Spiced Beer Jelly

Submitted by xtine

"This is posted in response to a request from Fernygoat. It is from Christine Ferber's "Mes Confitures". Ferber doesn't use commercial pectin - instead you make your own apple juice, which supplies the pectin. The recipe does not say how much this makes, so the 6 half-pints yield is a guess on my part. Use the cold plate test to check the set as you are cooking it - when a drop of jelly placed on a cold plate "wrinkles" when you nudge it, it is done."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 6 half pints

ingredients

• 26 ounces dark beer
• 1 3⁄4 lbs granny smith apples
• 26 ounces water
• 5 1⁄4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 lemon, juice of, small
• 1 orange, zest of, finely grated
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom

directions

1. Rinse the apples in cold water. Stem and cut the apples into eighths without peeling them. Put the fruit in a preserving pan and cover them with the water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes on low heat. The apples will be soft. Collect the juice by pouring this preparation into a fine chinois strainer, pressing lightly on the fruit with the back of a skimmer. Then filter the juice a second time by pouring it through a cheesecloth that you have soaked and wrung out. Let the juice run freely. It is preferable to let the juice rest overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Next day, measure 2 cups 1 ounce of the juice, leaving in the bottom of the bowl any residue that settled out overnight. You will have clearer jelly this way.
3. Place two small saucers or plates in the freezer - you will use these to check the set.
4. Pour the apple juice, beer, sugar, orange zest, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, and ground cardamom into the preserving pan and bring it to a simmer. Skim carefully. Continue cooking on high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring gently. Skim again if necessary. Check the set. Remove the cinnamon sticks & return to a boil. Put the jelly in jars immediately and seal.

Reviews

[radiodiva]

My brother owns a brewery and we make this exact recipe using his beer. It is outstanding. It takes like a spicy, orange, honey jelly, with slight hints of the beer. I did NOT make my own apple juice, because that just sounded like a big pain. I used the called for amount of bottled apple juice, but added a pack of pectin to the recipe. The jelly turned out great. We even used it for thumbprint cookies at Xmas.