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Method of Sterilising Fruit Juices

A method for sterilising fruit juices using heat and sealing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Method of Sterilising Fruit Juices

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the juice

  1. Crush the sound, ripe fruit.

  2. Place the crushed fruit in an enamelled saucepan.

  3. Gradually heat the fruit to about 180°F (simmering point).

  4. Strain the mixture through a double thickness of butter muslin.

  5. Allow the liquid to stand for a few hours to let sediment settle.

  6. Pour off the clear liquid.

  7. Add sugar to the juice in the proportion of 1 cup for every 1 gallon.

Bottle and sterilise

  1. Pour the juice into hot bottles.

  2. Lightly insert sterilized corks or stoppers into the bottles.

  3. Place the bottles in a sterilizer on a rack.

  4. Add water at the same temperature as the juice to reach about the necks of the bottles.

  5. Sterilize at simmering point for about 30 minutes.

  6. Remove the bottles.

  7. Tightly fix the corks.

  8. When cool, dip the tops into melted paraffin wax or sealing wax.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sound, ripe fruit
Provides the juice and the flavour of the finished drink.
Sugar
Adds sweetness to the juice and balances its tartness.

The step that matters

Sterilise at simmering point for about 30 minutes. Holding the bottles at a steady simmer, with water reaching the bottle necks, heats the juice evenly enough to destroy microorganisms that would otherwise ferment or spoil it. Too little heat or time leaves the juice at risk of spoilage after bottling.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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