I've been inspired by what I've read in this newsgroup to enter some wild
fruit and berry jellies in a local agricultural fair. I received the entry
information in the mail yesterday. I hope to enter wild fruit jelly to
draw attention to the preservation of wild fruit and berry bearing trees
and shrubs.

I've not been too concerned before with getting all the bubbles off the
top of jelly but for the contest I think it has to be absolutely clear.
I'm doing some test samples of a cup each to try and get it right before
making the final batches. I've tried scooping scum off the rolling boiling
juices without much success. I've also tried waiting for a skin for form
on the top of the cooling juice and lifting it with a spoon and a fork but
it keeps falling apart. I've even tried pouring the hot juice into the jar
through a tea strainer but the scum bubbles go right through. Is there
something I'm missing here?

Are some fruits more prone to scum than others?
Does anyone know what causes the scum?

On the subject of sugar clearing the cloudiness of jelly juices, it's
quite dramatic with wild cherries. The juice is very cloudy. I even tried
straining it though a coffee filtre which made no difference to the juice
and left no residue on the filtre. But as soon as the sugar is added to
the boiling juice the juice turns a clear deep red.

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