Bramley’s Seedling apple atop a jar of subtle sweetness
Apple Jelly Recipe (As You Like It)
In the world of making homemade jams and jelllies, apple jelly is the starter kit. It’s your paper airplane, your pencil and paper, your tin roof sundae, your khakis and tees, your clean palate. Simplicity sets it apart; adapability provides its charm. After I waxed on about its virtures in Jam Up and Jelly Tight, I forgot to share the apply jelly recipe. Here it is.
(I’ve made some updates to the recipe since the first post, including adding greater detail and reducing the batch size which tends to set the jelly more reliably.)
Fresh Apple Jelly Recipe
- 3-4 pounds apples
- 4-5 cups of water
- 3 cups sugar
- juice of one lemon
- Add: herbs & spices of your choosing
Day 1: Prepare apples for juicing
- Mix and match your favorite apples (tart and sweet)
- Rinse clean
- Remove stems
- Chop apples (skins, seeds and all) into halves, then quarter each half
- Place apples into heavy stock pan
- Add water
- Simmer until apples are soft (30-45 minutes)
- Remove from heat, let cool
- Drain apple mixture in a seive or cheescloth to separate liquid from apples
- Give it a couple hours to drain
- Light pressure on the sieve, returns a less cloudy jelly
- Refrigerate liquid overnight.
Day 2: Making the Jelly in Small Batches
- Measure 4 Cups of juice into heavy stock pan
- Slowly bring up heat to simmer
- Add 3 Cups of sugar (3/4 C sugar for each cup of juice)
- Add lemon juice
- Simmer
- Add favorite spices to taste (or don’t)
- Combos I’ve used below with great results:
- bay leaf & cinnamon stick
- rosemary (fantastic alone and my favorite)
- rosemary & dried cranberries
- allspice berries & whole cloves
- spearmint (peppermint, not so much)
- Continue to simmer until your reach 22o degrees for the jelly set
- If no thermometer, try the spoon test when you have to wait until the jelly mixture hangs on the spoon (when turned sideways) before dripping off, thickening as it cools. Here’s a link of what the spoon sheet test should look like.
- Put mixture into jars leaving 1-inch space from top
- Process in a waterbath to seal (10 minutes)
- When cool, the jelly sets in the jars
- Any leftover jelly in the pan can go on the biscuits you are about to make.
This jelly makes a great glaze on meats or pastries as well.