Apple Jelly Jam with a hint of Cinnamon

I had thought that I was too late for foraging apples this year, but when I was out cycling last week I spotted a tree full of crab apples. Being me, I stepped on my brakes and backtracked to get back to the tree I had just passed. A bit of stretching and fetching later, and I had a backpack full of apples to take home.

There are many methods for making jelly jam, but I find the one I used here to be the easiest one. You can use the same recipe for other fruits as well, or you can use other spices with the apples.

It is best to use fruit that is only just ripe, as their pectin content is higher than in over-ripe fruit.

Makes 5 small jars of jelly

1kg apples

200ml water

¼ cinnamon stick

800g sugar per litre of juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Chop the apples into chunks. Check that there are no brown bits, chop these away if there are. There is no need to get rid of the pips, just remove the stalks.


Place the apples in a large saucepan, crunch the cinnamon stick and mix it in with the apples, and add the water. Gently warm the fruit over low heat. The slower you heat the fruit the more liquid is released, and the more jam you get. Leave the apples to gently cook for about an hour. You do not want them to boil, just to be warm.


Drain the apples through a muslin cloth into a bowl. Arrange the cloth so that the apples can hang and drain for a couple of hours. Squeeze the bag a little bit to release more liquid, but not too much, or the jelly will become cloudy.

Measure how much juice you now have. The amount of juice will depend on the ripeness of the apples, and the type of apple used. Pour the juice into a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Add the sugar and ground cinnamon, and boil rapidly for 2 to 20 minutes, until the juice stiffens when you do the spoon test.The cooking time depends on the pectin levels of the fruit. 

Pour the jam into warm sterilised jars. I made 5 jars full of jam, but it’s always useful to prepare more jars than what you think you’ll need, just in case, so that you won’t have to do the whole sterilising process twice. 

Strawbery Jam

I love strawberry jam. Actually I love jam in general, but there is something particularly yummy about strawberry jam – sweet, fresh, slightly sticky… need I say more. There are lots of exciting variations that can be made, but some times, the plain and simple straightforward option is the best. I use honey instead of processed sugar, and agar flakes to make the jam set.

Makes 2 small jars

400g strawberries

2 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon agar flakes

Hull the strawberries and chop them into bite sized pieces. Place them in a wide pan, and slowly bring them to the boil. Using a wide pan ensures a wider distribution of heat, and so makes the process of boiling the jam quicker. This makes for a fresher-tasting jam.

Add the honey and agar flakes, stir until the agar flakes are dissolved, and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. When the jam is almost ready, use a potato masher or fork to mash some of the berries, but leave some berries whole, for a more interesting textured jam.

Add the jam to warm sterilised jars. 

Raspberry Jam

A few days ago my local shop had raspberries on offer, so I bought a few punnets. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them, but buying some seemed like a good idea. I’ve been looking at them for some days, wondering what to make, and last night I decided it would be jam. I’m trying not to eat too much processed sugar these days, so thought it would be a good idea to use honey instead of sugar, and it actually worked really well. Sugar normally works like a preserving agent, so this jam probably won’t last very long (maybe only a month), and should be kept in the fridge. Sugar also normally helps to set the jam, so I’m using agar flakes instead.

Makes 1 jar of jam

250g raspberries

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon agar flakes

1 teaspoon honey

Place your raspberries in a wide pan over moderate heat. A wide pan ensures that all the berries get warmed up quickly, and so your jam is quicker to make, and tastes fresher. Add 2 tablespoons honey and the agar flakes, and mix well. Carefully crush some of the berries to release some liquid. Bring it up to the boil, and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the teaspoon of honey, mix, and add to a sterilised jar.

Sweet Orange and Clementine Marmalade

Marmalades are very easy to make, and they fill the house with a lovely sweet smell of fruit. Not only are they cheaper to make than to buy, but it is also fun and satisfying to know that you made them yourself. And they are guaranteed free from preservatives. Oranges are especially good in the spring, but you can make marmalades at any time of year when you want to bring a little sunshine into your kitchen.

Makes about 3 jars

600g oranges

200g clementines

50ml lemon juice

500ml water

500g granulated sugar

Thoroughly wash your fruit; you don’t want any pieces of grit or grime in your marmalade.

Peel the fruit thinly. You don’t want any of the white pith, as this becomes bitter during boiling. Chop the peel into small pieces. Clean away all the white pith from the fruit, and dice. Add both fruit and peel to a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the lemon juice and water, and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the sugar, and boil for a further 30 minutes or so until it is sticky and set when you use a spoon to drip a few drops of the liquid onto a cold plate.

Leave the marmalade to cool while heating your clean jars and their lids in the oven to sterilise them. Make sure you put them in the oven while it is cold – if you add cold jars to a hot oven they will break. Bring the oven up to 100^oC. Use a dishcloth to extract the jars from the oven, and fill them with the still warm marmalade. Tighten the lids and leave to cool.