Description
A sweet apple jelly with the flavor of apple pie.
Ingredients
Scale
- 24 cups of crab apples or other tart apples (8 lbs.)
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 4 cups of organic sugar
- 2 teaspoon sweet cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
Instructions
- Wash the crab apples. Sort them for any imperfections or bruises. Remove the stem and blossom ends and cut them in half. If you are using other tart apples, quarter them, after removing the stem and blossom end. No need to remove the seeds and cores. They will add extra pectin. Cut out any bruises or bad spots. Add water and the apples to an 8 quart pot. Simmer on low heat until the crabapples are soft.
- Mash the apples with a potato masher to release as much juice as possible.
- Wet a cloth or jelly bag and wring out excess moisture. Line a colander with the wet cloth or use a jelly funnel. (I use a gauze diaper, purchased specifically for kitchen use.) Pour the cooked and mashed crabapples through the cloth, catching the juice in a clean bowl. Tie up and suspend the cloth over the bowl to catch the drips. Leave it overnight. Don’t squeeze the cloth or your jelly will be cloudy.
- Add the juice, at least 7 cups, to a large sauce pan. Add lemon juice and sugar. Bring the juice, lemon juice, and sugar to a full rolling boil. Boil for 15 to 18 minutes until the liquid passes the gel test.
- Remove from the heat. Skim off any foam.
- Pre-warm the jelly jars by washing in hot water. While still hot, pour into 7 — 250 ml/ 1 cup jelly jars. Cap with sterilized lids and rings. Tighten rings until finger tight. Process the apple jelly in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the water and cool on a tea towel for a few hours or overnight. Jelly will solidify while the jars cool. Sometimes it takes a few days for the jelly to become more solid. Don’t despair. If it passed the gel test, it will gel when it is cool.
