SPICED BEER JELLY

RECIPE FOR SPICED BEER JELLY:

3 cups 2 ounces dark beer (that equates to exactly 2 x 341mL bottles ~ we used a Wellington Pale Ale, an amber, full flavoured beer from a Canadian micro brewery located in Guelph. Fabulous beer…they do have a dark ale which we will try next time…it may even make this jelly better…is that possible?)

1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples

3 cups 2 ounces water

5 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Juice of 1 small lemon

Zest of 1 orange finely grated

2 sticks of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Rinse the apples in cold water.  Stem, core, and cut the apples into quarters without peeling them.  (Note: we did not core the apples)

Put the fruit in a preserving pan and cover them with water.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.  The apples will be soft.  

We’ve made two batches of this jelly so far (not with different beer) but with different apples.  The first time, we used just Granny Smiths as the recipe indicates and the second time, we used a combination of Courtland apples and Macs.  The set of the jelly may be better with the Granny Smiths but the flavour seems the same.  But, changing the beer…now, this may really spice things up and give your jelly a whole new taste and dimension.  A suggested list of great Canadian beers to try in this recipe can be found at the end of this post. 

Collect the juice by pouring this preparation into a fine chinois strainer, pressing lightly on the fruit with the back of a skimmer.  Then filter the juice a second time by pouring it through cheesecloth that you have soaked and wrung out.  Let the juice run freely.  It is preferable to let the juice rest overnight in the refrigerator.  

Note: we used a jelly bag for our preparation and did not press any excess juice out…we did however, end up with half of the required juice and had to do it a second time using the same amount of apples.  We believe this was because we did not cover our apples when heating…3 cups 2 ounces of water was not enough.

Next day, measure 2 cups 1 ounce of the juice, leaving in the bottom of the bowl any residue that settled out overnight.  You will have clearer jelly this way.  Pour the apple juice, beer, sugar, orange zest, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, and ground cardamom into the preserving pan and bring to a simmer.

Skim carefully.  Continue cooking on high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring gently.  Skim again if necessary.  Check the set.  Remove the cinnamon sticks and return to a boil.  

Put the jelly in hot sterilized jars, leaving a 1/4″ headspace.  Wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so that they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, waiting 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.