Apple Jelly

Blogging through the August project backlog. Last week, I attempted to make Mrs. Beeton's Apple Jelly (II), and also started my first batch of apple cider vinegar.

It begins.

The cider barrel is from Oak Barrels Ltd. Basically, I peeled and pared ten of the apples, set the apple-flesh on the stove to boil down, and put the cores/peels (and two whole chopped apples) in the barrel. The peels were covered with water, and set aside to form the vinegar (with a light cloth cover in place of the cork, so pressure doesn't build up).

Boiling apples on Bessie.

After an hour, I strained the apple-mush through a cloth (which took forever, as I used muslin rather than cheese cloth or a hair sieve), mixed in sugar (about 2 1/4 cups for 3 cups of liquid), and set it to boil again. After 45 minutes, I took it off the stove and bottled it.

Apple Jelly.

The stove wasn't quite hot enough, in my opinion, particularly during the final boiling phase. Not-at-all-coincidentally, the jelly didn't set properly.  It is very viscous, but even in the refrigerator it failed to fully solidify.

To improve for next time:

• Hotter fire
• Smaller jelly pots
• Cheesecloth, sieve, or (imagine it!) a jelly bag for straining
• Different saucepans.  The tin ones resisted cleaning, rather strenuously.

I'm still waiting on the vinegar, and look forward to the results.