Recipe: Crab Apple and Chilli Jam

I love this time of year when the temperatures start to drop and the countryside is full of ripening fruits just waiting to be picked. This year we’ve gone on a bit of a foraging rampage and have managed to collect a good harvest of fruits including crab apples from my parents’ garden.

Crab apples grow throughout Europe and thrive in heavy soil in hedgerows and woods. Generally, crab apples are too tart to eat raw but their apple flavour is intensified when cooked. Their juice can be made into a ruby-coloured preserve with no added pectin required as they are naturally high in this important preserving gelling chemical.

Combining crab apples with chilli to make a warming and sumptuous jam is a great way to use up any fruit and really get you in the mood for Autumn.

Here is a simple recipe to help you make your very own!

Ingredients:

• 600g of crab apples washed and roughly chopped
• 35g of medium red chilli peppers deseeded and chopped
• 1 litre of water
• White granulated sugar 500g to each 500ml of juice
• Glass jars

Method:

1. Place the crabapples in a large pan with the water (the crabapples should just be floating) and bring to the boil;  simmering for 45-60 minutes until the fruit is soft.
2. Strain through a muslin square and leave to drain for at least 12 hours or overnight.
3. Sterilise your glass jars by placing them upright on a tray in the oven and fill the tray 2cm deep with warm water. Leave for 5 -10 minutes at 100 degrees C to sterilise them. Leave them in the oven to cool.
4. Add the crabapple juice to a big heavy bottomed pan and add your sugar. Bring this to the boil slowly, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves.
5. Once boiling remove the juice from the heat, skim any foam off of the top, add the chilli and return to the heat bringing it to a rolling boil for around 15 minutes until it reaches setting point. You can use a sugar thermometer for this, or you can do the ‘wrinkle test’ by placing a teaspoon of the juice on a cold saucer and put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then remove and if the syrup wrinkles when pushed with your finger the jam is set.
6. Ladle the jam into warm sterilised jars and seal.
7. Enjoy!