Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Jelly · From Bladwijzer

Hawthorn berry and apple jelly

Updated on 9 October 2026

• Makes: ± 4 jars of 250 ml
• Time: 1 hr + 3 hrs dripping
• From: Hawthorn

Ingredients

• 500 g ripe, red hawthorn berries (haws)
• 500 g sour apples
• 1 litre water
• juice of 1 lemon
• sugar: 750 g per litre of juice (± 600 g)

Method

1. Remove the stalks, leaves and brown berries and rinse the haws. Chop the apples, skin and core included.
2. Put the haws, apples and water in a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, until everything is completely soft. The stones stay hard: do not eat them.
3. Crush the haws against the side of the pan now and then with a potato masher.
4. Tip everything into a wet cloth over a bowl and leave to drip for 3 hours. Do not squeeze, so the jelly stays clear. Throw away the pulp with the stones.
5. Measure the juice and put it in a clean pan with the lemon juice. Add 750 g sugar per litre of juice and stir until it has dissolved.
6. Bring to the boil and boil hard for 10–15 minutes. Test for a set: a drop on a cold saucer should wrinkle after a minute when you push it with your finger.
7. Skim off the foam, fill hot, clean jars to the brim, close and turn them upside down for 5 minutes.

Storing: A year in a cool, dark place; once opened, in the fridge. Haws are only to be eaten cooked and without the stone, so use only the strained juice.