Apple Chili Jelly

These apples, from a neighbour's tree, are more photogenic than the ones I used.
The chilis are straight from the freezer; hence the bloom on them.

We had several boxes of home grown apples this year. Most were large Bramleys, easy to peel and core to make apple sauce.  But I knew I wouldn't get much out of the smaller ones, so I decided to make apple chili jelly.  To begin with, you just chop up the apples, skins, cores, seeds and all., removing any bad bits.  They go into water and are boiled up, then strained though a muslin. Sugar is added to the juice and it is boiled again until it reaches setting point.  The jelly is delicious with roast chicken, pork chops and even cheese. Here's how it is done.

Ingredients:
4 lbs apples, washed and chopped.
Cold water to cover.
The zest and juice of a lemon.
1 or 2 large chilis, chopped
Sugar. (I used 2 1/2 lbs.

Method:
Use about 4 pounds of apples, washed and chopped and two chilis, also chopped.

Add enough cold water to cover the apples.

Include the zest and juice of a lemon.

Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit is soft.

Strain the fruit by putting a muslin over a plastic strainer.

(I bought my muslin from Roibert Dyas, but you could use a clean white cloth.  Just pour boiling water over it to sterilise it.)
Leave the juice to drain out completely until only the apple mush is left in the muslin. This can take a couple of hours.  Go do something nice while you are waiting.

(Do not be tempted to squeeze the muslin as this will make the jelly cloudy.  You only want the juice and not the pulp.) 

Measure the juice and put it back in the pan.

For every pint, add one pound of sugar.

Bring gently to the boil and boil until the jelly reaches setting point (about 30 minutes).

You can test for setting point but putting a small amount on a cold plate and pushing it with your finger.  If it starts to wrinkle, it is done.

While the jelly is boiling, prepare your jars.  Wash them and their lids  and rinse them in boling water.  Put them in the oven to dry and keep warm.

When the jelly is done, pour it into the jars and seal them.

Mine made a total of 4 jam jars.

Beautifully clear and delicious jelly. We had some with roast lamb today.