Crab Apple Jelly Food

CRAB APPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Prepare your apples by washing, removing the stems and cutting off the blossom ends. You can leave whole or cut 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 did.
• Place prepared apples into a large stock pot and add water, just until it just peeks through the top of the apples (if any of your apples are floating, you've got too much). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, without stirring, until apples are softened, 10-15 minutes.
• While fruit is simmering, place a large colander over a bowl and line with tripled-up cheesecloth, a piece of muslin or a cotton pillow case.
• When fruit is tender, pour into prepared colander and leave to drain for 2-3 hours. RESIST THE URGE TO POKE, PRESS OR SQUEEZE the pulp to get more juice. It will make for a cloudy jelly. Just let gravity do it's work and discard the pulp when draining stops.
• Measure out the amount of juice and make note of how many cups of juice you have (I got 3 cups of juice out of this 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 any foam, as necessary.
• Meanwhile, measure out sugar. You'll need 3/4 cup of sugar for every cup of apple juice that you had. (So if you had 4 cups of juice, you'll need 3 cups of sugar). Place the sugar in a stainless steel or oven-proof bowl (or on a baking sheet, alternately) and pop into a 300° oven anywhere from 5-15 minutes, 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. Place the pot back on the heat and WITHOUT STIRRING, boil for 5-8 minutes, until jelly reaches 220° on a thermometer or passes the cold plate test*.
• Ladle jelly into clean jars and leave with lids off until almost cool (without moving jars around). When jelly is almost cool, seal with lids. Let stand in a sunny window, undisturbed for 24 hrs. Wax and store.

CRAB APPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Wash the crab apples. Remove the stalks and cut off the bottom and any bad parts.
• Put the crab apples in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately half an hour.
• Strain the pulp. Crab apple jelly is normally strained through muslin, which results in a clear jelly and leave it overnight.
• Measure the juice and add the sugar. To every 4 cups of juice add 3 cups of sugar. Squeeze the lemon and add to the juice and sugar. Boil the jelly. Skim off any white froth that forms on the surface - this is the stuff that makes the jelly cloudy - so the more you can get rid of, the clearer your jelly will be.
• Once the jelly starts the thicken, test it every couple of minutes on the back of a cold spoon. If it sets, it's ready. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.
• Tightly seal while still slightly warm. Store in a cool, dark and dry place.
• 250g or 8.oz will make approximately 200ml, 6.7 fl oz of jelly).

CRAB APPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Remove both stem and blossom ends from crab apples. Do not peel or core.
• In a large pot, bring crab apples and water to cover to boil.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until softened.
• Using potato masher, crush crab apples; cook for 5 minutes longer.
• Suspend jelly bag or layered cheese cloth over a large bowl and secure (I used clothes pins).
• Fill with crab apples; let drip, without squeezing, for about 2 hours or until juice measures 6-1/2 cups (1.625 L), adding up to 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) water if necessary.
• In very large pot, bring juice with sugar to full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; boil for 15 to 18 minutes or until gel stage (122F). This may take much longer than 18 minutes.
• To test gel stage, freeze several small plates. Put 1 tsp liquid on cold plate and return to freezer for one minute. (Remove pot from heat while testing). At gel stage, surface should wrinkle when pushed with finger. If not, continue cooking and test again in a few minutes.
• A second test for gel stage is to dip a cold, metal spoon in liquid and see if it sheets off when lifted to drip.
• It sounds complicated, but it seems to work out whether the tests work for you or not.
• When gel stage is reached, remove from heat and skim off foam.
• Using funnel, fill hot 1-cup (250 mL) canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch (5 mm) headspace. Cover with prepared lids. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 10 minutes (or not, I don't bother).
• Turn upside on counter for 12-24 hours and then test seals.