Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Crab-Apple Jelly




Apple are in season

There are a lot of crabapple trees in the region.
What better time to make some jelly.








9 lbs crab-apples, 
quartered with skin and seeds

(I remove the black end and any brown marks on the apple.)
 The skin and seeds contain a lot of pectin.


9 cups cold water

1/4 cup lemon juice

(6 cups sugar is added after the 
apples are cooked and drained.)


In a large pot bring the crabapples, 
water and lemon juice to a boil

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.




Place apples and juice in a jelly bag

or: a colander lined with at least 4 layers of cheesecloth 
 placed over a large bowl.

Let the apple mixture drain overnight or at least 5 hrs, 
without crushing or squeezing the fruit.






To hang my bags
I hooked it to my cupboard doors.
I had 2 bags hanging and
one colander dripping in a bowl.



After the dripping is finished,
measure the juice.
You should get about 8 cups of juice.
 If the amount of juice is different,
 count about 3/4 cup of sugar for
 each 1 cup juice.
In a large pot bring the crabapple juice and sugar to a boil
Simmer until a candy thermometer reads 220 deg. F.
or until it has reached the jelly stage.
Skim carefully while cooking.
I use these small strainers for skimming.
They work really well.





Simmer until 220 degrees F.


Place in sterilized jars. 


Optional:
To flavour the jelly, you can add 1/2tsp of ground cinnamon while cooking.
This jelly is delicious served with pork or lamb.





I 've never made jelly before. This is my first time. I wanted to do something with all the apples I have. After researching recipes on the Web and  my old canning books, I've come up with this method and it gave me good results. 



Thanks for your visit xo








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