2026 Frugal Living Challenge

fionaandphil

We've had apple and rosemary jelly, tastes delicious, even good on toast

Nelliegrace

Hedgerow jelly with apples, rose hips, elderberries, blackberries and mixed spices, supposed to be good for colds. Spiced blackberry and apple, damson and apple, sloe and apple, rose petal and apple using species roses, rose hip and apple, apple, orange and lemon peel jelly. I use cooking apples or add some crab apples to have enough pectin for a good set.

Having let the juice drip and made the jelly, I push the remaining pulp through a sieve, add sugar and simmer it gently to make a stiff fruit paste. I used to make quince jelly and membrillo.

Frugaldom

I'd suggest hedgerow jelly... I've added sloes, haw, elder, blackberry and rowan berries to mine in the past.

Welcome to September, everyone. Here's to good autumn fruit crops and successful preserving of all things preservable. My apple trees are looking much more fruitful this year. Plums and pears still not taking the hint that they're meant to fruit and my lack of time, energy and will power to keep on top of the weeding means not much else grew. Still, it keeps all the wildlife happy. 😊

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82119464#Comment_82119464

Oohhh…. I do that, too, @Nelliegrace

@Viking_mfw I was going to recommend the Cottage Smallholder's Crab Apple Chilli Cheese recipe, which includes instructions for making Jelly, but the website isn't responding. (It's the recipe that I use, most yummy!)

• Pip

Viking_mfw

Thanks for all the ideas! I found a bunch of mint in the freezer and the garden so made some apple and mint jelly.

That recipe sounds awesome @PipneyJane and there is a crab apple in the local field.…

I have turned my attention to the quince we had to take off the tree that had collapsed into the road and a washing up bowl of grapes from our next door neighbour!

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82123517#Comment_82123517

Sadly, the website I got it from is gone and I tried, unsuccessfully, to search the internet archive for the web page. It was published on the Cottage Smallholder’s site. I’m just hoping I have a PDF of it somewhere for next time I want to make Crab Apple Chilli Cheese.

• Pip

C_J

Here you go @PipneyJane, my good deed for the day! I found the Cottage Smallholder site on the internet archive for you.

Hot crab apple and chilli cheese recipe

Ingredients:
• 600g of crab apples washed and chopped
• 35g of medium red chilli peppers, washed and chopped with seeds in
• 1 litre of water
• White granulated sugar 320g to each 400ml of pulp
• 2-3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• 2-3 small chopped dried Bird’s Eye chillies to be added at the end just before potting up

Method:
1. Put the chopped crab apples and chillies in a large heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Add 1 litre of water (they should just be floating). Bring to the boil and simmer very gently (lid on) until the crab apples soften and become pulpy. This took about 45 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.
3. Strain through a muslin square or jelly bag overnight.
4. Retain the juice for hot crabapple jelly
5. Strain the pulp through a sieve
6. Add the pulp to a large heavy bottomed pan and add the sugar. Bring very slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar.
7. When the sugar is dissolved simmer gently stirring every now and then until the pulp thickens. This took me about twenty minutes as I was using a large pan, it would take more time in a smaller pan. Watch the sides of the saucepan, when you notice the pulp thickening on the sides the cheese is ready.
8. Dollop into well greased (I used olive oil) warm sterilised flat sided jars. Fit cellophane tops or lids and leave to cool.

PipneyJane

That’s it! Perfect! Thank you so much @C_J for sharing it. I’m sure others will appreciate the recipe. It is delicious, even if it is a labour of love.

Cheers

Pip

Viking_mfw

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82126905#Comment_82126905

Thank you!

Viking_mfw

One large red chili from Olio turned into sweet chilli jelly with quince juice.

My usual sources of cooking apples all look to have had early falls and be rotting on the ground. I managed to get a bag full from the two locations combined but it's scant pickings this year for Apple pies round here. I'm quite sad as scrumping for apples really helps the start of the academic year.