If you are not someone that has their own goats and chickens, then you will probably find that you have a lot of apple cores and peels left after making applesauce. And even if you do have farm animals that will happily devour the leftover scraps, you still might find that you have too many for them to handle. Apple leftovers are highly perishable, and when you’re making your way through 100+ pounds of apples, it leaves you with a veritable mountain of peels and cores.

So last year, I came up with apple cider jelly. This is a positively delicious spread that is perfect for topping off a piece of toast on a cool fall morning, and though I haven’t tried it, I have to imagine it would make for a delightful filling in the right pastry. Even Steve, who doesn’t particularly care for jellies, thinks this one is just tremendous. He had been highly skeptical of it when I told him about my plans for all the leftover peels and cores last year, but this time around he requested it specifically.

Jelly made from the leftovers of apple cookery isn’t anything new — and it’s traditionally called “Apple Scrap Jelly.”  I, however, don’t find it particularly appetizing to add “scrap” to the name of a food so we’ve rebranded it “Apple Cider Jelly” at our house.

It’s a simple recipe that can even be found in the little pamphlet of recipes that comes in the boxes of pectin. Although those ones call for whole apples, peels and cores make a perfectly nice jelly while leaving the fruit for pies or sauces.  And to make it REALLY no waste, around here the cooked scraps are offered to the poultry.

Apple Scrap Jelly
Make Juice:
1.  Place peels and cores of apples in a saucepan or stockpot large enough to hold all of them.
2.  Fill with water just to the top of the scraps. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
3.  Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the total volume of water has been reduced by half.
5.  Cool and strain through a cloth.

Prepare Jelly:
1.   For every 6 cups of juice, measure out 4 cups sugar (we like the flavor evaporated cane sugar gives!)
2.   Mix one package of low-sugar pectin into 1/4 cup of the measured sugar.
3.   Stir the pectin/sugar mixture into the juice in a stockpot and bring to a full boil over high heat.
4.   Add the remaining sugar and boil for 1 minute.
5.   Pour into sterilized jars and follow your preferred canning method, OR allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Enjoy!