How to Can Apple Jelly

Prepare the apples: Rinse the apples under cold running water and pat dry. Stem the apples. Using your cutting board and knife cut the apples into chunks but do not core them.

Cook apples: Combine the apples and the water in your Stainless Steel Pot or Enameled Dutch Oven. Bring the apples and water to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Once apples are soft, crush them with a potato masher. Simmer the crushed apples for 5 more minutes.

Strain the apple juice. Line a mesh strainer with 3 layers of dampened cheesecloth and put over a large bowl. Pour the contents of the pot into the strainer. I had to do this in stages because I didn’t have a large enough strainer to take everything out of the pot at once. Let the mixture drain its juice over the bowl for 2 to 4 hours or until the juice measures 3 cups. Do not squeeze or press the apple mixture in the cheesecloth, as that may cause you to have cloudy jelly.

Prepare water bath canner: Put your water bath canner on your stove. Add your canning rack to your water bath canner. Add your half-pint jars to the water bath canner. They will warm as you heat the water. Add enough water to cover jars with at least 2-3 inches of water. Start to bring your water to a boil.

Cook apple juice with pectin. Combine your 3 cups of apple juice with the Ball Classic Pectin in your large stainless steel pot or enameled Dutch oven. Stir to incorporate the pectin into the juice. Bring to a full roiling boil that can not be stirred down over high heat. Make sure to continuously stir so it doesn’t burn.

Add the sugar to the apple mixture. Stir to ensure all sugar dissolves in the apple juice. Return mixture to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. If you have any foam on top skim it off into a different bowl.

Filling jars with Apple Jelly. Remove your jars from the water bath canner one at a time using your jar lifter. Dump water out of the jar into your water bath canner. Ladle the hot jelly into a hot jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace (use your headspace measurer to verify the correct amount).

Sealing jar: Wipe the rim of the jar to ensure a good seal is made with the lid. Center the lid on the jar and add the band to fingertip tight. Put the jar back into the water bath canner using your jar lifter.

Repeat steps 7-8 for the remaining apple jelly, until the jars are filled.

Process jars in a water bath canner. Lower the water bath canner rack into the boiling water. Ensure your jars are covered by at least 2 inches of water. If your water is not boiling start your processing time when the water is boiling. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes. Make sure to adjust your time for altitude. Set a timer, it makes it much easier to make sure you process for the correct time. When your timer goes off turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Leave the jars in the water for 5 minutes.

Lift your canning rack out of the water. Using your jar lifer carefully move your jars onto a wire rack or kitchen towel to allow them to cool. When moving your jars try not to tilt them to the side as this could affect the seal of your jars. Allow your jars to cool for 12-24 hours before handling.

Once cool, remove the canning rings from the jars. Wash your jars off to ensure there is no food residue on the outside of the jar from processing. Label your jar with the name of the recipe and date. This will help you remember what recipe you used to can and the date will allow you to use the oldest canned goods first.