This is a fresh tasting, pure jelly with no pectin added. Just the goodness of your backyard. No commercial pectin is required as crabapples have high natural pectin content.
Unfortunately ALLRECIPES changed the recipe significantly. We never simmer the juice for 10 minutes, or need to skim off any foam. It's a very simple process and the end result is fabulous.
Read MoreI think the success of this recipe must depend on how acidic your crabapples are. Mine were large and fairly sweet as far as crabapples go (I have no idea what variety they were, though)... so it did not jell. I had to add a box of Certo lite to make it jell. Once this was done, the flavour was great and the colour was so pretty.... I double-strained the juice, so I did not end up with a "weird consistency" like some reviewers said. Also, I needed a generous 8 cups of apples to get 3 cups of juice - not the four cups promised in the recipe. All-in-all, I would say that this recipe shows promise, but watch your "sour factor" in your apples - make sure it is high.
Read MoreUnfortunately ALLRECIPES changed the recipe significantly. We never simmer the juice for 10 minutes, or need to skim off any foam. It's a very simple process and the end result is fabulous.
Lovely recipe that is easy to make even for a first-time jelly maker. Takes a while for the jelly to set up so don't worry!
I think the success of this recipe must depend on how acidic your crabapples are. Mine were large and fairly sweet as far as crabapples go (I have no idea what variety they were, though)... so it did not jell. I had to add a box of Certo lite to make it jell. Once this was done, the flavour was great and the colour was so pretty.... I double-strained the juice, so I did not end up with a "weird consistency" like some reviewers said. Also, I needed a generous 8 cups of apples to get 3 cups of juice - not the four cups promised in the recipe. All-in-all, I would say that this recipe shows promise, but watch your "sour factor" in your apples - make sure it is high.
Used this recipe for my first time ever making jelly and it came out perfectly with my neighbors back yard crabapples (small, hard, red fleshed type). Just like the jelly my mom used to make! I also chose this recipe because my daughter's middle name is Mary Winn LOL! Thanks!
I followed the recipe exactly as described and wound up with the result exactly as pictured. It was an easy fun project that my 11 year old daughter and I completed yesterday afternoon. We enjoyed the jelly on toast this morning.
I followed the recipe approximately--I'd already made 5 cups of juice from my crabapples before I read the recipe. So, I added 4 cups of sugar to my juice, and boiled them together until it reached the gel stage (220 for sea level, but almost 230 where I live at 5000 ft). It jelled right away, and I have four lovely cups of crabapple jelly. I really must go see if that crabapple tree has any good apples left because I'd like to make another batch of it.
I found this recipe last year it was easy to read & understand the steps & the makes the best crabapple jelly. I gave it as christmas gifts last year & had several requests for it again this year.
This is a beautiful jelly. It is very easy to make and it jelled with no problem. I used 5cups of juice and 3 cups of sugar. I have also used 5 cups juice and 1 cup of honey, with a softer jelly but very yummy. Do not throw out leftover pulp during the juicing step. You can use it to make crabapple butter in the crock-pot. Just follow an apple butter recipe it is the same steps.
Although I am a first time jelly maker, I thought this recipe was very general and takes alot longer than 15 minutes to make. The flavor was good,but the texture left little to be desired.
this recipe is great i have 8 crabapple trees. so i make a lot of jelly. my family loves it i run out every year.
Good tasting, took me 3 hrs from quartering to finish cooking. Yielded about 4 scant cups of jelly. Pretty color, smooth, a little thick. Thanks!
The recipe worked fine...I took the left over apples, put them through my hand miller and made some wonderful apple sauce. I added a cup of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. It is very sweet/tart - but tasty and I used all of the apples. It will be a good sauce for roast pork.
I let the juice drip overnight and it is important to measure the juice. The red variety of crab apples I used needs one cup of white sugar for each cup of juice and there is no need for purchased pectin.
Its a simple recipe. There was a crabapple tree down the street that was loaded with crabapples. I had chopped up 12 cups worth, added water to level and boiled. Removed the mash and filtered. The muslin cloth works fine. Boiled with two cinnamon sticks and around 5 cups of sugar. The point about making jelly or candy is that you have to reach the right temperature. If not that means you have to keep cooking to remove water. Water boils at 212, sugar mixture boils higher (jelly 220). So keep cooking it to remove water and the temp will eventually climb. The sugar will get all bubbly. Once you reach 220, fill up your jars and enjoy. My jelly had a nice red color. I remember my grandma's jelly was much lighter pink. Its a bit of work but worth it!
I am a first time jelly maker, but I followed the recipe to the best of my ability. I only yielded 2 cups of juice, instead of 4. Therefore, I only had to add half the sugar. After letting it simmer at 220 degrees I only ended up with 1 -8oz jar of jelly, instead of the stated 4 cups. It has a decent flavor but not a nice texture. It seems this recipe is from someones memory and not accurate.
This is the first time I have made crabapple jelly. We have several trees in our yard and have let them go to waste for a while. This year I decided to make jelly with them. This recipe is wonderful. I did have to add pectin to my boiling water because it was way to thin to set. I may have had to much water to begin with.. I would highly recommend this recipe.. The more sour the crabapples the better this comes out..
Just made this jelly and it was sooo good. Have made lots of other jellies in the past, but always used pectin so I was a little anxious. This turned out perfectly jelled and clear. Definitely making more. Only thing I did different - did not quarter apples and I used a jelly bag. Also, I didn't have a cinnamon stick, so used ground cinnamon from a can. Next time want to use a stick. Took a long time to hit 220 degrees, but finally got there. The taste is so fresh - also loved when it was cooking - it smelled like candy apples!! This is a keeper.
Wonderful recipe and just a quick note, you do not have to cut and quarter the apples, just leave them whole and they will burst when the water starts to boil.
Wonderful! I ended up needing to double the recipe because I had so much juice. The first time I followed the recipe, my jelly didn't gel.(6+hours later) So I dumped all of the jars of jelly back into apot, rewashed all my jars and this time cooked the jelly for an additional 15 minutes abd reprocessed them in a water bath and they turned out perfect! SO pretty, so delicious. I am making more today. Thank you for a great recipe that doesn't need any additives!
BEWARE: I made the recipe 10-16-13; It made four jelly jars full; (It took three quarts of crab apples to make TWO quarts to process.) I had a some jelly left after filling the jars and had it on toast. It was delicious, BUT soon after my lips went numb and I had chest and intestinal pains during the night. I've read where the seeds can produce cyanide. The recipe calls for cutting the crab apples in quarters before boiling/simmering, which I did but of course this cut many of the seeds in half, exposing the parts that can produce the cyanide poisoning. I read where you would have to eat a cup of seeds to be poisoned, but thought maybe cooking all the shredded seeds might have been the problem. It might be that I'm allergic to something in the recipe, but thought I should mention the possible hazard. Bill, McComb, Ohio
I died from it
Note the amount of juice you get depends on how much water you cover the apples with. I made 2 batches. The first one I barely covered the apples because I didn't want it to not set (a problem that I've had making other kinds of jelly before). I only got a cup and a half of juice so I used a cup of sugar. It set up very nicely. The second batch I got 3 cups of juice so I used 2 cups of sugar. It didn't set as well. I think if I'd boiled it longer it would've been ok. I will use the batch that didn't set well as syrup for pancakes.
This is a good recipe. Alot easier than I thought. I however omitted the cinnamon stick because I just wanted crabapple jelly with no extra flavors. I have nice red crab apples and ended up having to use pectin because it would not set on its own.
Great recipe. I used it last year when the crab apples were plentiful. Crab apples weren't as good this year but I canned some stock last year and used it today with this recipe. I didn't use the cinnamon stick but might try it next time. I like the lesser amount of sugar in this recipe as compared to others. Also, 1 batch I made last year took a few days to set, I was starting to worry when it finally did set. The other batches set immediately. In summary, great recipe!
this was my first attempt at jelly making and it yielded very good results. my 6-7 cups of apples gave me 4 8oz jars of clear, colorful,tasty jelly. it took quite a long time to get the jelly up to 220 degrees, but the recipe is simple,easy and fun.
My double batch came out perfect. I didn't bother removing stems, as it would have taken a week to do with small crabapples, so I cooked the apples with the stems, and mashed them in the pot after they softened. I added a large bunch of mint from my garden during cooking, and also added finely chopped mint leaves just before pouring into jars. Best tasting jelly I've ever made, and pretty color too.
First time for me making jelly and this recipe was great. Turned out wonderful, but I did get a bit of advice from a friend. Not all crab apples are the same, and I wasn't sure if my kind were okay to use. I have small green crab apples. They worked just fine. I added an extra cinnamon stick to the broth while boiling the apples and in order to get the pretty pink colour, I used ONE drop of red food colouring. I was very happy with the results :)
I just finished making this jelly however I had a problem trying to get the temperature up to 220. I was using a candy thermometer however the highest my jelly got (after half an hour trying to raise the temp) was 210. I'm still waiting for the jars to cool after I processed them so I'm not sure how it turned out yet. The stuff I skimmed off the top tasted great. So I hope this works. Any suggestions as to what I may have done wrong? I'm stumped as to why it wouldn't heat up to 220
On my second time ever making jelly, and this recipe made the best crabapple jelly I've ever had! The taste is simply wonderful, and it jelled right away!
I give up, I've tried this recipe twice now and I cannot get it to gel. I got the temp up to 224, but no gel. I even did one batch with Suregel pectin and no dice. The flavor was good, but man that was a lot of work. 5+ hours from the time I picked the apples to pulling them out of my canner. I now have 7 jars of "syrup".
I used certo right away after reading reviews and still had to re-boil.IT took the second time and tasted just like I remembered my grandfathers did.
Kind of hard to make--my crabapples do need pectin and don't produce as much juice. Tasty. Didn't gel as printed. Using as ice cream topping.
Everything depends on the crabapples you use. Mine are about 1" in diameter. I ran them through an electric juicer, ending up with 10 cups of juice. The juice was cloudy green. after the initial boil, all of the particulate matter causing the green cloudiness "glomped" together and I was able to pour the juice through a fine sieve to remove it. I returned the juice to a boil and had a small amount of foam, which was easily skimmed. I initially added 8 cups of sugar for the 10 cups of juice. This was based on another review stating they used 4 cups of sugar to 5 cups of juice. After tasting, I realized I had some really sour apples..... I added another 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Brought it up to the 220 degrees F recommended in the original recipe, and proceeded from there to pour into the hot sterile jelly jars, and put them through the water bath. Worked well!
Made jam using island jen's info on sugar/apple ratio with crabapple sauce...jelled at 200 degrees for me. Like your hint that they taste like cranberries...can't wait to play with that!
We found this recipe very easy to make, but it did not set at all. We were very disappointed in the time we spent making it for it not to set.
I printed up this recipe for my husband, who had a large amount of crab apples that he wanted to make into jelly. Using this recipe - he had more problems, and it did not jell. Had to remake - boil -etc - pectin and most time consuming and frustrating.
It took forever, probably because I strained mine three times each batch, but it was worth it. Consistency was different with each batch... first time jelly-maker here, so who knows what I did wrong! I thought I'd like the thicker jelly, but the runny stuff ended up yummier. A great recipe and fairly easy to follow for a first-timer.
I tried following the directions with this recipe and didn't have any luck. It just didn't set thick enough. I used the Sure-Jell pectin recipe for the second batch. My crab apples were the golf-ball dark red ones. I think my problem may have been that I used too much water to boil my crabapples in, so my juice was too watery. I followed the directions to use enough water for to see, but not to make them float, but I just don't think that's specific enough..
I made this last night. A made a double batch from my own crabapple tree. It turned out awesome! I followed the directions. I was afraid it was not going to make much but I doubled the recipe and made 14 4 oz jars and 2 1/2 pint jars. Enough to give as gifts. I'm going to make some more juice and freeze it so I can make more jelly in the winter. Thanks!
Excellent! Did a batch this fall and it was great! Everyone loves my jelly and it comes out just as is says in the recipe!
Great jelly! Easy recipe to follow. This was my maiden voyage for canning or jellying and it seems to have turned out quite successfully! This one goes in the recipe box!
My kids love this, mainly because they enjoy picking the crabapples. The last time I made crabapple jelly I had to add some pectin, so when you're making this, better have some on hand in case you need it. Also, preparing the apples is very time-consuming. Next time I think I'll coarsely chop the apples in a food processor.
Very easy to make; delicious results. I did have to add some pectin to get the jelly to thicken. No problem. Instead of a cinnamon stick, I put in 1 tsp. of cinnamon. Thank you.
Used Splenda instead of sugar because I'm diabetic. I made the mistake of mashing the apples while cooking, too much went into compost because liquid wouldn't pass through. Tasted awesome...
This was my first time making this jelly, I did have to add certo to it, I could not get it to gel, I did add more sugar but that did not help. The color was excellent and it does taste good! I will do this again next year, Lord willing.
I started with a 5 gallon bucket of crabapples and by far the most time consuming part of the process was de-blooming and stemming. The jelly is the family's favorite.
I have been making crabapple jelly every couple of years (the trees only have apples every second year here). I had lost my recipe and was so glad to find this. I followed the recipe as written and the jelly is wonderful. Great in my Christmas baskets. Thank you
Loved it!! Recipe was great and the jelly is delicious. Now if I could have more hands to pick, cut and wash all these little apples, lol.
I have zero idea how you could not love this recipe. I followed it exactly and it came out perfectly. I'm guessing that all crabapples don't have the same amount of pectin in them - the stuff I made was turning into jelly right from the pot. I read somewhere else that you shouldn't press down on the apples to get all the juice out - it will make the jelly fog up (and I'm only guessing, but maybe cause it to not gel the same?), so I didn't. I just strained it through an old pillow case and let it drip out the juice and composted the pulp. Anyway, it came out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe.
I used 6 cups of juice and adjusted the sugar up due to the recipe stating i would have 4 cups of liquid. Wish I had used only 3 cups. Also recipe doesn't state where the cinnamon comes in. I just boiled it with the juice and sugar. It's really beautiful! Would be divine if I had added some hot pepper! Will really be wonderful served over cream cheese with some toasted bagel bites! Or maybe with crackers!
The cinnamon in this recipe is divine.
Fabulous! Everyone I give it to raves about it! I never get more than a few little jars at a time, but it is so worth it. I have started adding about 2/3 of the sugar to make it more tart, but it is wonderful the way it is.
This makes delicious jelly, a bit tart and sweet both. Yummy on toast. Needs no adjustments.
This was the first time making crab apple jelly. This recipe came out great! It is going in my recipe box.
Had great taste, but mine refused to set no matter how much pectin/certo I put in. I made 3 batches and none turned out.
This turned out so very nice. I plan on giving it away at Christmas. My Brother loves this jelly. The last time anyone made it for him was 7 yrs ago , when my mother was still with us. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Mine jelled fine but my crabapples were pretty sour. I tasted it and added another cup of sugar but should have tasted it again as it probably needed another cup (a rarelty in jelly making as most is way too sweet). Next up, crabapple & Jalapenos.
This made only 2 cups of juice. It did not congeal either. Don't what I did wrong, but would like any suggestions. Not sure if it was worth 2 hours of processing the crabapples either.
I made Crab apple jelly for the first time. I do not know if I started with 8 cups of crab apples, but I boiled about 200 of them in just enough water to cover. I put it all in a bowl and fridge it for a couple of days. I then strained it all thru a jelly bag, twice. Vice the cinnamon stick, I sprinkled about 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon into it. Brought it to a boil with 3 cups of sugar. I got 9 cups (250 ml jars) out of it all. It is just the right amount of sweetness to tart I love. My jelly is nowhere as clear as the picture above but that's OK. :) Thanks for the recipe. I think I may boil down some more, get the jelly out of it and make cranberry sauce with it.
personnaly I'm not making again. MAYBE ANOTHER RECIPE BUT NOT THIS ONE. I HAVE SO MANY BOTTLES OF IT THAT I DON;T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM.
I LOVE this recipe... best one ever! I made many batches of this at once. Using 32 cups of juice I added juice of two fresh lemons to the big batch. I used my pressure canner to stack two levels of 250 ml jars x 23 to water bath at once plus one water bath canner with 5 x 500 ml and 2 X 250 ml jars so all 30 jars were being processed at once. My family ate one jar with bread and butter that night. Loved it!
This recipe did not yield 4 cups of juice. And it is very important that you get the temperature up to 222-225 F or else it won't set (it takes a while, but it's getting all the extra water out). Sweet and tasty.
Sadly my recipe didn't set. I woke up the next day and all the jars were still liquid. I saw early on that it wasn't going to set, so I did put in 2 boxes of pectin. Still... it didn't set. 24 cups of apples - 9 cups of sugar. Shame, going to have to re-do the steps again today.
This is a simple recipe, but I did a few things differently. First, instead of cheesecloth to strain the fruit, I used a food mill with the smallest holes. This resulted in a lot of pulp, so I basically made jam, not jelly. NBD. Second, I tasted the jam after I added 2 cups of sugar because I didn't want to use three cups if I could get away with 2. Tasted great with 2. I don't like really sweet jam. I also added the cinnamon stick when I added the sugar. The recipe didn't say when to add it, so I guessed. Ended up with 6 approx. 8oz. jars. My crabapples are the size of large cherries and are quite tart. Next time, I think I will try the sieve with larger holes just to see if I get clear liquid, but no seeds or skin. Will definitely make again!
Have made this twice with great results. Have not yet figured out where the stick of cinnamon fits in though!
A good recipe. I had to adjust the boiling temperature from 220 to 210 because we live at 5000 ft..
only got about 2.5 cups of juice so I added a bit more water. Turned out amazing and at the moment making another batch because the first 4 jars won’t last very long. Delicious!
My Aunt Mary made this jelly years ago and I found this recipe to be exactly like the old fashion family recipe she made for many years. It is a great recipe and I have made it a number of times over the last 8 years.
This turned out great tasting. It did take quite awhile to get to the jelly stage. ( I did use some sure gel to help )
Did it exactly as the recipe says. Got 5 jars and set up wonderfully with no pectin. Very delicious and making another batch now!
Fabulous. Lovely clear jelly. Set easily with the temperature adjusted to 214 deg F for the altitude. Looking forward to making more as our crop of fruit is plentiful this year.
Taste and colour are fine, but the 33 jars I made didn't set. Now I will need to open them all reprocess and add pectin, pain in the butt.
First batch was exactly as expected! The second batch took longer to set but it did (as some of the other reviews stated happened to them). Third and Fourth batch had red pepper flakes (most removed but left a few so there is no confusion before opening). And no added pectin to any of them!!!! Love, love, love this recipe!!
tastes good...but it didn't set up. I needed to add pectin.
This is lovely. The Color is beautiful and the cinnamon added a subtle taste. I’ll do this again.
I picked my crabapples from a very old tree at the park, yellow with tinge of red. looked and tasted like our old tree when I was a kid, and my mom made the most delicious jelly. Followed the recipe, but it did not jell. Now that it is cooled and in the jars, can I return it to the pot to add the pectin. Also other jelly recipes seem to add more sugar and pectin. Please help as I probably will not be able to get these apples again this year. Is it totally lost.
Yes I have made some changes & will most likely make more again soon. I am always looking for new & interesting ways to use new or old ingredients in any tasty way that is healthy that I can!
I followed the instructions but I double strained the juice. I also did the optional cinnamon. It was set quickly. For those looking at doing this plan a day. I filled a stewing pot with apples put water just over the top and brought it to a boil then let it simmer for about 2 hours, then stirred and started the straining process. They say to use a potato masher but you get more pulp this way. I used a spice masher tool which work. You get pulp so you need to strain again. Instead of throwing the pulp away now I can make apple butter.
I made this last night. It was thickening in a promising way, as I cooked it, then put it into sterilized jars, and then sterilized the jars. I also had a half cup left, which I put into a glass container in the fridge, unsterilized, to be used quickly. This morning, I went to use the small amount on toast just to try it , and it was pure liquid, like apple juice. I checked the sealed jars, all are like water. I am not impressed, with all the work that goes into preparing tiny crab apples.
They whole family loves this! Super easy and delicious.
I was searching the web to see if I could use Thunderchild Crab Apples for jelly when I found this recipe and I'm pleased to report....yes you can. It's tart and tasty. Followed her instructions exactly.
I used a steamer/juicer to make my juice for this last year. It took a bit longer to reduce the fruit, but the clarity was amazing, and the flavor received rave reviews from all of the family and friends with whom I shared. My tree is heavy with fruit this year, so it's nearly jelly time again! (I did not add flavorings, spices or food color to mine. The pure juice and sugar combination was pure perfection to me!)
This is a tasty jelly that was easy to make. I would recommend that if you aren’t at sea level that you determine your elevation and then determine the appropriate gelling point for your elevation. I’m relatively new to canning and my first batch ended up being more like candy than jelly. It turns out our gelling point is 210 degrees rather than 220-225. But my second batch turned out great and everyone loves the flavor! We will make this again.
Used a jelly bag rather than cheesecloth; less messy for me. Beautiful color, clear as a ruby and oh... that taste! This was a test batch.. a neighbor has a crab apple tree in his yard which was left from an orchard that was originally on the site of our condos. I've been invited to take as many as I want (lucky me). I will definitely make this recipe again!
