Apple Jam?

Kevie192

Hi all,

I was given a big bag of apples yesterday and I'd like to make some apple jam with it but I need some advice as I've only ever made a pear and ginger jam! The apples are an eating variety that is also quite tart so can be used for cooking.

Firstly, what quantities of apples to sugar do I need? Do I need to use jam sugar or will the pectin in the apples be enough? Can I use some light muscavado sugar to turn it into a kind of caramel apple jam? Do I need to add any liquid?

Any advice appreciated!

Kevin x

pumpkinlife

The traditional ratio, weight to weight, is 1:1 fruit to sugar. Apples have quite a high pectin content, you won't need jam sugar or added pectin. I made some on a 1:1 ratio a few years back and it was quite a firm set, but still delicious.

Also consider replacing a proportion of white sugar with demerara - it makes the jam taste like toffee apple : )

Kevie192

Thank you

I presume you mean the weight of the prepared apples rather than before coring etc?

How much of the white sugar would you replace with demerera, half and half or is that too much?

Kevin

pumpkinlife

Yes, I did it by weight of prepped apples.

I think I used about 1/3 mixed demerera and soft brown sugar to 2/3 white sugar. It was a complete accident, we prepped to many apples and didn't have enough white sugar to add to the vat. What a delicious mistake though :beer:

Mojisola

Don't forget apple chutney is lovely, too, if you have plenty of apples.

MsSupertech

There is so much pectin in apples you may end up with an 'jelly' rather than jam... Mint and apple jelly is another option...

mandragora_2

Don't do what I did - I thought along exactly the same lines as you and substituted some brown sugar for a proportion of white jam sugar. I'm not sure eaxctly what I did, as I don't usually have problems with jam, but I ended up cooking this lot for ages as it staunchly refused to set, and when it was done the brown sugar had made it far, far too sweet. I was really disappointed, as I'd used a huge volume of apples that had taken a long time to peel and prep, and also spent money on an equal volume of sugar. What was produced in the end was either just sugary apple splodge (it tasted vile on bread!) or stewed apple-chunky sugar spread. I put it in jam jars and thought about it for a couple of days. It didn't get any more pleasant to eat! In the end, I sat and peeled another carrier-bagful of apples, heated them up very briefly with a little lemon juice and peel, and then tipped the 'apple splodge' into it and heated it through. I then divided it up , used a bit to make some apple turnovers (they were ok!) and put the rest into portion sizes for the freezer. I think it'll do for apple crumbles through the year - we had one made with it this weekend and no-one complained, anyway

So, in short, good luck with your apple jam adventure. Hope it turns out better than mine did!

Kevie192

Thanks all

I have already made apple chutney with some of the apples, so I'll give the apple jam a go pretty soon and will let you know how I get on.

Kevin

foxgloves

I used to make apple & ginger jam regularly with our windfall apples. Very nice on toast, crumpets & to fill cakes, & sets easily.

midnightraven3

have you considered making apple butter?
which doesnt contain any butter at all oddly enough?:cool:

i havent made any, but someone gave me 3 jars they had made
it can be used as jam, but can be used as a marinade, its delicious with a strong cheese, and can be used on ice cream and in turnovers etc

i shall be making some next time i have a glut of apples
worth looking into

skogar

P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; } I made some apple jam (first time at the weekend). I used a recipe that used bramley apples (as this is what I had) as it didn't involve peeling the apples. I've not tried it with other types of apples they may not disintegrate like the bramleys do.

This is what I did - adapted slightly from the original due to finding some lemons that wanted using and not having any raisins!

3lb 5 oz cored, unpeeled Bramley apples (weighed after they have been cored)
1/4 pt water
juice of 2 lemons
rind of 1 lemon
3oz sultanas
1 bag (1kg) sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon.

1. Chop apples very finely ( I used food processor)
2. Put apples, water, lemon juice and rind and sultanas in a large pan.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the apples have disintegrated.
4. Reduce the heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir to dissolve the sugar.
5. When the sugar has dissolved, bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes.
6. Test for a set using the cold plate method. (I found it didn't wrinkle in the normal way but did seem to set OK), if it doesn't set boil a bit longer and test again.
7. Pot into warm sterilised jars.

Warning, when boiling it spits like mad. :eek:Wear something long sleeved that you don't care about, tastes nice though so I'd make it again.

Alternatively this site has some old recipes for apple jam which may be of use. Unfortunately as I'm new I can't post links but if you put
recipewise and a-collection-of-jam-and-preserve-recipes into google you will find it.