Apple & Rosemary Jelly

Sweet moment

A couple of Sundays back. he and I went to Blackheath farmers market and came back with one purple cauliflower (more about this later), a bag of Kent apples and few other bits, all sweetly tucked up in a red string bag. I always thought farmers' market in London would be a bit of a rip-off but this one does not seem to be.

Now pay attention: The rules for all farmers' market are that producers must be local -within 50 miles- and sell their own produce. The person behind the stall must be directly involved with production, allowing the customers to ask questions about how goods are produced.

Of course when the fun of choosing and buying is gone, we were left with these strange goods and no idea how to use them, one can eat so many apples but a big bag, calls for a big idea. Last time I made jelly it was quite a performance involving a kitchen cupboard door handle, a long piece of string, his mum, millions of crab apples and bad maths from my part.

This time round, I had learnt my lessons, I borrowed a jelly bag, if you ever see one in a shop, do invest, it makes life so much easier. It made for a lovely evening, gently simmering apples, filling up the basement with the sweet smell of autumn followed a fun picture session.

So now is the right time of the year to forage for apples which are plentiful. The following recipe is rather versatile, it can be used in cooking or on your breakfast "tartine". Be aware Rosemary has a strong flavour so a little goes a long way.

Ingredients for Apple and Rosemary Jelly

2.5 kg cooking apples
Juice of 2 lemons - I must say I forget that and it worked well without-
sugar
1 large fresh rosemary sprigs

Method

Wash the apples and cut off any bruised bits.
Cut the apples into thick chunks without peeling or coring.
Put in a pan with the lemon juice and enough cold water to cover.
Bring to the boil and simmer until the apples are very soft and the liquid is reduced by a third.
Strain the apple mixture through a jelly cloth overnight.
Do not squeeze the apples through as this will make a cloudy jelly.
Measure the strained liquid and for every 450ml of liquid add 450g sugar.
Put the apple liquid, sugar and rosemary into a large pan.
Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then boil rapidly for 10 minutes or until setting point is reached.
To test if the setting point has been reached spoon a little of the jelly onto a chilled sauce, then push the surface of the jelly. If the surface wrinkles it has reached setting point. Strain if you don't fancy seeing rosemary if your jelly pot
Pot the jelly in warm, clean, sterilised jars, cover with waxed discs until the jelly cools, then cover and seal.