Apple Scrap Jelly

Today we're bringing you the third and final recipe in our series on apples. Don't forget to grab the first and second apple themed recipes for Spiced Apple Pie Jam and Homemade Applesauce too. 

At the beginning of our series, we discussed how the fall season brings orchard visits. This is why we launched our three-part series featuring apple recipes to help answer the question that comes after the visit: "What do we do with ALL THESE APPLES?!?" 

And with all the peeling and coring that you'll be doing when you make the apple recipes, you’ll be happy to know there is something you can make with all those scraps: Apple Scrap Jelly! In this recipe, you'll basically simmer the peels and cores to extract the juice from them and then use that juice to create jelly.

If you have never used a water bath canning method to can jams or jellies before, you'll want to read the complete instructions online before you start making your Apple Scrap Jelly.

Apple Scrap Jelly

Peels and cores from 12-15 apples (left over from making applesauce, baked apples, apple butter, or other apple recipes)

12 cups water

apple juice (optional)

4 cups sugar

8 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

4 Tbsp pectin

1-2 drops of red food coloring (optional)

6 half pint (8 oz.) glass preserving jars with lids and bands

1 4 oz. glass preserving jar with lid and band

1. Place apple scraps and water in a large stainless steel pot. Simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes and reduce down to 8 cups of liquid.
2. Strain reduced liquid through a cheesecloth-lined colander and measure out 8 cups. (Top off with apple juice to get to 8 cups, if necessary.)
3. Whisk in 1/2 Tbsp pectin per cup of liquid. (Amounts for 8 cups of liquid are given in ingredients list above.) 
4. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, making sure that you get the mixture to 220 degrees, stirring constantly. (This may take 20-30 minutes.)
5. For every cup of strained liquid, add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. (Amount for 8 cups of liquid is given in ingredients list above.) 
6. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.
7. If desired, add 1-2 drops of red food coloring and stir to incorporate. 
8. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. 
9. Follow water bath canning directions to complete the canning process. Process Apple Scrap Jelly 10 minutes. 
10. Recipe (beginning with 8 cups of reduced apple liquid) yields 6 half pint jelly jars plus 1 4-oz. jar for taste testing.

Notes:

Because you are using the peels for this recipe, I would recommend using organic apples. That way, you are sure that you're not including pesticides in your finished product. 

For all of our apple recipes, an apple peeler / corer / slicer will make quick work of prepping the apples.

This recipe is written with a "starting point" of 8 cups of reduced apple liquid. That's because if you start with much more than that, you may have issues with your jelly setting up. If you try the recipe and decide you'd like to make A LOT more of it, I would recommend making it in separate batches to ensure success. 

We made two batches - the ones shown in the photos were a "Mixed Apple Jelly" made from a few different varieties of apples. And then we made another batch from exclusively Pink Lady apples and that turned out a pretty light pink color without the addition of any food coloring at all.

Depending on the varieties of apples you use, your jelly liquid may already be a pink color by step 5. So, you may not need (or may choose to omit) the food coloring in step 6. This is why it is listed as an optional ingredient.

Jam and jelly recipes are finicky, so these types of things can cause your recipe not to set:

• Doubling the recipe.
• Measuring less than the full amount of sugar listed in the recipe or using a sugar substitute. If you want to use less sugar, use a recipe specifically developed for low sugar. 

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