3 medium apples
= 1 pound of apples
= 3 cups of diced apples
= 2 3/4 cups of sliced apples

1 pound apples
= 4 small apples
= 3 medium apples
= 2 large apples
= 1 1/2 cups applesauce

It makes approx. 7 cups of jam.

Margie, this was the first jam recipe I ever made, and boy, was it a hit! YUMMY!

Enjoy!

I'm going to have a ton of apples this year from my two dwarf trees. Must get prepared to make quarts of apple pie jam this time.

Hi everyone, I saw the name of this forum, but I don't know where to look for the recipe. Would someone please point me to it? It sounds wonderful.

In Christ, Jamie

Here's that recipe, Jamie, and it is VERY good.

Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam
4 cups tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 cups sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 box pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter

Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups. Place apples and water into large, heavy saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice.

Measure sugars. Stir pectin into fruit. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on finger tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

If you like this kind of jam, here's another favorite of mine from wizardnm, it's similar but adds maple, which I just love.

APPLE MAPLE JAM

12 C finely chopped apples (about 6lbs) I used the food processor
6 C sugar
1 C Maple syrup (grade B if possible)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

Combine all in a large deep pan. Slowly bring to a boil. Cook to the jellying point. Stir frequently, so it doesn't stick.Pour into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process 10 min in BWB.

Yields about 8 half pints. I double this recipe and it works fine.

Happy Canning!

Annie

Thank you very much for the recipe(s). It sounds good. I'm sure my husband and 8 children will be a good taste panel! :-)

In Christ, Jamie

Picked alot of apples this week so this sounds like a good way for some of them.

ML

Has anyone made the apple pie jam without adding the pectin?

Becaus you need to cook down the juices a lot to get them to set, if apple bits are added then they can either dissolve or weaken the set. It may be possible, but the results are some times unpredictable.

Belinda,
If you are still around, I'm going to try it without the pectin. I made Christine Ferber's spiced beer jelly the other day. For that recipe I had to boil apples to make apple juice. It really didn't take that long to boil that to the the mixture of apple juice and beer to the jell point. I ended up with 1 1/2 extra cups of quite thick juice, which is coincidentally the amount of water called for in the recipe. My plan is to cook the apples, apple juice and sugar until the sugar melts, then refrigerate over night. The next day I will strain out the apple bits and cook the syrup until it reaches the jell point, then add the apple bits and the cinnamon and cook until it reaches the jell point again. I don't think the apples will break down. I made her apples with vanilla last year (which uses apple jelly) and it turned out nicely. I'm running low on pectin and don't want to have to have it mailed to me, plus I like a challenge. I plan to use it as teacher gifts since it was such a hit last year.
Melly

p.s. I like her way of making the apple juice. After cooking the apples with the water, you put it in a strainer and press lightly to extract the juice. Then you run the juice through the layers of cheesecloth - or in my case a flour sack towel. I ran it through twice - on a clean section the second time. She says to refrigerate it overnight to let any sediment settle out. I didn't have any sediment in mine. It was much faster than letting it drip, drip, drip. I didn't have much foam to skim either when making the jelly and it turned out nice and clear. I was happy.

Mellyofthesouth, I did the same thing for apple juice, only I couldn't find any cheesecloth so I ran mine through coffee filter-lined strainers for the 2nd straining. Worked like a charm, except I had to keep changing filters as they clog pretty quickly. (I scraped the "sediment" into a bowl and ate it for applesauce that night, since the first straining took out cores, seeds and such.)

Anyway, I didn't get to my apples last weekend so will be making jam tonight. Yay!! --> on my way to start peeling now!!

Edie

Gotta get that apple peeler/slicer/corer, as an all in one unit. A single apple takes less that 5 seconds to do. Here is a link for one thats priced less than $20. Its exactly the same model I have here and it has saved me from a lot of laborous peeling. The cutter/corer blade can also swing out of the way so it will just peel the apples.

I realise that you all have something a bit more important and exciting on your minds today on your side of the pond than making jam but between keeping an ear on the radio and surfing the news I am also considering the fate of a mass of windfall Bramleys which is sitting in my kitchen. This past week we have eaten baked apples till they're coming out of our ears and the freezer is loaded with crumbles and tarts. So I was looking at the apple pie jam recipe and have a couple of questions. As you probably know we cook by weight not cups over here. I can work out the cup measures OK but how big is 'a box' of pectin? I also see there is more than 1:1 sugar to fruit and am wondering if this jam is very sweet. I think we have a slightly less sweet tooth over here and am considering cutting out one cup of the white sugar. What do you think? Bear in mind that this jam will be potted in my usual life threatening way. ie no canning, just hot sterilized jars and a lid. Best of luck getting to the polls and I hope you don't have too long a wait to get in. Shan't be controversial and say who I'm rooting for but I expect you can guess. Flora.

1:1 sugar and fruit can be very sweet. It depends on the fruits, acid, and the moisture they contain. If you do use added liquid, it would be good to use apple cider as opposed to water. As to a 'box' of pectin, most will only make about 5-6 cups (common 8 ounce jelly jar size) total for a batch. I don't know the weight, but because your way over there, you may want to consider getting a simple/cheap set of measuring cups and spoons. Basically, cups at 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup. Then 1/4, 1/2, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon. If you can borrow some of these, or have a cup to weight conversion chart, it may be easier to calculate. The ONLY pectin that will yield larger batches would be the Pomona brand pectin. This product uses calcium to set, as opposed to the much more critical measuring of LOTS of sugar to liquid ratio. A single box of Pomona can gel up to 30 cups of jelly. You can also try to make a jelly without pectin. This would involve cooking the peels and cores down by themselves to get natual pectin out of them. I would suggest that you do process in a boiling water bath once they are filled and capped however. Doing so, can reduce any possible mold or bacteria that might have found its way inside. Using Less sugar will cause a higher risk of spoilage. Each box of regular pectin usually tells you the amount of jelly/jam it will make. Adding the apple bits near the end, a minute before they jars are filled, will help the pieces stay a bit firm. Jar would need to be flipped while cooling so the apple bits are not floating on the top.

Good luck

Well, I still haven't got around to trying this jam and the apples are still piling up. I'm wondering about the consistency of the finished product. Ksrogers mentions 'apple bits'. The fruit I have are Bramleys. These are a tart cooking apple which collapses into a puree almost as soon as it it heated. Hence no bits. Are the bits an essential feature of this jam? Or could you conceive of it being more like apple sauce in consistency?
I am a bit confused by the rest of your post ks. I can figure out the cups - that is not the problem. What I wanted to know was the exact weight of pectin in a 'box' as mentioned in the recipe so that I can buy the correct quantity here.

Also the recipe actually contains 5:4 ratio sugar to apples ie MORE than 1:1. So potentially even sweeter. (Compare this with the Maple apple recipe which has 7:12 ratio if you count the maple syrup as sugar. ie far less sugar.)I think on balance I'll just make it up as I go along and not try to reproduce the exact authentic 'apple pie jam' of the recipe. Any thoughts anyone else?

Flora,
Hope I can answer your questions.
First, a "box" of pectin is 1.75 ounces or 49 grams.
I find the jam quite sweet for spreading on toast, but have had success using it as a filling for cakes (and the kids love it on pancakes).
My finished jam turned out as a dark amber gel with small cubes of apple floating in it. I cut the apple into a tiny 1/2 centimeter dice and didn't have any problems with the pieces floating in the mixture. As the apple pieces are added at the very end of the recipe, I think even your Bramleys might survive.
Hope this all helps.

I just finished 3 batches of Apple Pie jam. The only apples available were Empire. Instead of chopping, I used the julienne blade of my V-slicer. It worked beautifully. The shreds held up well, like marmalade. I measured the water after adding to the apples and ended up using 1-1/4 cup of water. One of my sons doesn't like Allspice so I subbed cloves and nutmeg.

Well I have just made my version of the apple pie jam too. I had not realised that apple bits went in at the end because it doesn't say that in the recipe given near the top of this thread. However, the Bramleys cooked down less quickly with sugar added than they do unsweetened so the result is fairly lumpy. Being Bramleys there was no need to chop finely only into rough chunks. I used a kilo of chopped apples to a kilo of jam sugar (ie with pectin in it) plus a fist size lump of Muscovado sugar to give it the brown colour and treacly flavour. I guessed the water but it was probably just less than 1/2 litre. I used cinammon as in the recipe but, not having allspice in the cupboard, used mace instead. The juice of one lemon also went in. I have ended up with 8 jars of what looks like coarse set apple sauce. The taste is sweet and sharp at the same time. It may mature to a slightly different flavour but at the moment it seems pretty nice.

Apple types do vary. When I planted my trees, I chose types tghat hold up well to cooking and baking, as well as disease resistant. The pectin boxes are all the same inn measurment and weight and all make about the same amount in a single batch. They do not make or sell larger sized boxes for bigger batches as it gets difficult to get a reliable jelly set. Bits of apples are usually anywhere from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch cubes or thinner slices. Adding the apple bits at the end, before its put into jars, helps to keep your kind of apples from getting too mushy which would occur while they are heating up and being cooked. Ginger and Cardamom are also good choices for spices as is a dash of clove, or even nutmeg. I made a fancy batch of apple pie filling using grains of paradise (tiger pepper) and some cardamom, as opposed to cinnamon. It has a very unusual flavor almost like a black pepper, but not hot. Brown color can be done by adding a little brown sugar and/or molasses.

When I made my batch, I ran the apples through my food processor to get them as finely chopped as possible (I have carpal tunnel which makes holding a knife for any length of time very painful.) I didn't add very much water, either. It was rather thick, but to me, that's better than being too thin. I haven't actually tasted mine officially yet; just what I swiped off the funnel when I was done filling jars. It sure tasted yummy and I'm positive we will really enjoy it in January or February! I'd like to thank Linda Lou again for sharing that great recipe!! :^)

This morning the APJ is beautifully set and DD has taken a jar back to university with her as she liked it so much on her breakfast toast. DH has also tried it and finds it tasty but still a little too sweet. But that didn't stop him polishing off two whole slices for breakfast. Just as well he's now gone out for his run.

KS I don't think I could put the apple bits in at the end because, remember, I am not canning this jam, just cooking it up and potting it. So everything must be thoroughly cooked. Also without cooking the apples up the pectin would be reduced and the set less sure. And as I have said, Bramleys collapse on cooking. Hence no bits for me. The jam is brown because I used some Muscovado sugar so no treacle/molasses is necessary. In fact it looks identical to my apple chutney so labelling is a priority.

Also thanks to Linda Lou from me even though I have messed about with the recipe rather. Hers was the inspiration.

Oh, no processing after making.. Hmm, I would be a bit concerned about how safe it is after a time in storage. Maybe you would want to consider a boiling water bath for the jellies and jams. Its much safer, even though they have acid and sugar. If you ever want to make a jelly without sugar, or use less, there is a low/no sugar pectin sold as well. Here, we also have Pomona pectin that can actually gel plain water! Boiling down apple cider is a treat too..

Here is a link that might be useful: Boiled apple cider

Ks - it is normal in the UK not to process traditional high sugar, vinegar and/or salt jams, jellies or chutneys and UK recipes take that into account. If you google 'jam making' and go to UK sites you will find no reference to processing. I've put an example link below. Presumably you will be horrified by the advice on dealing with mould! I have been preserving all my adult life and have not had a problem yet. In fact, as I put the APJ away on the shelves I took down a jar of 2001 apple chutney. The jar was covered in dust and the chutney had shrunk but when we opened it it was absolutely fine. I never make low sugar jams/jellies and would not consider preserving anything else without processing.

Here is a link that might be useful: unhygienic Brit habits

Gee, maybe we should all move to the UK then, as it seems that they have some kind of 'invisable barrier' against any bad bacteria getting into a jelly or jam. Dare I go into Mad Cow?? Just being a bit defensive here..
A BWB is always going to give a safer product even if high acid and high sugar. For me, a diabetic, I can't have all that sugar, so I have to add extra acid (acid blend) to my jellies and jams, just to prevent them from spoiling faster once opened. I do steam canning here which is for all high acid foods and its proven to me that it has been very effective. My very old 1996 first batch of grape jelly is now brown color, but if you close your eyes to it, the grape taste is still there. For that, I used fresh and frozen grape juice and concentrate, but no added acid or ascorbic. At that time, it was loaded with sugar too, so its not very good for me anymore.

ediej1209,
I don't want to scare you but Carpal Tunnel is not something you should ignore. I had it in both wrists and because I was in the electrics field, I had to use a LOT of small hand tools. After just a few minutes I would get cramps in my thumbs and tingling in my fingers. Today, using computers, and mice can cause this as well. What its doing is crushing nerve fibers in your wrist and this can lead to atrophy (a deadening of many nerves), that will never go away, and will eventually cause loss of use and strength as well as no feeling in the fingers. Take it from me, when I went to a doctor about it years ago. I was sent to a surgeon who specialized in the surgery that corrects this issue. He used general anesthesia as well as a tourniquet to prevent blood loss. The doctor did only one wrist at a time, allowing the previous to heal a few months. Once he was starting the left hand for the surgery, he found a rare textbook type 'tangle of the nerves' that were wrapped around the muscles in my wrist. He had never seen such a problem in person, and only read about it in med school. He had to call in a plastic surgeon to consult. The one hour surgery turned ito almost seven hours. It was very rare experience for tyhe surgeon and they took photos of the whole surgery back then. The rare photos are probably in some medical books by now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome info

KS, thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it. I sure hope I don't have it like you did! My Dr. didn't do any MRI's or anything, just the shock test. I've got no insurance at the moment, so I just have to live with it for now and try to not overdo so as to not do too much more damage. It's made it a bit of a challenge to get fruits and veggies put up this summer, but even so come January, it will all be worth it!

I had that shock test some years ago too. Its a bit uncomfortable. The Dr. said my test indicated a 30% loss, so he did say it was surgery very soon. That 30% loss will never return. Having diabetes also causes similar things, with toes too. In Mass, its against the state laws for a person not to have some kind of medical insurance.

KS, I just started a new job and my insurance won't go into effect until December, with a year wait for treatment of pre-existing conditions. My goodness, what do you do if you are unemployed and broke and can't afford any kind of premiums? I'd sure hate to have to choose between having a roof over my head and health insurance!

Medicaid, state run. Its a big help for those who have no insurance or low/no income. I was on it for several years, and at the time, had all meds also paid for.

Oh, I thought Medicaid was a federal program. Learn something new every day!

Anyway, not to hijack this thread any farther, I turned a jar of APJam sideways today to check on it and it is very firm, it didn't move or jiggle at all. Is that because I used a food processor and reduced the apples to something very close to chunky applesauce?

Sorry for the hijack..!

Actually, Medicaid it is funded by both. Medicare takes a year or more to get once applied for. Medicaid (in my case Mass Health), its either free, based on actual total income per month, provided its below the federal poverty level, or you work PT and don't go over or under a specfic amount. For me, being on SS, and my monthly checks are over the poverty level, I had to work part time. SS will not allow more than about $900 gross per month from any job while on SS, and the state requires a minimum of 40 hours per month to qualify for their health care. Two years ago, before Part D was in effect through Medicare, the state took all prescription coverages. If I were to pay full price for prescriptions each month for my meds, it would cost me well over $1000 every month.

A year to get on Medicare? OY! My DH is on SS for disability and we are putting him on Medicare because I can't carry him on my new insurance. Mama Mia!!! -- I'm off to do some more reading on the Medicare website, then. Thanks for the info!

SS disability also takes a year or more to get approved and into the system. Been there, done that.. My brothers best friend applied for DD disability and was calling me every month asking when he can expect to get benefits. It was almost a year passing and then when he called me, he said it was to be in effect the next month. Two weeks later, he fell down the stairs in his house and died.. Suggest that he apply for Medicaid for now.

This all makes scary reading. "Gee, maybe we should all move to the UK then, as it seems that they have some kind of 'invisable barrier' against any bad bacteria getting into a jelly or jam. Dare I go into Mad Cow?? Just being a bit defensive here." Don't worry, ks, maybe we can take a few risks with bugs because we know the National Health Service will pick up the pieces. It's getting a bit creaky but it's still free at the point of delivery for every resident of the country. My SIL was diagnosed with suspect thyroid cancer last month. Yesterday, after numerous consultations, scans and a biopsy she was given the all clear. No charge.

A long time friend called me about 2 years ago to tell me he was dying. He didn't go into details, but said it was cancer of his thyroid. Never heard from him again afer that, and I only see his wife and kid at their house. Cancer is always a concern when its in a family tree, like diabetes and heart problems. Lucky for me, my parents had no cancer, but my mom had diabetes and heart problems. I have cousins that have cancer or died of cancer. One of my cousins still loves to smoke and is treated for cancer, she wants her coffin to be lined with cartons of cigarettes! One of my uncles died of kidney failure after dialisys trips. We all inherit things we wish we could avoid, but at least things are found out earlier, and treated accordingly, can go into remission.

Back to the jam ..... the apple tree just refuses to stop. There are at least four other people collecting them and we're hardly making an impression. Made another 4 kilos of APJ today and had baked apples for supper. Still have a large bag sitting in the kitchen. Running out of jars and shelf space. Help ... I can't keep up.

Gee, what are you going to do next year with even a larger apple crop?? Here, I cut the tallest tops off my apple and plum trees. Apple pie filling??

Luckily this particular tree has a tendency to biennial cropping so I'll get a year off, I hope. Just made two apple and mincemeat pies. Also added a diced apple to a leek quiche. Everything has apple in it at the moment!

What does it mean when it says "Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups"? There is no water listed as an ingredient, and I suppose it means add it to the apples so together it makes 4 cups. Is this right?

Also, is this recipe okay to double as the maple recipe it stated it was?

I'm fairly new at this but everything is going great and delicious! Just wanting to make sure all those Christmas gifts turn out right!

I hope to hear from someone soon!

I placed the diced apples quite firmly into the measuring cup and added water to the one cup mark. Do this four times. I suppose you could use a 2 cup measure and fill it twice. I never double a jam recipe.

Great, that makes more sense- at least I can picture it now! Thanks Shirley :)

Never double jam recipes when using regular pectin.
I use a 4 cup measuring cup and then add the water. Even a quart jar should work since it is 4 cups. I think the water winds up being about 1 1/2 cups. I have found if I dice the apples finer than I used to I get a better looking jam, no so much floating of the apple pieces.
I have mine ready to give out for gifts.

Adding water is a way to make a very bland tasting product. To many things today cost a lot to buy and their weights or measurements include water! Instead, I would recommend the use of apple juice, like the type you find in the freezer section for frozen concentrates. Or, if not that, good apple cider will do. I never add any water to any jam or jelly as it just doesn't make them taste as good. With an undiluted apple juice concentrate, you also need a little less sugar, but you still get a flavorful apple product.

Does anyone know how to make a low sugar version of this using Pomona? I am thinking of increasing the apples to 8 cups, using 1 cup of regular sugar and 1 cup of brown. Would that be safe?

ccaggiano, the amount of sugar used in fruit jams is not a safety issue. Traditional pectin needs a certain ratio of pectin/sugar/fruit to jell. An all fruit spread with no sugar at all is still safe to can, the issue is in whether or not it will jell.

It has been noted here that "Pomona will jell water", so the sugar ratio isn't an issue. Cut it as low as you like until you are happy with the taste, it'll still be safe. I will note, however, that low sugar/no sugar spreads do not store as well or as long after opening and I've found that no-sugar spreads lose color. This picture shows this year's strawberry jam. My long cooked and low sugar jam is on the right, the "no sugar" spread with Equal is on the left.

{{gwi:888909}}

Annie

Thanks Annie!! I just want to cut down the sugar I am giving the kids. I don't mind a cup or two per 4 cups of fruit but 5 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit is alot!!

It's a little late now but since I cut down the sugar, should I also have cut down the spices?

Well, I'd keep the spices the same because I like that flavor, but if you think it's a bit too spicy (or ore likely, your kids might), just cut them down next time.

Annie

And yet another question...

I was going to try to make the Apple Maple Syrup Jam. How could I cut back the sugar on that one? At most, I would want to put two cups of sugar in it. Could I maybe add Pomona? Thanks!!

I used Crispin apple in my Apple-pie jam. Using the smallest blade of my julienne slicer gave me a beautiful finished jam. I also added about 10 very finely chopped dried apricots. Golden raisins work well too.

ccaggiano, I make the apple maple every year, I love the stuff.

I find that apples have an inordinate amount of pectin and I cut the sugar way down and still get a nice chunky jam just by cooking it a little bit longer.

I've never added pectin to that recipe, I just cook to jell point and it's always plenty thick.

Annie