Dutch Apple Pie Jam

Apples make a great jam or apple butter.

I love apples but I can't eat a big bag of apples fast enough to keep them from going bad. So, I found this recipe for making up some apple jam.

1 lb tart green apples
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon margarine or butter
1 pouch certo liquid fruit pectin

Peel, core and finely chop enough apples to measure 2c Place in
preserving kettle or Dutch oven with raisins,water, lemon
juice,cinnamon and allspice. Stir in sugars and margarine/butter.

Place kettle over high heat and sitr until it comes to a full boil.
Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and
immediately stir in liquid fruit pectin. Bring to full rolling boil
and boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes to prevent floating fruit. Pour
quickly into sterilized jars, filling up to 1/2 in from the rim. Seal
while hot with sterilized two-piece lids with new centers.

On a cold morning I'll heat some on a buttered English muffin.

Great taste.

Don @ Jelly Recipes

Banana Jam

When the fresh fruit from the farmers market isn't available I go back to some favorites using fruit from the store.

Banana Jam

5 each ripe bananas
3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2/3 cup fresh orange juice or water 1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean split in half
1 lengthwise and cut into 1/3s
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon banana liqueur (optional)

Peel the bananas and thinly slice or mash with a fork.

Place the bananas in a heavy saucepan with the lime juice, orange juice, sugar, vanilla bean and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer the banana jam until htick, about 30 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the banana liqueur and remove the pan from the heat. Leave the vanilla bean in the jam - it's pretty.

Spoon the jam into three 6-ounce canning jars that have been sterilized. Fill the jars to with-in one-eighth inch of the top.

Screw on the lids. Invert the jars for 5 minutes, then reinvert. Let the jam cool to room temperature.

Store the jam in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate the jam once opened; it will keep for several weeks.

Enjoy - Don @ Jelly Recipes

Strawberry & Apple Jam

The strawberries have really been great this year here in the Midwest. When my neighbors apple tree started having good apples early on, I dug out this recipe for strawberry and apple jam.

Strawberry & Apple Jam
500 gm strawberries
3 large green apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cup water
1 kg sugar, warmed
Wash, hull & half the strawberries. Peel, core & quarter the apples. Ten cut quarters into thin slices. Put all the ingredients, except the sugar, into a large pot. Cover & bring to a boil.

Simmer until the fruit is tender. Add warmed sugar & stir till it has dissolved. Increase heat, stirring frequently & cook till setting point is reached.

Remove from heat & let stand for 5 minutes. Pour into warm sterile jars & seal.

Don @ Jelly Recipes

Grape Jelly

Grandmother had a grape arbor with some of the most sour grapes you could possible imagine. They had a beautiful coppery sheen and I always had to try them. Man were they sour.

As a 6 year old I had no idea they were for wine and were supposed to taste that way. I thought grapes were supposed to be sweet so Grandma made some of them into grape jelly. Now that was the way grapes were supposed to be. Hot bread from the oven, home made butter, yes, home made, and that fabulous grape jelly.

Life on the farm could truly be heaven when you were 6.

Years later I found out what the rest of those grapes were for - but I still have a passion for home made jelly.