For a while now I’ve been obsessed with the idea of canning. By “for a while” what I actually mean is years. The fall before the babies came home, I made some lemon-vanilla marmalade, but nothing since then – until this summer.
Since we moved here (in July), I’ve been frequenting my local, amazing farmer’s market and buying up fruits for jam making. Thus far, I’ve made carrot cake, peach-ginger, strawberry-balsamic, and hibiscus-ginger (this last one used the petals from a hibiscus shrub in my yard).
My last jam making adventure involved my impulsively buying over 15 pounds of apples at the farmer’s market (for $6!). I started digging into the apples with an apple pie jam. The recipe I’m using is adapted from one that one of my aunts told me about (I have no idea where she heard of it).
Here’s how I made it:
Ingredients:
4 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used 4 big apples, it was a bit more than 4 cups)
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ginger (I used powdered, and maybe 2tsp)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups sugar (I used about a cup and a half and it was plenty sweet)
1 box pectin
So, the recipe also called for allspice and nutmeg, but I don’t like those spices so I didn’t use them but if you like them, it was a teaspoon of each.
Directions:
In the measuring cup where you measured your apples, keep the apples in it and add water to the 4 cup line. As in the water and the apples are in the measuring cup together. Put all that in a pot and add the lemon juice and spices. Bring to a boil. Once boiling add the brown sugar and regular sugar. Keep stirring and bring to a boil again. Add the pectin. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil hard for one minute.
Skim off foam.
Ladle into jars. I had 5 half pints and 2 quarter pints full.
Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Start timing it after the water comes back to a boil.
R.J. de Rossi
Chantal
Dos Veganos 