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FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
upon the amount of pectin contained in 
the juice. If the pectin is precipitated in 
a solid clot, one cup of sugar may be 
added for each cup of juice taken. If 
the precipitate is a broken mass, reduce 
the quantity of sugar in proportion to 
the amount of pectin contained. 
If the proper amount of sugar is added 
to an acid fruit juice containing pectin, 
an ideal jelly results. Miss Goldthwaite 
found that if too little sugar is added, the 
volume is less, the color deeper and the 
product tough. If too much sugar is 
added, the volume is increased, the color 
decreased in intensity, the pectin becomes 
softer, until finally it appears in lumps. 
Failure in jelly making more frequently 
occurs because of the addition of too 
much sugar, than from any other cause. 
If the juice does not contain the necessary 
amount of acid, more may be added. “A 
fair rule is to add sufficient tartaric or 
citric acid powder, to make the juice of 
acid taste.” The acid should be well 
stirred in the juice and entirely dissolved 
before tasting. To determine the correct 
acidity for the housekeeper, is a matter 
of experience. 
Dr Straughn in a report to Chief Als- 
berg, of the Bureau of Chemistry, says 
that out of five varieties of guavas that 
he worked with, three had too small an 
amount of acid to make a good jelly, 
but by the addition of citric acid, tartaric 
acid, lactic acid or lemon juice, an ex¬ 
cellent jelly could be produced. This acid 
should be declared on the label for inter¬ 
state commerce. The juice from the 
thick meated guava would not make jelly, 
but by adding sufficient acid, an excellent 
jelly was produced. 
The time for cooking jelly varies ac¬ 
cording to the amount of pectin in the 
juice and the proportion of sugar used. 
The flaking or sheeting from the spoon 
is the most satisfactory jelly test, but in 
the making of guava jelly, this test is not 
to be relied on. For this reason the 
housekeepers from the North, who are 
accustomed to making jelly from cur¬ 
rants, apples and other such fruit, fail. 
Dr. Straughn reports that frequently 
he got an excellent flake or sheet from 
the spoon when the thermometer regis¬ 
tered 105 degrees C. and 106 degrees, but 
when the jelly was cool, a syrup resulted. 
He also reports that of the sixty batches 
he made, in which the acidity, pectin and 
sugar were all correct, successful jelly 
was produced by cooking the jelly to 108 
degrees C. 
The color of guava jelly depends, not 
on the color of the guava, but on the time 
taken to bring to the jellying point, usu¬ 
ally about 108 degrees C. The longer 
the juice and sugar are cooked together 
to reach this point, the darker in color is 
the finished product. In his experiments 
he found that the longer guava jelly was 
cooked to reach the jellying point, the 
deeper red it became. One batch of 
guava juice was divided into six equal 
portions. The same amount of sugar was 
added to each, and each batch cooked to 
108 degrees C., but the time of cooking 
each succeeding batch was lengthened. 
The first batch was cooked rapidly, reach¬ 
ing 108 degrees C. in a few minutes. 
