Treasures for the Making (1951)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] e [Music] now on this we're going to use it as a weset let me show you ordinarily you get most effective results out of a plaid design as an accent for a solid color not as trimming but as full parts of a dress there but for the lack of talent is me huh or should I say is I what are you talking about Ellen Douglas the great fashion designer dream of my young life it just goes to show you what I don't know about my own sister what stopped you I found out it takes Talent something I seem to be fresh out of so I went off to the big city and became a secretary where they only asked for brains oh then is that why you finally decided to come home and marry Bill Porter fres I'm getting married because I happen to be in love what's more I've got brain but uh it'll be nice to be just a housewife well there'll be no great demand for either Talent OR brain why Ellen dougas that's the silliest thing I've ever heard you say of course you don't mean it certainly I mean it all you have to know is what switch to turn what buttons to push and what cans to buy does Bill know he's marrying a can opener instead of a wife Bill he's in love with me he'll never know the difference what are you making jelly home economics assignment we make them over the weekend and bring him into class Monday morning H now who's being silly learning how to make jelly when all you have to do is go down the groceries pick out any kind you want in a jar would you rinse this out for me please sure not just learning how to make jelly learning how to make a home oh Susie you sound like my grandmother not my kid Sister well it's true you'll find it out once you're married oh thanks I see and being an old married woman you know all the answers well I know that much honestly Ellen I don't think it's a bit smart talking the way you do well you've got brains and I know you've Got Talent too there certainly plenty of ways of using them both in making a home well you could make a wonderful wife I intend to my pet but not because of the way I squeeze them up or flip the dust cloth is house cleaning all you think of in connection with making a home it's all I don't want to think of goodness aren't you using too much sugar huh how would you know what's too much sugar I was Mother's Little Helper when you were a howling brat remember and I still think that's a lot of sugar not for the jelly I'm making anyway not for the way I'm making it I had this same argument with mother right here back at the beginning of the term I thought I smelled strawberries strawberry jelly MH I didn't think that was possible seems to me I remember mother saying something about strawberries not having enough uh what do you call it petkin that's it mhm that was one of the first things we learned in class there's not enough pectin and strawberries to make jelly so when this comes to a boil I just add the pectin then it'll gel come on a minute I'll show you is that why you use so much sugar no not exactly you see jelly has to have the proper proportion of sugar in order to gel no matter how you make it now one way you add less sugar because you boil down your juices but I'm doing it the short boil way where there's no boiling down so I have to add more sugar at the start in order for the proportion to be the same pretty scientific huh now stop throwing your higher education at me what do you mean by the short boil way just watch now see it's just come to a boil so now I add the pectin and I only use half a bottle that's right to that Mark there now I let it come to a full rolling boil again it won't take long you like to cook don't you pet oh it's not just liking to cook it's it's more it well it's accomplishing something it's me cooking me Susan Douglas and not just cooking but well creating something special oh I wish Miss Holland could talk to you she could say it so much better than I can who's Miss Holland she's my home economics teacher a she's oh there now it's come to a full rolling boil and it boils for only a minute that's the short boil method which is only possible when you add pectin as I did then there's the long boil method where you depend on the fruit's own pectin in that case you boil anywhere from no 15 to 30 minutes until it boils down to where the sugar and the acid and the pectin are in the right proportion that's called the jelling stage there the minute's over my jelly's done now isn't that simple almost too simple how do you know it's done it's a recipe thousands of people use it why should it go wrong for me oh then you do believe in shortcuts even in the home for some things yes but a recipe isn't a shortcut it's scientific there are people who know how much sugar and how much acid and how much pectin oh I wish Miss Holland were here you know I remember the first jelly I made mine happened to be the first glass that she picked up that morning well there's one nice thing about it happening in class here is part of our learning at home it would be a minor tragedy we'll come back to this again but there's one thing we can be pretty sure of there was too little of either sugar or acid or pectin not enough of anyone means soup instead of jelly now let's see how this peach jelly is this is what we'd call a little soft it won't hold its form and when you cut it the surfaces are rounded the probability is there wasn't enough acid oh that's a nice one just stiff enough to hold its shape and when you cut it it cuts easily with sharp clean cut angles it has a clear delicate color it's very good well not quite this one is too to stiff that's likely to happen with apple jelly unless you're very careful it won't spread easily and it's a little hard to handle this time the probability is there was too much pectin or with some fruits that could be caused by too much sugar and if it's the sugar it's likely to form crystals we'll come back to some of these in a moment but first I'd like to speak of the important part that mixtures of many kinds play in our lives a doctor calls them prescription and our health may depend on them sometimes our lives for an artist they're mixes certain base colors certain proportions and he knows exactly what the result will be we women call them recipes and they're just as important in the kitchen as they are in the laboratory or the studio and it's just as important that they be right there the results to be right now to get that result you must follow your recipe exactly remember that when you make jams or jellies your recipe will call for pectin sugar acid and fruit in the proper proportion now it's important to understand right now that pectin is not a simple thickening agent as just cornstarch or gelatin pectin is a jelling substance found in fruits in varying amounts and it gels only when in proper balance with sugar and acid now we know exactly what that balance should be because a lot of people have spent lifetimes on this problem they've worked out tests and special recipes to solve this problem now tests like these and recipes worked out in a scientific way that you're here to learn now let's get back to the very first jelly that we looked at Susan this is your jelly isn't it now what do you suppose happened that made it come out like this well I'd already tried the short boil away in class and yesterday mother was in the kitchen as I was getting started you know you can do a short boil you've already done it why not try it the other way this time live dangerously very funny I know what it is with you you think your Way's better don't you oldfashioned that's me you are not you're prejudiced I just think in this case it's what granny taught you well that may be it partly but mostly I think it's because it makes a better tasting jelly oh mother you only think it's better because you're used to it it's different a little but you can't say it's better now just look you couldn't use plums that are all ripe like these not if you do it the long boil way I know that much not all like that no it's just better when some are a little green well I like to taste of fruit when it's right I think most people do there more flavor that way but you said yourself that you're taught both ways we are and I all right some of the plums in that box are a little hard I'll use those I'll show you but I guess I didn't show her so well not if it came out like that well obviously something went wrong most probably the timing because that's the tricky part suppose you tell us as nearly as you can remember what you did well first I added some water to the plums not too much I remember you're saying how important it was not to stretch the juices that's a very important Point Susan because the flavor in your jam or jelly depends entirely on the flavor in your fruit and that's one of the cheap reasons for making your own jams and jellies to be sure of real fruit flavor go on Susan well then I put the plums on the stove to boil I used a broad flat bottom pan like you said and boiled until they were soft that was just about oh 20 minutes then I poured it into a jelly cloth I had that set up so that the juice would drip from the colander right into a bowl and I helped it along some with a potato masher mother was watching me while I measured out the juice and the sugar and I used a cup of sugar to a cup of juice that's another reason I like this way you don't use so much sugar so the jelly doesn't get too sweet mother it may come as a surprise to you one of the first things we learned in class is that there's no difference to speak of in the sugar content of a glass of this jelly regardless of how it's made jelly has to have the proper proportion of sugar in order to gel whether you use the long boil or the short boil but you do use more sugar with the short boil as you call it yes but hardly any juice boils away with the short th method so with more juice you need more sugar and you end up with more jelly that's right isn't it substantially yes there are two schools of thought on the long boil versus the short boil methods most people now short boil the last figures I saw said over 70% but there are still some who prefer long boiling actually there are some fruits that have a lot of natural PC in them and long boilers get consistently good results with them such fruits as crab apple dams and plums and Quints but in most fruits the amount varies and some never have very much pecked in at all like strawberries pineapple peaches even grapes are uncertain such fruits must have pectin added if they're to gel properly and there the short boil method is decidedly the answer so we teach both methods and let you make your own decisions now Susan let's get back to you how did your boiling go well from the results I'm not so sure but it seemed all right it finally got to the point where the juice slid off the spoon in two drops and formed a sheet just the way you showed us that looks right to me I think it's boil long enough it looks thin to me I'd let it go a bit longer but mother that's the test when two drops fall at one time like that it means it's done I'm going to take it off so I did but I guess my mother was right yes I'm afraid she was but that doesn't mean the test itself was wrong there other factors to be considered along with it possibly the plums were too ripe and had lost too much of their pectin these are things that take a little experience when you're long boiling so don't feel too badly now today I'm going to take up a few jam and jelly quickies where you don't have the problem of shopping for fresh fruit and you don't have to worry about fruits being in seasoning this morning I'm going to make grape juice jelly using bottled grape juice or canned if you wish and a powdered fruit pectin one pint of grape juice one cup of water one package of powdered fruit pectin then place over heat and stir until the mixture comes to a hard boil because powdered pectin will not dissolve sugar this must always be done before the Sugar's added this takes 3 and 1/2 cups of sugar that's a pound and a half it needs occasional stirring to keep the sugar from sticking to the bottom but to be on the safe side and because the time comparatively short you just keep stirring until it reaches a full rolling boil this can't be stirred down you boil it for only 1 minute and a minute later your jelly is done skim the foam it's just fruit protein and air but your jelly will look better without it and you have about seven medium glasses of jelly a medium glass holds six flu ounces or about 8 oz of weight so in just 15 minutes or less for the whole process you're pouring paraffin seals on seven glasses of jelly and you can do it with any bottled or canned fruit juice that you like now here's a grass of jelly which I made exactly the same way on Friday after class so that you could see just what the results would be so that's one quickie method and there are at least two more that you'll find very handy from time to time I found one being used just the other day in the kitchen of a woman who's been making her own jams and jellies for 30 Years yet now depends almost entirely on Frozen fruits I'll show you my jellies and jams any kind I want anytime we want them the fruit is clean it's ripe economical The Pick of the crop and there are exact recipes made up for just these packages on the other hand there's young Martha Eldridge who lives in the apartment downstairs she makes wonderful jellies and jams using just the dried fruits you can start out with half a pound of dried apricots and end up with 11 glasses of a tasty apricot jam costing me about 9 cents a piece of course I make other kinds of jams and jellies too because I use them in lots of of ways not only as a spread for bread like a Tapioca parfait on muffins or biscuits jelly turnovers and of course the old-fashioned jelly roll is my husband's very favorite dessert and jams and jellies do simply wonderful things as garnishes for meats and poultry with lamb grape or Plum or a of course classic mint jelly spiced peach jam with pork cherry or raspberry jam or the new orange jelly with chicken or turkey there are at least aund different jams jellies and marmalades that can be made with generally available American fruits and dozens of ways to use every one and we can start right here with strawberry jelly my scoffing sister now there's something you won't find in many stores and if you could it would cost you much more than if you made it yourself who scoffing just you look rhubarb jelly my scoffing sister varieties you can't ordinarily buy at any price I'm not scoffing I'm blueberry and rhubarb combinations to please your own taste and raspberry jam that tastes like delicious fully ripe raspberries because that's what you used in it and pomegranate jelly Now isn't it lovely and at a fraction of the prices you'd pay in the stores now is that a contribution to homemaking or isn't it apricot jam pineapple mint Jam orange marmalade and even fig Jam honestly ell and I get a thrill out of just looking at them and so will you because well because it'll be something that you made yourself you Ellen Douglas would just think of sitting them down in front of Bill and saying bill look I made these myself now what do you think he'd say Bill Bill parter I'll tell you what he'd say he'd say I knew my wife was beautiful I knew she had brains but I never realized she had such talent see that looks good when do we eat and the fruits of the Earth shall yield unto you sustenance for your body flavor for your tongue Beauty for your eye Treasures for the taking greater Treasures for the making [Music]