Crab Apple Jelly or Concorde Grape Jelly

 

 

 

You have to try this jelly recipe if you are gifted or buy a container of crab apples or dark purple  concord grapes. It is so easy and you do not need to buy pectin for the jelly as there is plenty in the fruit.

My mother brought me a box of concorde grapes one day when she dropped in to see me on her way home from the grocery store. She was subtely keeping me busy as I was about 5 months along in my first pregnancy. We lived in a little house just outside of Oromocto New Brunswick that belonged to the Irvings. Our rent was 125.00 a month. It was like a little cottage house and the Irving gas station was in the front yard. Both the Gas station and the house have since been tore down.

Once I made the grape jelly and it turned out so well, David, myself and the baby in the belly, who we named Julia, took a little hike down the street to an abandoned farm house which had a few crab apple trees. We filled a backpack and went back home to make the apple jelly. The cumbersome part is straining the mush to retrieve the jelly. We had that jelly on many english muffins. That was our favorite in those days. 

You will need sterilized jam jars, cheesecloth or an old clean tea towel, ladle, sugar, pot and water.

To sterilize jam jars place clean jars and lids in the oven on a pan at 275F for 30 minutes. You should put warm jelly in warm jars. Never put cold into a hot jar.

 

Ingredients: crab apples, water and granulated sugar.

 

1.      Wash and put cut fruit into a large pot. You can leave the stems and seeds.

2.      Fill the pot with water just to cover the top of the fruit.

 

 

3.      Boil until the fruit is quite mushy - you may need to add a small amount of extra water. Use a large pot.

4.      Once the boiled fruit is mushy, strain the juice and fruit through 5-6 layers of cheesecloth or an old clean tea towel that you do not care if it gets stained.

 

 

5.      Allow the clear juice to strain and measure your juice then pour the juice back into the pot.

6.      Put an equal amount of granulated sugar into the pot and begin to boil. For example if you get 2 cups of juice add 2 cups of granulated sugar.

7.      Keep at a full rolling boil for about 3 – 5 minutes.  You will notice the juice is starting to appear to gel on the stir spoon. Turn the heat off and begin to skim off any foamy stuff that clings to the side of the pot. Put it into a bowl or container next to you to discard later. You may need to reheat the juice if it gets sticky. This discard will also appear to gel so you will know it is ready for the jars. If the discard seems very liquid, reheat for another coupleof minutes.You can see just a little foamy substance that needs to be skimmed off the top in the picture.

 

8.      Use your ladle to put the skimmed off clear juice/jelly into the prepared sterilized jam jars.

Cover with the lid and twist on snugly. You may find the jars and lids hot so protect your hands.

9.  Allow to cool, you will hear the mason jar lids make a popping sound.

Your jelly will be cooled and sealed within a few hours. Check the lids as they may need to be tightened. Leave it on the counter overnight.

I store the jelly in the spare fridge. If you want to store in a cool place other than a fridge, consider sealing your jelly with parrafin wax. Just melt the wax in a pot on the stove, and poor over the jelly. It will seal and protect it. (Be mindful not to leave the wax unattended while heating.) Then you can place the lids on the jars.

 

Some jelly tips: you can add a few cranberries to the fruit if you want to improve the intensity of the colour to the crabapple jelly. Some apples are green in colour so instead of using food colouring, cranberries not only improve colour they add a little tartness to the jelly. You can also use this method to make Concord grape jelly. There is enough natural pectin so you do not need to buy a commercial pectin source.