It’s apple season! I love apples! Apple Jelly is my very favorite jelly. Not only does it taste wonderful on a PB&J sandwich or toast, you can also use apple jelly as natural pectin in other jams.
Perfect, I thought! I’ll make some apple jelly to eat and use some in other recipes that need extra pectin to come together.
I got the recipe for this Apple Jelly Pectin from Wendy of SUNCHOWDER’S EMPORIA. Wendy makes beautiful artisan jams, chutneys and pickles.
Wendy made Sweet Cherry Pinot Grigio Jam with some of her apple pectin, but I’ll be making something different. I’ll post about that later.
Granny Smith Apple Jelly Recipe
You can find Wendy’s recipe here.
I had fun making this apple jelly. I got to use some new tools.
Ingredients:
4 Pounds Granny Smith Apples (whole)
5 cups sugar
6 1/2 cups water
1 Juice of large Lemon
Directions:
Scrub the apples and cut the fruit into quarters leaving the skin intact. Place them into a large dutch oven and cover with the 6 1/2 cups of water.
Bring this up to a slow boil and simmer on low for about 35 minutes (the apples should just be starting to fall apart).
Get out a container and rest your chinois inside. Pour the apple mixture into the chinois and use your wooden tool or the back of a spatula to press all the juice out of the mixture.
Isn’t this cool! I just love using the chinois!
Take this juice and strain it again. As Wendy suggested, I used a small strainer and a wet piece of cheesecloth and poured the mixture through a couple of times to ensure the jelly would be clear.
Now take 4 1/2 cups of this mixture and place it in your preserving pan--add the sugar and lemon.
Bring this mixture up to a boil and continue to hold there until your thermometer reaches 221. You can skim the mixture as you go.
Once you reach 221, shut the fire and let it rest for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, turn the fire back up to reach 221 degrees. This little rest ensures a good gel. It worked! It’s starting to gel!
Pour this mixture into 8 oz sterilized jars and add the lids and rings.
Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. If you live in a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation
Remove the canner lid and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. Then place them on the counter to sit overnight until the seals set. Listen for the ping, ping. I just love that sound.
Then the jelly is ready to be enjoyed. Don’t forget to save some to use as pectin to make another delicious jam.
I don’t know if you noticed from the photo above, but there was a lot of apple left over. I didn’t want to waste it so I got out my trusty food mill and processed the apple pulp into apple sauce.
Look at all of this delicious apple sauce. I added some cinnamon sugar and enjoyed it for several days. It was so good!
So, 4 pounds of apples turned into 7 jars of apple jelly/pectin, and a quart of apple sauce. My grandmother would be proud.
Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy
Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures.
What a great post. I'm going to try this. Good reason to finally buy the chinois I've always wanted!
ReplyDeleteAh Cathy! I am so proud and excited to see this :) You did a marvelous job and gave a great tutorial. I also make applesauce with the apples and my special secret ingredient is Boiled Cider Syrup which I use as my sweetener along with fresh lemon and spices. Thank you so much for the mention and I am so pleased that you posted this. My recipe was inspired by the famous Christine Ferber.
ReplyDeleteElwood, I think you should try making this. It's fun! I loved using the chinois.
ReplyDeleteWendy, Boiled Cider Syrup sounds delicious. I'll have to try that next time. I loved the recipe and your tip about letting it rest for 5 minutes. It really works!
What a great idea to use as pectin! I am new to the preserving process and loving it. How do I use as pectin and how much do I use? Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Mamasue, I experimented to see how much pectin to use. I am relatively new to the canning process myself so I wasn't sure either. Wendy used one jar for her Sweet Cherry Pinot Grigio Jam. I used one jar in some other jelly I made. Will post about that soon.
ReplyDelete