Crabapple Jelly Recipes

CRAB-APPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Wash and quarter apples; place in a 6-quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water; place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until very soft, 45 to 60 minutes; remove from heat. Pour into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer lined with two layers of damp cheesecloth. Gather cheesecloth; tie into a bundle. Suspend from a wooden-spoon handle set over bowl; drain, without pressing solids, 1 hour, to yield about 4 cups juice.
• Place juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes; skim foam. Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Clip on a candy thermometer; cook until the temperature reaches 220 degrees, skimming foam. Pour into jars, let cool, and keep refrigerated for up to 6 months.

MARY WYNNE'S CRABAPPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Remove stems and blossom ends from crabapples, and cut into quarters. Place them in a large stainless steel or other non-reactive pot or saucepan. Add enough water to be able to see, but no so much that the crabapples are floating. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. The apples should soften and change color.
• Strain the apples and juice through 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth. You should have at least 4 cups of juice. Discard pulp, and pour the juice back into the pan. Bring to a simmer, and let cook for 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that comes to the top. Next, stir in the sugar until completely dissolved. Continue cooking at a low boil until the temperature reaches 220 to 222 degrees F (108 to 110 C). Remove from heat.
• Pour the jelly into sterile small decorative jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a hot water bath to seal.

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).

CRABAPPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Add crabapples and water to large pot and set over high heat.
• Bring to boil; reduce heat and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, or until apples have softened and begun to break down. Gently mash any large chunks of apple with a potato masher.
• Line large colander with double thickness cheesecloth and place over large pot. Pour apple pulp into colander. Let mixture drip for about 20 minutes. Gather ends of cheesecloth together and tie tightly with all-purpose twine, making a jelly bag with hanging loop.
• Place large pot or bowl on floor between two chairs. Suspend jelly bag from broom handle, over pot, supporting broom on chairs. Allow jelly bag to drip on its own for 3 to 4 hours or overnight, until no more drips appear. Resist the urge to squeeze the jelly bag; this could cause pulp to escape bag, resulting in cloudy juice and jelly.
• Meanwhile, place 3 saucers in the freezer.
• Place 6 clean 1-cup (250 mL) Mason jars upright in a large pot. Cover jars with water; heat to 180°F (82ºC) to sterilize jars. Keep jars hot until ready to use.
• When jelly bag is no longer dripping, discard bag and apple pulp. To determine amount of sugar needed, pour extracted juice into liquid measure. Measure ¾ cup (175 mL) sugar for each cup of juice. Pour juice and sugar into pot.
• Add lemon juice to sugar mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add butter. Bring mixture to rolling boil; reduce heat to medium-high and continue to boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To test for doneness, remove saucer from freezer and drop 2 tsp (10 mL) jelly onto cold plate. Return saucer to freezer for 1 minute. Remove from freezer and push the jelly gently with finger. If jelly wrinkles, it is done. If it does not wrinkle, keep cooking jelly, testing every 5 minutes until done. Do not overcook.
• Skim any remaining foam from jelly. Using canning funnel, pour hot jelly into sterilized jars, leaving between ¼ inch (5 mm) headroom. Heat jar lids and immediately place over hot filled jars. Tighten rim onto each jar.
• Allow jelly jars to sit at room temperature for several hours to set then store in cold room or refrigerator. Alternatively, process in hot water bath following canner manufacturer's directions.

CRABAPPLE HOT PEPPER JELLY

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine crabapples with water.
• Cover and bring slowly to simmer.
• Cook until crabapples are very soft.
• Pour into a colander lined with a square of dampened cheesecloth and placed over a deep bowl.
• Weight down with a saucer and heavy can.
• Let stand until dripping stops.
• Discard pulp.
• Pour collected juice into a liquid measure.
• Add enough vinegar to make 3 cups.
• Combine in a saucepan with sugar.
• Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Add peppers, then boil briskly for 8 to 10 minutes or until set.
• Stir for 7 minutes to prevent floating peppers.
• Pour jelly into hot, sterilized 8-ounce canning jars.
• Seal with two-piece canning lids.
• Let cool, then refrigerate.
• For long-term unrefrigerated storage, process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes immediately after sealing jars.
• NOTE: To test for set, remove pan from heat.
• Dip a cold metal spoon into the liquid and hold well above the steam.
• Turn spoon sideways and let liquid run off.
• When it forms two drops that run together and drip from edge of spoon, jelling point has been reached.

CRAB APPLE JELLY

Steps:

• Wash and drain the fruit, then cut the apples in half and add to a large, heavy-based saucepan with an equal quantity of water and the pared lemon zest. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 mins until the apples are pulpy. Stir occasionally using the back of a wooden spoon to help break down the fruit.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Place the fruit pulp in a jelly bag and allow the juice to drip through into a large bowl (this will take several hours, so doing this overnight is ideal). If you force the fruit through, this will create a cloudy jelly.
• Put two small, sterilised saucers in the freezer - you will use these to test the setting point of the jam. You can sterilise the saucers by washing them in hot soapy liquid, rinsing and placing in an oven at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 5 mins. Remove carefully and allow to cool.
• Weigh the fruity liquid and return to a large saucepan. Weigh three quarters of sugar to your total liquid amount (for example, if you have 400g of liquid, add 300g of sugar).
• Add the sugar to the juice with the lemon juice, and stir over a medium heat until completely dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the fruit to the boil. Stir occasionally and allow to boil hard for about 8 mins, removing any scum with a spoon. If using a thermometer, you're looking to reach 105c. If not, check the setting point of the liquid after 8 mins by removing a saucer from the freezer and adding a teaspoon of the liquid to the plate. Allow to sit for a minute, then push your finger through the liquid. If it starts to wrinkle, the jelly is ready. If not, return to the boil and try again after another minute.
• Pour into sterilised jars and allow to cool completely. Store in a cool, dark place.