Barberry Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pick the barberries from the stalks and weigh them against an equal quantity of lump sugar.
Cook the jelly
Put both into a preserving pan and place it on a slow stove to simmer for one hour.
Strain the juice through a fine sieve and return it to the pan.
Increase the heat to a quick stove and boil for about twenty minutes, or until it becomes a jelly.
Test for doneness by dropping a little on the bottom of a sweetmeat pot.
Pot and seal
Once done, pour the jelly into pots and seal them.
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
- Barberries
- Supply the tart flavour and natural pectin that help the juice set into a jelly.
- Lump sugar
- Sweetens the juice and, when boiled down, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Testing for doneness. Boiling drives off water and concentrates the sugar and pectin. Too little boiling leaves a runny jelly, while overboiling can make it stiff or cause the sugar to crystallise. A small drop tested on a cold dish or pot shows whether it sets.
“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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