White-currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Pick the currants from the stalks and put them into a jar.
Place the jar in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer until the juice is well drawn from the fruit, which will take from 3/4 to 1 hour.
Strain the currants through a fine cloth or jelly-bag; do not squeeze them too much, or the jelly will not be clear.
Make the jelly
Put the juice into a very clean preserving-pan, with the sugar.
Let this simmer gently over a clear fire until it is firm, and keep stirring and skimming until it is done.
Pot and store
Pour it into small pots, cover them, and store away in a dry place.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- White currants (in the method)
- Supply the juice and natural pectin that help the jelly set, plus tartness.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Sweetens the juice and helps it thicken into a firm, set jelly.
The step that matters
Straining without squeezing. Pressing the currants forces fine pulp and solids through the cloth, which makes the jelly cloudy instead of clear. Letting the juice drip through on its own keeps it bright.
“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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