OCR Text |
Show I DOES YOUR FRUIT I FAIL TO JELL ? BBS ?ToBow Instructions and You'll flfil Have no Trouble. BBb- Does your fruit ever fail to Bfia -jrll? A knowledge of some very BBS ' simple rules of jelly making will BBS :avukl this troublesome waste, BBS .'juy frame economic experts of the BBJ Uzzh Agricultural College. These BBl - -asp-rt-K have prepared the follow- BBa 'anjj; instructions on jelly making BBa ' that should prove most beneficial BBS Shr the housewife: Bfll Few things connected with the Bfll .'innervation of fruit cause more BBS trouble and irritation than the BBB rifrze of fruit juice to "jell" at BBB sill! tizucs. At one time the jelly BBB uj-perfect, and the housewife con- BBB '. jp.-atufatcs herself that at last BBB -.she has found the best method. BBB !5ist' ncain, under conditions ap- BBB jjarmtl)7 the same, the juice sim- flfiB ply will not "jell," or it turns to BBB xctTsass of sugar and candy. There flfifl 'sinr some niles, however, that or- BBB drrnirily insure success. BBB Thr explanation of many fail- BBB ' urcs lies in the composition of BBB rmtl.s. All fruits at the time BBB They.-m' ripe contain more or less BBB -ci n substance called pectin. If BBB "chtr Emit juice is extracted, the BBB jM-srrn cs with it in solution. If BBB v&ki Tight proportion of sugar is BBB nest added to the juice, and the BBB, numare heated to the boiling BBB Ipurct fur some time, the pectin BBB, -caivnes the juice to harden into BBB ;)ly. BfiBj! The pectin, however, docs not flBBfj exist in the fruit at all stages of BflfiJ' npcnvss. In fact, it forms just BBB -,t the time of ripening or a little BflflJ ' Ueforc, and it desappcars soon flfifl afterward. Therefore, fruit for BflflJ Ielfy making should be just ripe flflfl - -or slightly underripe. It is for flflfl ' this reason that overripe fruit BBB iibnrjst invariably fails to make fiflfij vjr.oil jelly; the pectin has dis- fiflfi -TVQftivxrcd, in whole or in part. If Bflt ds extracted juice is allowed to fiBB ', snWl in a warm place for any B " 'length oT time it ferments; and B ' ' fermentation takes from the pec- H i 'Zcu its power to cause hardening, Hr ""I3i fong heating has exactly the ft I , roe effect upon the pectin as BBBJ ) ' U'ermwrtaVion. Bv A-dding the improper amount J ' Z sngar to the juice also causes B" I iffnrc. If too much sugar is ad- BbI l .flflfifc, flflflf'lflflflflflflflflflflto' ded, the juice candies or crystal-izes. crystal-izes. If too little is added, the juice must be boiled a long time to evaporate the surplus water, and this causes the pectin to lose its power to bring about hardening. harden-ing. Not all fruits contain pectin in the same abundance. In general the acid (or sour) fruits contain most pectin; but the strawberry, though acid, contains very little. Often extremely good jellv can be made from the juice of some fruit not containing much pectin, such as the cherry, by mixing it with the juice of a fruit rich in pectin, such as the currant. The most desirable fruits for jelly making, in the order of their desirability, des-irability, arc; Currant, crabapplc, apple, quince, grape, blackberry, raspberry, plum. Clear jelly can be obtained only when the juice is extracted without with-out subjecting the fruit to pressure. pres-sure. Doubling the cloth through which the fruit drains, adds to the clearness. When all the juice possible has been drained off without pressure, more may be obtained by applying pressure. Jelly made from this juice after pressure is just as well flavored and as nutritious as any, but is not as clear. One must use judgment and test jellies in the making by putting put-ting a spoonful on a plate. If the juice jells quickly, it is done. If a jelly is not as hard as it should be the day after it is made, setting it in the sun for several hours helps it greatly. If water has been added to the fruit in boiling it before the juice g extracted, or if the fruit has been picked shortly after a rain, boiling the juice down somewhat before adding the sugar helps to produce good results. Boiling the juice in a large bottomed vessel ves-sel makes possible more rapid evaporation and reduces the length of time required; it prevents pre-vents both the candying and the gumminess of the jelly to a considerable con-siderable extent. If a "mint jelly" or mint flavor is desired, remove the leaves from slowly. There is greater likelihood likeli-hood of success, therefore, if only a small amount of juice is boiled at a time. If a "mint jelly" or mint flavor is desired, remove the leaves from the mint stems, using leavesc from about six to twelve stems for each twelve glasses of jelly. Crush the leaves, and tic them in a cheesecloth bag. Put the bag in the kettle with fruit to boil. When enough ' flavor has been out to suit your taste, remove the bag. The mint flavor is used chiefly in crabapple and grape jelly. Jellies may be colored by using vegetable coloring. Different colors of jelly in the same glass or "layer jelly" may be had by mixing the coloring in only a part of the jelly, pouring first a half inch of uncolored into the glasses and letting it harden a trifle, and then a half-inch of colored, and so on. Jelly contains so much sugar that bacteria cannot work in it. Molds, however, find jelly a good feeding ground. As molds require a constant supply of oxygen, the jelly can be protected by covering it with melted paraffin as soon as it is cooled. The paraffin soon hardens and shuts out the air and also dust. Store jelly in a cool, dry place. |