Apple Jam
A sweet and tangy apple jam made with only three ingredients!
Servings: 24 servings, Makes 4 to 5 half pint jars
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
- 6 lbs apples as purchased
- 4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice fresh or bottled
Instructions
- Peel, core, and cut the apples into a 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice.
- Transfer the diced apples to a large bowl, sprinkle with the sugar and bottled lemon juice, and gently toss to coat the fruit evenly.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours (4 hours minimum), so the fruit can macerate.
- Prepare a water bath canner, jars, and lids.
- Strain the macerated apples through a large fine mesh sieve set over a jam pot, reserving the fruit and capturing all the juices in the pot.
- Bring the reserved juices to a hard boil, then carefully add the drained apple pieces.
- Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the jam reaches the gel stage (220 degrees F at sea level, or until a spoonful wrinkles on a plate chilled in the freezer) or your preferred thickness.
- Ladle the hot jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. The jam is thick, so de-bubble with a spatula or chopstick, top up the headspace as needed, wipe the rims, and apply two piece lids until fingertip tight.
- Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude (see notes). Turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the canner for 5 minutes before removing.
- Cool the jars on a towel lined counter for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals. Refrigerate any jar that didn't seal.
Notes
Measuring the apples: 6 pounds of apples as purchased gives about 4 pounds of prepared fruit, or roughly 16 cups, once peeled, cored, and diced.
Ratio: Use 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice for every pound of prepared apples (about 4 cups diced).
Apple varieties: Use firm pie apples like Empire, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp. Soft varieties like Golden Delicious fall apart and turn the batch into applesauce.
Lemon juice: Use bottled lemon juice, not fresh, and don't reduce it. Its consistent acidity is what keeps this jam safe for water bath canning.
Sugar: The sugar helps thicken the jam, and cutting it means a softer set, a longer cook, and a smaller yield. For a low sugar jam, use a citrus based pectin like Pomona's and follow the package directions instead.
Maceration: Don't skip the overnight rest (4 hours minimum). It firms the fruit so the pieces hold their shape, and the strained syrup becomes the base of the jam.
Pectin and set: No added pectin is needed, since apples are rich in pectin. Start testing for the gel stage around 20 minutes. No pectin jams can take 24 to 48 hours to set, so don't judge the set while the jars are warm.
Batch size: This recipe halves or doubles with no changes to the method. Don't go beyond a double batch, since a crowded pot takes much longer to reach the gel stage and the apples soften. Make back to back batches instead.
Altitude adjustments: Processing time in a water bath canner.
- 0 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 15 minutes
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.2mg