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JELLY MAKING

A good jelly should have the following characteristics:

*Be clear

*Retain the flavour of the fruit used

*Not be sticky when scooped out of a jar with a spoon (it should slide off the spoon cleanly).

*Have a sparkling appearance.

*Be solid, not runny.

Testing Fruit for Jelly Making

Test any fruit you plan to use before making a batch of jelly.

‑Boil a sample of fruit in a little water until it is mushy.

‑Add 1 teaspoon of the liquid into a glass jar and let it cool.

‑When cool, add 2 teaspoons of methylated spirits and let it stand for 1 minute.

‑If one or several large clots of jelly form, you should add 1 cup of sugar to every 1 cup of boiled up fruit puree.

‑If only flakes of jelly appear you should use only 0.75 cups of sugar per cup of liquid.

‑If there are few or broken flakes of jelly, then the fruit does not contain sufficient pectin to set into a jelly.

-Approx 1 teaspoon of strained lemon juice can be added to every 1kg of fruit to improve setting if pectin is insufficient.

RECIPE FOR MINT JELLY

‑Place chopped apples (not too sweet) in a large saucepan or boiler and just cover with water.

‑Cook until the apples are very tender, then strain off the liquid.

‑Stand 1 cup of chopped mint in 1 cup of boiling water for 24hrs then drain off the leaves.

‑Mix the apple juice liquid you collected with the liquid from the mint, 3 to 4 parts apple juice to 1 part mint tea, and add an equal volume of sugar. Allow to set.