Seven and a half pounds of currants made seven and a half jars of jelly, and I used two methods. For those of you interested in the statistics... one without a pint of water per pound of fruit, and one with water. The waterless method with 3lbs fruit made less jelly (one and a half jars), but thick and well set, and the other method with water and 4 1/2 lbs fruit, made 5lbs jelly.
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| heavy pan holding 4 1/2 lbs fruit |
The fruit was brought to the boil in the pan and crushed, then simmered for 45 minutes.
A pillowcase was scalded in a bowl and the water discarded before the fruit and any juice was poured into it. Knotted and tied with string, the jelly bag was suspended over the bowl.
After two hours approximately, the jellybag may have stopped dripping, and can be carefully removed. A note of caution, if you wish to have crystal clear jelly, do not squeeze the bag.
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| Pillowcase jellybag hung over a large bowl, on a broom handle between two chairs. Put the juice back in the clean saucepan with one kilogram of preserving sugar per litre of juice. Discard the fruity mash. Bring the jelly to the boil and skim off any scum with a spoon.  Scum on a plate!Boil steadily until setting point is reached. Setting point is reached when drips of jelly set on the plate used for that purpose.   |
