Thursday, October 31, 2013

Crab Apple Jelly

Ten years ago a church friend gave us a jar of lip smacking good crab apple jelly.  Dear hubby liked the jelly so much that we decided to grow crab apple trees.  In the spring we planted two crab apple trees but they soon disappeared when deer tore them up...we never saw a bloom.

Flash forward.

On my birthday this year we took a walk around our property and I saw something glistening red in the distance.  We stopped, looked, then exclaimed, crab apples, yay!  What a sweet birthday surprise, to see a crab apple tree loaded with fruit and just begging to be made into jelly.  (I think my husband was the real winner here).

I told my neighbor about our great tree find, and he said they have a crab apple tree and we could pick as many as we wanted.  Dear hubby and son picked most of the apples, which left more time for me to prepare the fruit.


Crab apples!


We took the stems off because dear hubby tasted one and said it was bitter. 



Cleaned and washed




In large saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to simmer.



When fruit is mushy, squish the fruit with a potato masher to release the juice.




Use 4 layers of cheese cloth and drain pulp.




I covered mine, and let it sit until it was finished dripping.
 Save the juice, this is what you will be using to make your jelly.




Sterilize jars




If you are using pectin, follow the directions that came with the package. 

Sure Jell *MCP Pectin Crab Apple Jelly

5 cups prepared crab apple juice (see pictures above)
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 box of pectin
1/2 teaspoon of margarine

In 6 or 8 quart saucepan add crab apple juice, pectin and margarine, then stir.  Bring to a full boil on high heat.  Stir in sugar quickly and return to a full rolling boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into prepared jars filling to 1/8 inch of top.  Wipe jar rims and threads then screw bands tightly.

I did not give my jelly a water bath.

Invert jars for 5 minutes and then turn them back over.  Keep away from cold and drafts until sealed.  You will hear the pinging sound of the lids sealing.  Tap on the lid after they are cooled to make sure they are sealed.


*MCP pectin.  Ok, I asked dear hubby to buy Sure Jell, and this is what he came home with.  I've never heard of MCP pectin and normally do not advocate anything processed, but after researching it, there is hope that this stuff is helpful for cancer treatment.  MCP stands for Modified Citrus Pectin.  The pectin is chemically altered to make the molecules smaller which enables it to be absorbed into the bloodstream.  For further information, Modified Citrus Pectin, American Cancer Society

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