Spicy crab apple jelly

[debih]

1kg crab apples
450g granulated sugar (approx)
12 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks

Remove stalks and leafy bits from the apples and rinse. Don't peel or core them as this is great pectin.

Put the apples, cloves and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan with 600ml water. Simmer until the fruit goes pulpy. Remove from the heat.

Pour the contents through a scalded jelly bag (or muslin). Leave to drip overnight - do not squeeze it through the bag or it will go cloudy.

Measure the juice. For every 600ml juice you will need 450g sugar. Put the juice in a pan and slowly bring to the boil. Add the sugar just as it comes to the boil and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Boil it rapidly without stirring for approx 10 mins and test for a set. Retest every 1 minute until it is done.

Skim the jelly to get rid of any scum and pour into sterilised jars (makes approx 4 x 225g jars).

I often add other hedgerow fruit to this - blackberries, rowan berries, sloes, rosehips or elderberries. Generally do 50% crab apples to 50% other fruit. I don't bother with the cloves and cinnamon then. If using 50% crab apples and 50% rowan berries add the juice of 1 lemon. You can add sage or thyme at the first stage whilst the fruit is softening - it also looks nice if you add a whole sage leaf in the jar once you have bottled it. If you're using rosehips you need to zuzz them in a food processor first.