Get the Recipe: Crab Apple Jelly
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!
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, sterilized if canning
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.
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 922kcal, Carbohydrates: 237g, Protein: 0.3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g, Sodium: 15mg, Potassium: 338mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 231g, Vitamin A: 3IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 0.5mg
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