AFTER A BUSY SUMMER OF CANNING, I’M ALWAYS grateful when late fall arrives and the preserving frenzy cools down. By January, I start to itch for a reason to pull out the canning pot and fill a few jars. This recipe fills the bill and is actually the perfect thing for storage apples that have seen better days. They may not be so good for eating fresh, but they cook into applesauce and then jam like a dream.
6 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples (about 3 pounds/1.4 kg apples; see note on page 47)
Zest and juice of 4 lemons
2½ cups/500 g granulated sugar
½ cup/120 ml honey
Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 regular-mouth 1-pint/500 ml jars according to the process on page 10. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
Combine the chopped apples and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to the very barest of simmers over medium heat then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the apples down into a chunky sauce, stirring frequently, until they can easily be mashed with the back of a wooden spoon. This will take between 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the age of your apples. Once the apples are quite soft, smash them a bit more with a potato masher.
Add the sugar and honey. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. (At this point the jam will become quite splashy. Use a mesh splatter shield if you have one to keep the flying bits of jam off your arms and stovetop.)
After an additional 10 minutes of sputtering cooking, the jam should be thickening and quite sticky looking. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon zest. Ladle the jam into the prepared jars. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (see page 11).
Clockwise from top: Nearly Seedless Blackberry Sage Jam, Rhubarb Jam with Strawberries and Oranges, Blueberry Jam, Strawberry Vanilla Jam, Apple Cranberry Jam
