Apple Jelly Made From Apples and Peels

   I have fond memories of my Dad taking me out to breakfast and we'd get those little jelly containers in a variety of good flavors.  If I couldn't decide, I'd pick the mixed jelly.  I still love jelly and jam but wish the brands in the store didn't have so many unnecessary ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. 

   Which brings me to my last project with my bushel of apples.  Apple Jelly using apples and the left over peels and cores.   

      I remember making plum jam when my son was an infant, and while I was trying to cook he was fussing so much I had to push his walker back and forth with my foot since my hands were full and the kitchen looked like an explosion in a plum orchard.  Fast forward to now, and I still have a little boy in the kitchen with me, and I don't mind him helping and do give him tasks to keep him busy.  He seems to understand when I tell him to clear out of the kitchen if I'm transferring hot jars from the boiling water.

     Like other canning projects you will use most all of the same equipment.  Your clean jars, 8 ounce are great, a large pot for processing the jars, jar lifter, funnel, your caps and rings, and of course, your fruit.  I've tried many kinds of pectin and this time I tried Pomona's Universal Pectin  and found that I really like it.  It uses low amounts of any kind of sweetener you choose to use which is great.  One thing I really like about it is that it's derived from citrus peel and is activated  by calcium which they include.  Most pectin's require tons of sugar, which is less healthy and more expensive and not necessary.  I followed the instructions inside the box for the first couple of batches ( I underestimated how much I could make) and then winged it for the last batch.  They all came out great and delicious.  For sugar I used sucanat, which is sugar cane natural.  That will explain why the apple jelly looks so dark in the pictures. The Pomona's recipe also called for lemon juice 1/4 cup.  That also will help the jelling process. 

     How did I use peels and apples?  Easy, I threw all the apple peels and cores into a tall pot and added liquid to the top, although the exact recipe uses 3 pounds of fruit and 3 cups of water.  Then I cooked it for awhile, the recipe saying to bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes  Then you stir and mash and simmer for five more minutes.  I simply cook and stir until the fruit is soft. You also can just throw the apples into the pot without peeling or coring, although I would cut them up to make the cooking process go a bit faster.

    I dumped the apples/peels into a colander to strain out the liquid. I don't have a jelly bag, but a clean lint free towel or cloth will work just fine.  The recipe is for 4 cups of liquid and I had about 12 cups.  I did single batches, but it can be doubled or tripled.  After it's strained, you put the "juice" into the pot, along with the liquid calcium and lemon juice. A half cup of my sugar was then mixed with the pectin.  Bring the juice to a boil and add the sugar/pectin mix and stir like crazy for two minutes.  It didn't seem like the pectin was ever going to dissolve.  Then I added the rest of the sugar, and brought it back to a boil.  It was then ready to be put into my jars.  I keep my jars in hot water on the stove so I pull them out onto a towel and fill them to 1/4 inch from the top, put the lid and screw ring on.  When I have enough jars to fill the large pot I'm using I use the jar lifter to place them into the pot of boiling water.  If the water stops boiling, give it a minute or two, and then I give the jars a full ten minutes to boil.  Lift them out and place them in an area where they won't be touched or bothered.  As they cool you might hear the lids popping, and that is a very good thing. 

That's it, jelly or jam is one of the easier home canning projects to start with, and there are so many different kinds you can make with just a few alterations in the recipe.  If you buy pectin they all come with instructions.  One other thing, if you don't find a great deal on fruit, you can simply go buy a bottle of apple juice or grape juice or any other flavor.  It works great, and if you are short on time it cuts out all the fruit preparation time while still giving a healthier alternative to store bought. 
 

My pantry now has a few more jars added to it, I've gained a bit more experience and will approach this with a bit more confidence the next time I see a good deal on fruit.  Or maybe I'll use that bottle of grape juice sitting on the pantry to make grape jelly.

I found many great web links that I was going to add to this post but I think Pomona's Universal Pectin is a good place to start with many
recipes to check out. 

Dried Apple Rings and Wondering Why I Haven't Done This

     This bushel of apples has given me so many different things, and this is one more "first" for me. Typically I'd make one or two different things with my apples since it cuts down on the amount of work but I just couldn't make up my mind.  I also wanted to use my dehydrator again having only used it once on the onions from the garden.  So dried apples became my next little project.

    I say "little" very loosely here since most projects tend to snowball into other projects.  The first thing I realized when I got that apple onto the cutting board is I had no idea how to cut it into rings. It was peeled, but my coring tool slices at the same time.  I know that would work, but rings sounded better. 
     Then I remembered an apple machine thing that had been sitting in my kitchen in some obscure hard to reach area.  (See what I mean by snowball effect?)  My mother had bought it for me years ago.  I dug it out and did what any sane woman would do.  Yep, I bet my husband that he couldn't figure out how it worked, and well, good thing he took me up on it.  I knew it was one of those things that's easy if you could only figure it out.

The little one couldn't wait to start turning the handle, which left me with the job of supervising and delivering the apples to them. 

 

It turned out perfect apple rings that looked like they couldn't possibly have come from my kitchen.  I laid them all out onto the layers of the dehydrator, and turned it on.  I was expecting it to run all night, but they were ready in just about three hours time.  I didn't mind tasting  checking them at all to see if they were done.  I let them cool long enough for me to admire them, and threw them in a plastic container.  I'm sure a quaint jar would have been great. 

There are many things to do with dried apples, besides just eat them that is.  They can be thrown into your trail mix, added to cereals, great with oatmeal, put into any baked good such as banana apple bread, muffins or breakfast cake. 

   


 I found my dehydrator on bookoo.com and so far so good.  It isn't top of the line, but it's already proving it's worth for me.  If I find I am using this a lot more I may decide later to invest in a better one. 

   I kept this project simple, and did soak the apples in some cold water with a little lemon juice added.

Pick your Own is one I looked at which is funny since she has that apple peeler/corer/cutter and it looks like her dehydrator is similar.  My apples didn't need to dehydrate even close to what she says so I am finding there is a lot of room for variations.  It depends on your apples and the temperature.
I'm not sure if I like the car method since I'd forget about them and find them three months later.  They'd probably still be good, but maybe a bit tough.

honey sweetened dehydrated apples  This is another take on dehydrated apples

If I didn't have the dehydrator, I'd probably dry them in the oven at the lowest possible temperature with the door open slightly, maybe even turning the oven off intermittently to keep a low temperature.  The oven light will even add some heat.  That would use a bit more electricity so I'd make sure I cooked a lot more to make up for it. 

  

I Made Vinegar, I Think...

     So, you all know I had a bushel of apples, and made apple sauce, but I had a ton of peels and cores left over.    It seemed like such a waste to just throw it all into the mulch bin, even though that would eventually end up in my yard.  I knew that someone would have something posted about what to do with apple peels and picked two different recipes to try with the first one being vinegar.

      Okay, so call me cheap, frugal or whatever, but why waste something if there is a good use for it.  

 I dug up two huge jars that had other things in them and cleaned them well.   I filled the jars about half way with the peels and then did something different with each jar.  One I added a sugar and water syrup and the other I added just water.  The peels are supposed to be submerged which was difficult (or I'm just a bit inept) and put a baggie with water over the top of the apples to keep them submerged.  That wasn't my own idea by the way.  I then spent a few minutes making a cheesecloth lid before I remembered a reason for why I keep coffee filters in the drawer.  They are not for the coffeepot. 

The coffee filters along with a leftover rubber band from veggies made a perfect top.  I then set both jars into a dark cupboard to sit alone for a week.   I then did check on them but decided not to do the taste test, which will decide if you should leave it for a while longer.  I guess it's a personal taste preference on how strong it gets.  Let's just say, after I smelled it I would almost rather eat a bug.  Okay, maybe not a bug, but you get the picture, it was gnarly dude.  The one with the sugar solution was forming little bubbles and floaty thingies.  It smelled like it was moldy.  It did not smell at all like vinegar, even a tiny bit.  The other jar actually looked better and looks like it's doing well.  But now I'm afraid to taste it, which is dumb I know.  Once I get leery of a food and it's safety I can very easily turn my back on it. 

      Let's just say after you hear a few stories about your grandmother and her canning or you hear the usual botulism jokes you always have that in the back of your mind. 

   I remember once when the family was gathered at the table, (don't remember why) and we pulled out my plum jelly.  When the jar was popped open, it didn't "pop" which should be the end of the story.  I promptly said, throw it out, but my husband tried to say it would be alright.  We begged him not to eat it, and I guess he wanted the challenge and he took one itty bitty bite.  Yep, didn't take long before he was moaning and groaning out on the couch with stomach pains and starting to get dizzy.  I then had to drive him to urgent care and with most food poisoning they don't do anything unless it's so bad your going into something more serious.  So, we went home, and he moaned and groaned some more.  I tried not to think I told you so as he writhed on the couch.  I've never seen him do that again, but I still think he takes chances with "old" food at times.  The joke in the house is that he has a cast iron stomach. 

     Well, back to my vinegar "adventure".  I still haven't tasted it.  I'm quite sure I'm going to throw the one jar out.  I've been giving them a little more time, so I can do a bit more research on the vinegar.  The thing is, even my husband, cast iron stomach and all hasn't even tasted one of them.  He's kind of like the Mikey of the family.  You know Mikey, he'll try anything.  That makes me nervous, since if he won't try it, that is sending a message to all of us.  The kids will say, "even Dad won't taste it? Then throw it out."

vinegar with sugar (and floaty things)

Vinegar fermented with water

      If anyone has made vinegar with success, (key word there) please fill me in on my possible failure.  I mean, maybe the one jar isn't a failure and I just don't know it.  It doesn't smell too much like the Bragg Organic Vinegar that I wanted it to.  Maybe I was expecting too much, after all, I was very excited about making vinegar.

      Will I try this again?  Yup, I sure will, after I learn a bit more, and learn more about failures and why they happen.  I'm sure it must be close to being vinegar since the fruit flies have come to visit those jars, and fruit flies love vinegar.