Jelly

Whereas jams are prized for their fruitiness, jellies are judged on their clarity. The starting point is cooked fruit juice, produced by gently cooking the chosen fruit in the appropriate amount of water and then allowing it to drip through a fine mesh bag for up to 24 hours, resisting the temptation to squeeze the bag, as this will produce cloudy juice. The juice is cooked with sugar following a technique similar to that for jam, taking great care not to make it dark or syrupy through overboiling. As an alternative to the plate test, jelly can also be easily tested by dripping it from a wooden spoon: if it falls from the spoon in sheets, it is ready.