Jams and Jellies

Southland Times, Issue 22813, 12 February 1936, Page 5

Jams and Jellies

Apricot Jam. (With Passionfruit) Ingredients:—6lb stoned apricots, 61b sugar, 12 passionfruit. Method:—Wipe, halve, and stone the apricots. Place in a dish, sprinkle with half the sugar, and leave overnight. Break a few stones, extract the kernels, scald them, and remove skins. Drain syrup from apricots into preserving pan. Add remaining sugar and blan- | ched kernels. Heat slowly till sugar dissolves, and simmer for five minutes. Add apricots, and boil slowly till apricots are tender. Add the strained' or unstrained passionfruit as preferred, or the strained juice of a lemon, and boil till it jells. Bottle and seal. Black Currant Jam. Ingredients:—3lb black currants, 3 pints water, 4Jlb sugar. Method:—Remove stalks, wash currants, and put into preserving pan with water. Boil slowly till fruit is cooked and skins are quite tender. Heat sugar in oven, add, and stir till dissolved. Cook quickly till a sample will set in a few minutes on a cold saucer. Leave in pan to cool and thicken (to prevent currants rising to surface) before bottling in dry sterilized jars. Seal, and make air-tight before storing. Blackberry and Plum Jam. Ingredients:—slb blackberries, 21b semi-ripe plums, 1 pint water, 51b sugar. Method:—Stalk and wash fruit. Put into preserving pan with water, and simmer until fruit is tender, thoroughly cooked, and considerably reduced. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, and cook quickly till a sample will jell in a few minutes on a cold saucer. Cool slightly. Bottle in warm, dry jars, and make air-tight before storing. Cherry Jam. Ingredients:—6lb stoned cherries, 4J lb sugar, 1 lemon. Method:—Put stalked, stoned cherries in preserving pan with lib sugar. Heat slowly till sugar dissolves and juice flows. Boil till fruit is tender but not broken (about 20 to 30 minutes). Heat 3Jlb sugar in oven. Add to cherries with strained lemon juice, stir till sugar dissolves. Boil quickly for about j hour till it jellies when tested. Bottle when cool in dry, sterilized, warm jars. Make air-tight before storing. Loganberry or Raspberry Jam. Ingredients:—6lb raspberries or loganberries, 61b sugar. Method:—Wash and pull berries. Put in preserving pan over very gentle heat till sufficient juice flows in which to cook fruit. Simmer gently till tender. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, and boil quickly till a sample jells when tested. Seal in sterilized jars, and make air-tight before storing. This process yields a jam rich in flavour and colour, “jells” well, and keeps well in storing. Mulberry Jam. Ingredients:—4lb mulberries, 31b sugar, 1 pint water, 1 lemon. Method:—Choose fruit not quite ripe. Remove stalks, wipe berries, or wash if necessary. Put in preserving pan with water. Simmer till quite soft. Add strained lemon juice with heated sugar, and stir till dissolved. Boil quickly till a tested sample sets removing scum as it rises. When nartially cool bottle in dry. warm, sterilized jars, and seal se- ’ curely. Grape or Cherry Jelly. (With Apples) Method:—Allow 11b green cooking apples to 51b grapes or to 21b cherries.

Remove stems or stalks, and wash grapes or cherries. Wash apples, and cut each in 8 pieces. Put apples with grapes or cherries in preserving pan. Cover with water. Cook till quite soft: strain through scalded jelly bag or coarse flannel, leaving for several hours to drip. Measure the extract, and allow equal measure of sugar. Pleat sugar in oven, and boil extract for 10 minutes. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, boil quickly till it jellies when tested on a cold saucer. Bottle in warm, dry sterilized jars. Make airtight before storing. Peach or Nectarine Jam. , Choose firm, unripe fruit. Peaches.—Clingstone varieties make better jam, though some firm freestones are suitable. Scald peaches for 1 to 2 minutes, according to ripeness; place in cold water to remove skins easily. Peel, quarter or slice, and weigh peaches. Nectarines.—Wipe, halve, remove stones, quarter or slice the unpeeled fruit, and weigh it. Allow 21b sugar to each pound prepared fruit. Mix fruit in basin with half quantity of sugar. Leave overnight. Next day, strain syrup into preserving pan with the juice of half lemon to each pound fruit. Simmer for 10 minutes, add fruit, and simmer till tender. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, and boil till fruit is clear, syrup thick, and a sample will jell on a cold saucer. Bottle in warm, dry, sterilized jars, and make seal airtight before storing. Plum Jam. Ingredients:—4lb plums, 31b sugar, -J pint water. Method:—Wipe and stone plums, or put whole in pan with water. Simmer till tender, removing stones as fruit softens. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, and boil quickly, till it jells when tested on a cold saucer. Bottle in dry, sterilized jars, and seal securely. For tart variety plums, more sugar will be required, according to the acidity of the fruit. Plum or Apricot Jelly. Method:—Put wiped plums in preserving pan, or wipe and halve apricots and put in pan with some apricot kernels. Barely cover with water. Simmer till soft. Strain through scalded jelly bag or coarse flannel, and leave to drip. Measure extract and allow equal measure of sugar. Heat sugar in oven. Boil extract for 10 minutes. Add heated sugar, stir till dissolved, boil quickly, and complete the process as previously described.

Quince or Pear Jelly. Method:—Choose firm quinces or pears. Wipe and cut in small pieces without peeling or coring. Cover with cold water, and simmer till soft. Strain through a scalded jelly bag or coarse flannel, and leave to drip for several hours. Measure the extract, and allow 1 cup sugar for each cup extract. Heat sugar in oven, and boil extract for 5 minutes. Add sugar, stir till dissolved, and boil quickly till it jells on a cold saucer. Bottle while hot in dry, warm jars and seal securely.

Jelly From Berries. Mulberries, loganberries, raspberries, gooseberries, red currants, black currants, blackberries.—Put washed fruit into preserving pan, add enough cold water to cover the berries, and simmer till fruit is pulped and juice extracted. Strain through scalded jelly bag or coarse flannel, and leave to drip. The dry contents of the jelly bag of fruits rich in -pectin may be reboiied in a small quantity of water for about an hour, strained, and the two extracts mixed together. Measure the strained juice and allow heated sugar of equal measure. Proceed with jelly making as previously described.