Chilli Crab Apple Jelly



A Lovely Loaded Crab Apple Tree

I decided I had to do something with the vast amount of crab apples that I had seen in the trees this year; jam, or more properly jelly, seemed like the simplest thing. I chose a spicy recipe with chillies in it, to help stave off the impending winter chills. It was a very simple process…

Ingredients:

·    Crab apples, washed.

·    Medium red chilli peppers, washed and chopped with seeds left in.

·    I experimented by adding some root ginger slices to this recipe, just to spice it up a little.

·    Enough water to just float the apples.

·    White granulated sugar – approx. 500g to each 500ml of juice.

A Seething Mass Of Crab Apples and Chillies

Method:

1.  Put the crab apples and chillies in a large saucepan.

2.  Add water (they should just be floating). Boil and simmer until the crab apples soften and become pulpy. About 30-45 minutes.

3.  Strain through a jelly bag.

4.  Add the juice to a large pan and add the sugar. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the juice and sugar has boiled remove from the heat and then skim.

5.  Return to heat and bring back to boil until setting point is reached. Approximately 15 minutes.

6.   Skim and pour into warm sterilised jars.

The Chop-Stick/Cupboard-Handle Improvised Jelly Bag Support

In the event, I did the first part of the recipe (boiling and straining) one night and then the Head Chef completed the exercise the following night adding the sugar and getting it into the jars. The end result looked really nice and was astoundingly tasty too, considering the appearance of the ingredients initially - I was a bit late picking the crab apples.

Delicious Crab Apple/Chilli Jelly

Always remember though, it’s never a good idea to rub your eye (or anything else for that matter) after handling chillies…