Crab Apple Jelly - Made With Foraged Wild Crab Apples

Crab Apple Jelly - Made With Foraged Wild Crab Apples that we collected whilst out walking in Bristol.

I wandered around this morning with my daughter, we found several crab apple trees growing wild, in a couple of different locations.

Between us we picked a bowl full of crab apples.

We took them home, removed the stalks and cut the bases off of them.

We cut them all in half and then added them to a large saucepan.

Here is how to make the Crab Apple Jelly:

1/ Cover the crab apples in water. Add water until it reaches the top of the apples in the pan.

2/ simmer them in the pan for about 30 to 40 minutes. Mushing them up occasionally with a potato masher.

3/ Drain the apples into a bowl through several sheets of muslin, for several hour or even overnight. Do not squeeze or the jelly will be cloudy.

4/ Measure the liquid/ juice that you manage to obtain and then add 7 parts sugar to 10 parts juice.

5/A the juice of a lemon.

6/ Place the lot in a pan and then bring it up to a rolling boil.

7/ Boil for around 30-40 minutes, removing the scum that forms at the top regularly. If you don't remove the scum, the jelly will be cloudy.

8/ After about 30-40 minutes. Dip a spoon in and then place the spoon in a cool place. If the liquid sets on the spoon, it is ready.

9/Pour the liquid into a clean sterilised jar and place it in the fridge to set.

10/Try on toast instead of jam, it's delicious.

You can strain the pulp through a fine sieve, if you don't mind the Jelly being cloudy. It makes the process quicker.

Ingredients:

Crab Apples

A Lemon (juiced)

Sugar

Water

It tastes great on toast. I think that it will go well with pork, lamb or venison.

Wild Crab Apple - these were growing on a crab apple tree situated on the central reservation of the Bristol Ring Road.

A bowl of freshly foraged wild crab apples, foraged during a walk in Bristol.

Remove the stalks and cut the bases off. Cut them in half and add them to a large saucepan. Then add water to the pan, so that it comes to the top of the apples in the pan.

Boil the crab apples, occasionally breaking them up with a potato masher.

Drain the pulp through several layers of muslin. The juice will take several hours to drain into the bowl below. Do not squeeze them, or the jelly will be cloudy.

Add the sugar to the crab apple juice in the ratio of 7 parts sugar to 10 parts juice.

Add the juice of a lemon and them bring to a rolling boil for 30-40 minutes. Removing the scum regularly to ensure that the jelly remains clear.

Add the crab apple juice to a clean and sterilised jar and leave in the fridge to set. You then have Crab Apple Jelly.

Freshly made Crab Apple Jelly, made with foraged crab apples collected during a walk with my daughter in Bristol.

My daughter loves the Crab Apple Jelly!