A classic crab apple jelly recipe, with my best tips, along with step-by-step instructions and photos, to make sure your homemade jelly is perfect!
Equipment you will need
Large pot – for boiling the crab apples.
Cheese cloth – or a large piece of scrap cotton or muslin, for draining. An old pillow case works well! If using cheese cloth, buy enough to at least triple it up.
A candy thermometer – while you can make jelly without a thermometer, you will eliminate most of the guesswork from jelly making if you can accurately monitor the temperature of your jelly as it boils. Jelly needs to reach 220F in order to gel.
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use the “Cold Plate Test”. I have detailed this method in the Recipe Card below.
Clean jars, rings and lids – for canning
How to prepare crab apples for making jelly
When you get your crab apples, whether you pick them yourself or you buy a basket from a market, they will probably have stems on most of them. Crab apples will also have a noticeable blossom end.
My mother has made crab apple jelly for years and she never removes the stems or blossom end. I usually remove the stems and leave the blossom end. You can remove the stems and trim off the blossom end, if you like. It’s all good :)
I always cut the crab apples in half. Sometimes apples can be wormy and cutting in half just lets you get a look at the inside. I also find they soften in the simmering water more efficiently when cut in half.
Step-by-Step Photos
- Prepare crabapples.
- Place into large pot with water to prevent browning.
- Bring apples to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes to soften.
- Prepare draining station with a large colander lined with cheesecloth or cotton.
- Pour into colander to collect the bulk of the liquid, then tie a knot in the top of the cheesecloth and hang it from a kitchen cabinet door knob over the colander to collect the juices for a couple of hours.
- Measure the amount of juice and make a note of it.
- For every 1 cup of juice, measure out 3/4 cup of white granulated sugar and add to a metal baking pan. Set aside.
- Boil the juice in a large pot for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the sugar in the oven until very warm.
- Add hot sugar to the juice and stir just until the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring mixture to a boil and without stirring.
- Cook until the mixture, monitoring the temperature.
- Boil until the mixture reaches 220F (or passes the Cold Plate Test)
- Pour through a fine strainer to remove any foam.
- Pour into sterilized jars.
- Allow to stand without lids and undisturbed until cooled.
Good to Know
- The freshest crab apples make the best jelly, so always start with apples as fresh as possible.
- Keeping the ratio of sugar to juice is critical not only to ensure that the jelly sets, but to aid in preservation of the jelly. As such, do not reduce the amount of sugar in jellies and jams.
- Wondering why the sugar is heated? Heating the sugar brings it closer to the temperature of the heating juice, so that when it’s added, it won’t shock the juice and will dissolve more quickly. You won’t have to boil the jelly as long to reach the setting point.
- Do be sure to WATCH THE SUGAR CONSTANTLY while it is heating in the oven, to avoid it over-heating and dissolving!
- Always keep in mind that the boiling time it will take for the jelly to set will vary from kitchen to kitchen. Don’t worry about the time. Boil until it reaches 220F or passes the Cold Plate Test, however long that takes.
Top Tip!
Resist the urge to press or poke the apples while they are draining, as doing so will result in cloudy jelly. Just collect and use juice that drains naturally from the apples.
How to Test if Jelly is Set with the “Cold Plate Test”
- Place a glass plate in the freezer for about fifteen minutes before starting to make your jam.
- To test your jam, turn off burner under jam. Spoon a puddle of jam onto the cold plate from the freezer. Run your finger through the jam on the plate. If jam wrinkles along the edges next to your finger line, it is set. If it seeps back in to the space where you ran your finger through, it is not yet set.
- If jam is not set, rinse the plate with cold water and return it to the freezer. Turn the heat back on under the jam and cook for a few minutes longer then test again. Repeat until jam wrinkles when tested.
How to store and preserve crab apple jelly
Homemade crab apple jelly can be refrigerated for several months. For longer storage or room temperature storage, you MUST process the jelly by boiling water canning. You should refer to a reputable resource for canning for guidance.
What to do if the jelly didn’t set
It happens and it can happen for any number of reasons. If you have left your jelly out for 24 hours and it didn’t set, simply dump the contents back in to your pot and re-boil it until it sets (use a thermometer to cook to 220° F. or until it passes the wrinkle test, as above.
Get the Recipe: Crab Apple Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 cups crab apple juice, from 3L basket of crab apples *See Note 1 below for using different quantities of crab apples
- Cheesecloth, muslin or old (clean) cotton pillow case, for draining fruit
- 3 cups White sugar, *See Note 2 below for ratio of sugar to juice to use
- Clean jars, rings and lids
Instructions
- ** If you don't have a thermometer, place a plate in the freezer before you start making the jelly. ** If you are planning to "can" your jelly for longer, room temperature storage, be sure to sterilize your jars before filling. See the Recipe Notes below for guidance on how to sterilize jars.
- Wash the apples. You can remove the stems and cut off the blossom ends, if you like, though it's not necessary. I generally remove the stems but leave the blossom ends. You can leave the crabapples whole or cut them in half. If your apples come from a wild tree (ie. not sprayed), you may want to cut in half to make sure the inside is good. That's what I generally do.
- Place prepared apples into a large stock pot with a bit of water as you go, to prevent browning. When all the apples are prepared, add additional water, just until the water peeks through the top of the apples (if any of your apples are floating, you've got too much). Bring apples to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer the apples, without stirring, until the apples are softened, about 10-15 minutes.
- While fruit is simmering, place a large colander over a bowl or large measuring cup and line with tripled-up cheesecloth, a piece of muslin or a cotton pillow case.
- When fruit is softened, pour the apples and the liquid into prepared colander and collect the bulk of the liquid. At this point, I like to knot up the cheesecloth and hang it over an upper cabinet knob to drain for 2-3 hours. *Try not to squeeze the apples by bundling up to tightly when hanging. A "sling" effect works best. RESIST THE URGE TO POKE, PRESS OR SQUEEZE the apples to get more juice. That will make for a cloudy jelly. Just let gravity do its work and when the dripping stops, discard the pulp and the cheesecloth.
- Measure out the amount of juice you have collected and make note of how many cups of juice you have (I got 4 cups of juice out of this 3L basket of apples). Add the juice to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring, for about 20 minutes, skimming off and discarding any foam, as necessary.
- Meanwhile, measure out the sugar. You'll need 3/4 cup of sugar for every 1 cup of apple juice that you had. (So for my 4 cups of juice, I used 3 cups of sugar). Place the sugar in a metal baking pan or oven-proof bowl (or on a baking sheet, alternately) and pop into a 300° oven anywhere from 5-15 minutes to warm, stirring it around a couple of times (time in the oven will vary depending on how much sugar/oven etc., so WATCH CLOSELY. It should be hot to the touch, but not so hot it starts to melt around the edges.).
- When sugar is hot, remove from oven. Remove pot with apple juice from the heat. Stir in the hot sugar just until it is dissolved (when you can see the bottom of the pot clearly). Place the pot back on the heat and boil, WITHOUT STIRRING, until jelly reaches 220° on a candy thermometer (NOTE: For each 1000 feet of altitude above sea level, subtract 2 degrees F. For instance, at 1,000 feet of altitude, the jelly is done at 218°F; at 2,000 feet, 216°F, etc.) or until the jelly passes the cold plate test (*see Notes below for how to test).
- I like to pour the jelly through a fine sieve to strain off any foam, then pour or ladle jelly into clean or sterilized jars (if canning) and leave with lids off until cool, without moving the jars around. When jelly is almost cool, seal with lids and let stand in a sunny window, undisturbed for 24 hrs. Refrigerate or process in a boiling water canner and store.
Notes
- The amount of crab apples you start with doesn't need to be precise, as the jelly will be made by measuring out the juice and adding a ratio of sugar. I generally start with a standard 3L or 4 quart basket. I don't recommend doing too many apples at once. If you have more, do multiple batches.
- The ratio for sugar to juice is 3/4 cups of sugar for every 1 cup of juice.
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hi Lori, the paraffin wax sealing is the old-school way of preserving this jelly. As this is an old recipe (several generations handed down), this is how it was done back then vs. the more modern technique of hot water sealing. I, personally, have never hot water sealed this jelly. Someone commented here that it works just fine, though again, I haven’t tried it myself. My feeling is that hot water sealing would probably be the preferred/safer method of canning now, though I still do wonder a bit about how the heat of the hot water bath affects the “jelling”. So I guess my thinking at this point would be to try one jar with hot water sealing and then, if all goes well, do the rest of them that way and skip the paraffin. Hope that helps :)
Have been making this receipe since 2016 – BEST receipe ever!!!!
If instructions are followed, this produces a beautiful, clear jelly. From personal experience, an instant thermometer ensures the best results.
In the process of filing my receipes (still use a paper system!) and couldn’t resist another comment.
So glad to hear, Irene :) My parents have been making this jelly for decades (and their parents before them, I’m sure :) And you’re right, I love an instant read thermometer for this, too! Thanks!
I made crabapple and blackberry jelly and put in 3 sterilised bowls with no lids. Can I put I put in refrigerator and use up within 1 week.
Hi Rosaleen, yes, it will be fine in the fridge. I would cover with plastic wrap myself though, just to keep the top of the jelly from drying out.
Thanks for the excellent recipe and guide! My final product came out beautiful! I could stare at this colour all day.
Can you maybe note the cooking time in your recipe/description? I didn’t expect it to take so long to get to the jelly stage (I seriously thought my thermometer was broken) and maybe for newbies like me an indicator like that would help.
Thanks for the general sugar to juice ratio! Helped a lot compared to other recipes. :)
Hi Kelly, So glad you enjoyed it and I agree about the colour. Makes me happy just looking at it. As for the cooking time, I didn’t indicate as it really varies between kitchens, depending on how hot the sugar was (or wasn’t), the thickness of the pan etc. and I really wanted people to rely on their thermometer and not the time. That said, though, I will indicate it can take a while :) Thanks!
Hi Jennifer!
That’s a really good point. I agree with relying more on the thermometer than anything else. I’m making another batch today using your guide but I’ve steeped lavendar in at the boil apple stage, and added a cup of separately steeped flower water. Fingers crossed!
Crossed :)
When putting the simmered apples through the jelly bag, do you also pour the water that you simmered them in or scoop the apples out of the remaining water and through the water away?
Hi Mary, yes, you pour everything from the pot (water and all) through the colander.
Yes, you can freeze apple jelly.I have, and it is fine.
That is so good to know! I have never heard of anyone freezing it, so I assumed it was because it didn’t freeze well. Thanks for weighing in on this. Very helpful :)
Hello – just poured my crabapple jelly into their clean jars… I think it’s going to be lovely (passed the plate test!), wondering if they can be reboiled for sealing (your standard water bath for 15minutes for all jams) or will that ruin the setting of the jelly? Thank you ! Heading out to get more crabapples either way – !
Hi Francesca, No, I think water bath for sealing would ruin the set, as you say. I (and my Mom and her Mom) have always just sealed with a layer of parrafin wax on top once they have sat for 24 hours. I’ve never seen a jar go bad.
Thank you – thought it would ! I’ll just put in the fridge (as I’ve never done a wax seal, read up on it and I just don’t have it in me right now to venture into boiling wax… ). They set up perfectly and I’m looking forward to having it on toast/cheese/everything in a couple of days! Thanks for replying :)
Enjoy Francesca! I know the wax sounds intimidating, but you don’t actually have to boil it. Just warm it over low heat until it starts to melt. It’s actually a lot less scary than boiling sugar, for example and can extend the shelf life considerably.
So I realized at the very end that I don’t have the wax for sealing, or self sealing lids, (this is my first time making jelly), will it work just fine to put regular lids on and freeze the jelly instead?
Thanks! ☺
Hi Mary, I wouldn’t freeze it. I’m not sure it would stand up to freezing. I’ve never done it, nor do I recall my Mom doing it. It may, but may not. Jelly is a little more fragile than jams. So I would suggest just leaving your jars with lids on until you can get some wax. It’s easy to find this time of year in with the canning stuff. Then just melt the wax and pour a little on top of the jelly (about a 1/4-inch layer). Put the lids on and then you can store at room temperature for quite some time.
I have been reading the comments about the jelly not setting after many attempts at reheating. I was wondering rather than throw it out couldn’t it be used as a syrup on pancakes or bread like my Mom used to make the chokecherry syrup when we were kids?
Hi Maggie and absolutely, I would never throw it out!! In any form (set or not), it is still delicious and could definitely be used as a sauce (perhaps warmed and thickened with a bit of cornstarch, for example).
Success! Was quite well set after 24 hours and perfect after about 30. My parents, my kids, and my wife all loved it. Looking forward to making a larger batch next year.
Thanks!
Yay! Nothing nicer than fresh apple jelly :) So glad you are enjoying it. Thanks for coming back to let me know.
It’s been nearly 24 hrs and jelly was still soup so figured I’d not left it boiling long enough… rookie mistake I suppose. Anyways, it went back into the pot and this time I paid more attention to your batch testing instructions and I am confident I got it right this time. The jelly passed the plate wrinkle test and is a much richer colour, orange due to the gold crab and rose hip mix.
Hopefully in 24 hrs I can explain to my wife why I had to commandeer a pair of her pantyhose (my cheesecloth substitute).
Will let you know how it works out. In the mean time I think I’m going to try that gouda and pear grilled cheese recipe you’ve posted.
Happy Eating.
It’s always hard to know when it’s boiled long enough :) And lol about the pantyhose! Enjoy that sandwich.
Thanks for the recipe and tips!
Tried this tonight with some apples I picked with my son earlier today. So far so good but whether or not it jells remains to be seen. I discovered a golden harvest crab apple tree in the bush lot behind my house so the jelly isn’t red but still a pleasing colour. I threw in a few wild rose hips just because… hopefully this won’t be problematic.
First time making jelly or using any of these ingredients. If this one is a success there’s a Mountain Ash in my backyard I’ll be looking at harvesting.
Thanks again.
Thanks Alex :) We have a golden crab in our yard here and my Dad made jelly out of it one year. It was yellow, but still tasty. Love your idea to add rose hips!
Well Jennifer, last night I said RIP to my crabapple jelly as it went down the sink drain ! I tried a third time to resurrect it with more pectin but that didn’t work, so it had to have been the sugar. I’m going out today to raid the tree again and I’ll try another batch – WITH SUGAR !!
That’s too bad. You will have much better luck with the sugar!
Thanks Jennifer, yes that helps a lot ! Now I know not to use the Stevia. It said on the package that it could be used in place of sugar in the amount of cup for cup. I did question myself as I poured it in because it’s so light and fluffy that it didn’t make the juice any thicker even though I boiled it longer. I’m going to try one more time to salvage the four jars I’ve made by adding another package of liquid pectin. I’m going to use this recipe again for a second batch but I’m going to use white sugar. I’ll only use the jelly on toast so it’s not like I’m going to be eating copious amounts of sugar. I guess it worked for the raspberry jam because there was no cooking involved.
I’m sure you’ll have much better luck with the sugar and as you say, it seems like a lot of sugar, but the amount you actually eat per sitting is so small :) Enjoy!
I tried this recipe as I found an abandoned property with the biggest, reddest crabapples I’ve ever seen . I did everything according to your instructions but woke up this morning to find my jars full of runny jelly. I was going to try reheating it and adding some pectin but I don’t know how much to add – your recipe just says “you can add some pectin”. I had left the syrup on boil for a lot longer than the recipe suggested because my freezer tests kept showing that it wasn’t setting. At one point it seemed to be OK so I put it into the jars and left it overnight to set. It tastes really good so I’m hoping I can salvage it, although by the time I put it in jars, I had started with 8 cups of juice and so much boiled off that I only had enough for 3 6 oz. jars and 1 4 oz. jar. If I can make this work I’m going to go back for a second load of apples. The tree is so full that the branches are hanging on the ground and nobody is picking these things ! I would like to make as much jelly as possible to give to our local Food Bank.
Hi Susan, Something seems off that you would start with 64 oz of juice (plus sugar) and only end up with 20 oz of jelly. For 8 cups of juice, you would have needed 6 cups of sugar. Is that what you added? Just trying to figure out if there is enough sugar in the jelly you have now to try reboiling.
Thanks Jennifer. I did use 6 cups of sugar, BUT – I’ve been wondering if this is the problem. I used Stevia instead of regular sugar – I’m trying to keep refined sugar out of my diet. The Stevia is a much finer product, almost like icing sugar. Now I’m wondering if these sugar substitutes cannot be used for jellies? I found a huge crop of wild raspberries in August and made about 20 jars of freezer jam with them, using the Stevia, and it worked out beautifully. I did pour my jelly back into the pot yesterday, reboiled it and added a packet of liquid pectin then a rolling boil for 30 seconds only which was the instruction on the pectin. I rebottled the jelly and left the jars to set. After 5 or 6 hours I checked them – they looked like they had set but in fact they were only slightly thicker than my original batch. So frustrating! Right now the jelly is still in jars in the refrigerator – I don’t know whether it will withstand a third processing and if I am to try a third one, what should I add this time?
Hi Susan, Stevia is definitely your problem. There are ways to make jam or jelly with stevia, but you can’t just replace sugar with stevia in a regular recipe. It won’t work. To start, stevia won’t gel on it’s own, like sugar. So you’d need to use a commercial pectin always. Your best bet would be to find a jelly recipe specifically designed for stevia and use it as a guide for your crabapple jelly. So long story short, if you want to salvage the juice you’ve boiled, you could try again with more pectin and see if you can get to something usable that way. Hope that helps :)