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A mason jar of cranapple jelly sitting next to homemade butter on a white plate and another white plate with a biscuit cut in half. Butter is melting on one half and cranapple butter is spread on the other half. The plates and mason jar are sitting on a wooden cutting board on the counter. A knife is resting on the biscuit plate.

Reduced-Sugar Cranapple Jelly (Made From Apple Scraps!)

Turn your apple scraps into delicious cranapple jelly!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Canning/Processing Time 10 minutes

Equipment

  • large pot
  • large bowl
  • flour sack towel or cheesecloth
  • kitchen string
  • saucepan
  • whisk
  • bowl
  • fine mesh sieve
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • water bath canner, jelly jars, lids, and rings
  • ladle
  • funnel

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts apple scraps (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 quarts water
  • 12 oz cranberries
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
  • box of Pomona's Pectin

Instructions

Make Apple Juice (From Apple Scraps)

  • Put apple scraps in a large pot and cover with an equal amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Optional: take off heat and allow to cool for 20 more minutes or move on to the next step.
  • Drape a flour sack towel or cheesecloth over a large bowl. Get some kitchen string ready by starting to tie it in a slip knot.
  • Pour the apples and juice into the towel-lined bowl. Gather the edges of the towel up and pull the top of the towel through the slip knot. Tighten the knot and hang your "bag" up to drip for at least 2 hours until it stops dripping.

Make Cranapple Juice

  • After 2 hours, pour the apple juice back into the same large pot. Add cranberries and bring the juice up to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  • Strain out the juice using a fine mesh sieve. (You should have roughly 4 cups of cranapple juice at this point. If you don't have enough juice, pour some hot water over your leftover fruit and allow it to drip into your measuring cup until you have 4 cups of cranapple juice.)

Make Reduced-Sugar Cranapple Jelly

  • In a separate bowl, combine 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar and 4 teaspoons of Pomona's pectin powder. Mix well.
  • In a medium saucepan, whisk together 4 cups of cranapple juice, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 4 teaspoons of Pomona's calcium water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then slowly add the sugar/pectin mixture. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin. Once the jelly returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.

Canning Reduced-Sugar Cranapple Jelly

  • Have your water bath canner, jelly jars, lids, and rings ready. Jars, lids, and rings should be clean. The water in the canner should be hot but not boiling.
  • Ladle hot jelly into hot half-pint or jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace at the top.
  • Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a dampened cloth, put lids and bands on the jars. (Be careful because the jars will be very hot.) Tighten the bands to fingertip-tight.
  • Slowly lower the hot jars into the hot water bath canner making sure that they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Add the canner lid, bring to a boil, and process for 10 minutes (adjusting for your altitude, if necessary).
  • After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and wait for 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the jars and let them cool for 12 to 24 hours, undisturbed. After that time, remove the bands and confirm that the lids have sealed to the jars. Label and store your jelly.