Capt. M’s favorite homemade jelly is Apple Peel Jelly. What I love about this jelly is that it is made from the leftovers from making applesauce! I use the peels and apple cores to make apple juice that is later made into apple jelly.
Place apple peels and cores into a 5 quart stockpot. I fill the pot with peels and cores leavings just enough room for 5 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
As the peels and cores cook you will notice the juice starting to form making a nice shade of pink. (The color may vary depending on the variety of apple used. I used Gala apples.)
Strain off the juice and discard the peels and cores. I used a strainer with two layers of cheesecloth over top. Do not press on the peels as you strain the juice. You want to end up with clear liquid and not sediment.
Let the juice sit overnight. The sediment will be on the bottom of the container. See the white stuff in the picture?
- Apple Peels and Cores
- 5 Cups Water
- 1 Box Pectin
- 7 Cups Sugar
- Add peels and cores to a 5 quart stockpot. Add in 5 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain off juice using cheesecloth or a jelly bag. You should get about 5 cups of juice.
- Let the juice sit overnight to reduce sediment.
- Add 5 cups of strained juice to a stockpot. Gradually stir in pectin.
- Bring mixture to a rolling boil for one minute.
- Add in 7 cups of sugar.
- Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
- Skim foam and place in hot, sterile, ½ pint jelly jars.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Make sure you check out my other canning recipes!
This recipe may be linked at I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Two Maids Milking, The Saturday Evening Pot, Permanent Posies, 33 Shades of Green, Blackberry Vine , Polka Dots on Parade, Southern Lovely, Crystal & Comp, Tatertots & Jello
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how many apples did you used?
Hi Thena,
It is hard to say how many apples. I just save the peels and cores as I make applesauce. The pot I used was a 5 quart. If I had to completely guess, I would say it was 15 large apples.
Love, love, love this recipe. Allows you to use your apples for pies, crisps, whatever and then what you used to compost can now be used for jelly. Thanks so much clever girl!
What kind of Apples did you use ?
Hi Linda,
I can’t remember what type of apple I used! I have made apple peel jelly with all different types and usually a combination – Gala, Golden Delicious and Nittany are what my local orchard usually has. Good luck!
I made this last night and it is still syrup not jelly. Do I just need to wait longer? I figured since apples have natural pectin as well it would be set up this morning.
Hi Teresa,
There are several reasons why jelly doesn’t set – measurements of ingredients were off a bit or the jelly didn’t reach hard boil for long enough. Here is a link to info on how to fix your runny jelly if it is still not set! http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm
Good luck!
Renae
I have a ton (well, about 50 lbs) of apples to work with and would love to try this. I will be making more applesauce tomorrow. Can I ask how many half pints you got out of your recipe? Thanks!
Hi Sheila,
I think I got 5-6 half pints per batch. I didn’t make apple jelly this year so I can’t remember exactly! Good luck with your 50 lbs of apples!
Renae
How much pectin is ‘ 1 box”? I did this and it didn’t set up. Its very runny. Can I cook again and add more pectin and recan?
Hi Erica,
I used the standard Sure-Jel box of pectin – I think it only comes in one size. There are several reasons why jelly doesn’t set – measurements of ingredients were off a bit or the jelly didn’t reach hard boil for long enough. Here is a link to info on how to fix your runny jelly if it is still not set! http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm
Good luck!
Renae
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I have this recipe & it is great. The juice itself is pretty sweet all on it’s own. Have you ever tried it with less sugar? 7 cups of sugar is soooo much sugar!! :)
Hi Mrs. Cole,
Yes it is a lot of sugar! However to have jelly set, you need to use the correct amount. You can try using the low sugar pectin directions but I am not sure it will work as I have not tried it. Jelly recipes are very particular in the measurements of sugar and juice in order to ensure that the jelly sets. Good luck!
Renae
You could try this with a citrus based pectin called Pomona’s. It does not need sugar to jell — and depends on calcium instead. It’s available on line and in my local stores (Santa Cruz CA) It also lets you use honey, agave, or artificial sweeteners….it’s absolutely changed how I make jams!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I have a couple of large pots of apple peelings cooking. I have found numerous recipes for candy apple jelly or jelly from apple juice. Great to find an old fashioned recipe!
stumbled upon your recipe for apple jelly. thanks for sharing. my great-grandmother used to make this when i was a little girl. i look forward to trying it this year when i finally get into making my annual apple butter. i have a gala apple tree and they should be ripe pretty soon. my jelly-making experiences have not been good so far, but i will follow your instructions to the letter and see what happens. thanks!
Lonnie,
Did you get to make it. I followed to a T and mine was successful. I hope you did too :-)
Renae, I’ve looked everywhere for an easy way to make a scrap apple jelly and yours is the one I follow. I made it today (10/20/15) and it was a success. I love the taste and how easy it is. Thank you for sharing :-) This is definitely going to my -MAKE again bool- :-)
That saves me. Thanks for being so seeilbsn!
This looks like a great recipe! I am canning tomorrow and I will be trying it out. Thanks for posting. Do you mind if I link this to my facebook?
Sally
I am kicking myself that I never thought of this! It’s genius! I always pick apples from friends and family and make applesauce and kind of cry when I see all those peels going to waste. I am very excited to try this and use those peels and cores rather than throwing them out. Thank you for sharing this!
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I just wanted to pop in and say THANK YOU for having an actual print box at the bottom. I lost my recipe for apple scrap jelly and needed a new one. You would not believe how many other blogs I’ve been on with no print box and no actual recipe format.
I haven’t had this jelly since my grandma died…made apple butter today and can’t wait till tomorrow to see how the jelly turns out!
.. I’m going to make rolls to go with it….(my grandson is salivating!)
I just boiled my apple scraps as directed and I only have 4 cups of liquid. Can I add a cup of water and proceed with canning instructions or should I boil another batch of apples? I’ve still got like three bags of scraps in the freezer that I’ve been saving all fall.