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Dessert

Barberry Jelly

A preserved sweet spread made from barberries and powdered sugar, cooked until thickened.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Barberry Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Pick the barberries from the stalks into a preserving pan.

  2. Add the powdered sugar to the fruit.

  3. Simmer over a clear fire, stirring frequently. Do not let it boil.

  4. When reduced to a soft pulp, strain the juice through a fine sieve.

Boil and set

  1. Put the juice back into the preserving pan over a brisk fire.

  2. Skim off the scum as it rises. Boil for about 15 minutes.

  3. To test for setting, drop a little on a cold plate and check after a minute or two. If it sets, remove the scum.

Pot and seal

  1. Pour the jelly into pots or glasses.

  2. Cover with papers dipped in brandy. Tie with paper.

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

Barberries
Provide the tart flavour and natural pectin that help the jelly set.
Powdered loaf sugar
Sweetens the juice and helps it thicken into a jelly as it cooks.

The step that matters

Simmer without boiling. Gentle heat softens the fruit and draws out juice without scorching the sugar or breaking down the pectin needed for setting. Boiling at this stage can make the jelly cloudy or burnt-tasting.

“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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