When I looked through my database for a raspberry jelly recipe, I noticed that most of them had the addition of currants. This makes sense because the currants contain pectin to help the recipe “jell,” and the currants also add a little bit of tangy depth. This was particularly welcome in my case because I was not working with raspberries at all, but the less flavorful (but invasive and abundant) wineberry.
Interestingly, raspberries are native to North America but also to Asia Minor. They had already spread throughout Europe long before colonization.
It’s no surprise then, that raspberry-currant jams and jellies appear in the oldest Maryland cookbook manuscripts. With only three ingredients, there is not much variation. The distinction of jellies like this depended a lot on how good the cook was at clarifying the jelly. The more transparent, the more luxurious.
Like most of the more common people of those times, I lean towards preserves that don’t waste the fruit’s pulp. But with wineberries growing free and abundant, why not live like the other half!
My chosen recipe comes care of Mrs. Franklin Wilson’s recipe manuscript at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. The Wilson family collection is a huge trove of legal documents, scrapbooks, photographs, and letters.
Continue reading “Wineberry* Jam, Mrs. Franklin Wilson manuscript”