Apple Jelly

I really enjoy nothing more than pottering around in my kitchen and finding new projects to bake, preserve or cook. So what could I make on a very cold rainy day I ask?

A close friend of mine kindly gave me a recipe for Apple Jelly and it’s SO good and such an easy recipe, I just have to share this with you. I know the word ‘Jelly Bag’ comes into equation here but please don’t let this put you off by any means. You can always buy a cheap ‘Jelly bag’ or make one and simply hang it to drip from the legs of an upturned stool or chair with a bowl placed underneath to catch all those precious juices, (I started my preserve the day before to let all those juices drip through overnight, as you can view from the picture on the left.)

Although I was pleased with the outcome of this preserve, I felt I’d left to many air bubbles in the jelly when potting up - eek. Next time I will remember to tap the jars to help overcome this problem. I do hope you’ll try this recipe out and please leave feedback to how it went.

Thanks to my friend Maureen for kindly sharing this recipe with me.

Apple Jelly

Sweet and tart, with a gorgeous coral colour, this jelly is easy to make.

This jelly is great with pork instead of applesauce. It can be used wherever you would use redcurrant jelly. Once opened it must be stored in the fridge.

Ingredients

900g (2 lb) cooking apples or Granny Smith apples

600ml (1 pint) Cold water

450g (1 lb) white sugar per 600ml (1 pint) juice

Juice of 2 lemons

Chop the apples, skin, seeds and all and place in a large heavy based saucepan. Add the cold water to cover and bring to a simmer (cover the pan with a lid as you don’t want to loose to much liquid). Simmer until it is pulpy. Strain in a jelly bag (never squeeze the bag or the jelly will be cloudy) I leave it to drip overnight.

Measure the juice and return to a large clean saucepan and add the lemon juice. Heat the juice, add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, (I sometimes cheat and use sugar with added pectin) and boil rapidly. You will see the rather cloudy juice change and go the most beautiful coral colour. Carry on boiling until setting point is reached - 105 degrees centigrade - skim if necessary and ladle into hot dry sterilised bottles. Seal immediately. You will hear the "buttons" on the lids pop in as the jelly cools. Store in a cool dark place.

Note: You can boil the pulp a second time but only add half the quantity of water. Put back into the jelly bag to drip away and collect with the rest of the apple juice. Pectin in apples is high which allows for a second boiling of the pulp.

Quantity: 450g (1 lb) sugar should make 750g 1 2/3 lb Jelly
900g (2 lb) sugar should make 1.5kg (3 1/3 lb) Jelly