johnny appleseed is my homey.
well, at least he would have been if i had lived in the 1700′s. he was born in massachusetts – and traveled all around these parts.
and yes, he was the stuff legends are made of, but he was a real live person.
he planted apple trees everywhere around the northeast and on through to the midwest.
it’s true!
trees like this:
i love this tree.
even though it’s a bit old, was here long before i got here (maybe j. apple really did plant it!)
and of course n’er a spray would i have touch the leaves or fruit.
this ‘ole tree bares a lot of apples! way more than we could eat out of hand
or even out of jelly or jam.
way more fruit than the three little gooseberries-that-try bushes i have.
so what the hell am i doing using up all my gooseberries for a pectin boost?
it’s july peeps! it’s apple pectin making month! …and green apples are everywhere!
thanks to johnny!
green apple pectin
as many pounds of green (unripe) apples as you like
double the amount of cups of water
yield: approximately one cup pectin stock per pound of apples
1. stem & coarsely chop apples, blemishes are fine to leave in but discard any parts gone bad, bruises or worm bits. 
make sure to leave cores and seeds in.
2. place in non-reactive pan (stainless or enameled iron only) and add water. bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. stir a few times throughout to make sure all apples get saturated.
3. line a colander with cheesecloth or butter muslin and place over a bowl. pour in cooked apple mixture. let drain for 2 hours.
4. return strained liquid to pan and boil down by half.
place in fridge to use in 2 weeks, freeze for up to 2 months, or hot water bath can for larder storage up to a year. if you choose to hot water bath, leave 1/4 inch headspace and process for 10 minutes.
2/3 cup of good apple pectin stock will be sufficient to set 4 1/2 pounds of medium or low pectin fruit to jam.
to make jelly use equal cups of stock & sugar, and some added lemon juice. generally 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to 3 cups stock/3 cups sugar will do it.
it’s july!
get out & get some pectin-making apples – and thank johnny appleseed while you’re at it!
update: confiture de tigresse
i’ve managed to find organic stawberries and raspberries so far. sadly i missed the cherry season, it was impossible to find unsprayed cherries in the berkshires! 
the strawberries went in the third week of june, they are a very strange color and i was a bit worried. but i don’t detect any odd smell so i’m staying with it. the raspberries were put in a few days ago.
i’ve learned a few more things so far:
1. it’s best to weight the fruit down, you can use a plate if you have one that fits. i used the weights that came with the crock and i think they are a bit heavy for soft fruit like berries.
2. it’s pretty hard to wing it & try to cover the fruit with sugar by sprinkling it over as i had originally planned. and the shape of this crock makes that action particularly hard to do. so i am going to add sugar at 1/2 the weight of the fruit. i’ve also read that to avoid sugar granules in your final product it is best to let the fruit sit for one hour in sugar and macerate. i’ll add sugar to fruit in a bowl, let it sit for an hour and then add to crock moving forward.
3. i went with kirsch, which is traditional for summer fruits. but any spirit will do as long as it is 80 proof, or 40% by volume.
if you’ve started your own this summer, i wanna hear about it! roar below!
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Wonderful recipe find for me. My husband and I live on an orchard and I am so glad I now have something to do with all those June drop apples
I also had trouble with floating fruit, so I placed a cup inside the narrow jar that I used. I wish I had used kirsch, because brandy is not really my bag, but maybe it will be when infused with cherry and sugary goodness.
I just hope my fruit was not too ripe.
Hi!!! I started one after seeing your post! I started with Strawberries, followed by raspberries, June berries, Gooseberries and finally this past weekend I added sour cherries. My strawberries look just like yours!! I used brandy and I assumed that the darker liquor was the culprit… but it must not be. I didn't weigh mine down I just made sure there was plenty of booze to cover the fruit. Thanks so much for the idea and tips!
Tigress, I'm all over this! Thanks for reminding me that it's time to get to it. I'm going to pay a visit to my neighbor who thins her apples at this time of year . . .
Tigress, now that is so funny. I started after the strawberry season but did get cherries into the pot and some sort of plum. I've been looking around to see what is next. I know grapes for sure are going in.
I didn't weigh down either, I have now. Fruit looks like everyone elses. Like you have decided that the fruit must sit in the sugar, up to over night.
Never fear! I've made rumtopf many times in past years and my fruit always ended up looking the color of your strawberries, no matter which fruits I used. It still tastes marvelous.
I've got mine going…it is currently in a large glass jar, but I my new crock should be here tomorrow. I don't think the mix is meant to be mixed, but i'm going to switch containers anyway as I can't get anything in my current jar to weight it down.
So far I only have strawberries going, but am going to add raspberries and blueberries this week.
Smells ridiculously good!
Great info about making your own pectin. I find US recipes fairly obsessed with adding pectin. I've been making jam for 'donkey's years' and have never bought pectin. I've just canned some whitecurrant juice for this purpose but perhaps should have reduced it down like you have.
Worrying whether the rumtopf is fairing OK reminds me of when I bought a worm farm, supposedly the easiest thing in the world to make compost from kitchen waste? Oh yeh. Anyhow that's another story…
Great timing Tigress! And as you know, timing is everything! Our neighbor called last night to tell me her apple tree (which is loaded) had a large branch split off and fall. After the call I was bummed that all those apples would go to the deer and waste and wondered about apple pectin and this morning – TAA DAA! Here you are. I'm getting in the truck now!
Could you email me? I need to give you an update. Thanks!
a rather jelly newbie here, so not to sound silly, but at the end of the pectin recipe you listed info on making jelly – would that be any jelly in using that pectin, or apple jelly? im going to make some pectin so i can mix up some red currant jelly and wasn't sure how much to use….i found a recipe that uses 4 oz liquid pectin so i was thinking i would just use 4 oz of the homemade version….true or false?
Thanks for the pectin tips. I am going to try this. I started a kirsch earlier this year and it is going great. It is beautiful. It is not overly attractive but for those of you having trouble finding something to weigh down your fruit and fit in your container, fill a ziploc bag with water or brine or kirsch depending on what is in your jar. I have never had one break so I just use water but if you want to be safe fill with what you are soaking everything in. Low tech? I know but hey it works and doesn't bruise the fruit or pickles or kraut or whatever you are fermenting. Keeps everything below the liquid level.
Ok, I just reread my post and maybe I should add, you are putting the filled bag on top of your fruit inside your jar to push it below the liquid level. It will conform itself to the shape of your jar or bowl.
thanks for all the feedback on the color of the fruit in my crock everyone! i'm happy a lot of you have started your boozy fruit!
allison, shae & rebecca – so glad that you guys are on the apple pectin tip!
mimi- please go ahead and pop me an email on the contact email listed in the left hand bar. i am happy to hear from you!
katie – that was for 'apple jelly' but it is typically what you could use for any kind herb jelly by adding herbs because apples are so subtle in jelly. you could do mint, rosemary, etc. regarding currents, they are high in pectin so i would not worry about adding pectin to a currant jelly. i don't know much about store bought pectin but my guess is you would need less of it to equal the strength of the homemade apple pectin.
I just had a post on my blog about lemon pectin for my west coast friends.
http://auntbeesgarden.blogspot.com/2010/07/make-your-own-pectin-for-jams-and.html
I am wanting to make the rumtopf with peaches, apricots, blueberries and blackberries-which are all in season right at this moment. Can I add them all at the same time with the brandy and sugar to cover each level of fruit? I am getting a late start, so have missed the strawberry/raspberry/cherry season here. Also, money is tight and I need to use a glass jar-love the plastic bag idea. I assume that I can leave the jar in the pantry and it will be dark enough. Thanks for your help and this great idea. I am thinking this would be great for Thanksgiving-if it lasts that long!!
Thank you so much for all of your great ideas. I am making apple pectin right now! And I made gooseberry-lavender jelly a couple of days ago. I left some as syrup and it is Wonderful mixed with sparkling water.
How in the world do you pick that tree? Mine are all on dwarf stock so they don't get bigger than 12-15' tall and I'm ok with that…
Just did some crab apple pectin last month for the berry jam that I never got around to posting. Love how you are thinking? Why would anyone ever buy pectin when all you need are some free crab apples.
We are making 2 Rum Topfs – one for us and one for my Mom. So far we've put in: cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and just this week – apricots and tiny plums. I'm planning to add peaches and nectarines as they hit their prime and expect the jars will be full then. we are using superfins sugar and it seems to dissolve easily and Rum – we're on our 2nd bottle already! Thanks for the idea – I'd havenever done it without reading the blog!!
I didn't really need any more apple pectin, since I made about 6 pints of the stuff (from apple pie leavings) in November.. but I was seduced by the lovely, clear golden color of yours, Tigress. Mine was cloudy & brown, sort of Charles River circa 1974.
So I dutifully collected some July apples from the tree right outside my window, sliced, boiled, sieved them TWICE… and I still have Charles River circa '74. Am I cooking too long (about 30 minutes?) Is it the apples? My hard well water? Hmmm. Enquiring minds want clear apple pectin.
kaela – two things i can think of: you are not pushing or squeezing the apples through at all are you? and probably more likely – use butter muslin – it's a very very fine weaved 'cheese cloth – that's what i use.
Sadly, already using butter muslin (I get it from Ricki's cheesemaking supply) and not pushing at all. Just bizarre; even if I leave it overnight in fridge to let sediment settle, it is still cloudy. Mainly to irk me, I'm thinking.