To make jelly clear, the fruit must be quite fresh, and all blemishes
removed. Have the flannels used for straining perfectly clean and white.
Nearly all jellies are made in the same way, whether currant, plum,
Siberian crab-apple, gooseberry, quince, apple, peach, or grape. Some
add less sugar to the sweeter fruits. The first five fruits mentioned
are exceedingly easy to jelly; the grape is often quite vexatious, with
its perverse inclinations. Cherries will not jelly without gelatine.
After having freed the fruit from all blemishes, put them into a
porcelain preserving-kettle, with only enough clear water to keep them
from burning at first. Let them boil slowly until quite soft; then,
putting them into a flannel cloth, press from them all the juice
possible. Strain the juice two or three times through a clean cloth;
then return it to the clean preserving-kettle, adding a cup of sugar for
every cup of juice, and the beaten white of an egg for the whole. The
rule is to boil the sirup (without stirring) very rapidly for twenty
minutes, not counting the minutes until it begins to boil. The safest
rule is to boil it until it runs a little thick upon the spoon; then let
it run through the jelly-bag without pressing it. If there is any fear
of the jelly becoming too hard before it all runs through, place it near
the fire. The most convenient jelly-strainer is made by fastening the
four corners of a flannel cloth to a filter-stool (see page 57). If the
first dripping of the jelly is not entirely clear, return it to the
strainer until it runs perfectly limpid. Put the jelly into glasses;
and, after it has become quite firm, cut out little papers to fit the
tops, which should be dipped in brandy. Place over these second papers
larger ones, which have been dipped in the whites of eggs. Press the
edges against the sides of the glasses, to exclude the air.