Crab apple jelly has always been a favorite of mine, but I haven't had any in years. My soul was indeed, sad. This year I decided enough was enough and went and picked the only crab apple tree there is in town and we made out with a pretty good bunch! After letting the boys visit their grandparents, we went home so I could get to work! Heavens knows it couldn't wait another day! (Side note, it was 9 pm!) After many requests to release my recipe, I've decided to make a tutorial! Most people shy away from making their own jellies and jams nowadays for store bought ones because they think it's an overly difficult process, but it's really not! Plus you know exactly what goes in them and gives such satisfaction and pride to see someone drooling over your delicious creation! Let's get started, shall we?
What you'll need:
*around 5 pounds of crab apples, pick them if you can find a tree or buy them pre-picked at a local farmers market*water
*1 boxes of Sure-jell fruit pectin
*9 cups of sugar
*Butter
*Jelly bag (preferred) or cheesecloth
*jars and lids
Ready to begin?
Start by removing the leaves and some stems from the crab apples, I don't stress over every stem, it's not going to make it to the jar anyway. Let soak in some warm water for a few minutes, agitating occasionally.
In a large pot, add apples and cover with water, just enough to lightly cover the top of apples and bring to a rolling boil, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Begin mashing the apples, cover and simmer another 5 minutes.
If you have a jelly bag, use it! If not, take cheese cloth and layer it over a bowl, pour the crushed apples and juice into your bag or cheesecloth and tie shut, strain out all the juice and squeeze and mash the crushed apples to get as much juice as possible without getting the pulp into your bowl. Measure out exactly 7 cups of juice, if you don't have quite enough you can substitute with water (up to 1/2 cup) but these tiny apples yield a supersizing amount of juice!
Place your juice in a sauce-pot and add one box of Sure-jell to your 7 cups of juice and add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming. Bring to a full rolling boil (boil that doesn't cease when you stir) and then begin stirring in your sugar a cup at a time. Bring back to a rolling boil and boil for exactly one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and immediately start ladling into your prepared jars, leaving 1/4 of an inch from the top of the rim. Be sure to have a wet rag ready to clean them up before sealing. Add your lids and give a water bath to seal and allow to set overnight.
Enjoy!
If you make this recipe, let me know how you like it in the comments below
Till next time!
XOXO,
Becca
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