellies, they should be set in a cool place for the contents to harden. Jellies slightly undercooked may be covered with panes of glass and allowed to harden in the sun. In either case, when the jellies are well set, the glasses should be filled with hot paraffin - the jelly will have shrunken, leaving space for this - not merely melted paraffin, but hot paraffin so that all germs that may have fallen on the surface of the jelly may be killed and future trouble with them obviated. The glasses should be closed with hot, clean tin covers, and kept in a dry, cool place.

Jams

The method of making jams is to cook the fruit until tender, add sugar in the proportion of equal quantities or three-fourths as much as fruit, and cook the mixture until a drop will jelly on a cold dish. It should then be poured into sterilized jars and sealed.