Crab Apple Jelly

For years I have thought that I would like to try my hand at canning & preserving. A few days ago a friend told me she had an abundance of crab apples decorating her back yard, offered me some. She had told me how easy it was to make crab apple jelly and since in our house we all enjoy jam & jelly I decided that I would try. Last night was the night...

I won't bore you or embarrass myself by giving you all the messy details of the process. Suffice to say that by the time I was finished every large pot and measuring jug I own as well as several bowls and implements decorated my kitchen counters . Even though it was after 11 - PM that is - I was so exhilarated and excited about having made my own jelly I washed everything I had used to make the jelly before heading up to bed.

I did have a niggling concern as I walked up the steps. I had done my best to follow the instructions on the Certo packet as well as the advice my friend had shared with me but the jelly had not set by the time my cleaning up was finished. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't the excitement and exhilaration that propelled me to clean up but rather my desire to stay up longer to see if the jelly set. In any case, I tipped the jars and found that the contents were still quite liquid. Oh well, maybe I had just made a batch of crab apple syrup. French toast for breakfast on Saturday morning?

I came down to the kitchen to have breakfast with Derrick and to my great delight found that, overnight, the jelly had set - YIPPEEE! We were able to enjoy (this is for you Catherine) P.C. blue menu whole wheat English muffins with some of my own crab apple jelly on it. Delicious!

In the quiet of my kitchen after Derrick left for work (my teenagers are still asleep) I thought back on last night's experience and all that making jelly entailed...

1. The crab apples needed to be carefully washed so that the grass, dirt and grit were removed.
2. They then needed to be sorted and those that had begun to rot were removed.
3. Then they were ready to be cooked. This required me to check the pot several times, monitoring the temperature, stirring and eventually crushing the fruit to extract all the flavour.
4. The liquid had to be poured off and strained, removing all the pulp of the fruit.
5. At this point the pectin and sugar were added and there was more cooking.
6. Finally the prepared liquid was poured in sterilized jars which were sealed.
7. Overnight, a simple liquid became my prized crab apple jelly.

Once again God has spoken to me about my need to be patient with the process I am in the midst of. The one that will make me more like Him, that will cause me to be the most content and effective Nicola I can be. There are many steps involved, some of which may not be pleasant - like being boiled, stirred and crushed. Some are time consuming, frustrating and leave a big mess - like the straining process that removes the stuff that prevent the successful completion of the process. However some are indeed pleasurable - sort of like the adding of sugar to the fruit liquid. Eventually, though, there is the sealing process and the completion of the work that proves the process was successful.

I have often talked to God about wanting to back out of the process I am in. Did I mention that about half way through I began to think it was definitely not as simple as Cheryl made it out to be and that I wasn't sure I would finish it or try again? Well now that I have my finished product, I definitely want to try again so Cheryl - if you have any more crab apples, I'll take a bag or two. Similarly, once I get past my moments of despair, I confess to God that I really do want to see it through to the end, that I do want to experience the sealing and setting that will allow me to experience the joy and satisfaction of having made it...at least till the next process begins.

By the way - those are my jars of jelly in the picture at the top of the post. And if you're interested, I've posted a picture of my dresser in the post about Enhancing Value - better late than never?