How to Make Apple Jelly from Homegrown Apples

When deer congregate under the apple tree and crows drop apples in the driveway for a peck fest, it’s time to make apple jelly. The deer and crows tell us the apples are just starting to ripen. Apples that aren’t quite ripe have more pectin than ripe apples, and therefore make the best jelly. All you need to make jelly is a bucket of apples, some lemon juice, sugar, and water.

Cooking the Apples

To make about 10 half-pint jars (or half a dozen 12-ounce jelly jars) you need about 10 quarts of washed and cored apples cut into small pieces. I say “about” because the exact amount never comes out the same from one year to another.

The pot I use is a Victorio steam canner (now branded as Roots & Branches Harvest). The clad bottom keeps the jelly from scorching, and the 20-quart capacity is just the right size to cook 10 quarts of apples without bubbling over.

Well, it would be the right size, if I hadn’t added 2½ quarts of blueberries when we made the batch pictured here. We had a surplus of blueberries in the freezer, so I thought it would be interesting to add them. That accounts for why the jelly turned out purplish. Everything worked out fine, except we had to carefully watch that the pot didn’t boil over.

After the apples have cooked until soft, we strain them through a fine mesh kitchen sieve. Some jelly makers strain through cheesecloth for greater clarity, but we prefer jam over jelly anyway, so we don’t mind if a little pulp filters through the strainer.

The measuring cup we strain the juice into is an Anchor Hocking 2-quart glass batter bowl. It’s actually my husband’s, which he got because he wanted a “man size” measuring cup. It’s pretty heavy, but it comes in handy for lots of things, including measuring strained juice for making jelly. In the batch pictured here, we strained out 17 cups of juice and ended up with ten 12-ounce jars of apple-blueberry jelly.

Cooking the Jelly

After the sugar is added, the juice is rapidly heated to a rolling boil until enough moisture has evaporated to concentrate the sugar. The target temperature is 217ºF, but can range as high as 222ºF.

You can tell when the right temperature is reached because the entire surface is uniformly covered with small bubbles. To verify, we stir the jelly with a digital spatula thermometer, so we can check the temperature every now and then. Apple jelly looks a little thin when it’s ready, but it continues to stiffen in the jars. If you cook it too long it gets too stiff to spread. Don’t ask how I know.

Most jam and jelly recipes these days call for putting the filled jars into a steam canner or boiling water bath for a few minutes. I learned to make jam in the days when we poured hot paraffin over the top to seal a jar. That’s no longer recommended, even though I don’t recall ever hearing of anyone who died, or even got sick, eating homemade jelly. At any rate, I fill the hot, clean jars to the rim, then screw on the clean, dry lids.

When Ball canning jar lids became impossible to find, I started recycling jars and lids from our favorite commercial jams, Bonne Maman. The lids pop to create a vacuum seal just as well as Ball lids.

The entire process, not counting picking the apples, takes 3½ to 4 hours. My husband and I usually make jelly or jam together. His job as a kid was to stir his mom’s jelly while it cooked. He still feels it’s his job. I don’t argue.

Recipe for Apple Jelly

Bring to rapid boil and, stirring, continue 30 to 45 minutes until small bubbles uniformly cover the surface. Fill jars and seal. Let the apple flavor blossom for a few days before serving.