I spent today making homemade Apple Jelly -- and then cleaning it up. What a mess. I'm sure next time will go better -- as I'll be able to keep my nose out of the Ball Canning Recipe Book and actually clean as I go.I was inspired to start canning after eating some homemade canned peaches at a friend's house. Delicious. Like nothing I've ever tasted before. Soft, sweet and with so much flavor!
So I went and bought this complete canning kit from Ace Hardware. After doing some reading from the book, I discovered I picked the worst time of year to start canning! So today I bought some apples on sale at Sunflower Market. I figured I would probably mess up my first batch, so I'd better start with cheap fruit!
I used a basic Apple Jelly recipe from The Joy of Cooking. It called for 3 lbs. of green apples, sugar and water. So I boiled the apples, per the instructions -- and then used a jelly bag to strain all the juice into a bowl.
Then, I boiled the juice and the sugar waiting for the elusive "jelling point". This was the most stressful part of the process. The ways to test for the "jelling point" are loosy-goosy. But I finally thought it was ready.I'm still not sure my jars sealed after boiling them for 15 minutes. I should know by tomorrow morning.
I think I'll be having gluten-free toast for breakfast with some fresh Apple Jelly tomorrow!
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