How to Make Apple Jelly - Recipe
Here's an easy-to-follow recipe for one of my favourite preserves, featuring some really special Irish heirloom varieties which I picked up on a recent visit to the Irish Seed Savers in County Clare.
From mid-summer through to autumn I am always scouring my garden and the surrounding area for windfall and crab apples. While they may not be great for eating, they are a preservers best friend. I usually make huge gluts of jams, jellies and chutneys to see me through the darker months of the year.
Below you will find a recipe video for how I make my apple jelly. It features a variety called Belvedere House, due to it’s provenance - the estate in West Meath that dates back to 1740. Cooking apples can also be used, and you can mix apples and berries to experiment.
If you’d prefer a step-by-step written version you can find it here at my website.
This recipe was inspired by a recent visit to The Irish Seed Savers, an environmental non-profit that does important work preserving the country’s native heirloom seeds, while making them available to the public.
They are also caretakers of Ireland’s heritage apple tree collection, with over 180 rare varieties across their orchards.
Many of these indigenous trees were at serious risk of being lost forever, but through their incredible research and hands-on approach in which they worked directly with the public in communities across the country they have managed to catalogue and save these trees for future generations to benefit from.
They champion biodiversity, organic practices, soil health and regenerative farming, utilising age-old techniques.
The full documentary that I shot with them is available below.
Thank you for the support.
Stay nourished.
James