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Old Fashioned Apple Jelly Recipe

A green cooking apple growing in our garden

A green cooking apple

This morning I decided to make apple jelly with the apples that our friend Anne Mary gave us last week. They are now in the jelly bag, left to drip for the rest of the day. (What is a “jelly bag”? See tips and tricks below).

We always use cooking apples for apple jelly so that it is not too sweet and much more adaptable. For years I only thought of jelly as an accompaniment to meat. The jars opened and enjoyed but usually lost in the depths of the fridge. I cringe now at the thought of the great jellies that must have been wasted on us.

Over the past couple of years we have begun to discover the breadth of the jelly repertoire. Initially, we worked hard trying to make jelly with a good flavour, rather than the ultra sweet stuff that I remember as a child. I asked all my clients for tips. Armed with this unique knowledge, (most of them are good, inventive cooks) and a lot of experimentation we have finally made a small range of jellies that we think are good. This delicate apple jelly is one of the stars.

As we had all these pots of jelly crowding out the larder we were forced to become adventurous. We found that a decent dollop of a stronger jelly in a stew lifted the flavours. We ate it with cheese. We used it in casseroles, as a sauce base for pork and chicken and stirred it into hearty winter soup. We even tried in stir fries (great with a chicken or duck.

We found that dark meat and game cry out for a slightly stronger jelly, such as our damson or wild plum. We also make a punchy sloe and Bramley jelly which adds an extra fillip to a pheasant or venison dish. If we run out of the more raunchy jelly, Danny adds a slug of sloe gin, although I prefer the sharper fruity effect of damson gin. A dash of sloe or damson gin is super in stews, sauces and gravy. You can’t taste the alcohol, just a deep, mellow flavour.

Old Fashioned Apple Jelly Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds/1.8 kilos of cooking apples (windfalls are fine for this recipe)
  • 2 UK pints/1140ml/5 cups of water
  • Grated rind and juice of one large lemon
  • White granulated sugar (the amount depends on the volume of juice extracted from the simmered, drained fruit. 1 pint/500ml/2 1/2 cups of juice to 1 pound/454gms of sugar. I always make sure that I have a 2 kilo bag of sugar in the larder, just in case I fancy making jelly)

Method:

  1. Wash the apples, cut out bad bits and chop roughly. There is no need to peel and core the apples.
  2. Carefully grate the lemon zest from the lemon (we use a zester but a fine grater will do. Try to avoid including the pith as this would make the jelly bitter).
  3. Place fruit and lemon zest in a large deep heavy bottomed saucepan, or preserving pan. Add the water and bring gently Bring gently to the boil and simmer very gently until all the fruit is soft and mushy (roughly 25 minutes, depending upon how ripe the fruit is).
  4. Pour the cooked fruit through sterilised muslin. (How do I sterilise muslin? See tips and tricks below). The muslin is often referred to as a “jelly bag”. We use tall buckets to catch the drips from the jelly bags. Rather than hang the bags (conventional method-between two stools) I find it easier to line a large plastic sieve with the muslin. This clips neatly onto the top of a clean bucket. The sieve is covered with a clean tea cloth to protect against flies, as the jelly bag generally drips overnight.
  5. Measure the apple juice the next day and pour it into a deep heavy bottomed saucepan. Add 454g/1 pound of white granulated sugar for each 570ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups of juice.
  6. Add the juice of the lemon.
  7. Heat the juice and sugar gently, stirring from time to time. Make sure that that all the sugar has dissolved before bringing the liquid slowly to the boil. Continue to boil for about five minutes before testing for a set. (What is testing for a set? See tips and tricks below).
  8. Toss in a nugget of butter towards the end to reduce the frothing that often occurs.
  9. When jelly has reached setting point pour into warm sterilised jars using a funnel and ladle. (How do I sterilise jars? See tips and tricks below).
  10. Cover immediately with plastic lined screw top lids or cellophane tops secured with a rubber band.
    Label when cold and store in a cool, dark place. Away from damp. (My jelly is too liquid. See Tricks and tips below)

Tips and tricks:

  • What is a jelly bag?
    A jelly bag is traditionally a piece of muslin but it can be cheesecloth, an old thin tea cloth or even a pillowcase. The piece needs to be about 18″ square. When your fruit is cooked and ready to be put in the jelly bag, lay your cloth over a large bowl. Pour the fruit into the centre of the cloth and tie the four corners together so that they can be slung on a stick to drip over the bowl. Traditionally a stool is turned upside down, the stick is rested on the wood between the legs and the jelly bag hangs over the bowl. We experimented and now line a sieve with muslin, place it over a bucket and cover the lot with clean tea cloths (against the flies).
  • How do I sterilise muslin/the jelly bag?
    Iron the clean jelly bag with a hot iron. This also works with tea cloths.
  • What is Jam “set” or “setting point”?
    Getting the right set can be tricky. I have tried using a jam thermometer but find it easier to use the following method. Before you start to make the jam, put a couple of plates in the fridge so that the warm jam can be drizzled onto a cold plate (when we make jam we often forget to return the plate to the fridge between tests, using two plates means that you have a spare cold plate). Return the plate to the fridge to cool for approx two minutes. It has set when you run your finger through it and leave a crinkly track mark. If after two minutes the cooled jam is too liquid, continue to boil the jam, testing it every few minutes until you have the right set. The jam is far more delicious if it is slightly runny.
  • How do I sterilise jam jars?
    We collect jars all year round for our jelly, chutney and jam making sessions. I try to soak off labels and store the clean jars and metal plastic coated screw-top lids in an accessible place. The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the jam, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (140c fan-assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.

 


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104 Comments

  1. John Dobby

    Love this recipe! – beautifully described by the author and always works a treat.

  2. Steve Mortimer

    Useful additions to your apple jelly are:-
    Lemon Verbena leaves
    Sage
    Rosemary
    Mint sauce
    Port
    Chilli flakes

  3. I noticed you did not water bath the jelly. Some recipes I have seen require 5 minute processing time . Will it effect the jelly if I decide to water bath ?

  4. David Lewis

    For the last couple of years I’ve been adding Port to my apple jelly towards the end just before setting point is reached. Amount added is personal preference but I add until I think the taste is to my liking. The result is to die for and a tablespoon on a couple of duck breasts in the pan results in duck that is positively sinful! Yield though is only about 50% of what I make as various friends, relatives and neighbours have almost addictive habits to this jelly. It’s not too shabby on venison either!

  5. I have trouble getting my jelly to set so today I poured a whole bottle of Pectin in the pot, not sure yet if it will set . I’m now going to make another lot so il follow your recipe . A lemon didn’t help my previous job lot ??

  6. Collette McDonald

    We all love apple jelly in my family. I make it with extra lemon juice and some cloves. I use about 20 cloves ( NOT GARLIC !! ) with the quantities in your recipe. The lemon and clove taste is lovely at Christmas.

  7. I put a tablespoon of dried chilli flakes in mine. Makes it look beautiful in the jars.

    • Fiona Nevile

      Ah yes good idea. We do have a recipe for apple chilli jelly on the site. Surprisingly you need quite a lot of chilli flakes to effect the taste

  8. David Benjamin

    Hello again. Like Katrinas I was surprised at how little juice I had after an overnight strain. Just 1.5 pints from 2 pints of water and 4lb of apples. The fruit in the muslin was still very wet but couldn’t be strained without solid matter passing through the muslin. I didn’t want to waste it. Solution I put it through a potato ricer into a Pyrex bowl, added 2 tablespoons of sugar and covered with a crumble mix. What a result delicious crumble and pink apple jelly.
    Thank you

  9. David Benjamin

    Hello I made some apple jelly loosely following your recipe. It is delicious. A happy accident was to strain through a muslin cloth which I previously strained blackberries through yesterday. This has given the jelly a wonderful clear pink colour.
    David

  10. kate red

    The recipe has conflicting amounts of liquid to sugar, namely: 500ml amd 570ml to 454g. Which is the correct?

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