Cinnamon Apple Jam
Learn how to make the best apple jam with this easy recipe, flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla bean, star anise, and nutmeg.
Servings: 50 tablespoons
Calories: 48kcal
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg Cortland apple(s) such as Cortland apples, peeled, cored and diced or sliced thinly
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 250 grams light brown sugar
- 52.5 mL fresh lemon juice
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cinnamon stick(s)
- 2 star anise
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine the apples with the sugar, lemon juice, and spices in a pot. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.
- Transfer the mixture to a container, top with parchment, and store in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, place the apple jam mixture into a pot and heat on medium-high. Cook the mixture until it thickens, stirring often.
- Take the pot off the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove the spices and vanilla bean.
- Transfer the mixture to sterilized jars, leaving a ¼-inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a water canner, then let rest 5 minutes in the canner before transferring jars to a towel-lined tray. Let stand overnight, undisturbed.
Notes
- For the apples, if you use an apple variety that breaks down when cooked (like McIntosh), the jam will be more smooth, whereas if you use an apple variety that holds its shape when cooked (like Cortlands or Honeycrisp), your apple jam will have more texture.
- You can dice or slice the apples, depending on the texture you want.
- Weigh the prepared apple after removing the peel and the core. Use up to half the weight of apples in sugar. I started with 1.2 kg of fresh apples, which yielded 1 kg after peeling and removing the core, so I used 450 grams of sugar.
- This jam is quite sweet and you could use slightly less sugar, especially if you are using a sweet apple variety. But remember less sugar may impact the texture and the shelf life.
- For the spices, use whole spices if you can so that you can have a beautiful jam without any murkiness from ground spices. You can use any spices you like. I prefer warm autumn spices, mainly cinnamon sticks.
- For the sugar, you can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, or a combination of the two. Brown sugar will impart more flavour.
- Use a thermometer (like the ChefAlarm) to help you know how close you are to the jam setting point. For this jam, boiling to the setting point will result in a gelled jam, much like jelly, whereas heating to under the setting point will result in a more fluid, syrupy, soft-set jam.
- This recipe makes about 3x 250 mL (1-cup) jars but make sure to sterilize a few extra just in case. The yield depends entirely on how much water you boil off!
Nutrition
Calories: 48kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.1mg
