Kitchen Jam

Image by Windsors Child via Flickr

Chabear01 shared this recipe over at Recipeza’ar, based on a recipe she found in the November 1996 issue of Family Circle magazine. I didn’t change it much; I don’t put the peels through a food mill because straining the cider through a fine sieve is less work. The taste is the essence of autumn, the jam a beautiful orange-gold in the jar. It does take a lot of cooking time, but the payoff is worth it. Enjoy!

(Roasted) Apple-Pumpkin Butter
3 lbs McIntosh apples
2 ½ cups apple cider
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick about 5 inches long, or 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¾ cups solid-pack canned pumpkin

• Peel and core apples. Save the peels and cores in a saucepan.
• Add 2 cups of the apple cider to the apple peels and cores in the saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over high heat; once the cider boils, reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and simmer the peels in the cider for 30 minutes.
• While the peels simmer, combine the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon) and the rest of the cider in a 4-6 qt. saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the apples are boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until the apples begin to fall apart.
• Drain the cider from the apple peels and add it to the cooking apples.
• Keep stirring, uncovered, 45-60 minutes or until the apple mixture is thick.
• Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Stir in the pumpkin.
• Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Pour the apple-pumpkin mixture into a 9 x 13 or larger shallow roasting pan. With oven door slightly ajar, roast the apple-pumpkin puree, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it’s thick enough to spread.
• Spoon into sterilized 1 cup canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace and wiping the jar rims clean.
• Top with hot lids and bands, and process in boiling water according to USDA directions for hot water bath canning: 5 minutes.
• Cool jars completely on wire rack; store them in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.

Makes 6-8 one-cup jars.

Image via Wikipedia

No, it’s not a medieval torture implement – it’s the means by which we get the nectar of fall, something you can easily find by the quart, half and full gallons in your local supermarket. Get organic, if possible, unsweetened and check the label to be sure that nothing’s been added to your fresh cider except possibly some potassium sorbate or ascorbic acid to preserve freshness. And then pick up a half-gallon for jelly. You’ll need six cups, and you’ll have some leftover for a nice mug of hot spiced cider when you’re done!

APPLE CIDER JELLY

6 cups apple cider
4 cups sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 (1 ¾ ounce) box powdered pectin (Sure-Jell or Ball)

• In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the sugar and the powdered pectin. Set aside.
• Pour the apple cider into a cooking pot. Add the pectin/sugar mixture to juice in the cooking pot. Stir vigorously and well.
• Bring mixture to full rolling boil stirring constantly. Stir in remaining sugar and the cinnamon.
• Return to full rolling boil and boil for one-minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat. Skim off any foam.
• Ladle into sterilized jars to within 1/8 inch of tops.
• Seal and process five-minutes in boiling water bath.

Makes 7 – 8 cups of jam (8oz. jam jars)