Apple Scrap Jelly

After making some apple crumble with apples, I had a lot of apple peel and cores left over that I didn’t want to waste. There is so much you can do with left over apple scraps and here is one of them – Apple Scrap Jelly.

If you don’t have a lot of apple scraps, you could freeze the ones you do have and continue adding to them until you have enough to make this Apple Scrap Jelly. Also, it doesn’t matter if they are all red, or all green or a mixture of apples just make sure to clean the apples properly before peeling – organic are best. The only thing that will change is the colour of your jelly.

Getting Jams and Jellies to Set

For jams and jellies to thicken and set, they need a substance known as pectin. Some fruits naturally contain more pectin than others. When making jams and jellies with low-pectin fruits, often lemon juice is added.

High-pectin Fruits

• Apples
• Blackcurrants
• Redcurrants
• Gooseberries
• Raspberries
• Plums
• Cranberries
• Oranges
• Lemons
• Apricots

Low-pectin fruits

• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Rhubarb
• Peaches
• Cherries

If you are using low-pectin fruits in your jam, you should also add some lemon juice or perhaps mix in some high-pectin fruit to help your jam to set. Alternatively, using jam sugar with low-pectin fruit works well. To make jam, you need to soften the fruit first. 

The mixture will need to boil and thicken and you will need to stir it frequently so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. If you have a candy thermometer, it needs to read 105°C (220°F), though you will need to keep a close eye on the mixture when it starts getting around this temperature.

If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use the jam / cold plate test. Before starting your jam, simply place 3 or 4 small plates in the freezer. When you think the jam may be ready, place a small teaspoon amount of jam onto one of the cold plates from the freezer and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Then run your finger through the middle of the blob of jam. If the line starts to fill back over, it means the jam is too runny and is not ready yet, so keep cooking and repeat again in about five minutes. If the line remains, then the jam has reached setting point and is ready.

This jelly needs to be placed into sterilised jars. It will need to be stored in the fridge and not the pantry. Though, if you follow the correct instructions for canning you will be able to store it in the pantry.

Why Didn’t my Apple Jelly Set?

There are many reasons as to why your jam didn’t set. It may have needed to be cooked longer or sometimes, the fruit you used didn’t have enough natural sugar and needed a little more pectin added. 

If you followed these instructions and your jam didn’t set properly, place your jam in the fridge overnight. If it isn’t set in the morning, you could try re-cooking it a bit longer and may adding a bit of pectin or some more sugar and lemon, though have a taste test you don’t want to add too much that it may affect the flavour.

Sterilisation
There are a few ways to sterilise your jars, this is the one I use.

Wash the jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse the jars in hot water, do not dry and place upside down on racks in an oven heated to 120˚c to dry completely. You can line the racks with baking paper first if you want. To sterilise the lids, place them in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Fill the jars while they are still hot. Do not place cold jam into hot jars or they may crack and break.

Uses

Apple Scrap Jelly is a wonderful alternative to jam, being added as a spread to bread, toast or as a filling for cakes. It can also be used in savoury dishes alongside roasts, chicken and pork. You can use in place of redcurrant jelly.

You may also like:

• Apple and Sour Cream Slice
• Apple Crumble
• Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes
• Strawberry Coconut Slice
• Pumpkin, Feta and Rocket Salad
• BLT Salad
• Tomato-Spinach Pasta Salad
• Zucchini Slice