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I have an enormous cooking apple tree in my garden (probably Bramley although not certain) and I'm always looking for things to do with all the apples. I have loads of unripe windfalls at the moment so I thought I would experiment with making some different jellies - jellies of course having the significant advantage that you don't need to peel or core the fruit!
The first one I decided to try was lemon verbena and It came out really well. The only problem was the apples form a really stiff puree and I had trouble getting it to drip through the jelly bag - after 24 hours it was still dripping! Next time I might use a bit more water so that the puree is a bit thinner.
Here's the recipe I used in case anyone else would like to try it. I adapted it from another jelly recipe I had.
About 2kg cooking apple windfalls
About 500g granulated sugar
Lemon verbena - 6 sprigs (or to taste), bruised + a few extra fresh leaves
4 tsp lemon juice
1) Roughly chop the apples, removing any blemished or bruised bits but leaving the skins and cores.
2) Add water to cover the apples (I just covered them, but will be a bit more generous next time), bring to the boil, part cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 mins.
3) Pour apple puree into a scalded jelly bag and suspend over a bowl. Let drip overnight or longer (I left it 24 hours and it was still dripping!) During this time you can massage or turn the puree gently from time to time but avoid squeezing the bag unless you want a cloudy jelly.
4) Discard apple pulp (or put it through a mouli if you want to make applesauce) Measure the volume of juice and pour into a preserving pan. Add sugar at 3/4 of the volume e.g. 450g sugar for 600mL juice. Add lemon juice and 3 sprigs lemon verbena.
5) Bring to the boil and simmer until setting point is reached - around 6-8 minutes.
6) Turn off heat and stir in remaining 3 sprigs lemon vebena. Stir for 1 minute
7) Remove verbena and pour jelly into sterilized jars. Add a fresh verbena leaf to each jar.
The first one I decided to try was lemon verbena and It came out really well. The only problem was the apples form a really stiff puree and I had trouble getting it to drip through the jelly bag - after 24 hours it was still dripping! Next time I might use a bit more water so that the puree is a bit thinner.
Here's the recipe I used in case anyone else would like to try it. I adapted it from another jelly recipe I had.
About 2kg cooking apple windfalls
About 500g granulated sugar
Lemon verbena - 6 sprigs (or to taste), bruised + a few extra fresh leaves
4 tsp lemon juice
1) Roughly chop the apples, removing any blemished or bruised bits but leaving the skins and cores.
2) Add water to cover the apples (I just covered them, but will be a bit more generous next time), bring to the boil, part cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 mins.
3) Pour apple puree into a scalded jelly bag and suspend over a bowl. Let drip overnight or longer (I left it 24 hours and it was still dripping!) During this time you can massage or turn the puree gently from time to time but avoid squeezing the bag unless you want a cloudy jelly.
4) Discard apple pulp (or put it through a mouli if you want to make applesauce) Measure the volume of juice and pour into a preserving pan. Add sugar at 3/4 of the volume e.g. 450g sugar for 600mL juice. Add lemon juice and 3 sprigs lemon verbena.
5) Bring to the boil and simmer until setting point is reached - around 6-8 minutes.
6) Turn off heat and stir in remaining 3 sprigs lemon vebena. Stir for 1 minute
7) Remove verbena and pour jelly into sterilized jars. Add a fresh verbena leaf to each jar.
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