Red-currant Jelly (Method C)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 12-quart nonreactive preserving pan
• •Digital sugar thermometer or candy thermometer
• •Long-handled skimmer
• •Heatproof spatula or preserving spoon
• •Pastry brush
• •Two small saucers for set testing
• •Boiling-water canner with rack
• •Eight 240 ml half-pint preserving jars with new lids
• •Jar funnel, jar lifter, and headspace tool

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare jars and fruit

   Set eight clean 240 ml half-pint jars on a rack in a boiling-water canner, cover them with water, and hold them hot. Prepare new lids according to their manufacturer’s directions. This is the safe home closure for The Cooking, Potting, and Sealing of Jams (No. 2955); the paper-and-glycerine seal is omitted because it does not provide dependable shelf storage. Chill two small saucers for testing the set. Pull the currants from their stalks with the tines of a fork, sort all three fruits carefully, and rinse only if necessary. Dry them well and keep them at cool room temperature while the syrup cooks.

   Do not soak the raspberries. They drink water quickly, and unnecessary water lengthens the final boil, costing the preserve both color and perfume.
2. 2

   Cook to small-ball

   Following The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344), put the sugar and water in the wide preserving pan. Heat gently, stirring only until every grain dissolves, then bring the syrup to a full boil and stop stirring. Skim away any gray foam, and wash crystals from the pan wall with a pastry brush dipped in clean water. Cook to 236°F (113°C), the small-ball stage, then take the pan from the fierce heat at once. A thermometer replaces the original finger test; hot syrup has no business touching your skin.

   If crystals spread through the syrup or it turns grainy, remove the pan from the heat and add ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) water carefully down the side. Cover for two minutes, uncover, and redissolve everything over low heat before cooking again to small-ball. Ça se rattrape. If the syrup turns amber and smells of caramel, begin the syrup again; caramel cannot give this gelée its clear flavor.
3. 3

   Draw out the juice

   Move the pan to the lowest burner, or take it fully off the heat for a moment, and add the currants and raspberries in three careful additions. Fold them through with a long-handled spoon, keeping your face and hands clear of any splash. Hold the pan over the gentlest heat for seven or eight minutes without allowing a real boil. The fruit will soften and release enough juice to loosen the syrup while keeping its fresh acidity. Do not crush it. If the syrup stiffens around the cooler berries, keep the heat gentle and fold the emerging juice over the clumps; they will dissolve.

4. 4

   Boil to nappe

   Return the pan to fierce heat and bring the preserve to its fullest rolling boil. Skim carefully and stir along the pan floor only often enough to prevent catching. Following The Cooking, Potting, and Sealing of Jams (No. 2955), cook to nappe, the coating stage: preserve lifted on the skimmer gathers toward its center and falls in large, slow, joined drops rather than running away in separate beads. Begin testing after six minutes. A drop on a chilled saucer should gel lightly after thirty seconds, and a finger drawn through it should leave a path that does not immediately flood. Remove the pan the instant nappe is reached; another minute only trades color for stiffness.

   If the test remains watery, boil for one minute more and test again. If the preserve becomes ropey or sets hard on the saucer, remove it from the heat and stir in boiling water, 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) at a time, until fluid. Redissolve it gently, then return it briefly to nappe. Ça se rattrape.
5. 5

   Rest and pot

   Set the pan off the heat for seven or eight minutes, exactly as directed by The Cooking, Potting, and Sealing of Jams (No. 2955). Skim away the last pale foam without disturbing the clear preserve beneath it. Ladle the gelée into the hot jars while it is still thoroughly hot, leaving ¼ inch (6 mm) headspace. Release trapped bubbles with a clean nonmetallic utensil, wipe the rims, center the lids, and tighten the bands only fingertip-tight.

6. 6

   Process and set

   Lower the filled jars into boiling water, keeping at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water above the lids. At elevations up to 1,000 feet (305 m), process for 10 minutes; at higher elevations, use the increased time specified by your local preserving authority. Turn off the heat, wait five minutes, then lift the jars out without tilting. Cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours and check every seal. The gelée may need as long as 48 hours to reach its final set. Refrigerate any jar that does not seal, and never store it in the cupboard. Open a sealed jar, let the tart ruby gelée catch the light, and bring out the bread or the roast. À table!

Chef Tips

• •White currants are not unripe red ones; they are a pale cultivar with the same useful pectin and a gentler flavor. This method truly wants fresh currants. Frozen fruit releases its water immediately and erases the seven-minute side-heat stage, so a standard strained-juice gelée de groseilles is the honest cousin when fresh white currants cannot be found.
• •White granulated sugar is the direct home equivalent of loaf sugar. Weigh it rather than trusting the cup alone: 1.35 kg preserves the book’s exact allowance of 12 ounces of sugar for every pound of the 1.8 kg fruit mixture.
• •Use a wide 12-quart pan even though the finished batch is modest. The open surface drives off moisture quickly, while the high walls give the fierce boil somewhere safe to rise. A narrow stockpot prolongs the cooking and dulls the berries.
• •Method C contains the softened fruit and seeds because the source does not strain it. Its clarity lies in the translucent syrup and clean set, not in becoming a seedless modern jelly.
• •Serve the gelée with roast game, duck, or lamb, where its acidity cuts the browned richness. It is equally sound on buttered bread or folded through a pastry filling. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The currants can be removed from their stalks up to 12 hours ahead. Keep all the fruit covered in the refrigerator, then let it lose its deep chill before adding it to the syrup.
• •Wash the jars, assemble the canning tools, and chill the testing saucers before beginning. Once the sugar reaches small-ball, the work moves quickly and does not wait for missing equipment.
• •Leave the processed jars untouched for 12 to 24 hours, then remove the bands and check the seals. Properly sealed jars keep in a cool, dry, dark cupboard for up to 12 months; refrigerate after opening and use within one month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 20g)