zxcvbob wrote:
> I picked 5 pounds of crabapples yesterday and am gonna juice them today
> to make jelly. The SureJell and Certo boxes both say to remove the
> stems and blossom ends before cooking the apples to extract the juice.
> (I'm gonna simmer and mash these for 15 minutes, not use the steam
> juicer). What if I don't remove the stems and blossom ends? These are
> small crabapples, I don't know the variety, they are red skinned with
> rose-colored flesh, and about 3/4" to 1 1/4" in diameter. It would be
> *way* too much work to clean these.
>
> I just wanna wash 'em, pick out the leaves and loose stems, and boil
> them (the apples, not the loose stems and leaves).
>
> I may try juicing the next batch in the steamer and see what difference
> it makes.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob


I picked out the dead blossoms with my thumbnail as a sorted the
crabapples, then washed them, and put them in a big stockpot. I added
about 5 1/2 cups of water, brought them to a boil, simmered for 5
minutes, and started mashing them with a potato smasher.

It looks like mixture of ketchup and applesauce. There's no way this
will drip through a jelly bag -- and not all the crabapples have even
broken up yet. If I run this thru a food mill, I will get sour red
applesauce.

Do I need to add a bunch more water? Is it cheating to add frozen
concentrated apple juice if I water it down too much trying to get it to
drip?

Bob