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Red Currant Jelly

Erken's basic red currant jelly recipe from 1914: currants are juiced in a jar in a water bath, the juice is strained and measured, 1 kg sugar per liter of juice is melted with a little water, and the juice is boiled down until it sets. Tart apple juice may be added.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 600 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Red currant jelly is the base recipe in Erken's jelly chapter; several other jellies in the book refer back to it ("see red currant jelly"). The berries are juiced gently in a jar set in a water bath, so the juice comes out clear.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Juice the berries

    Crush the berries and put them in a jar. Set the jar in a pot of water and let it boil until the berries have released their juice.

  2. 2

    Strain the juice

    Strain the juice through a jelly cloth (straining cloth) and measure it.

  3. 3

    Melt the sugar

    Figure 1 kg sugar for every liter of juice. Moisten the sugar with a little water, let it melt, and skim off the foam.

  4. 4

    Cook the jelly

    Pour the juice into the melted sugar. Let it simmer and skim well as you go. The jelly is done when it sets on cooling – test whether a drop clings to the spoon.

  5. 5

    Fill and store

    Pour the jelly into rinsed jars or cups. The juice may be given 1 dl of tart apple juice for better setting.

Changes from the original

Amounts are estimated on the basis that about 2 kg of red currants yields roughly 1 liter of juice. "del." is converted to deciliters. The jelly cloth is described as a cloth/straining cloth. The method is broken into numbered steps in modern Norwegian.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1949 (proofread, p. 720) → 1914 (proofread, p. 600)~92% of the text changedremovedadded
Ribs sukker (1 kg. til hver liter saft) lidt vand evt. 1 del. sur eplesaft. Bærene fratas stilkene, fylles i en krukke knuses og settes haves i krukke; denne sættes i en kjel gryte med vann; krukken tildekkes og koker vand, koker, til bærene er godt saftet, helles i en pose og henger til næste dag; har saftet sig. Siles gjennem geléklædet; saften måles, og til hver liter tas i maales. Til 1 l. saft tages 1 kg. sukker sukker. Sukkeret fugtes med vandet, og i % del. bringebærsaft samt i stang vanilje. Koker langsomt, hvorunder skummes godt; prøves på en tallerken om den naar sukkeret er stiv, smeltet og fylles derpå i kopper eller glass, skyllet med koldt vann. Står et par dager; overbindes skummet, haves saften i. Smaakoker, skummes; er færdig, naar det stivner ved avkjøling. Prøv, om en draape hænger igjen paa skeen. Saften kan tilsættes med pergamentpapir. 1 del. sur eplesaft.

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Frequently asked questions

How much sugar should I use?
1 kg sugar for every liter of strained currant juice. The sugar is moistened with a little water, melted, and skimmed before the juice is added.
How do I get the juice out of the berries?
The berries are crushed and put in a jar that is set in a pot of water. It is boiled until the berries have juiced, then strained through a jelly cloth.
How do I know the jelly is done?
The jelly is simmered and skimmed, and is done when it sets on cooling. Test by seeing whether a drop clings to the spoon.
Can I add something to make the jelly set better?
Yes, the recipe from Stor kokebok (1914) states that the juice may be given one part of tart apple juice.

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