Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Strawberry Isinglass Jelly.— Pick a quart of ripe red strawberries, put them into a bowl, and pour upon them a clear syrup made by boiling three-quarters of a pound of refined sugar with a pint of water for a quarter of an hour. Cover the dish, and leave the fruit to soak all night. Put two ounces and a haK of isinglass into a saucepan with a pint of water which has been beaten up with haK the white of an egg. Stir the mixture, and heat it gently till the isinglass is dissolved, carefully removing the scimi till it ceases to rise. Strain the liquor through three or four folds of muslin, and when it is lukewarm, mix with it the syrup which has been drained from the strawberries, half a tea-cupful of red-currant juice, and the strained juice of a fresh lemon. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, put the jelly into a damp mould, and set it in a cool place or upon ice till it is set. If preferred, gelatine may be substituted for the isinglass, and the jelly will then be less expensive. The appearance of the mould will be improved if two or tlu'ee spoonfuls of jelly are first poured into the mould, allowed to stiffen, then ornamented with large ripe strawberries, and the mould filled with jelly and strawberries alternately. Time, eight or nine hours to set the jelly. Probable cost, 4s. 6d. Sufficient for two moderate-sized moulds. Strawberry Jam. — Gather the fruit after two or three days of diy weather, when it is fully ripe, but not over-ripe, or it will be flavourless, and may be tainted with bil-terness and the elements of decay. Pick the berries, and discard all that are at all unsound. Weigh the strawberries, and take three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar for each potmd of fruit. Put a layer of berries into the preserving-pan, then a layer of sugar, and repeat until the pan is a little less than three-parts full. Set it at the side of, but not upon, the fire, and keep stirring gently to prevent burning ; but be careful not to ciush the fruit. Very carefully remove the scum as it rises, and let the jam boil gently until a little put upon a plate will set, or be stiff'. Take the pan from the fire, let its contents cool for a few minutes, then pour the jam into jars. Cover in the usual way. The flavour of strawberry jam depends a great deal upon the season. When the summer is cold, wet, and sunless, it is difficult to make jam with the real perfume of the fruit, although it may be made to keep by long boiling and an extra allowance of sugar. Time to boil, three quarters of an hour or more. Probable cost, strawberries, 4d. to 8d. per pound. The fruit can generally be bought cheaper by the peck. Strawberry Jam (another way). — Pick the strawberries, carefully look out and discard all that are unsound, and weigh the fruit. Boil it, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning, for half an hour, then mix in thoroughly, off the fire, half a pound of loaf sugar broken into small pieces for each original pound of fruit. Boil the jam quickly half an hour longer, or till it will set, and put it into jars in the usual way. Time to boil the fruit, half an hour with the sugar, and half an hour without the sugar.