Thursday, October 31, 2013

Apple Jelly

Apple Jelly
(4 half pints)


Ingredients:

5 lb. Apples (see note)
5 cup Water
3 cup Sugar
¼ tsp. Crystalline Ascorbic Acid

Directions:

Wash apples and remove stem & blossom ends. Cut apples into wedges (no need to core or peel) and place in the water of a large sauce pan. Over medium heat, bring apples to a boil and gently cook for about 20 minutes or until very soft. Line a colander with 2 layers of cheesecloth and suspend over a stainless steel bowl (china bowl works too). Place the cooked apples into the cheesecloth and let drip several hours or until apples are dry. This should yield 4 cups of apple juice. If need to be press apples to yield more juice but do it through a new piece of cheesecloth. In a stainless steel pot, combine the apple juice, sugar and ascorbic acid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Heat to 220 degrees or until mixture sheets on the back of a metal spoon. Remove pan from heat and spoon off any froth before filling jars within ½ inch of top. Make sure the jars have in sterilized and are warm before adding mixture. Wipe rims with a clean cloth and pour the melted wax on top to a thickness of 3/8 inch (approximately) and let cool. Once cooled, put lid on jar and store in a dark cool place. After opening a jar, please refrigerate.

Note: To seal with paraffin wax, please be careful. Place a small to medium sauce on the stove top with an inch of water in it. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Place a disposable foil pie pan on top of the sauce pan. Cut one slab of wax (4 in a box) into several pieces and carefully place them in the pie pan. The heat will melt the wax. Once all the wax in the pie pan has melted, carefully pour over the apple butter in the jars. Repeat the process until all the jars are sealed.

Note: To sterilize jars, you can place them in boiling water for a few minutes. USDA guidelines suggest 15 minutes of boiling for the jars. Be sure to use only clean equipment when making jellies or canning other products.


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