IT is easy to make good jam at home if a few simple rules are followed.
Excellent jams can, it is true, be bought, but they are generally too
sweet, a large proportion of sugar being used in order to make the jam
keep for a considerable time.
RULE 1.—Use only fresh fruit which has been gathered in dry weather.
2. Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to one pound of all fruit,
except stone fruit. Stone fruit requires an extra quarter of a pound
of sugar. Break the sugar small, but do not pound it; if the sugar
is pounded the syrup will not be clear. Use the best sugar, as the
inferior kinds produce much more scum.
3. Never set the preserving-pan flat on the fire. If you do, the
fruit will stick to it, and burn. Raise the pan on a trivet a little
above the fire, and not exactly over the hottest part. Stir the jam
with a wooden spoon all the time that the sugar and fruit are boiling
together. An iron spoon ruins both the flavour and the colour of jam.
Stir gently at first, more quickly as the boiling of the jam proceeds.
Skim off all scum as it rises.
4. Put the fruit into the preserving-pan, sprinkle in some of the
sugar, and as the fruit juices, add the rest of the sugar by degrees.
When the sugar is all dissolved bring the jam to the boil.
5. Never boil jam longer than twenty minutes. If it is boiled too long
the jam will be sticky, but if not boiled enough it will not keep. When
the scum ceases to rise, put a few drops of the jam on a cold plate,
watch it for a minute, and if it sets, and does not flow freely, the
jam is done.
6. Warm the jam-pots before you pour the hot jam into them; if you do
not they may crack. Fill the pots to within half an inch of the top,
and wipe off any drops spilt with a cloth wrung out in hot water. If
this is not attended to, there will be great difficulty in scraping off
the drops when the jam has cooled.
7. The day after the jam is made, and when it has become quite
cold, lay a round of thin paper on the top of each pot. Then take a
sufficient number of the vegetable parchment covers which are sold for
tying over jam-pots, soak them for a minute or two in cold water, wipe
them dry, stretch one over each pot, and tie it round with string. The
parchment tightens as it dries, and excludes the air from the jam. When
the covers are dry, write in ink on each the name of the jam and the
date.
8. Always keep jam in a cool, dry place. Damp makes it mouldy, heat
makes it ferment.
9. Never put one pot of jam exactly on the top of another, but set one
row of pots on the edges of the row beneath, leaving a clear space in
the centre of each pot.
Different fruits require different treatment when made into jam. Thus,
strawberries must be carefully stirred, raspberries must be mashed with
a wooden spoon; and both these fruits, being soft and juicy, require
less boiling than the drier kinds. Dry fruits, such as apples, should
always be put first into a covered jar set in a pan of boiling water,
and kept there until they are thoroughly softened. Fruit, with the
exception of the very juicy kinds, takes longer to boil than sugar, so
that it is well to cook the fruit partially before adding the sugar.
Over-boiled sugar spoils the texture of jam.
Rhubarb jam requires the addition of a little root-ginger and a few
strips of lemon-peel.
_Orange Marmalade._—Allow for every pound of oranges one pint of water
and three-quarters of a pound of sugar.
Pare Seville oranges very thin, and boil the rind till tender. Boil it
in plenty of water for about three-quarters of an hour. At the end of
this time the orange rind should be so tender that a straw will pierce
it. Then cut it into very thin strips about half an inch long. Take off
the tough white coat of each orange, and throw it away. Then scrape out
the pulp and juice very carefully, and throw the pips into cold water.
When they have remained in the water for a short time, squeeze them
through a cloth, and add a pint of the water in which the pips have
been soaked to every three-quarters of a pound of the sugar. The reason
for steeping the pips is that they yield a glutinous substance, which
adds richness to the marmalade. Boil the syrup for twenty minutes,
allowing three-quarters of a pound of sugar and one pint of water to
every pound of orange pulp. Put the pulp and juice into the syrup, and
boil for half an hour, carefully skimming off the scum as it rises.
During the last five minutes add the shreds of orange-peel. Put the
marmalade into pots, and tie them down next day.
_Clear Orange Marmalade._—In this marmalade there are no shreds of
orange-peel. Cut the oranges in half after they are peeled and freed
from the white skin. Boil them for three-quarters of an hour, allowing
one pint of water to twelve oranges. Strain off the juice, and boil
it up sharp for ten minutes. Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar
to every pint of juice. Boil for twenty or five-and-twenty minutes
till it jellies. Four oranges make a pound pot of marmalade. It is an
improvement if half the peel taken from the oranges is grated finely,
and boiled with the oranges.
_Quince Marmalade._—Scald the quinces, pare, core, and quarter them. To
four pounds of fruit add three pounds and a half of sugar. Take three
pints of the water the quinces were scalded in, and boil in it both
the parings and the cores. Strain the water, and add it to the quinces
and the sugar. Let it stand all night. Next day set the quinces over
a slow fire, and bring them very gradually to the boil, skimming and
stirring them all the time they are cooking.
Crab-apples, Siberian crab-apples, and the fruit of the Pyrus Japonica,
or Japanese quince, all make excellent preserve.
_Crab-apple Marmalade._—Parboil the crab-apples, and pulp them through
a sieve or colander. Pare six large common apples, boil them till quite
soft, and pass them through the sieve, when they will yield all the
liquid they contain. To every quart of crab-apple pulp add one gill of
the liquid from the common apples; and allow three-quarters of a pound
of sugar to every pound of pulp. Boil all together for fifteen minutes,
stirring the whole time.
_Fruit Jellies._—In making fruit jellies only the clear juice extracted
from the fruit is used. The fruit must be softened by being placed in
a jar set in boiling water, after which the juice must be allowed to
drip through a hair sieve or a piece of canvas. The fruit must on no
account be squeezed or rubbed with the hand or spoon, but it may be
pressed down by a plate with a weight set upon it. Boil the juice for
ten minutes, weigh it, and when it boils up again, add half a pound of
sugar to every pint of juice. Then boil the whole sharp for five or ten
minutes more, skimming off all scum.
_Clear Apple Jelly._—Pare and core half a peck of green apples, cut
them up, and drop them as you cut them into two quarts of water. Pare
two small lemons, cut them up, removing the pips, and add them to the
apples, reserving the lemon-peel. Put the apple-parings and the cores
with the apples, and boil all together very slowly till the fruit is
quite a pulp. Then strain it through a jelly-bag, and to every pint of
liquid add half a pound of lump sugar. Boil the whole very fast with
the peel of the two lemons, skimming thoroughly all the time. It ought
to jelly in three-quarters of an hour; try it by dropping a few drops
on a cold plate. When sufficiently done take out all the lemon-peel,
and pour the jelly into moulds or small pots.
_Cranberry Jelly_ can be made in this way from the Russian and Swedish
cranberries now sold, but cranberries will require a pound of sugar to
the pint of juice. Cranberries should not be boiled longer than twenty
minutes.
_Medlar Jelly._—Gather the medlars when quite sound, wipe them well,
and let them stew in the preserving-pan with just enough boiling water
to cover them till they are in a pulp. Drain the fruit through a piece
of canvas, but do not press the pulp. Weigh the juice, and allow half
a pound of sugar to every pint. Boil it till quite clear, stirring and
skimming well. When it jellies, pour it into small moulds, and let it
set.
_Currant Jelly (No. 1)._—Strip red currants from their stalks, and put
them into the oven. When quite juicy, pass them through a hair sieve
or a coarse cloth. To every pint of juice allow a pound of loaf sugar
well beaten and sifted. Heat the sugar on a dish in the oven, putting
it between two sheets of foolscap paper, and when the currant juice
has boiled for a couple of minutes, strew the sugar into it by degrees
whilst the juice is boiling hot. It will jelly immediately, and gain
flavour by keeping. Put it at once into pots.
_Currant Jelly (No. 2)._—To six pounds of red, white, or black
currants add four pounds of sugar and half a pint of currant juice
extracted from additional currants. Stir the fruit well together in a
preserving-pan, set it on a brisk fire, and when it boils up, pass it
through a cloth into a basin with a lip. Pour the jelly from the basin
at once into pots. Let the pots remain uncovered for nine days, and
then tie them up.
_Blackberry Jelly._—Take six pounds of blackberries before they are
quite ripe, pick them from the stalks, and put them into a jar. Tie
the jar up closely, set it in a pan of water on the fire till the
blackberries become pulp. Then strain the fruit through a cloth, and to
one pint of juice add one pound of sifted sugar. Boil it to a jelly,
and pour it into pots for use. Blackberry jelly is much improved if
half the quantity of blackberries is used and the other half made up of
bullaces or wild plums. But bullaces are now rare.
_Scotch “Jam Jelly.”_—This preserve is made from the berries of the
mountain ash, gathered when they have become nearly (but not quite)
ripe. Take off the stalks, and stew the berries in a jar set in
boiling water. They take many hours’ stewing before they become tender,
but in the end they make excellent jelly. For the mountain-ash berries
allow a pound of sugar to a pound of pulp.
_Damson Cheese._—Stew the damsons till tender in a jar set in boiling
water. Rub them through a coarse sieve to take off the skins. Take out
the stones, crack them, and blanch the kernels. Boil the cheese for
one hour. Then weigh it, and add one pound of sugar to two quarts of
the damson pulp. Boil it, stirring it well till it is thick. Keep the
fire low, and boil the pulp very slowly. After the cheese has thickened
well, leave off stirring; but it must boil quite to a candy, and may
take seven hours. Put in the kernels a few minutes before the damson
cheese is taken off the fire. The cheese will be done when it leaves
the sides of the pan. A peck and a half of damsons will make ten pints
of cheese. Cover the moulds when cold with paper dipped in brandy.
_Brandy Cherries._—To every pound of Morello cherries, stalked but not
stoned, add three-quarters of a pound of best loaf sugar. Take a few
cherries, bruise them, and take as much juice from them as will make
the sugar into a very thick syrup. Fill wide-mouthed bottles with the
cherries, and prick each cherry all over with a fine needle. Let the
syrup get quite cold, then pour it on the cherries, and fill up the
bottles with good brandy.
_Brandy Peaches._—Peel the peaches carefully with a silver
dessert-knife, and as you do so put each peach into cold water. Choose
a deep stone jar, put into it one pound of peaches covered with
three-quarters of a pound of sifted sugar. Fill up the jar with good
brandy. Set the jar in a pan of cold water on the fire, and let it
gradually heat till the brandy is nearly boiling. Then let it get cold
and tie up the jar closely.