Tag: jelly

Don’t Throw That Away Apple Scrap Jelly

Apple season brings everyone visiting the orchard, making fresh applesauce and maybe even a pie or two. With all the peeling and coring happening, you’ll be happy to know there is something to do with all those scraps that will result in a delicious outcome: Apple Scrap Jelly!

We bought our house about 11 years ago and promptly began to dig up the ground to put in gardens, bushes, and trees. Since then, we have planted a total of 16 fruit trees on our little slice of happiness. Developing trees takes time, and we are finally at the point where we are picking a few bushels of apples. Oh the joy! This means I am preserving the apples into apple pie filling, applesauce, and the like. A few years ago, I saw the piles of peels and cores knew there had to be something I could do with the “waste.” Enter Apple Scrap Jelly. With only four ingredients, you will likely have everything on hand to make it. It doesn’t even need commercial pectin! What a win! 

Do you have some apples you’re hoping to peel and core to make fall treats? Get another bowl, save the scraps, and be prepared to create another treat! 

Your Ingredients

  • a kettle full of apple peels and cores
  • water
  • sugar (½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down)
  • lemon juice (½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down)

Begin The Boiling

After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly. I generally keep two vessels going at the same time: one for my apples for sauce/pie/etc and one for the scraps. 

Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining (this is an estimate, it doesn’t need to be perfect by any means). This will likely take an hour or so.

Now, if I’m being real, I generally let water/apple mixture cool overnight in the refrigerator. Not because you have to, but because I don’t want to finish that day. 

Time for Jelly!

Either way, your next step is to separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add. 

Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Your end goal is to reach the gelling point. There are lots of tests for this, but I prefer the temperature test. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees. For me, the gelling point is 218 degrees. Don’t have a decent food thermometer? Check out the National Center for Home Preservation website for other ways of testing for the gelling point. 

It takes longer to reach the gelling point than I think it should. It also goes from needing 3 degrees to reaching the gelling point fast. You can get complacent while you are waiting and suddenly hit the temperature, so I am trying to warn you 🙂 

While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them. (If you want to simply place the jelly in the fridge after it hits the gelling point, that’s 100% okay. You don’t need to process it. However, if you want it self-stable, you should process in a waterbath canner.)

Canning Time!

Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water. 

Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner, placing on the counter. Listen for the ping of the lids over the next 12 hours. Sealed jars are self stable. If any jar doesn’t seal, simply place it right in the refrigerator. 

PS…To be especially awesome, have some fresh baked bread on hand to spread the left over warm apple scrap jelly in the kettle on a slice. Enjoy while the rest of the jelly is in the water bath. I promise, you’ll thank me.

  • Apples for sauce.
  • Scraps for jelly!
  • Boil away!
  • Strain the liquid from the scraps.
  • Press out the apple goodness!
  • Almost complete!
  • The color of that jelly is divine. Yum.

Tools of the Trade

A nice strainer is a must in a stocked kitchen!

I love my waterbath canner.

The shallowness of this kettle makes boiling down go so much quicker. My go to kettle for jelly.

Apple Scrap Jelly

Don't throw away the apple peels and cores. Create a delicious apple scrap jelly with just a handful of pantry ingredients!
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Canning
Servings 12 per jar

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • a kettle full of apple peels and cores
  • water
  • sugar ½ cup for every cup of liquid after boiling down
  • lemon juice ½ tablespoon for every cup of liquid after boiling down

Instructions
 

  • After peeling and coring apples for another recipe, place all scraps into a large kettle. It doesn’t matter how much you have, although the more the better simply because it will result in more jelly.
  • Cover the apple scraps with water, filling until the scraps begin to float. Heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a boil. Boil water and apple scraps until half of the liquid is remaining.
  • Separate the water from the scraps. I generally place a finer colander over a bowl with a pour spout. Press into the apple to extract all the apple-goodness. From here, pour the water into a liquid measuring cup to determine the amount of sugar and lemon juice you should add.
  • Place the liquid in a large kettle. For every cup of liquid, stir in ½ cup sugar and a ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Begin to heat over medium-high heat, stirring often. Heat to 8 degrees above the boiling point of water. If you are at sea level, the gelling point is at 220 degrees. For every 1000 feet of elevation, you subtract 2 degrees.
  • While the jelly is boiling, begin to prepare your water bath canner and jars if you plan on processing them rather than storing in the refrigerator.
  • Wash and sanitize jars, rings, and lids. Keep warm. Fill the canner with enough water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches of water. Cover and heat on high. Watch the temperature, you want a simmer but not a boil when you place the jars in the water.
  • Once the apple jelly has reached the gelling point, remove from heat. Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp cloth, add lids and rings, tightening to fingertip tight. Place in the canner, increasing the heat to high. Once the canner reaches a boil, process for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jars to cool in the canner over 5 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to rest for 12 hours before storing.
Keyword apple jelly, apple recipe, apples, Canning, Jelly, Waterbath Canning
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Canning and Preserving

Jess17 Comments

Wild Violet Jelly

Jump to Recipe

Most of my foraging adventures begin with me learning of a recipe and saying, “You can do that?!”  after reading online, and immediately heading out to forage for whatever it is that you need. Wild Violet Jelly is one of those adventures. I had just finished baking up dandelion cookies and had more dandelions in the fridge ready to be cleaned when a friend sent me a wild violet recipe. 

Oh my goodness! I have those ALL OVER my yard and along the edge of our woods. Time to switch gears and try something different before they disappear. Also, if you don’t know me personally, you may not know that I have a 5 year old spitfire of a daughter who’s name is, you guessed it, Violet. Imagine the joy on her face when I shared the idea for Violet to harvest violets to make Violet Jelly. So fun! 

Wild Violets, freshly harvested.

Of course, we needed to use mason jars to do our harvesting. I grabbed a quart jar and gave her a pint jar without lids. We set out on a walkabout around our yard and within an hour or so, we had found a pint jar’s worth of violets. As with anyexperience with a 5 year old, it wasn’t without tears. The silly girl got so excited she started skipping, tripped over a root, and immediately lost all her violets. I share as a lesson for all you. I know you’ll be excited, but please refrain from getting so excited you skip and lose your jar! 

Although the harvesting took about an hour, this was the most labor intensive part of the recipe. In all the foraging and cooking I’ve done so far, I would say this is a great toe dipper. It didn’t require too much work and you’ll end up with about six beautiful jars of lavender colored jam. 

Get ready so if you’re ready, grab your jars and start foraging! 

Your Ingredients: 
  • 1 pint (2 cups) wild violet flowers
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
  • 4 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 package powdered pectin 
Your equipment: 
  • 1 pint jar and 1 quart jar 
  • Cheese cloth or mesh strainer 
  • 6 half pint jelly jars with rings and lids
  • Water bath canner with lid 

If this is your first go at canning, you can totally use a deep kettle with a dish towel rather than purchasing a water bath canner.  The dish towel on the bottom is to keep the jars off the bottom of the kettle. This will be a little messier with the water, but it works. When I first started canning, I did my first four batches of pickles and jellies this way. I wasn’t sure I was going to love it and didn’t want to invest. Silly me 🙂 

Harvest the Flowers

After spending days harvesting dandelions, this was surprisingly easy. Be sure that you’ve identified the right flower, and pick away. It’s best to look at the leaves to make sure you are picking the right one. Once you start, be sure to be a responsible forager, leaving some flowers in each bunch. Try to be mindful that you just get the flower. This was easy for me, but I had to pull stems from my daughter’s harvest since she’s five. Pick enough flowers to fill a pint jar, or just over two cups. 

Create a Violet Tea

Once you have harvested the violets, transfer them into a quart jar. Pour boiling water over the flowers and cover. If you don’t have a quart jar, any container that you can cover and refrigerate will be fine. After the jar has come to room temperature, place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but up to 24 hours. I was amazed at the color that came from the flowers. It went from purple flowers to teal water to a much more muted green as the time pasted in the refrigerator. I let it sit overnight.

Time for Jelly

The following day, start heating your water bath canner with enough water to cover your jelly jars with at least 2 inches of water. Strain the flowers from the tea. To do this, I used a fine mesh strainer with a natural coffee filter in it. I poured from the quart jar into a measuring cup (see picture). Straining through cheesecloth would also be a great option. End game: You need them separated. You do you 🙂 

Once separated, measure out 3 cups of violet tea. You may add additional water to reach 3 cups if necessary. Pour this into a larger non-reactive kettle. Add powdered pectin and lemon juice, whisking to incorporate. This will be THE coolest thing you do. The violet tea is a muted green when made, but just be ready when you add the lemon juice. It will instantly go from green to a beautiful lavender color. I knew it was going to happen and I still got so excited I knocked over my bottle of lemon juice, spilling it all over my kitchen floor. Oh well…making memories, right? Back to the recipe…

Bring the tea, pectin, and lemon juice mixture to a boil. Once you have achieved a rolling boil, add sugar. Return to a rolling boil, stirring quite often, if not always. Once you have reached a rolling boil, time for 1 minute, stirring the whole time. Ladle jelly into prepared jelly jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe the edges with a damp cloth, add lids, and tighten rings to fingertip tight. Put into the water bath canner and process for 5-10 minutes. I did 10 minutes because my altitude is greater than 1000 feet. (Always read the pectin directions and follow those for your altitude).

Once the jelly is done processing, remove the canner from heat and let jars rest in the water for an additional 5 minutes. Finally, remove jars from the canner and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before moving. Listen for the ping of the lids (best part of canning…apart from the eating of the beautiful food you create) and marvel at the beautiful spring jelly; the other best part of canning 🙂 

  • Wild Violets, freshly harvested.
  • One pint’s worth.
  • Just after boiling water has been added. That color!
  • After 24 hours of steeping in the fridge.
  • So smart! Use a brown coffee filter to filter the tea!
  • Strained. Still pretty!
  • Immediately after adding the lemon juice and pectin. Wow!
  • A watch pot never boils.
  • Finished!

A few notes: 

  • Make sure you are using powdered pectin rather than liquid pectin. They do not set the same. Early in my canning career I didn’t know the difference and had a few batches of jelly never set. 
  • If you have never canned, you can reference the instructions within the pectin box for additional, more detailed directions. While you aren’t using fruit, the directions will still be very similar. 
  • I adore this book and using it as my canning bible. If you are at all interested in all you can can, check out Ball’s Blue Book Guide to Preserving. 
  • If foraging is your jam and you’re in the midwest, Midwest Foraging by Lisa M. Rose is a great resource. 
  • Sealed jars are shelf-stable, meaning they can be stored on a shelf unrefrigerated. If your jars don’t ping (a sign that they have sealed), they are still good. You will just need to store them in the refrigerator. 
  • Most sources recommend removing the rings from jars for storage so that you will know if they unseal for any reason. I generally just loosen them as much as I can without removing them. 

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Wild Violet Jelly

A beautiful lavender colored jelly created from wild violet tea
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Tea Resting Time 1 day
Course Snack
Cuisine Canning
Servings 16

Equipment

  • Water Bath Canner
  • Cheese Cloth or Mesh Strainer
  • Quart Canning Jar
  • 6 Half Pint Jelly Jars with Rings and Lids
  • Pint Canning Jar (optional)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pint (2 cups) wild violet flowers
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 3 tbsp bottled lemon juice
  • 4 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 package powdered pectin

Instructions
 

  • Harvest 1 pint (2 cups) of wild violet flowers. Be sure they are clean and rid of debris. Place inside a clean quart jar with lid and ring.
  • Pour boiling water over violets, filling the jar. Cover. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place in fridge to steep for 4-24 hours.
  • Prepare water bath canner by filling with water so that the jars will have at least 2 inches of water over them when placed inside. Begin to heat. Clean and prep canning jars, rings, and lids. Set aside.
  • Strain flowers from tea using cheese cloth and mesh strainer. Remove any flower debris and discard. Measure 3 cups of tea, adding water if necessary. Pour into a non-reactive kettle.
  • Measure sugar in a separate bowl. Set aside. Add pectin and lemon juice to tea. Heat over medium high heat. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often.
  • Once rolling boil has been reached, stir in sugar. Continue to stir until rolling boil is reached again. Time for exactly one minute, stirring constantly.
  • Remove from heat. Pour into prepared jelly jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims of jars, put on lids and rings, tightening to finger tip tightness.
  • Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to sit in canner 5 additional minutes. Remove from canner, place on counter, and let sit for at least 24 hours.

Notes

More in depth directions regarding canning jelly can be found with the directions with powdered pectin. Be sure to read through those directions as well. 
Keyword Canning, Foraging, Jelly, Violet, Violet Jelly, Waterbath Canning
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JessLeave a comment

Dandelion Jelly

Yup. You read that right. Dandelion jelly. I know it sounds crazy, but it is so tasty! Light and sweet, like honey. And you know what, it’s the time of year where I get the itch to can and work in my garden. Yes, I know there is still loads of winter left, but a girl can start dreaming, right?

I began having a fascination with foraging nature around me to make food in my kitchen about a year ago. Last year, my sister bought me the book Midwest Foraging by Lisa M. Rose, and my interest got stronger. I flipped through that book like a coffee table book and took mental notes on things I would like to try.

Fast forward to May last year. The dandelions were all over my yard, and I decided I had to try it. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? I would be out a few hours of work, some sugar, and pectin. My daughter, mother in law, and I walked the yard, harvested dandelions, and I set to work. As I was pouring the last of the jelly into jars to go in the water bath canner, I said, “Well, here’s goes nothing…let’s try it,” and we stuck a spoon in the remains on the kettle. My daughter immediately asked for a second try and declared, “I want that on toast in the morning!” So give it a try. You will be pleasantly surprised with how good it actually is. You may even begin to be like me, looking over fields of dandelions, seeing all sorts of potential 🙂

Your ingredients:

  • 4 cups yellow dandelion blossoms (see my notes about harvesting these)
  • 1 box of powder pectin
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4.5 cups of sugar
  • two quarts of water
  • jelly canning jars, lids, and rings, prepped for canning. I got 6 jelly (half pint) jars worth of jelly.

Your steps to dANDELION JELLY:

First, harvesting the dandelion greens. I did this over a few days and I learned a lot. Begin by just taking the heads of the dandelions. Plan on trimming them soon after you take the heads from the plant. I found it easiest to hold the flower end in one hand and cut the green end off. Then I would peel the remaining green off. I would put the yellow/white part into my measuring cup and compost the green portion. Find a friend or two, it takes a little time to complete this, but it makes for great time for conversation.

Back to the recipe! Bring a few quarts of water to boil and pour it over the blossoms in a bowl that can be covered. Allow this to come to room temperature and then stick it in the fridge overnight. You are essentially creating a dandelion tea. (Mine is always this weird dingy greenish-yellow when I when I am done. Initially, I was worried about the color the jam would have, but it turned out just perfect!)

Jelly time!

The following day, start heating your water bath canner with enough water to cover your jelly jars with at least 2 inches of water. Measure 3 cups of the dandelion tea, straining out the blossoms and keeping only the liquid. Pour this into a larger kettle. Add powdered pectin and the 2 T of lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Once you have achieved a rolling boil, add sugar. Return to a rolling boil, stirring quite often, if not always. Once you have reached a rolling boil, time for 1 minute, stirring the whole time.

Ladle jelly into prepared jelly jars, wiping the edges, adding lids, and putting rings on to finger tip tight. Put into water bath canner and process for 10-15 minutes. I did 15 minutes because my altitude is greater than 1000 feet. Remove from canner and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before moving. My kids love this dandelion jelly. We eat it on toast, on PBJ, you name it! My daughter even requests it on her waffles from time to time!

  • The tedious process of getting the flower separated
  • Sunshine in a bowl.
  • Let that tea steep.
  • Let’s get our jelly on!
  • And you must stir like crazy!
  • Golden jars of sweet goodness!

Dandelion Jelly

Sweet and simple jelly created from the balls of sunshine found in any yard in the spring!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rest Time 1 day
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Canning
Servings 16

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups yellow dandelion blossoms see my notes about harvesting these
  • 1 box of powder pectin
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4.5 cups of sugar
  • two quarts of water
  • jelly canning jars lids, and rings, prepped for canning. I got 6 jelly (half pint) jars worth of jelly.

Instructions
 

  • First, harvesting the dandelion greens. Begin by just taking the heads of the dandelions. Plan on trimming them soon after you take the heads from the plant. I find it easiest to hold the flower end in one hand and cut the green end off. Then peel the remaining green off. Measure 4 cups worth of blossoms.
  • Bring a few quarts of water to boil and pour it over the blossoms in a bowl that can be covered. Allow this to come to room temperature and then stick it in the fridge overnight.
  • The following day, start heating your water bath canner with enough water to cover your jelly jars with at least 2 inches of water.
  • Measure 3 cups of the dandelion tea, straining out the blossoms and keeping only the liquid. Pour this into a larger kettle. Add powdered pectin and the 2 T of lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
  • Once you have achieved a rolling boil, add sugar. Return to a rolling boil, stirring quite often, if not always. Once you have reached a rolling boil, time for 1 minute, stirring the whole time.
  • Ladle jelly into prepared jelly jars, wiping the edges, adding lids, and putting rings on to finger tip tight. Put into water bath canner and process for 10-15 minutes. I did 15 minutes because my altitude is greater than 1000 feet. Remove from canner and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before moving.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Jess1 Comment