Jellied Spiced Red Cherries

Recipe No. 448 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Salads. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Cherries, red, sour — 3 No. 10 cans
• Sugar, brown — 2 pounds (2 mess kit cups)
• Cinnamon, stick — ½ ounce
• Nutmeg, ground — (½ mess kit spoon)

Cloves, whole — (⅓ mess kit spoon)

• Gelatin, cherry flavored — 2½ pounds (2½ mess kit cups)
• Water, boiling — 3 quarts (3 No. 56 dippers)
• Salt — 1 ounce (2 mess kit spoons)

Directions

Key ingredients

Cinnamon

1. Combine cherries, cherry juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove cinnamon and cloves.
2. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; add salt and spiced cherry mixture.
3. Pour into shallow pans; chill until firm.
4. Cut into squares.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Cherries, red, sour — 3 cups Sugar, brown — 2½ oz Cinnamon, stick — a pinch Nutmeg, ground — scale to taste ((½ mess kit spoon)) Cloves, whole — scale to taste ((⅓ mess kit spoon)) Gelatin, cherry flavored — 3¼ oz Water, boiling — 15⅓ tbsp Salt — about ½ tsp

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 448, Salads. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.