Walking in the park this afternoon, a tiny touch of Autumn shows in the spots of aubergine and orange on the chestnut leaves. The turn in the season shows itself also in the crunch of squashed conker shells underfoot.
In the northern hemisphere we can feel that easing downhill from the Summer Solstice and it turns our minds towards home.
A time to gather in, to notice. There's a comfort in making preserves, of lining the shelves in the pantry with fresh jars of produce.
This year we're on a roll.. I made the juice for the Apple jelly last October. It's been very comfortable in the freezer since then – just remember to write on it how many pints you collected.
Fresh Apple Jelly in stock by August can free up time in late autumn if you are ramping up for a busy Winter season.
Weither you freeze the juice for anther time or finish the jelly the same weekend you can still look forward to late Autumn with windfalls picked on chilly walks, enjoy the pleasure of apples cooking with cloves and steaming jelly bags.
Meanwhile I enjoyed the walk in the park knowing my year's supply was in the pantry.
By the way I do put the labels on with prit-stick. It stays on really well but will wash off in the dishwasher so I can reuse the jars.
We sourced ours locally at https://www.alpack.ie/
One thing we realised when Jim tested out the recipe and we made the instructions: how was he going to make a jelly bag?
It was alright for me I'm a trained seamstress. I'm also an engineer so was up for the challenge of designing a No-Sew bag. The link is below.
It's basically a calico sling attached to the length of 3/4inch diameter dowel by cable ties.
The best part is how easy it is to undo, rinse and use again because there are no corners.
Apple jelly full instructions are also on Youtube at
https://youtu.be/lanw5umB51c?feature=shared
Jelly Bag video here:
https://youtu.be/D0WyXhGdRSY?feature=shared