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Apple Cider Jelly

 
Recently I have gotten back into canning. I don't really know exactly why I took a hiatus, but lately I have gotten really tired of walking through the grocery store aisles thinking "gosh, that's so expensive, I could make that!" Maybe as I've gotten older I have just become "cheap" but in the back of my mind I think I feel better just knowing what exactly is in the foods my family eats.  So here is my recipe for Apple Jelly. I know it's not the healthiest thing but I had to start with something simple to get back into it again. I used a combination of recipes. The jelly on the left is adapted from the Better Home's New Cook Book, Recipe for Fruit-Juice Jelly.

Here's what you need: 
  • 4 cups unsweetened apple, grape, or orange juice ( I used unsweetened Apple Cider)
  • 1/4 c lemon juice (not from a real lemon) has to be in the bottle
  • 1- 1 3/4 ounce package powdered fruit pectin, if you use the little container of pectic (I use Ball brand) use 3 1/2 T
  • 4 1/2 c sugar (I used a little less)
  • Cinnamon sticks or red hot candies (optional)
  • half pint jars, lids, rings 
**For the jelly on the right, I used a little bottle of the red hot cinnamon candies and dissolved them in the juice before I added the sugar.
Pour fruit juice and lemon juice into an 8-10 qt kettle . Sprinkle with pectin. Let stand 1-2 minutes, stir to dissolve (I added a cinnamon stick). Bring to a full rolling boil over med-high heat. Stir frequently. (Remove cinnamon stick). Stir in  sugar. Return to full rolling boil, stir often. Boil hard one minute, (this is where I have a discrepancy...juice turns to jelly at 220 degrees F. It took me A LOT longer than 1 minute, so my first batch was a little runnier..but still jelly.) Skim off foam. Ladle into hot, sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process in boiling-water canner 5 minutes. Makes about 6 half pints.

~Simply Angie

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