|
|
|
|
dice apples
|
toss w/sugar mixture
|
bring to boil
|
ready for jars
|
|
I can bake and I can cook, but when it comes to making jam or preserving and canning, I admit that I really don't know what I'm doing. So, if you're a pro at making jam and canning foods, just consider this your laugh for the day! ….
The reason I even attempted this was because Thanksgiving is coming up and my youngest daughter is having it at her house. She's making pies and I'm bringing my grandson's "Nana must bring" brownies, so we didn't want anything else that was too big (like my grandmother's spice cake w/praline frosting or a pumpkin roll). I suggested one of my favorites: my mom's apricot strudel (bite-sized, with golden raisins and coconut). Although my oldest daughter (in Northern California) loves them, my youngest daughter said "yuck ~ no apricot, no raisins and no coconut ~ bring apple instead." That was a dilemma, since apple butter would be too mushy when you cut the small slices. I tried to find a recipe on-line for apple marmalade, but I guess there isn't such a thing ~ I did find some for apple jam, but they didn't seem to have enough texture. So, I decided to combine some of those apple jam recipes and improvise a little to make them even thicker with more "chew" (to resemble the coconut for texture), and came up with my own recipe for apple marmalade. This should be easy enough for even the novice canner to follow, since that's what I am too!
It's still weeks before Thanksgiving, so I won't be making my new apple strudel until then. However, I'll post photos of my mom's apricot strudel below, with a link to the recipe. I plan to make the apple strudel exactly the same way (without any raisins or coconut ~ and since my daughter also doesn't want nuts in there, I sprinkle some Heath's toffee bits on top of the apple marmalade).
CARAMEL APPLE FREEZER MARMALADE
3 cups Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady apples (about 3 medium-large), diced (peel on)
2 cups Granny Smith apples (about 2 medium-large), diced (peel on)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 box (1.75 oz) fruit pectin
2 clean canning jars and lids
***
Whisk together the sugars, spices and fruit pectin ~ put it all into a big bowl. As you dice up each apple, put the pieces into the bowl and toss it to coat with the sugar mixture. Make sure you mix from the bottom as you add more apples in.
Put the apple mixture and any collected juices into a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; then reduce heat to medium, and cook jam until thickened and apples have softened, (about 10-20 minutes.) I mashed them down a little with a potato masher about halfway through, just so it wasn't all chunks.
Use ladle to transfer marmalade into clean jars, leaving about 1/2" space at top of each jar. Put lids on top, and allow to cool to room temperature (at least 2 hours), before freezing. Defrost jam in refrigerator before using. Makes 2 jars (yes, I know it looks like it will make more with all those apples, but they do cook down quite a bit)
The reason I even attempted this was because Thanksgiving is coming up and my youngest daughter is having it at her house. She's making pies and I'm bringing my grandson's "Nana must bring" brownies, so we didn't want anything else that was too big (like my grandmother's spice cake w/praline frosting or a pumpkin roll). I suggested one of my favorites: my mom's apricot strudel (bite-sized, with golden raisins and coconut). Although my oldest daughter (in Northern California) loves them, my youngest daughter said "yuck ~ no apricot, no raisins and no coconut ~ bring apple instead." That was a dilemma, since apple butter would be too mushy when you cut the small slices. I tried to find a recipe on-line for apple marmalade, but I guess there isn't such a thing ~ I did find some for apple jam, but they didn't seem to have enough texture. So, I decided to combine some of those apple jam recipes and improvise a little to make them even thicker with more "chew" (to resemble the coconut for texture), and came up with my own recipe for apple marmalade. This should be easy enough for even the novice canner to follow, since that's what I am too!
It's still weeks before Thanksgiving, so I won't be making my new apple strudel until then. However, I'll post photos of my mom's apricot strudel below, with a link to the recipe. I plan to make the apple strudel exactly the same way (without any raisins or coconut ~ and since my daughter also doesn't want nuts in there, I sprinkle some Heath's toffee bits on top of the apple marmalade).
CARAMEL APPLE FREEZER MARMALADE
3 cups Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady apples (about 3 medium-large), diced (peel on)
2 cups Granny Smith apples (about 2 medium-large), diced (peel on)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 box (1.75 oz) fruit pectin
2 clean canning jars and lids
***
Whisk together the sugars, spices and fruit pectin ~ put it all into a big bowl. As you dice up each apple, put the pieces into the bowl and toss it to coat with the sugar mixture. Make sure you mix from the bottom as you add more apples in.
Put the apple mixture and any collected juices into a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; then reduce heat to medium, and cook jam until thickened and apples have softened, (about 10-20 minutes.) I mashed them down a little with a potato masher about halfway through, just so it wasn't all chunks.
Use ladle to transfer marmalade into clean jars, leaving about 1/2" space at top of each jar. Put lids on top, and allow to cool to room temperature (at least 2 hours), before freezing. Defrost jam in refrigerator before using. Makes 2 jars (yes, I know it looks like it will make more with all those apples, but they do cook down quite a bit)
RSS Feed
