Spiced Apple Cider Jelly

Say hello to autumn in a jar: this gem-like jelly is made from fresh pressed sweet apple cider, fragranced with fall spices, and water-bath canned so you can enjoy a taste of fall all-year round (but you can also make this small-batch recipe and refrigerate it instead!)

Fresh apple cider is my new favorite fall indulgence, and this jelly uses that pure liquid gold to make a lightly-spiced and pectin-set apple jelly, a perfect pairing with cheese on your next charcuterie board, as a flavorful glaze for meat or poultry, dolloped on crispy potato latkes, or even swirled onto yogurt or vanilla ice cream like a reverse a-la-mode.

This low-sugar recipe is made with Pomona’s pectin, which uses calcium to set rather than sugar. For that reason we’re able to use a mere 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar, and that’s more for flavor than anything (a little bit of sugar greatly enhances the natural apple flavor of the cider).

(Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to download the cozy, autumn-inspired printable labels!)

I’ll admit I’ve never been a fan of apple juice, even as a kid. Apples? Sure. But for some reason the juice never did it for me.

But apple cider is far and above better than apple juice. It’s what apple juice wishes it was. And seeing that the good stuff is usually only available for a few short weeks each fall, I’m making the most of apple cider season this year (would you believe we’ve already gone through almost 2 gallons of it between recipe testing for this and another recipe, and just drinking it by the glass).

This recipe uses fresh pressed apple cider, sometimes called sweet cider or soft cider, not to be confused with alcoholic hard cider. I’m talking about the refrigerated kind you get from your local apple orchard or farmer’s market during apple season and only during apple season. This kind of cider is unfiltered and more intensely apple-y than regular apple juice, and is usually unpasteurized so it needs to be refrigerated.

I tested this recipe a few different ways, based on the basic proportions and processes described in the Pomona’s pectin packet and an apple rosemary jelly recipe on their website.

In one version I used 2 cups of straight apple cider, warmed and steeped with spices and a little bit of lemon juice and sugar. This version was lovely, but the spices were not as intense as I wanted.

In the next version, intrigued by the Pomona’s recipe that used no sugar at all, I reduced 4 cups of cider down to 2 cups to intensify the flavor, and then made the jelly from that reduction with no added sugar. The blender is absolutely necessary in this version, otherwise the pectin simply will not dissolve without a little sweetener to help it out. Oddly, this version wasn’t as flavorful as the first one (the sugar does more than just add sweetness, it turns out) and it didn’t set as firmly either.

In my last and final test, I use a combination of both methods: reducing some of the apple cider down to a quarter of it’s original volume, then adding some fresh cider to bring it up to the correct volume. Adding the spices during the reduction process, where the high heat allowed more of the spice flavor to come through, was also a game changer, and made the spice flavor much more prominent than just a lukewarm steep. Finally, a touch of lemon juice and a little bit of sugar noticeably brightened the apple flavor. This batch also set up beautifully into a firm-set jelly that practically melts in your mouth.

Note that I’ve written this recipe as a small batch recipe, yielding about 2 cups or 475mL. But you can safely double this recipe without issue if you want a larger batch.

Here’s how to make it:

The first step is to reduce 2 cups of the apple cider down to a quarter of its original volume; this will take about 30 minutes or so (depending on your pan and if you doubled the recipe or not).

When working with reductions, I recommend setting a trivet on your digital scale, tare it out, and then measuring the weight of your pot as well as the liquid in it (write these numbers down!) Then, as the cider simmers, you can periodically put the whole pot onto the scale and see just how much has boiled off without having to constantly pour and repour it into a measuring cup.

In my case my pan and cider weighed around 1777 grams total, and I was looking for a 375 gram reduction for a final weight of 125 grams (about 1/2 cup volume).

You can also use a dipstick like a wooden spoon handle or skewer to measure the height of the liquid, though this is much less precise and only really works if your pan has straight sides. I find the scale method far easier!

Game, Set, Match: the Gel Test.

Apple jelly like this one often takes a few days to fully set, so don’t worry if your jelly is still loose even after cooling; it may need a full 48 hours to fully set (or you can pop it in the refrigerator to speed up the process).

Since the set won’t happen right away, if you want to be sure your jelly sets properly, you’ll want to perform a gel test before taking it off the heat. To do this you want to have a spoon waiting in the freezer. After the second boil of your jelly mixture, drop a teaspoon of liquid jelly onto the frozen spoon and pop it back in the freezer for a minute or two. Then, push your finger through the dollop of jelly: it should wrinkle up behind your finger. If your finger goes right through it without resistance, that means your jelly isn’t quite set. If you run into this issue, Pomona’s troubleshooting guide is a helpful resource. For this recipe, I’d probably guess you maybe didn’t fully blend the pectin into the cider so it’s not fully dissolved, you forgot the calcium water, or didn’t measure the pectin or calcium correctly. These issues are fixable, but you’ll need to blend additional pectin/calcium/sweetener into a portion of the re-boiled jelly mixture, then return the full batch to a boil and test again.

Water-bath processing this jelly will allow for shelf-stable storage up to 1 year (refrigerate after opening). If you’d rather not deal with water baths, you can simply pop the jars into the fridge where they’ll keep for up to 3 weeks.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Apple cider: This recipe was developed with fresh pressed apple cider, also called sweet or soft cider, the non-alcoholic kind that is usually unpasteurized and thus requires refrigeration. I recommend using it within a few days of purchase for best results, as it can start to ferment if it sits too long (and definitely keep it refrigerated or that will start happening in mere days).

Note that hard apple cider is not the same thing and will NOT work in this recipe. Same for apple cider vinegar, also not the same thing as apple cider, please don’t make that mistake here!

You could potentially use unfiltered apple juice in this recipe (ideally one without added sweeteners or preservatives), but the apple flavor won’t be quite as intense.

Spices: I used a whole cinnamon stick, whole cloves and whole allspice berries to spice my cider, but you can mix it up to use whatever whole spices you’d like. The fresher the spices, the stronger the flavor! After simmering, strain the whole spices out of the cider and discard them. If your apple cider is already spiced, you can omit the spices entirely or adjust to taste.

I do not recommend using ground spices in this recipe as it will result in a gritty texture.

Sugar: The recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Technically, when using Pomona’s pectin (mixed with the blender as specified in the recipe), you could make this without any added sugar at all, however when I tested it I found the apple flavor more intense in the batch that had just a little bit of added sugar.

Pomona’s pectin: This recipe was developed and tested with Pomona’s pectin, a highly concentrated low-sugar pectin (sometimes called LM pectin). Instead of using sugar to achieve a proper gel, it uses calcium instead. This is why we can use a small fraction of the amount of sugar of other similar recipes.

A packet of calcium powder comes with each box of Pomona’s pectin, which you’ll need to mix up prior to starting your jam recipe (I always make a small batch, 1/4 cup of water to 1/4 teaspoon calcium powder). Then measure out 2 teaspoons of this newly mixed calcium water to use in this recipe (any leftover calcium water can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks).

Unfortunately this kind of pectin is very specific, and you cannot substitute another type of pectin in this recipe and expect similar results. If you can find pure LM pectin, this should be the same thing as Pomona’s (you’ll need to find your own calcium powder if your pectin didn’t come with it). Other brands of low sugar pectin like Ball and SureJell aren’t as concentrated and have additives, often with the calcium included in the powdered mix, and so the amount of pectin required is going to be different. If you want to substitute another brand or type of pectin, find their tested recipe for apple jelly and use the ratios and process as listed, substituting the apple juice with the reduced spiced cider you made following step 1 of this recipe.

Bonus Printable Labels

It’s fall, y’all! And nothing screams fall more than apples. And flannel shirts. I designed these cozy autumn-inspired plaid labels to fit the lids of various sized canning jars (or, if you want hang tags, simply print onto cardstock and punch a hole in the top, then tie to jars with decorative twine).

Each sheet of labels features 4 different coordinating plaid designs for a fun variety where each jar is slightly different but complimentary! And I’ve also included matching info labels for the name, date, batch number, and opened date that you can stick to the back or bottom of your jars.

The downloadable PDF file contains three different sizes for various size lids (1.75″, 2″, and 2.5″) and includes informational pieces that you can stick on the bottom of the jars with your name and the date it was made.

To use, simply download the printable file by completing the form below. Print your labels onto full-sheet sticker paper, cut out shapes, and apply directly to the (canned and cooled) jars.

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Tell me, do y’all enjoy the free printables? I spend so much time designing the labels and formatting the printable files, even more so if/when I create an editable template version in the shop (which I didn’t do this time but please let me know if you want an editable version and I’ll put one together). But sometimes it feels like I put in all this time and effort just for a handful of people to download.

If you’ve downloaded and used any of my printables before I’d love to hear from you! What do you like, what would you change, what other options/sizes/formats/designs would you like to see? Do you want more generic labels you can fill-in yourself? Or, do you not even own a printer and would prefer to buy actual already printed labels or even print on demand? I’m all ears and would love your feedback. <333