But now the autumn is slowly creeping in and you can really feel the change in weather. And around this time I go into full blown preserve making mode - as long as I can get my hands on some berries or fruit all I want to do is stock up for the winter. Nevermind the fact that I still have some jams that I made back in 2011. But this year I've decided to try a couple of new things, especially as I still have plenty of the stuff that I've made in the previous years. So, my first project so to speak was chilli apple jelly. After spending a lovely afternoon with my mother in law she told me all about the gorgeous things she had made (and already eaten), and being a massive fan of cheese this jelly recipe really stood out. So equipped with my apples and chillies (which unfortunately I had to buy) I arrived home with a clear mission - I am going to make that jelly. I have to admit when I read the recipe it seemed like a quite long winded process, but as I made the first steps in the morning and let it drip whilst I was out and about and then finished it off in the evening it didn't feel bad at all.
Whenever I make any preserves I never manage to either fill all the jars or there's a tiny bit left over. And what I usually do in these circumstances is I put the leftovers in a glass ramekin or two and enjoy them over a couple of days. This is actually pretty great as I get to taste the real product without having to open up a massive jar and then having to polish that off. And let's face it, if I'm all by myself and want to maintain a relatively healthy diet, eating a lot of cheese with some crackers smothered in apple jelly is probably not the best way to do it. But it definitely would be a very delicious way of doing it!
So, a little bit about the jelly itself. The first thing that I absolutely love is the way it looks - transparent golden jelly with red chilli specks inside. It's quite magnificent. And the taste is just incredible - sweet with a nice kick to it. And to have it with some cheese, I had it with mature cheddar, is just divine - it really adds the final touch to the whole combination. So having finished off my tiny ramekin I can't wait to have an excuse to pop open a jar and have some more of this golden deliciousness.
Ingredients
(Makes about 1.5l of jelly)
- 2kg cooking apples
- cold water
- 1.5kg sugar
- 3 birds eye chillies, chopped
Directions
Roughly chop the apples and place into a large saucepan. There's no need to peel or core the apples, so it makes the whole preparation process a lot easier and faster. Then cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is all soft and squishy.
Then drain the fruit and liquid through a sterilised muslin - leave it for a good 3-4 hours at least.
Measure the clear juice and allow 450g sugar and 1 chopped chilli for every 500ml of juice. Pour the juice, sugar and chilli into a clean saucepan and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and skim off the foam from the surface. Bring back to boil and boil vigorously for 15-20 minutes until the setting point is reached (105C on the sugar thermometer).
Remove the pan from heat and pour the jelly into sterilised jars. Let them cool down and store them away. These will keep for 2 years, unopened.
Recipe adapted from BBC Food recipe "Chilli apple jelly"
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