Crabapple Jelly. This has been a recipe myself, my sister and grandmother have spent countless summers making. Back when my grandmother lived in saskatoon, she had a massive crabapple tree. Like humongous, that had so many apples we had no idea what to do with them all. I personally love a tart crapapple, however you can only eat so many before you grow tired of them. Instead, we would round up the nice dark apples, along with the more white, or under-ripe ones. These white ish ones have more pectin, which are crucial to the jelly.
Making the jelly in her small kitchen was a lot more messier than in our larger kitchen, but we still use the same methods.
We would pick, core, and cute each apple in half and throw it into a large pot with water and a spice pouch, and boil it! We have this massive canning pot that we used at our grandmothers place, whose only purpose is this jelly.
The apples start to get a bit mashed up, so we strain them into a pillow case with a large bowl underneath and leave it to hand overnight. In the morning you end up with beautiful amber juices that have a pungent smell of clove and cinnamon.
Next is the unhealthy bit. To see how much sugar you need, you add 3 tbsp of ethyl alcohol to 1 tbsp of your juice in a small bowl and let sit 1 minute. Lift the jelly out with a spoon, if it forms one solid jelly ball that can be lifted with a spoon add 1 C sugar to 1 C juice. If it forms flakes add ¾ C sugar to 1 C juice and will have to boil it longer. Mine formed a solid jelly ball as seen below.
Next measure out your sugar, and if you get as much juice as me- it's gonna be ALOT.
I got 24 C of juice, therefore I needed 24 C of white sugar. I went through roughly 6 kg of it!!
Next boil the sugar and the juice together until it reaches 220, or by taking a small spoonful of syrup and letting it cool one min on the spoon and pour over the pot. When the jelly is set it should come together or gel on the spoon and drop off in 1-2 drops or as a sheet.
Meanwhile sterilize the jars by putting them in a shallow baking pan with 2-3 inches of water, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and place on a dry clean cloth, with them facing upside down. We will use the same water to sterilize the seals of the jars.
Once the jelly is done, pour it into the prepared jars and put the sterilized seal overtop. Lightly screw on the outer rim, you don't want it too tight, and let it sit. You should hear a pop when the jars seal themselves. Store in a cool area for up to one year, as long as the seal is still intact. Enjoy with roast chicken and potatoes or risotto, or even in a sandwich!
CRABAPPLE JELLY
Prep time: 3-4 hours, and overnight for draining of the juices
Makes: depends on the number of apples you have, 6L cored crabapples = 24 C of juice= 24 C jelly
Instructions:
Core crabapples by cutting in half and removing bottom and top stems. Throw in pot with enough water to just cover the fruit. Add in a small pouch with cinnamon, allspice berries, whole clove and small chunks of fresh ginger. Boil until the fruit is soft (about 15 minutes at a boil), stir occasionally.
Place a large pillow case inside of a very large pot or bowl. Remove spice pouch from pot and rinse off, set aside. Drain fruit into the pillowcase to act as a strainer and using a cord elevate sack such that the fruit juices drain into the bowl. Put the small spice pouch in the draining juices. Leave overnight.
Following morning test 1 tbsp of the fruit juice combined with 3 tbsp ethyl alcohol and let sit for 1 min. If it forms one solid jelly ball that can be lifted with a spoon add 1 C sugar to 1 C juice. If it forms flakes add ¾ C sugar to 1 C juice and you may have to boil it longer.
Add sugar and juice to a large pot, bring to boil and let boil until internal temp is 220 or by taking a small spoonful of syrup and letting it cool one min on the spoon and pour over pot. When the jelly is set it should come together or gel on the spoon and drop off of it in 1-2 drops or in a sheet.
Boil canning jars upside down in a small shallow dish of water for 15 minutes, then remove leaving the inside mouth of the jar face down on a tea towel. When jelly is ready leave sealing tops in the hot water for 1 minute. Pour jelly in jar and top with the sealer (wipe the top if jelly spilled), place ring not too tightly around the mouth and leave to seal.
Store in a cool dry place for up to a year, as long as the seal is still intact.
