Apple Adventures

Every year, my mom orders a ton of fruit from the local FFA kids. Supporting those future farmers! :) Now that she's decided to try some crazy diet that won't let her eat fruit (Mothers, I swear...) she's giving away apples and oranges like it's going out of style. Of course, a lot of those apples come to me. My fruit bowl was full of them, until I decided to get rid of them and make apple crisp for a work party. 

It turned out yummy! Find the recipe I used here! Instead of throwing out the apple cores and peels from the 5 apples I used, I decided to try to make apple jelly.  If you boil apple cores and peels, there is enough natural pectin in the fruit. No need to buy pectin at the store!

First, I threw all the apple cores and peels in a pot and added enough water to just cover them. I brought this mixture to a boil over medium heat. I added about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cloves to the water. Once it was boiling, I reduced the heat and simmered it for 30 minutes (until the apples got soft). My whole apartment smelled like apple cider for hours afterwards. Mmmm! 

Once the apple pieces were soft, I placed a strainer over a bowl and allowed it to strain for about 5 minutes. Then I put the pieces in a plastic bag and poked it with a fork to get the rest of the juices out. You've got to get a little creative in the kitchen! I don't feel like it is necessary to buy all the fancy equipment like a jelly bag or cheese cloth when a plastic bag poked with a fork works just fine ha ha!

Boiling the peels and cores

Straining the peels and cores

After the straining process was complete, I ended up with about 1 1/4 cup of liquid. I added 3/4 cup of granulated sugar to the mix and let it boil. This is where the fun begins. You have to stir the mixture constantly while it's boiling, otherwise it will burn or bubble over. It takes a while for the mixture to thicken to the right consistency for jelly. 

Stir constantly...

Don't overcook it!

A few of the recipes I found online suggested using the 'spoon test' to test the consistency. This was pretty vague and said that when the liquid 'hangs' on the spoon it has reached the right consistency. A few others mentioned the 'plate test'. This suggests putting a small amount of the liquid on a plate and placing it in the freezer. If you poke at it and the shape of your finger stays set in the liquid, then it's at the right consistency.

I tried to use the methods I just mentioned above. At one point, I thought I had it at the right, but it still seemed a little runny, so I kept cooking it. Oops! I found out quickly that overcooked jelly turns into apple candy.  

It's really too bad I don't have a lollipop mold! I thought it would be fun to try to make shapes, but I ended up just dumping it onto tin foil and doing some swirls ha ha! I just break off pieces when I want some. It melts in your mouth and gets chewy like taffy. Yummy!

Just a reminder that sometimes our adventures in the kitchen turn into fun opportunities! :) 

Apple Candy :)

Pin It